The top 5 baby proofing products

Keeping your baby's safe is the most important thing for any mother. Most babies loves to crawl and get into everything, and keeping them away from all harmful products is very simple. Nowadays they have many product to help baby proof your house. One of the most popular brand is Safety 1st. Safety 1st provides all the essential to baby proofing your home. I have come up with a top 5 list of the most important products that a parent may need. Safety 1st is an expensive, I recommend purchase from reputable companies and whatever is the cheapest.

1.Baby Gates

Baby gates help keep your child from climbing up the stairs and falling they may also help blocking the kitchen when cooking or anywhere else you may deem dangerous for your child

2.Outlet Covers

Outlet covers are essentially a protective casing on plugs all over the house. They prevent children form getting electric shocks or having them stick something in the plugs that may cause them to get hurt

3.Door handle covers

These covers help you keep your child from being able to open doors to rooms that you may not want them to get into. The front door is another place you may want to use this cover on. This prevents the child from being able to go outside and depending on where you live, prevent them from getting to the main road and possibly cause them to get severely injured

4.Cupboard and Drawer locks

Kids like to open up cupboards and explore. Some of our cupboards or drawers have chemicals and or sharp objects that can hurt the child. Having those locks help prevent your child to ingest anything that can cause bodily harm or hurt them.

5. Toilet seat locks

The bathroom contains the most bacteria and kids love to put their hands in the toilet its the easiest thing to reach and in their perspective the most intriguing. By having a lock on the toilet it prevents them from getting their hand in there and kids are notorious for throwing various objects in the toilet which could cause a major plumbing problem.

Toys, Toys, Toys!

Keeping your child entertain is a challenge in itself. Finding educational toys that encourages learning and stimulates growth is what any parent wants for their child. With recalls occurring more frequently, how do parents know what their purchasing is safe? Even though the toys being imported into USA and Canada are heavily regulated, it is still the job of the parent to inspect the toys that they purchase. Reputable toy companies such as Toys R’ Us have weekly flyers that let you know when popular toys go on sale; but usually it would require a subscription.

Here are a few general guidelines:

• Toys with fabric and/ or stuffed should be labelled flame resistant and machine washable
• Try to avoid painted toys, but if purchased make sure the label states painted with lead free paint
• Is the toy suitable for the age of your child
• Toys should be bigger than the child’s mouth, especially if the child is under the age of 3
• The weight of the toy
• Is the toy well put together
• Are there sharp corners or edges
• Does the toy come with any ropes, plastic restraints, or cords
• The condition of the toys
• Children like colourful and noise making toys
• Try to avoid hand-me-down toys ( they may be filled with dust and other micro-organisms, or may not be up to today’s code)
Make sure to purchase toys from companies that you recognise and trust. If you still have doubts you can check out the Canadian Toy Testing Council. They test hundreds of toys and produce annual reports for the best and safe toys. All results are posted on their website.
Below are some websites to check out, make sure to do your research!
http://toy-testing.org/

http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2011/11/what-do-you-look-for-when-buying-toys.html
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/prod/toys-jouets-eng.php


Happy Buying 

Registered Education Savings Plan

Children are our future, providing them with the necessary education is very important for their personal success. Education plays a huge roll in an individual’s success in life financially but it also costs a fortune for those paying for the education. In the past 10 years, tuition have skyrocketed in price and with every year the costs for college and universities seem to get higher and higher. We are fortunate to have many resources to help provide the best possible education for our children without having to pay an arm and a leg. One of these resources is RESP (Registered Education Savings Plan). RESP is an education savings plan for your child to help pay for college and university tuition, the government will contribute 20% of what your monthly contribution is. A monthly installment up until the qualified age, (usually when the child turns 18) for post-secondary education provides parents with the flexibility needed for their children's education and ensuring financial support for tuition. Most RESP, financial investment companies and financial institutions provide a certain percentages of interest on the principal paid throughout the year which is what helps pay for the tuition and the principal is returned to the parents. Principal is the accumulated money given to the RESP over the years. Each company charges a managing fee, which comes out of the payments made, until the fees are covered. This means the monthly installments aren’t going towards the principal and gaining interest until all managing fees are paid, each year. Also, when selecting an RESP company, you can’t base your selection on their past history as the return on investment will not be the same. In Canada, the government is giving money away for parents that qualify for extra grant money. For eligible parents, you get an additional 20% on top of what the government is contributing to ensure you have enough money saved for your child’s future.

