American and International Info Resources

Custom baby bedding is the ultimate luxury for you and your baby. When planning your nursery, you may have a non-standard crib size or unique wallpaper or wall finish that might make it difficult to find ready-made bedding. It’s worth investigating custom baby bedding either locally or on the Internet. You might just find that the cost of a custom set is lower than you think - often lower than high-end designer sets. Here are some things to know about designing your own baby bedding.

When designing custom baby bedding, the baby’s safety and comfort should be the first consideration. Fabric should be 100% cotton, colorfast, durable and, most importantly, washable time after time. Stain resistance is a nice feature to have. Avoid things like applique or fringe that might come off and cause choking if ingested by the baby. Although fabrics like chenille might seem attractive, they should be avoided in favor of simpler, smoother fabrics.

When shopping for custom baby bedding, know your source. Be sure to get cost estimates from several designers, and be sure to ask lots of questions. If you have your own fabric, be sure the designer will allow you to use it, and reduce their price accordingly. Don’t compromise your baby’s safety by placing too much emphasis on style. Pillows, for example, aren’t appropriate in a young baby’s crib. Crib bumpers are somewhat controversial - some people think that, although they protect the baby from the hard sides of the crib, they present some danger of suffocation like pillows do.

So do your homework, choose a reputable designer and keep an eye on costs. Your custom baby bedding may take 4-6 weeks to complete, but it will be exactly what you want in terms of fabric, color and concept.

Take a moment and think about it. When you consider the fact that, as adults, we would never consider leaving the house without our id. We spend thousands on home and car alarms, we are even protecting our family pets with microchips; however, our most cherished possessions, our children, leave home without any identification.

Here are some questions:

- Have you taken the time to record your child’s fingerprints, gather a hair sample for DNA purposes, record all his/her specific identification, including specific identifying features and a photograph of your child in a Child ID kit? If so, is it up to date?

- In the event of a motor vehicle accident, in which you have been rendered unconscious, do the emergency medical professionals have a quick way of accessing your child’s specific medical history, including your child’s blood type, medical provider, allergies, any medications they may be taking at the time, or, even your family’s doctor’s name and phone number?

- If you were on vacation with your children and they became lost or separated from you, or worse, arrived at a hospital, unconscious, as a John Doe, how or who would notify you and how would they know to do so?

- Do you or your husband, for that matter; carry your child’s specific identification,

this should include an up to date picture?

- Do you, as responsible parents, take the time to talk with your children about child safety?

- If you became separated from your child in a crowd, would someone be able to contact you directly, or even know who your child was?

If your answer was no or I don’t know, don’t worry, you are not alone. The sad fact of the matter is that children do not carry identification; if they did they would likely loose it!

Given today’s world, it’s becoming a necessity for children to carry identification. This fact was clearly illustrated through recent tragic natural disasters such as the tsunami, hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Pakistan. With each of these disasters, we’ve witnessed far too many unidentified children.

When thinking of child identification, often, fingerprints and hair samples are the first things that enter our mind. There are far too many companies that profess to provide your child with identification.
Let me inform you that 99.9% of those companies are passive in nature.

Fingerprints, DNA information, pictures and even dental records will and are only ever used after the fact. Passive information. Think of it as locking the barn after the horse gets away. It’s unfortunate that as parents, we feel that we have done all possible to protect our children by having recorded this information. This is the first step, and a very important step in the safety of your child; however, as a parent, the only time you ever want to look at your child’s identification kit is and should be when you update it. This is a very important step towards safeguarding against the unthinkable. Few people are aware that children’s fingerprints are actually changing for the first 4-5 years of their life; therefore, it is imperative that this information be updated at least once a year, and every 6 months for the first three years of a child’s life.

When looking for a child identification provider, keep in mind the old adage ” An once of prevention far outweighs a pound of cure”. If all the company provides you with are a fingerprint kit, keep looking! One such proactive provider of child safety and identification is Child ID Labels inc.

The purpose of this article is not to alarm you but to inform you, as we are all aware, information is a powerful tool. If, in reading this, you took a moment to think about your child’s safety, please email this article to as many people as you know and encourage them to do the same. Your children are, after all, your most valuable possessions as well as our future.

Scott Irwin is the Marketing Director for Child I.D. Labels inc. Founded in 1995, Child ID Labels has been protecting North American children for more than 10 years. For more information on their unique proactive approach to child identification and how you can help keep your children safe visit http://www.childidatlantic.com
Child ID Labels inc. is growing and open to distributorship enquiries. Email us at info@childidatlantic.com.

