Child safety in your home

If you have young children living in your home or visiting your home, you need to know what to do to make it safe for them. Children are curious by nature, they will explore and plunder at any given opportunity. You want to ensure that there are no hidden dangers in your home.

Let's look at some of the major causes of injury to children and what parents can to do to protect their children from harm.

Falls

There are many instances in the home where a child or baby can be hurt in a fall. Children have been injured by falling off of beds or furniture, slipping on floors, falling down stairs and out of windows, and many falls occur in the bathroom.

How can you prevent falls?

1. Never leave babies or small children alone on beds, changing tables or furniture.

2. Make sure the cover is fastened securely on the high chair and always use the safety belt.

3. Many falls occur on slippery floors or rugs. If you have throw rugs in your home, make sure to secure them with a rubber mat which can be found in many department stores or home decor stores.

4. Children like to play on stairs, as a result, many home injuries occur on stairs each year. Never leave kids unattended near a stairway.

5. Always use safety gates to block off access to stairs if you have babies or toddlers in the home.

6. Keep all items picked up from the stairs. Toys and other items left on stairs cause many trip and fall accidents.

7. Never leave children unattended near open windows. Screens will not prevent a child from falling out. Keep windows closed and locked if they are within the reach of children.8. Never leave a child of any age unattended in the bathroom. Simply trying to stand up in the bathtub could cause serious injuries. Use a slip proof bath mat to prevent slips.

Fires and burns

1. Most fires and burns occur in the kitchen. To decrease your child's chances of a burn, never allow them to play in or near the kitchen.

2. Candles have become increasing popular as home decorating items. If you have candles in your home, keep the candles and matches out of children's reach.

3. When cooking, turn the handles of your pots toward the back of the stove, so that they do not hang over the front edge where small hands can reach up and grab them.

4. Be cautious when opening the oven door that a small child is not standing nearby.

5. Install plate covers on all electrical outlets to prevent burns or electrocution.

6. Keep hot food or beverages away from the edges of the counter tops so that small children cannot reach up to pull them off.

7. Make sure that your home is properly equipped with smoke alarms.

Drowning

The majority of home drownings occur in the bathtub and in pools.

1. Never leave children unattended in the bathtub or the bathroom. Small children have even drowned in toilets.

2. If you have a pool, lake, river or body of water near your home, take extra precautions to ensure that children cannot get outside without your permission.

3. Install safety gates around pools.

Suffocation and Choking

1. Small children often put things that they find on the floor into their mouths. Keep all small items off the floor and out of a child's reach.

2. Small, hard candy is also responsible for many choking incidences. Try to refrain from giving hard candy to small children. If you do give it to them, try breaking it into bite size pieces to lessen the chance of it getting lodged in their throats.

3. Cords can easily strangle small children. Keep phone cords and cords from window blinds out of a child's reach.

Firearms

The statistics of children being killed or injured by firearms is very frightening. If you choose to keep firearms, especially hand guns in a home where children live, make sure that they are educated about its dangers.

1. Never keep a loaded gun where a child of any age, including teens, can get their hands on it.

2. Keep all guns and ammunition in separate locked cabinets. Don't store them together.

3. Have safety locks installed on any guns in your possession.

4. Almost half of all firearm injuries happen in a friend's home. Make sure your child is aware of the dangers of guns and knows to tell an adult if they see a gun or if any of their friends show them a gun.

Poisoning

Children are naturally curious and automatically put things they find into their mouths. They may easily mistake pills or insecticide tablets for candy or a poisonous liquid for juice.

To help prevent accidental poisoning:

1. Never refer to medications as "candy", children may think other medications are candy and try to sneak some when an adult is not looking

2. Ask your pharmacist to put child-resistant caps on all of your prescriptions.

3. If you carry any medications in your purse, even aspirin, never leave your purse where a small child can get into.

4. When discard old medicine bottles, dispose of any pills or liquid left in the bottle by flushing them down the toilet or down the sink.

5. Store medicine and other poisonous substances in your top cabinets where children cannot reach them. If your children are old enough to climb onto the counters, install safety latches.

