Baby Care and Parenting Tips

Every day in America, each man, woman and child generates nearly four pounds of trash. That’s over one trillion pounds of solid waste or 365 trillion pounds each year. It’s a staggering statistic when you consider the environmental effect that much garbage has on our fragile ecosystem.

As adults, it’s easy to forget the importance of the 3 R’s our world depends on-reducing, reusing and recycling-for the health and safety of future generations. It’s those future generations–our children–that will bear the consequences of today’s environmental mismanagement, unless an effort is made to improve upon current behaviors.

For the third year, one hotel company is stepping up to the task, helping kids to think globally and act locally by educating them on how to properly care for the environment. With help from The National Arbor Day Foundation, Doubletree Hotels is distributing an environmentally focused lesson plan that provides the framework for taking would-be waste and recycling it into artistic treasures to thousands of elementary school students in the U.S. and Canada.

The education initiative is an extension of the hotel’s Teaching Kids to CARE program, a community outreach initiative that pairs hotel properties with elementary schools and youth groups to educate children about making conscious decisions about environmental care. This spring, Teaching Kids to CARE volunteers and children will create “litter critters,” a reduced, reused and recycled representation of animals in the world hurt by litter, and will plant more than 10,000 seedling trees across the U.S. and Canada.

For those parents (and mentors) wanting to engage their kids (or nieces, nephews and grandkids) in environmentally conscious activities, here are a few tips:

1. Recycling is Fun-Pass it On-Recycling isn’t all about aluminum cans and old newspapers. Encourage your kids to start their own recycling program in which they share old toys, books and games with their friends and classmates. One child’s trash is another child’s treasure and by “passing it on,” kids will learn that they can reduce waste by recycling their old things so that others can reuse them.

2. Become a Habitat Hero–Challenge your children to gather up all their friends and classmates to help clean up a park or schoolyard (with parental supervision). Whoever collects the most trash wins the “Habitat Hero” award and prize (as decided upon by you).

3. Plant a “Family Tree”–Take your kids to a garden or home store and allow them to help pick out a young tree. (Make sure to check that it can survive in your climate region.) Plant the tree in a special location as a family, assigning a different task (digging, planting, watering) to each family member. Make sure to document the activity with a photo, so kids can remember how small the tree was when they planted it.

4. You CAN Make a Difference–Encourage your children to save empty aluminum cans, then take a weekly trip to a nearby “Cash for Cans” drop-off location. Decide with your kids how best to use the money they’ve collected from their recycling efforts to better the environment. Options to consider include volunteering for tree planting projects, adopting a local stretch of highway to be beautified and maintained or donating the money to a local environmental organization.

5. Pulp to Paper–This fun, hands-on project shows kids how old newspapers are recycled back into fresh newspapers. Have your child tear a half page of newspaper into small, one-inch pieces. Fill buckets or bowls with one-part newspaper and two-parts water and let soak for several hours. Using a hand mixer, “pulp” the fibers in the paper until the mixture looks like mush. Take a handful of pulp and place it on a piece of felt, molding it to the size of the piece of paper you want to make, and press it firmly to squeeze out excess water. Let the paper dry for one or two days and voilà.

Remember, proper waste management not only helps save the environment, it also helps save energy, reduce pollution and protect animals around the world. A small effort from your kids today can guarantee a healthier, greener tomorrow.

Perhaps the most valuable investment you can make for your child’s safety is the proper car seat. 5 percent of the time, at least according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2005 study. Misusing the safety restraints was the big area where people messed up, according to the study. The child’s parents don’t want to make the harness strap or the safety belt attachments too tight, so they typically swing the other way and make them far too loose to do any good. Sadly, it is these mistakes that are the most common that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration calls ‘critical,’ as they hold some of the greatest amounts of potential danger to the baby.

{So how do you know make sense of keeping your newborn safe?}

Strive to get the perfect seat for your child’s particular age and weight and then make sure you put the seat in the correct position once you do. Many infant car seats allow you to place your child in a rear-facing position, provided that he or she is under a year old and less than 20 pounds. Infant-only seats are designed for younger, smaller babies, so they are a good choice for your newborn; they offer a good fit and are conveniently small and portable. For your child’s protection, always place the infant only car seat in the back seat and always make sure it is positioned facing the rear.

Many convertible seats are also available which accommodate your child’s growth spurts. As can be expected, the convertible style of car seat is larger, to accommodate growth, and not as portable. Again, weight and age are important when determining the proper position for the child’s seat; if the child is younger than one year and under the twenty pound requirement, the seat should be rear facing. Convertible seats can then be put in a forward-facing position once the child reaches the age or weight requirement, until they reach a maximum weight of 40 pounds. It doesn’t matter which seat you choose for the child; what does matter is that you use it correctly. Always read both the vehicle guides and the instructional manuals that come with all safety seats before you buckle your child in. Two buckles must be fastened correctly: the one in car seat and the buckle connecting the seat to the car. You can be one of the parents who actually get the harness strap position right if you place the harness in the right slot position and make sure it is a snug – not loose – fit around the baby’s chest. Convertible car seats require the straps going into slots above or equal to shoulder length; for infant seats, they should go below. Most harness clips that connect the harness straps – that should always be not twisted – are designed for armpit height, but check your owner manual to be sure.

Things to keep in mind about the seat belt are that many do not fasten them correctly; to avoid becoming one of those parents, make sure the belt is slid through the correct path and recline the seat by an angle of 45 degrees. For added security, a rolled up towel under the base helps. Tighten the seat belt, as needed, to ensure the restraint is secured to your vehicle. The vehicle ownership manual and the car seat manufacturer guide will help you install your car seat in a LATCH system car. If you purchase a seat that is not new, make sure you check it’s age and condition. As we have seen, manufacturer’s instructions are vital, so you should never buy a seat that doesn’t come with them; also do not purchase a seat that is more than five years old. Any seat you purchase should of course include all its parts; ask the previous owner whether or not it has been in an accident and avoid purchase if it has.