7 Tips for Creating a Safe Sleep Space

Babies spend the majority of their first months of life in their sleep space. Considering that babies are typically sleeping while in their cribs or bassinets – and for the longest stretches of time it’s when mom and dad are also sleeping – it’s safe to say that the time that they do spend in their sleep space is largely unsupervised. For that reason alone, parents must take proactive steps to assure their baby’s safety while sleeping.

When creating your baby’s sleep space, keep these 7 tips in mind:

1. Avoid bed-sharing. While there’s an upswing in the support of co-sleeping and bed sharing from many parents, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) still insists that room-sharing, rather than bed-sharing, is safest for babies. According to First Candle, bed-sharing increases a baby’s risk of death by 40 percent. Keeping your baby in a separate, but close, sleep space is the safest place for your baby to sleep. Placing a co-sleeper or bassinet beside your bed allows you to closely monitor your baby throughout the night.
2. Use a firm sleep surface. While it can be tempting to put a fussy baby in a car seat or bouncy seat to sleep, for regular, routine sleep the safest place for your baby is on a firm surface. Cribs, bassinets, and play yards certified by the Juvenile Product Manufacturer’s Association (JPMA) are held to safety standards above and beyond the standard requirements set forth by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Be sure that the mattress has a firm fit and that the sheet fits snugly on the mattress.
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Featured Reading Tip!

Check out my reading tip featured in Ruckus Reader newsletter! http://www.ruckusreader.com/reading_tips/index

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Writers On The Move: Young Adult Author Visits

Writers On The Move: Young Adult Author Visits: To foster instant creativity with the young adult age group you must give them activities that assure success without the pressure of judgme...

FREE EARTH DAY CARDS for kids and adults!

With Earth Day Approaching on April 22nd it's time to focus on educating our children about conservation. Trouble on Earth Day would be a great resource for this purpose and a super addition to any school or home library.

Learning how each of us can take steps to protect our environment is important for children and adults alike. It will take all our efforts to help improve the environment for a healthier tomorrow. Trouble on Earth Day is a great start for children.

Earth Day Card for Kids

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Earth Day Card for Adults

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Celebrate Earth Day with Pictures First day of book tour for Trouble on Earth Day

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Please Visit the Second Day of my book Tour for Trouble on Earth Day http://barbarabockman.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/review-of-kathy-stemkes-pb-trouble-on-earth-day/

Visit third day of Trouble on Earth Day Book Tour

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Fourth day of Trouble on Earth Day Tour- Fun Squirrel Facts http://hookkidsonreading.blogspot.com/2012/03/it-is-my-great-pleasure-to-welcome.html

Fifth Day of Trouble on Earth Day Tour- Book Review

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Sixth Day of Trouble on Earth Day Book Tour-book Review http://familiesmatter2us.blogspot.com/2012/03/book-review-trouble-on-earth-day.html

Seventh Day of Trouble on Earth Day Book Tour

FREE EARTH DAY CARD FOR KIDS

FREE EARTH DAY CARD FOR ADULTS

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Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965# http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemke Follow me on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profileKathy Stemke's websites: Helium Education Articles: http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html Education Articles: http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemke Follow me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profile Follow me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/kathy-stemke/13/269/285

PUTTING WORDS DOWN ON PAPER: Celebrate Earth Day With Pictures

PUTTING WORDS DOWN ON PAPER: Celebrate Earth Day With Pictures

GUARDIAN ANGEL KIDS

GUARDIAN ANGEL KIDS

Moving Through all Seven Days link:http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/moving-through-all-seven-days/7386965#http://www.helium.com/users/406242.htmlhttp://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.htmlFollow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemkeFollow me on Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profileFollow me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/kathy-stemke/13/269/285

20 Innovative Ways Schools Are Combating Bullying

February 1st, 2012 by Staff Writers at Online College Courses.

Bullying always has been a terrible problem plaguing schools in America and beyond, but it took a tragic epidemic of high-profile victim suicides for anyone to actually care about curbing the issue. Now that people are finally beginning to realize that treating one another like garbage over petty details might not be the best thing for students, parents and school districts alike are formulating various strategies to put an end to the madness. Some are actually incredibly innovative, although some of the more traditional methods boast their own benefits as well.