In my case, I decided to go with a financial investment company, Edward Jones. Another education fund company, Heritage approached me making me believe I wasn’t getting all the eligible government grants. So I switched companies, to only realise after I was locked in that I didn’t have any flexibility with Serena’s education fund; it is locked in for the next 18 years and that I was getting all eligible grants with the other company. Make sure to do your research, and don’t just get one opinion, get many. Choose the company that you feel comfortable with, and don’t let them intimidate you. It is your child, and their education savings is a priority.
If your family and friends wants to get your child a present, advise them money would be best and tell them why. You can have more than one RESP for your child. You can always get your child toys, and clothing, but their educational future can be costly as tuition fees keep rising.

Check out my fellow blogger, if you have an interest in where the tuition is today http://risingtuitionfees.blogspot.ca

Daycare Facilities and Nannies

The health and safety of your child is very important when looking for a daycare facility or nanny. As new parents, it is hard to entrust your child with anyone. Especially when you hear things like: child is abused or neglected on the news. It is important for your child to interact with other children their age to help stimulate growth and development. Most parents do not know where to start with regards to getting started in selecting a daycare.
Best way to get started is to consider all options, even if it’s not in your price range. This allows you 6to see the bigger picture before eliminating possible choices. In my case, I am still a college student and my daughter’s paternal grandfather is retired, so I don’t have to worry about daycare costs, right now. But I still had to go through the process, the fear. This option is not feasible to all new parents or single parents.

In the province of Ontario, eligible parents are eligible for daycare subsidy. This option varies in the region you reside in and perhaps the city or region you are looking for daycare services. To be eligible you require you recent tax year summary. This will allow the government to see if you qualify for this program. You would need to do your research with regards to the facility, and the cost. Each region has a comprised list of subsidized daycare facilities and home based day cares that have been approved by the ministry and offers subsidy. When I was pregnant, I was attending a school outside of the region I lived, it was recommended that I apply while I was still pregnant as a lot of students enroll their children at the daycare facilities at the college, unfortunately because the school is outside the limits of where I reside, I would not be eligible for subsidy. If this is the case for you, do your research to see if you may be eligible for other subsidies in other cities if you will be working or studying full-time in that city. Also keep in mind that because this is a government program that the wait times might be long, so apply early.
Who can apply:
• Child is under the age of 12
• Is in a licensed child care program
• Is a school aged child enrolled in a recreation program
• Is in a before and or after school program in a school that offers full day kindergarten.

Make sure to check out the facility. Things to look in a day care facility are:
• Cleanliness
• Happy, learning environment
• Each teacher is a certified in ECE
• Teacher to toddler/infant ratio ( usually 1:3)
• Parents being involved in their child’s progress
• Snacks are provided ( depending on the facility)
• Your overall feel of the facility and Teachers running the program

If subsidized daycare is not an option you feel comfortable with and you don’t have family that can help out, another option, if you can afford it is a nanny. This option allows parents to personally screen and hire the candidates; discuss rates; and the conditions (whether they will be live in or come over the days needed). This option is great if you want dedicated service for your child, not stating you wouldn’t receive that in a daycare facility but it would be more personalized towards your child. The only downsized it is considered a luxury and you would not be eligible for any subsidies.
The most important thing is your comfort level with whatever choice you make. You need to be comfortable with the environment that your child will be in; the care that will be given to your child; and the people or person watching your child. Your child is the most important person in your life, their unique and there will never be another one like him or her. Make sure you do your research as it will benefit both you and your child in the long run.

If you would like more information with regards to the province of Ontario child care subsidy please look at link:
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/paying.html#subsidy

This information is very generalized and I would advised to look at your city's page for their subsidy information