Can you believe that it is already November?!? For many families, it's toy buying  season, as there are several winter holidays approaching. As parents we want to give our children great gifts. We not only want to choose gifts that will be enjoyed, but also quality gifts that will last and encourage development at the same time.  Cari Ebert, MS, CCC-SLP from Cari Ebert Seminars has come up with a TOP 10 list of important criteria to  keep in mind when shopping for your Toddler or Preschooler this Holiday season or any time of year.  Be sure to click HERE to learn how to use "toys for learning" and find the 10 point criteria she has provided in her article.

If you don't already follow Cari on Facebook, do yourself a favor and start following her right away! She has weekly toy and book tips, as well as great ideas for encouraging speech and language development and play for all young children.

According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline website, human trafficking is a form of modern slavery that occurs in every state, including Missouri. I believe that my granddaughter was almost a victim of human trafficking. My daughter-in-law and three children visited Worlds of Fun one day last Fall. They were accompanied by a friend and her husband. My two older grandchildren got in line to ride a children’s ride. My daughter-in-law was putting the baby in the stroller when she caught sight of a lady running her fingers through my granddaughter’s hair, who was standing in line. The lady grabbed my granddaughter’s hand and started walking away. My daughter-in-law and her friend’s husband ran after the woman. Her friend stayed with the baby and my grandson. At the same time, a man came running toward the woman saying, “That’s not our child.” My granddaughter was rescued by my daughter-in-law and her friend’s husband. The woman and man dispersed in the crowd. The incident was reported to security at Worlds of Fun. They said when someone is seen trying to take a child, they come up with a phrase that makes is look like it was a mistake (that’s not our child). My daughter-in-law was quite shaken by what had happened. She tells her children to stay close by her side. If they are grocery shopping, they hold onto the cart. If they are on a playground, she keeps a constant eye on them. She knows what could happen.
According to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center, in 2017 there were 464,324 entries for missing children. (These included endangered runaways, family abductions, missing young adults, non-family abductions, and other lost or missing children.)


Click HERE for an article that gives information to help prevent your child from going missing. 

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Haga clik, AQUI para un artículo que le da informácion para prevenir un secuestre de su hijo(a). 

Sparky the Fire Dog is the National Spokesman for the NFPA (National Fire Prevention Association).  He has his own website, which includes a huge variety of activities, games and videos geared towards teaching you and your child all about Fire Safety!  Click on his name or picture to follow the link!  After you visit the website, comment below your child's favorite activity!

Did you know that this week is National Fire Prevention Week for 2018?  Here are some things to do to potentially prevent a home fire, or at the very least, minimize loss.  One thing I have learned is that FIRES HAPPEN.  They can happen to anyone at any time. Check out the TOP 10 causes of house fires in the United States.
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• SPACE HEATERS: Space heaters are great at helping to keep you warm on a cold, winter day.  Please take heed of these 8 safety tips, to make sure that you are doing so in the safest possible way.  Space heaters account for the majority of deadly house fires.


• TEST YOUR SMOKE DETECTORS:  Test your smoke detectors monthly and replace those batteries TWICE a year!  I know! I know!  You've heard it before and if you're like me, you've probably put it off more than once.  Batteries seem expensive...  until you compare them to the alternative...


• HOMEOWNER'S INSURANCE:  If you own your home, review your insurance policy to be sure that your home and possessions are adequately covered in case of an emergency.  


• RENTER'S INSURANCE:  If you are renting, it's a good idea to purchase renter's insurance.  In the event of a fire, flood or natural disaster, the apartment complexes and home owners have their properties covered, but this does not protect you as a renter and cover your displacement expenses nor the replacement cost for your belongings if damaged or lost.  Believe it or not, even if fire doesn't consume your belongings, the soot, smoke and/or water used to put out the fire will most likely damage them and deem them temporarily unusable at best or a complete loss.  

8 Space Heater Safety Tips
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Monday, October 1st was National Child Health Day!  Check out the excellent graphic below to help your child live a healthy life that is as simple as 1. 2. 3.  Take a minute to read through them all and reflect on how many of these you are doing well.  Where might you improve?

I was recently surfing Facebook and came across a video that shocked me.  I've been a Parent Educator for a long time and try to keep up with the latest information so I was surprised that I had never heard about the dangers of children sleeping in car seats outside of the car.  So in honor of car seat safety week, please check out the following video.

Your parent educator will be contacting you soon to schedule visits!  We have a lot of fun things planned this year and can't wait to enjoy them with you and your family.  If you do not have a parent educator, and would like one, please fill out the contact form.  You can expect to hear from an educator as soon as possible.  If you do have a parent educator and have not heard from her by the first week of September, you can find her number on that same contact page.  Feel free to give her a call.  She'd love to hear from you!

We look forward to partnering with you this year!!  

Many parents think that child-resistant bottles of medication are childproof.  They are NOT.  The best way to protect your child from getting into medication is to store it properly.  Keep medication out of sight and out of reach of children,preferably in a locked cabinet.  Keep purses and bags, even those of guests in your home, out of reach of children.  Approximately 60,000 children are brought to the emergency room each year because they got into medicine that was left within reach.  Put the Poison Control Center's number in your cell phone and post it in your home (1-800-222-1222).

"Children are curious by nature, and it makes sense that they would be even more curious when it comes to medication. Many medications look and taste like candy. While it’s important to encourage our kids to explore and discover new things, when it comes to medication, we want to be careful to keep them safe. Here are a few tips to show you how.

Hard Facts about Medication Safety

Medications are the leading cause of child poisoning. In 2013, over 59,000 children were seen in emergency room for medicine poisoning. That’s one child every nine minutes. Almost all of these visits are because the child got into medicines during a moment alone."

The above excerpt can be found in it's entirety at www.safekids.org/medicinesafety.  Be sure to click the above link to learn more about Top Tips for Keeping Your Kids safe around Medication. 

While you may think that the child resistant caps on your medicine are keeping your children safe, you'd be surprised to see just how quickly they are able to "crack" the code to opening those bottle.  Check out the following videos to see just how easy it can be.