Are you feeling overwhelmed being a parent? Do you want to feel more relaxed and empowered raising your child? Working parents, stay-at-home parents, visiting parents - it doesn’t matter which one you are because these days almost every parent feels overwhelmed by their daily day. Parents every day experience anxiety, stress and despondency because they feel as if they are losing control of their natural balance. The natural balance that once allowed them to walk, talk and chew gum slowly - all at one time! Now you are running to work, picking up children, grocery shopping, doing laundry, paying bills, taking your child to some lesson, etc. Those days when you had control over your life, can be re-lived again by knowing how to create a structured life that incorporates extra time, a swing to your step and the ability to believe that you can accomplish what needs to be done, in addition to being a fun and caring parent. Below are five tips that can start you on the path of feeling a positive glow about yourself.

1. Create Routines - Routines are established by parents to manage their own behavior - and the behavior of their child. A routine actually nurtures the positive overall growth of your child. A routine helps to create consistency, and consistency allows you and your child to feel secure. Create a “routine calendar.” Get a large sheet of paper and write down what needs to be done daily (hour by hour). A time slot for each activity, whether it be work or play. This routine calendar is a plan for each hour of the day. For example: 6:30 AM - wake up, shower, dress; 7:15 AM - wake children, help them dress; 7:45 AM - start breakfast and have your child make sack lunches, etc. (Do not forget to put down chores for each child in this calendar). Two personality traits that develop from a routine are positive thoughts and feelings children have about themselves. Routine doesn’t allow for frenzy and uncertainty. Routine says I know what is being done and when it is being done. Most importantly, stick to the routine each and every day. Watch your life become more manageable.

2. Nurturing - A part of every single day should be devoted to nurturing your relationship with your child. Whether the specific time for concentrated nurturing is in the day or night doesn’t matter…what does matter is that you spend at least one-half an hour a day doing something with your child. Choose an activity (massages, games, toys, exercises, dancing, joking, being silly) that nurtures you and your child’s spirit. These daily nurturing sessions will stimulate the growth of your child and allow you to become child-like once again yourself. You can feel very refreshed by having an unstructured playtime with your child. Your feelings of being overwhelmed throughout the day should just melt. The quality of your child’s emotional growth is largely a part of their reflection of their relationship with you. Seeing you smile, having a light cheerful voice creates an exceptional fun and healthy bonding for both of you.

3. Create Limits - Feeling hopeful and empowered with your child starts with you defining the “limits” of what you think is acceptable behavior. Set limits on acts, but not on your child’s spirit. When your four year old decides to run ahead of you in the shopping mall, take the time to talk with your child about your rules and limits when out shopping. Make these limits well known to your child. Create a substitute limit, i.e., tell your child he/she can run ahead of you in the house only. The defining of “limits” is necessary not only for your peace of mind, but also for your child’s development in knowing when and what is acceptable behavior. If you have decided that no ice cream is permissible before dinner, stick to that limit or rule. The truth is - if you allow your child “just-this-one-time-only”, you are really giving permission for this scenario to take place time and time again. Then you become angry and overwhelmed. No need to loose control, just create a limit of each act that pushes you to feel anxious and un-balanced. Remember to create limits that are age appropriate. This is known as “wise-parenting management.”

4. Create Time - Sometimes less is more. Start by doing less each day. Parents are generally creating the overwhelming feelings they experience because of trying to fill their day with too many activities. Children honestly benefit from “down time”. When you are going in too many directions at once, you are creating stress and strain. Everyone feels it. Look at your routine calendar and see what activities can be eliminated or reduced. Sure dance lessons, soccer practice, piano lessons, etc. are important - but not as important as finding nurturing activities that are done at home and done in the name of sanity. To feel less overwhelmed, spend some time in paring-down what activities are welcoming and credible to your family members and what activities are actually causing frustration and stress (like when you hear yourself saying, “hurry up, hurry up.”) Make the cut and you will create a more relaxing and manageable family life.

5. Create Your Own Personal Time - This is a time for you to remind yourself that you do have control of your life and you do need to take care of yourself. There are many examples of healthy personal time which makes your heart happy (and making your heart happy is very, very important for your entire well-being): time spent apart from your child (call the babysitter), time spent in a warm bubbly bath (wait until your child is asleep), time spent on a date with your special other (again call the sitter), time spent doing an activity that makes you feel good (drawing, gardening, knitting, golfing), time spent going out with friends for dinner, time spent exercising, time spent just getting quiet and welcoming the peace. Being good to yourself is the most important thing you can do in life - it benefits you, your child, your mate and your work life. It is amazing that what you do for yourself is a characteristic trait that your child will learn to admire, learn from and respect.

By incorporating at least some of the above-suggested tips daily, you will truly experience a positive change in yourself and in raising your child. Your life will be more in control, more livable, more enjoyable and more relaxing. Keep up the good work you are doing and don’t forget to spend some quality time on yourself.

Linda Milo, aka, The Parent-Child Connection Coach, has a simple philosophy: “Raising healthy children takes more than the right expectations, or knowing appropriate ways of disciplining or rewarding your child. Parenting children is also a deeply emotional experience that requires you, the parent, to maintain an awareness of your own needs”.