1. Incorporating babies into the classroom

   Infants, come to find out, can be useful for reasons other than producing poo and barf seemingly on command. Toronto-based Roots of Empathy and similar organizations have started introducing babies into classroom settings with the hopes of encouraging students to build compassion. And so far, it's actually yielded results — participants tend to loosen up and pay closer attention to lessons and each other, lessening bullying instances in the process.

2. Comic books

   The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Stop Bullying initiative printed up comic books to distribute to kids with the hopes of shedding light on a serious issue. Other schools have run with the concept by asking students to write and draw scenes or stories of their own. Visualizing the realities makes it easier for younger kids to recognize the problem and either intervene or fetch a caring adult.

3. Film

   Similar to the comic book example, some schools have opted to show movies such as The Bullying Project and foster discussions between students, faculty, staff, and parents about the roots and solutions. More resourceful institutions might want to challenge kids — especially teens — to shoot short films of their own. Doing so will not only help bring forward real experiences and perceptions, but offer a sort of creative solace to bullying victims as well.

4. Have students teach one another

   If babies are unavailable, try establishing (monitored!) programs where students sit down with one another and simply talk. Areas with very diverse demographics could especially benefit from such exchanges, because cultural misunderstandings and stereotypes do often feed into bullying situations. In addition, this structure can also be adapted into a peer counseling service, nurturing a sense of connection and community dissuading brutality.

5. Bulletin boards

   Younger children with a preference for bright colors and engaging visuals might benefit greatly from learning about the bullying problem via bulletin boards. Kits are available through various vendors, or teachers can put their design skills to good use with something more original. Involving the students themselves in the creation process will only add to the education factor, encouraging them to speak up while speaking out.

6. Apps

   iPhone users suffering beneath a bully's grip now have the free A Thin Line app at their disposal — and those who do not own the smartphone enjoy the same perks on the accompanying website. MTV sponsors this digital discussion by allowing kids and teens to share their own experiences with unwanted advances and harassment. For the adults, they post numerous resources and questions to help them combat the serious issue at the authority level.

7. Puppet shows

   Pacer's KIDS AGAINST BULLYING program hosts puppet shows in schools as a means of teaching the younger set why bullying is unacceptable. Schools without the funding or resources to bring the initiative to their students can stage their very own performances using what's on hand — or task students with writing their own. Beyond puppetry, the same concept also works when presented as a skit or short play.

8. Peer intervention

   Training students to serve as peer counselors and advocates bridges gaps with the faculty and promotes greater understanding in the classroom. Pacer and other anti-bullying organizations burst with excellent suggestions about the best ways to nurture leadership and empathy skills needed to reach out the bullies and the bullied alike. After all, as the next innovation reveals, sometimes the perpetrators need intervention for more than just their behavior problems.

9. Therapy

   Many — not all — bullies lash out at their peers because of issues at home or within themselves, and the most effective schools realize they need as much (if not more) counseling than their victims. In Charleston, a partnership between Alice Birney Middle School and Medical University of South Carolina has started providing various psychological services for ill-behaved kids. When combined with a rigorous education regimen, their bullying rate decreased as more and more students received the mental help needed to be a more productive citizen.

10. Coordinating with sexual assault awareness, prevention, and crisis organizations

    Another fruitful partnership that quelled the bullying issue understandably involves anti-violence shelters and schools themselves. In Austin, SafePlace, which serves as a shelter for victims of rape, sexual assault, and domestic abuse, and a half-dozen public elementary schools teamed up for a CDC- and University of Texas-sponsored program dubbed Expect Respect. Unlike many other initiatives, it focuses on bullying in its myriad forms, comparing and contrasting instances on and off campus.

Kathy Stemke's websites: Helium Education Articles: http://www.helium.com/users/406242.html Education Articles: http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/237923/Kathy_stemke_dancekam.html Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/kathystemke Follow me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=6147172660&topic=4910#!/kathymarescomatthews.stemke?ref=profile Follow me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/pub/kathy-stemke/13/269/285