Always use extra precautions when child-proofing your home. Get down on the child's level to see what looks interesting or what they may be able to reach. Children have a way of getting into things that you might think they couldn't get into. You can never do too much child proofing: in all instances, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Source : http://www.essortment.com

Home Buying Checklist

Home Buying Checklist

* Learn your homebuyer's rights!

There are many laws that protect you from scams, unnecessary expenses, and discrimination in the process of home buying.

* Figure out how much mortgage you can afford.

Most financial institutions will lend you from 25% up to 75% of the value of the home you want to purchase. A lender may want your monthly mortgage payment to total no more than 33% of your monthly gross income (that's your monthly income before taxes and other paycheck deductions are taken out.)

* Decide what you can afford to spend.

No matter how much a lender can borrow, having borrowed too much you may have to cut back on other expenses such as holidays or entertainment. Consider how your day-to-day cash flow will be affected.

* Make your wish list.

Consider what features you like in your present home, what you don't like, and what you would find useful or more comfortable. Determine your housing needs and wants to determine what types of houses you should be considering. Consider the general location considering all your possibilities.

* Learn how to set a value on a house.

This can save you a great deal of time and helps to avoid disappointment.

* Start searching for a broker.

Find an Agent that you trust. Talk to several and find someone you think you'll be comfortable working closely with. Many of your friends and relatives have probably bought and sold their homes through brokers. Ask them who they used and what their experiences were.

* Begin house-hunting.

Start with the Internet. Pick up real estate flyers at local grocery stores and convenience stores. Read the real estate sections of your local newspaper. Drive around neighborhoods that interest you and write down addresses where there are "for sale" signs. Go to open houses. Visit the neighborhood. Don't just drive around. Get out of your car and walk. Talk to the people working in their yards or washing their car.

* Hire a home inspector.

Be sure to choose a home inspector who is licensed. A home inspection will generally cost between $200 and $400. You will have to pay for this inspection yourself, but it could keep you from buying a house that will cost you far more in repairs. If you aren't, ask the seller to pay for certain repairs or asking for a lower price.

* Write an offer and negotiate your best deal.

If you are satisfied with the results of the inspection, then you can write an offer. Familiarize yourself also with how offers become contracts.

* Arrange for closing agent or attorney.

Do a final walk through of the house. Make all final preparations for closing.

* Make moving plans.

If you plan to use a moving company, make comparisons and reserve time now.

Costs of home ownership

* Sales tax
* Legal Fees
* Moving Costs
* Repairs and renovations
* Home inspection fees
* Sales tax
* Mortgage payments
* Property taxes
* Utilities: gas, hydro, water, cable television, telephone
* Insurance
* Gardening and grounds expenses
* Snow removal
* Condominium fees and expenses

Home

* Age of Home, Square footage, Type of Construction
* Practicality of floorplan
* Ability to Expand/Enlarge House
* Interior walls condition
* Age of Heating System
* Age of Water Heater
* Age of Electrical Wiring
* Estimated Water Bill
* Estimated Heating Bill
* Oil Heat
* Gas Heat
* Electric Heat
* Hot Water Heat
* Capacity of Water Heater
* Estimated Electric Bill
* Number of Stories
* Number of Bathrooms
* Number of Closets
* Number of Bedrooms
* Roof Condition
* Foundation Condition
* Central Air Conditioning
* Energy-Conservation Features
* Plumbing condition
* Kitchen Eating Area
* Garbage Disposal
* Sump Pump/Drainage
* Cable TV
* Overall Exterior Condition
* Garage Size
* Backyard Fence
* Landscaping

Neighborhood

* Environment
* Garbage Collection
* Near Churches
* Near Doctors/Dentists
* Near Industry
* Near Public Transportation
* Near Schools
* Near Shopping
* Near Work
* Noise Level
* Parking
* Parks
* Pet restrictions
* Police
* Restaurants/entertainment
* Safety/Security
* Shopping
* Sidewalks
* Snow removal
* Streets
* Street Lights
* Supermarket
* The Neighborhood
* Traffic Volume

Source :http://www.todolistsoft.com

Baking Tips - Extraordinary Tips For Beginners!