For a FREE consultation on parenting skills and facing daily parenting challenges, go to: http://www.empoweringparentsnow.com or e-mail Linda at: linda@empoweringparentsnow.com.

Angie grew up in a family where she was the caretaker. The oldest of four, Angie was the only member of her family capable of deep caring, empathy and compassion. As a result, she was always attempting to protect her brother and sisters from her father’s physical and emotional abuse. Even her mother learned to turn to her for help and protection. Because everyone learned to rely on Angie, when things didn’t turn out the way they wanted, Angie was the one they blamed.

Angie became an invisible child. Because of her acute sensitivity to other’s feelings and needs, her feelings and needs went unnoticed. Everyone in her family wanted to take from her, but no one wanted to give to her. Angie was not a happy child.

As an adult, Angie did much inner healing work. She discovered that she had been ignoring her own feelings and needs while caretaking others. As she learned to take loving care of herself and let go of taking responsibility for everyone else’s feelings and needs, her family became furious with her. How dare she take care of herself instead of them! The blame that Angie had always experienced from her family intensified. Nothing Angie said had any impact on her family’s behavior toward her. They refused to support her in taking care of herself. They just wanted her back in the old system.

Angie finally decided that, although she loved her family, she needed to disengage from them. She realized that it was not loving to herself to allow her family to continue to treat her badly. She was unwilling to continue the old family system, and she realized that she had no control over how her family treated her. Angie broke almost all communication with her family for three years.

Of course, this caused her parents and siblings to blame her even more. During the few times that Angie communicated with her mother, the hostility was extreme. “What is the matter with you? Have you gone nuts? How can you abandon your family? You are being so selfish! Don’t you care about us?” Angie knew that it was useless to try to explain. Her mother didn’t really want to know the answers to these questions - she just wanted to have control over Angie.

It took three years before anyone in her family started to treat Angie with any sense of respect. It took three years before they accepted that they could no longer treat her badly if they wanted a relationship with her. Presently, Angie has a much better relationship with her family. While they will never have the deep caring and compassion for her that she has for them, they no longer expect her to take responsibility for their feelings and needs, and they no longer blame her for the problems that arise.

The question of disengaging from one’s family, or from a particular member of the family, often comes up in my counseling work with individuals and couples. Many people have been taught that it is wrong to pull away from one’s family - that one should keep the family unit intact at all costs. Many people have been taught that it is loving to sacrifice themselves for their family, and selfish to take care of themselves.

The problem with these beliefs is that it gives a person, who is being blamed and disrespected by their family, no way out. Many of the people I work with, who have problems with their families, know that they would never allow a stranger to treat them the way their family treats them. Yet they feel afraid if they think about speaking up for themselves, and guilty if they think about disengaging from an emotionally abusive family relationship.

Sometimes the most loving act, both for oneself and for others, is to disengage from an abusive relationship. It is not loving to ourselves to allow ourselves to be treated disrespectfully, and it is not loving to others to allow them to treat us disrespectfully. Angie’s whole family is much better off today than before she disengaged, even though they were furious at her for it. Angie was actually being very loving to them by expecting them to treat her with caring and respect.

Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and co-author of eight books, including “Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?” She is the co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding healing process. Visit her web site for a FREE Inner Bonding course: www.innerbonding.com or email her at margaret@innerbonding.com.

Whether your child is still in preschool, or if they are in their high school years, you can find a summer camp which will fit their needs and provide them with a summer filled with good memories. If you went to summer camp as a child, you may or may not have fond memories of your time there. But you will find that today, there are many more camp choices for your children-not only with the activities that the summer camp offers, but also the length and age of the participants.

The first thing that you should really think about when choosing a camp for your child is the age and maturity level of your child. Most children that are younger than 9 years old are not old enough for a sleep-away camp yet. They may be able to handle one or two nights away, but longer than that could be difficult. After age nine, the summer camp length can gradually increase to anywhere from a week to a few weeks. In order to prepare your child for their first experience sleeping away from home at summer camp, you may want to have them spend a night or two with a close friend or relative.

The next thing that you will need to decide is what type of camp. You may be in an area which offers a summer camp program through the city and school district which offer a wide selection of activities. You may also be able to find music, drama, sports, or computer camps that are only day camps. A sleep away camp may have a focus on anything from horsemanship, to surfboarding, to weight loss. You can find a lot of information about different camps by looking on the internet.

Before your child attends any camp you will need to do some very intensive questioning and research. You should find out what a daily schedule looks like, how free time is spent, what the menu is, and what the ratio of staff to campers is. You will also need to find out what kind of medical training and facilities the camp offers and what the emergency notification procedures are. Ask how you will be able to contact your child. You may even want to find someone who has had a child at that particular camp and ask them questions. Give your child a lifetime of memories from camp.

Eriani Doyel writes articles about kids and teens. To learn more about choosing a summer camp visit yscamp.com