All cards on the table . . . I am an avid and completely paranoid life jacket enthusiast. I’m just saying, why not wear a life-saving jacket?
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All posts in safe neighbor
life jacket guide
boat smarts
As a Utah resident, our family spends half the year tucked away under a blanket of snow longing for warmer days.
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have bike, will travel
Okay, you’ve got your bike all tuned up for the summer. You’ve learned some bicycle safety basics like traffic signals. Now what? Are you ready to head out on the open road?
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what supplies do you need for a hurricane
Hurricane season is upon us, are you ready? My husband and I both grew up in Florida so we are no strangers to hurricanes.
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hurricane preparedness for the neighborhood
Between having a grandfather that worked at the National Hurricane Center and growing up in Miami, I was raised both learning about hurricanes and experiencing them first hand.
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10 ways to keep your house safe
A few weeks ago, an intruder made his way into our house in a safe neighborhood tucked away in a cul-de-sac. We were sleeping upstairs and when we woke up, we were devastated and felt violated. If we could rewind time, there are absolutely things we would do differently. We got an alarm that day, but there are a lot of (mostly free!) things that anyone can do (or not do) today. Right now. Here’s ten:
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bike safety rules
Saddle up and get ready to ride off into the sunset because it is officially bicycling season. While we may not all be seasoned winter riders, there is truly so few of us that can resist hopping on a two-wheeled dream machine for a day of adventure in the sun.
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window safety
Every time I hear the words “window safety” I imagine a scene from Just Married where Bags, the bulldog, is tugging on Ashton Kutcher’s pant leg and begging for his ball to be thrown. Kutcher, without paying attention, throws the ball over his shoulder and out the second story window and Bags chases it right out (note: no dogs were harmed in the making of this film).
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talk to your kids about stranger danger
I was helping my toddler son hang his jacket in his school cubby shortly after he began attending daycare when a classmate ran over and threw her arms around my legs.
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kid safety in neighborhood play
We all want our neighborhood to be a safe neighborhood. We want to protect our homes, cars, and most of all our families.
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how to prevent playground injuries
My son was too young last summer to enjoy our city’s public playgrounds, but now that he’s walking, running, and climbing, I anticipate we’ll be spending much of our time outdoors once the weather warms up.
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helmets and other ways to protect the little ones
Kids are busy bodies, if you didn’t know. This became painfully apparent to me when my infant decided to become a toddler over night.
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national child identification
Child identification is no joke. I’m one of those moms who freaks out at just the thought of going to a crowded place with her kid.
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home owners insurance
When hurricane Sandy came through last fall, it rained inside our home. Water poured down through the walls and pooled in the basement.
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safety and a dance party
Nobody told me that when you become a parent for the first time, immediately your entire way of thinking changes. There’s literally an unattached piece of you in the world now and you can’t help but feel like you have to protect, love, and worry about it constantly.
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let the sunshine
Is anyone else dreaming of spring? It’s been a long, gray winter and I sure am craving sunshine. With sunny days on their way and spring breaks approaching, it’s important to enjoy the sun safely.
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sunscreen made safe and simple
Sunscreen is one of those concepts that in 10 years or so we will look back and realize that we got it all wrong the first time around. Like many other personal care products, developments in this field, new features, and levels of protection suggest long-term problems that we may not yet completely understand.
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the flood part 4 – preparation is key
Floods are the number one natural disaster in the U.S. Number one! So now that I have your attention, how do you protect your home from flood damage? Well, a little bit of preparation is in order:
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the flood part 3 – get covered!
As we’ve already discussed, we’re all at risk of flood damage. So plan ahead and make sure you have the right insurance policy to protect your home.
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the flood part 2 – you know it’s coming
One of the best ways to lessen the impact of a flood is to know when it’s coming. Pay attention to the news and weather reports. I know those severe weather warnings are annoying when you’re trying to watch your favorite TV show, but don’t ignore them. You might just be in the flood’s path.
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the flood part 1– cleaning up
A few months ago, we moved into a new house. After the long and painful process of packing and unpacking, we finally emptied the last box and then danced a gig. I finally felt like there was a light at the end of the “moving in” tunnel. And then . . . our basement flooded.
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fire safety – part 2
We discussed potential fire hazards and prevention in the first part of this series. But what if despite everything a fire does break out in your home? How do you keep safe in a house fire? And how can you prepare ahead of time?
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the red cross
March is Red Cross month – a time to remind everyone of the work the Red Cross does locally and across the world. When you think of the Red Cross, do you think of war –torn countries or responses after natural disasters? Or do you think of the Red Cross as your local provider of first aid, house-fire response or water-safety programs?
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poison control
With over 10, 830 calls a day to Poison Control centers nationwide, Poison Control works hard supplying valuable and often life saving information to families and neighborhoods regarding accidental and overexposure to harmful substances.
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the mysteries of smoke alarms revealed
It’s 7:00 am and there I am standing on a dining room chair, 8-months pregnant, broom in hand, cursing the gods of smoke alarms. In retrospect, my smoke alarm woes seem comical, but at that moment my kitchen smoke alarm had been on the fritz for 2 hours. Every 3 minutes and 24 seconds the kitchen alarm would sound off, triggering all other smoke alarms, filling my house with an orchestra of screeching.
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fire safety – part 1
In 2011, in the US one person died every three hours in a fire. On average, eight Canadians die from fire every week. Home fires caused 84% of civilian fire deaths in the U.S. Most of these fires are preventable and are caused by careless behavior.
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nutritious neighbor
Are you hanging on to your New Years resolution by a thread? Me too. I always have great expectations and then once spring starts to show, I am reminded that I may have slipped on a few resolutions. I consider getting in shape a community effort. Snacking healthy should be a community effort too.
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recycling for safety
I started spring cleaning. Not my favorite task. For some reason it never occurred to me what I could do with all the things I was getting out of my closets—like that 72 hour kit I have had on the list forever!
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home icicle removal
I don’t know about you, but my house is covered in icicles this winter. Sure they look cool and even beautiful, but they can be dangerous. Not just to you and your family, but also to your home. Here are some tips on why you should remove those pesky icicles and how to do it.
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maintain your car
I have an older car. It is not the fanciest car, but I am determined to drive it into the ground—in a good way. I commute about 40 miles each way to work every day, and I want to make the drive easy on me and my car. I recently replaced all my tires and got an alignment that was an unexpected expense. Merry Christmas to me! The technician at the shop let me know that I could have avoided the alignment and possibly delayed the new tires by doing a few simple things to extend the life of the tires.