Keeping your family healthy isn't just about germs.  Here are some helpful tips on keeping your family as healthy as possible.

Tips for a Healthy Holiday Season

The cold and flu season is now upon us, but you can decrease your chances of catching a bug this year by following these helpful tips:

Be aware of what you touch. Cold and flu viruses can survive on inanimate objects for days. Daily activities like grabbing a door handle, borrowing a pen, shaking someone’s hand, and using the keypad at the checkout lane or ATM can expose you to an enormous amount of germs that are just waiting for a host. Think about where your hands have been and don’t touch your face, eyes, nose or mouth until you’ve washed or sanitized.

Wash your hands often and thoroughly with soap and warm water. You should wash up when you come home from work, school, shopping, etc., and always wash you’re your hands before you eat.

Use hand sanitizer. For those times when you can’t wash with soap and water, using hand sanitizer is a great alternative. Carry a small bottle in your purse and keep a handy pump dispenser in your car and use it as soon as you’ve gotten into the vehicle before you touch anything.

Cough or sneeze into the crux of your elbow, and teach your children to do the same. Children are less likely to wash their hands after coughing or sneezing, this way they are less likely to pass their germs to their friends at school or daycare.

Kick off your shoes and change your clothes when you get home. Removing your shoes at the door keeps the dirt and germs you’ve picked up thru your day from being spread throughout your home. And a quick change of clothing keeps the germs you may have on your clothes from spreading to your family.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Studies have shown if you exercise regularly, eat right, and get enough sleep, you’re less likely to become sick. If you’re in good health, you’re less likely to catch a cold or flu.

Following these simple tips can help you keep your family healthy this holiday season.

Penny Rushing is a WAHM of 3 and a self-proclaimed germaphobe. Find information about keeping preemies and newborns healthy at www.healthylittleones.com.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

The Dangers of Chemical Lice Treatments

If you have children, you'll have to deal with it at some point in time. That's right, the dreaded lice. It's not something people are really willing to talk about. The stigma attached to it is absolutely drenched in ignorance -- to this day people still believe that those who get lice are dirty, but the fact is that lice prefer and thrive in those with clean hair and scalps. The choices you make as a parent to rid your child of lice can have a great impact on your child’s health in the future.

There are loads of over-the-counter, and prescription lice treatments available, but don’t be fooled! Just because it’s available OTC or prescribed by your child’s doctor doesn’t mean that it’s SAFE! These treatments contain dangerous chemical pesticides that can wreak havoc on your child’s immune system, cause seizures, vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, circulatory collapse, behavioral changes, neuromuscular damage, chronic skin eruptions, liver damage, asthma, respiratory failure, stillbirths, birth defects, cancer and even death! These poisons have been used for so many years that they are now ineffective -- lice are becoming resistant to them, and sometimes are even being called “super lice”.

The fact is, the use of those products is absolutely, 100%, completely unnecessary! Don’t just take my word for it; research online, talk to your friends, ask your doctor…as the saying goes, knowledge is power. This topic is not something that people like to openly discuss, and because of this, many people make the mistake of not asking any questions at all and quietly reach for a boxed chemical treatment that can cause catastrophic health consequences in their child – all for the sake of saving face.

Don’t despair! There is an all natural, chemical-free way to treat lice with olive oil -- and it WORKS! Olive oil smothers the lice so they can’t breathe. And if they can’t breathe, they die – it doesn’t get any simpler than that! The olive oil also makes the hair shaft too slippery for those little buggers to hold on to so they’re easy to remove with a lice comb. You can search online for detailed information about using olive oil to remove lice. Please be aware that some websites say to use a chemical treatment and THEN use olive oil. Let’s think about that for a moment, shall we? Use the chemical poisons that can harm your child’s health, and when THAT doesn’t work, THEN try a natural treatment that won’t harm your child’s health? Hmmm…you wouldn’t have to follow it up with olive oil if the chemical treatment actually worked, right? Plus, why would you use a poisonous chemical on your child if there was an all natural alternative?

Now you know -- you DO have a choice! If you are ever faced with the daunting task of lice removal, give the olive oil treatment a try. It’s all natural and it works! Help spread the word about the dangers of unnecessary chemical lice treatments and pass this article along.

Penny Rushing is a WAHM of 3, and self-proclaimed germaphobe; informing parents, sharing experiences. For information about keeping preemies & newborns healthy go to www.healthylittleones.com.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

What’s The Best Age To Adopt A Dog Into A Family With A New Baby

(Article by John Bolt)

Whether or not to bring a dog into your home can be a difficult decision made even more difficult by having trouble finding information about the best age to adopt a dog into a home with a baby. It can be very confusing to try to decipher the information available on the subject of the proper age of dog to bring into your home if you have a baby. Many breed sites offer formulas for choosing the age of a dog to adopt if you have a baby in your home; for instance the age of the baby and the dog should total 5 according to one site and 7 on another. How on earth do you know what age dog to get if the breed experts can’t even agree? The real truth is that there is no set age that is best. Dogs vary by personality and breed characteristics making it virtually impossible to say that a certain age dog is always just right.

If you have a baby in your home and intend to adopt a dog, experts agree in general that puppies are not a good adoption selection. Puppies are cute, but way too rowdy with too little training to be considered appropriate for a home with a baby. Besides, parents with a baby already have their hands full with taking care of the needs of a growing infant. Having a puppy plus an infant that require copious amounts of time, attention and work would be like having twins in the home and create an enormous burden for the parents. A puppy may not become adequately socialized and trained only to develop behavioral issues later if inadequate time and attention is spent with them.

It may a bit harder to adopt a dog if you have a baby in the home; some shelters refuse to allow adoptions to families who have children under the age of 8 in the home. Not only are these policies in place to protect small children but they are designed to lower the percentage of dogs that are returned by families who find they have made a poor choice. However, it’s well worth your effort to rescue a dog from a shelter and provide it a forever home. The economy has created a situation where many great dogs are being surrendered by owners that find they can no longer care for them. Wonderful dogs are waiting for families in all parts of the country. The over full situation of many shelters has led them to bend their rules and adopt dogs out to homes with babies as long as the home will be loving, responsible and forever.

If possible, ask a friend or relative to bring their small child or children with you to the shelter. Nothing beats seeing first hand how the each dog reacts to small kids.

There are some things to consider before adopting a dog. If your new dog will be spending time outdoors there are many wooden dog houses that will add to the décor of your yard while providing warmth and comfort for your dog. Buy the best dog insurance you can afford so that in the event your dog becomes ill or sustains an injury the family finances are not drained for treatment. No one wants to be in the position of not affording treatment to save their dogs life; insurance gives you peace of mind knowing your dog will be cared for in any event. Mans best friend dog training is recommended so that you can rest assured your dog will behave calmly and respond to your commands at all times.

It is not a dog’s age that determines how appropriate it may be in a home with a baby. It is the calmness, patience, socialization and training of a dog that determines how appropriate it will be as a selection for adoption into a home with a baby.

Author

John Bolt lives in Ontario Canada with his wife, new baby and Goldendoodle Daly. His website Goldendoodletime.com has great information on breed characteristics, to the best dog insurance, to helpful tips and advice. When he’s not working John’s off time is spent with his family or on the golf course.