Safer Window Coverings for Kids + Giveaway

I received free window coverings in exchange for this post, but my love for keeping kids safe is all my own!

October is Window Covering Safety Month! Did you know that’s a thing? Well, it is and it’s a very important issue to address. Because window coverings with cords are cited as one of the top 5 hidden hazards in the home, we jumped at the opportunity to work with Blinds.com to make our window coverings safer!

 

We moved into our townhouse about 6 months before we were married. We knew we would have children in this house, but didn’t think about everything that entailed house-wise. The blinds that came with the house are what stayed up until just recently. Once we had Charlie, we tried some of those cord keepers for the blinds, but they seemed to fall off and become more of a hassle, so our cords were often draped through one of the top blinds to keep it out of his reach.

Cookout Safely with Kids

With summer here, there will be many opportunities to host a cookout or attend one. These tips can help keep kids safe while enjoying the party.

Prep & Set-Up

Before guests arrive, take a walk around the deck, yard, or wherever your cookout will be taking place. Make sure to pick up any large sticks or rocks that could be a hazard to little ones. Put away any garden tools or chemicals that may be in the area. These things may be obvious to adults, but to children, they’re dangerous.

The grill is probably the most dangerous thing at a cookout. When setting up your grilling area, make sure that you’re putting it out of the way. You don’t want the kids (or anyone really) to keep having to go past it to play or while running around. If you can, make sure you the wind isn’t blowing in the direction of where people will be sitting. This will help the smoke from blowing right into everyone’s faces. If need be, consider putting a baby gate around the grilling area.

Keeping Kids Safe With DreamBaby

I was sent product to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own. DreamBaby has also supplied one for giveaway!

When you have kids (of any age), you want to keep them safe. DreamBaby makes some wonderful products to help us with that.

I was sent the Royal Converta 3-in-1 Play-Yard and Wide Barrier Gate after seeing that we have two little ones. We have small gates at the top and bottom of our stairs and one dividing our kitchen from the dining room.

Warning: My house is a hot mess and this is a real post. I can’t show you real pictures of how we’re actually using the Royal Converta if I clean up my house and stage everything. I’m not one of those moms that keeps a neat house. It’s just not in me. Add a toddler and a baby, it just gets worse.

Seventh Generation Delivered Over 120,000 Signatures to Fight Toxins

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Seventh Generation. All opinions are my own.

A little over a month ago, I shared with you how you could Join Seventh Generation and #FightToxins! Seventh Generation was trying to collect 100,00 signatures on a petition asking Congress to make the reforms on the Toxic Substance Control Act. The TSCA has not been updated since 1976!

Well, we did it! On April 30th, Seventh Generation, along with the Toxin Freedom Fighters and its partners, held a press conference on Capitol Hill to move chemical reform to the forefront of national discourse. Senator Kristen Gillibrand of New York was presented with the petition by Seventh Generation Toxin Freedom Fighter, Zephyr Chaffer.

 

5 Myths About Extended Rear-facing

This post contains affiliate links.

I’m a big supporter of extended rear-facing. Charlie just turned 3 and he is still rear-facing. He is about 39 inches tall and weighs about 34 lbs.

The car seat we have for Charlie is the Graco My Ride 65. We have 2 of them, one for Mommy’s car (a Dodge Journey) and one for Daddy’s car (a Ford Focus). We love them because Charlie has plenty of room and padding, plus he has two cup holders (snacks, small toys, cup, etc). Our favorite thing about this car seat is that Charlie can rear-face until he is 40 lbs. When he reaches that point, we’ll flip him around to forward-facing, where this car seat can accommodate up to 65 lbs.

In 2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics put out a new policy statement that children should rear-face until 2 years of age.

1. They’ll Break Their Legs

Even if this were true, I’d much rather have broken legs than a broken neck or back. I’ve heard this saying many times: “Broken leg, cast it. Broken neck, casket”. The thing is though, it’s really not any more true for rear-facing kids than it is if they are forward facing. In 2007, Crash Test data found that the rate of lower extremity injuries in rear-facing children was 1 per 1000 children and the rates for forward facing kids are within similar ranges.

me4kidz medibuddy First Aid Kit Review & Giveaway

*I received product to facilitate this review, but opinions expressed are my own.*

Spring will (hopefully) be arriving soon! For us, and many other parents I’m sure, that means trips to the park, walks around the neighborhood, pool days, and boo-boos.

I received a medibuddy travel first aid kit to review from me4kidz.