Source :www.mexicandessertrecipes.net

Are you a beginner at baking? Getting cold feet about never having tried your hand at the culinary arts? Fear not, cooking is not as complicated as it sounds. It is only complicated when you have no idea about what you're doing. If you happen to be one of those people that needs help with cooking, here are some special cooking tips for you and voila! Before you know it, you'll be busy in the kitchen, rustling up a storm!

Tips for beginners
Here are a few cooking tips that'll help you prevent any kind of disaster in the kitchen.

Disaster Management

1. Always read the recipe thoroughly before embarking on the Herculean task of baking. This is of vital importance because it ensures that you have all the ingredients of your recipes up your sleeves before embarking on the task of actually cooking.

2. Check Expiry Dates. You don't want your cooking to be spoilt because of sheer carelessness.

3. Preheat the Oven with an oven thermometer. This should range from twenty-five degrees cooler to twenty five degrees warmer.

4. Make sure that the optimum temperature is obtained for the recipe.

5. Follow directions on adjusting oven racks and prepping baking sheets.

6. Measure ingredients accurately. In case of liquids, hold them up to the eye level.

7. Use the right Baking Pan. All your efforts will come to nought if you are using a bad baking pan.

8. To measure dry ingredients, over fill the container or baking pan that you are using and then level off with the flat edge of a knife.

9. Measure ingredients accurately. In case of liquids, hold them up to the eye level.

10. And last, but most certainly not the least, bake with love. If you pour your heart and soul into the baking, you're sure to come up with a winner.

Ingredients for Baking


1. When baking different things, different kinds of flour are used. For instance, wheat flour is important for all yeast bread but if you use wheat flour in yeast bread, it'll turn into a heavy cake and you sure don't want that.

2. Cake flour is also a good deal if you're baking a cake while the "all-purpose-flour", true to its name, can be used for almost anything and everything. It is a boon in disguise for all you Bakers out there!

3. Bleached and unbleached flours can be used interchangeably. You can put your brains aside for once because this time, you don't have to use your discretion and pick and choose what you have to use.

4. Always store flour in an airtight container, and keep it in a spot that is cool and dry for up to six months.

5. If you think baking powder and baking soda are interchangeable, get rid of this misconception immediately. They are not. Baking powder is a combination of baking soda and an acid. Its leavening power works only when it is mixed with wet ingredients and put into the oven.

6. In contrast, Baking Soda is nothing but Sodium Bicarbonate. When mixed with an acid like buttermilk, it produces carbon dioxide bubbles, making the baked goods light, airy and delicious.

Now handling chocolate is a different ball game altogether so an entire section has been dedicated on how to handle chocolate. Chocolate, as we all know is wonderful and melts in the mouth. But let us not forget that when we are baking something with chocolate in it, it can turn out to be an utter disaster if we are not aware of what we are doing.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

10 Tips For Beginners Cooking

1. Turn off the television at cooking time and mealtime. TV is a big distraction when you want family conversation and interaction.

2. Share responsibility for all aspects of the meal with your children. Start by deciding together what you'll be having.

3. Shop for ingredients with your children. Give them an opportunity to pick the vegetables, meats and starches for themselves.

4. Establish a budget and make them stick to it. Have kids compare prices of fresh and prepared foods.



5. Start with recipes you know they love. They are more likely to be interested.

6. For apathetic eaters, start by having them make dessert. While they are working on that, engage their help with the main meal.

7. Make the dinner table sacred by keeping it permanently set with a tablecloth and cloth napkins (all washable). Be sure not to let the table get piled with mail and things that need to get put away.

8. Give dinner a ceremonial aspect. Wait until all family members are seated and served before permitting anyone to eat.

9. Make it clear to your children that they can have your attention, but only if they are in the kitchen. Don't let them call to you from all parts of the house.

10. Keep dinnertime discussion (during cooking and eating) to topics that will be of interest to your children. This is not the time to get down on them about homework or problems in school



Source: http://parenting.ivillage.com