Shallow Water Blackout: The Hidden Danger in Pools

Now that summer is here the weather is getting hotter and many parents are looking to help their kids cool off. That means flocking to swimming pools. Whether it's the pool in your own backyard, the neighbor's pool you use when they're not home, or the public pool, they are the best way to cool down on a hot day.

It goes without saying that you should always watch your child while swimming, especially if they're young. But even older kids need to be watched too, regardless of how well they can swim. This post will explain why.

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When most people think of drowning, they think of someone who either cannot swim or is too exhausted to swim and simply cannot keep his/her head above water. While this does happen, it's not the only cause of drowning.

A popular game kids like to play is seeing who can stay underwater the longest. It's a game I played many times as a kid and I'm sure many of you played it as well. Holding your breath underwater generally isn't very dangerous if you're in a safe environment with good supervision.

The problem is when kids start to hyperventilate so they can hold their breaths longer. The idea that hyperventilation increases your ability to hold your breath is a false (and deadly) one.

What Is Shallow Water Blackout?

I'm not a doctor, so I'll give you the very basics here. When you hyperventilate, you take several deep breaths in rapid order. This depletes the level of carbon dioxide in your blood (carbon dioxide is what you exhale).

Popular to contrary belief, it is not the lack of oxygen that tells your brain you need to breathe, it's a build-up of carbon dioxide in the blood. When the level begins rising, your brain says "Hey! Something is wrong here. We have too much carbon dioxide. We need to breathe!"

So, when you hyperventilate, you expel this carbon dioxide and now it's not building up in your blood like it should. That means your brain thinks everything is good to go, despite being deprived of oxygen. This is dangerous to someone underwater because he/she will have no urge to breathe, thinking they can stay under longer.

After being underwater long enough (the length of time is different for everyone), you finally lose consciousness from loss of oxygen. There are no warning signs. You simply pass out under water. This usually happens in shallow water (like a pool), and can affect even the strongest and most experienced swimmers.

Even Someone In The Pool Might Not Notice You

Unless someone notices you and can rescue you within a few minutes, you'll likely drown. And that's another problem. You need someone to be watching you constantly, who preferably knows first aid, in order to have a chance at survival. People have drowned in pools with people in the water with them simply because the others didn't notice the person was in trouble. Because, again, the victim doesn't exhibit the usual signs of drowning (thrashing in the water, calling for help, etc).

Does this mean you shouldn't let your kids go underwater at all? Of course not! To stay safe underwater, it's important to breathe normally (so the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in your blood can reach an equilibrium), take one deep breath, and then go under. And once you feel the urge to breathe, surface immediately. Do this will ensure your body reacts normally to holding your breath and will help to keep you safe.

The purpose of this post isn't to scare anyone away from pools this summer. It's just something to keep in mind when cooling off in the hot sun. Talk to your kids about this so they're aware of the danger. More importantly though, as a parent, you need to stay vigilant.

5 Ways To Make The Terrible Twos Easier

My son is in the thick of the terrible twos. He can be my sweet little boy one minute, and on the ground throwing the world's greatest tantrum in the middle of the grocery store the next. He can be stubborn. "No" is his new favorite word. Sometimes he'll want something, and when I go to give it to him, he'll insist on wanting something else.

I'm pulling my hair out!

But a lot of the horrors of the terrible twos can be mitigated with a few easy methods I've learned over the last six months.

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1. Keep your toddler busy. Boredom causes toddlers to act out because they want interaction and stimulation. When I let my son run around outside and play on our newly built playground (more about that in a future post), he's usually well behaved. He'll still get himself into trouble, but I can usually regain my sanity while he's outside.

2. Know your toddler's triggers. I know if my son sees a pack of gum laying around, he'll want it. If he doesn't get it, then I get to deal with a temper tantrum. My solution is to keep the gum hidden. The "out of sight, out of mind" rule applies perfectly for the terrible twos.

I know not all triggers will be some object laying around your child wants. Sometimes it's situational. My point remains the same, though. Once you know his/her triggers, you can take steps to minimize them.

3. Quiet time. He stopped napping shortly after the New Year. It was my worst nightmare come true. But now we have something called quiet time where we both sit on the couch with his favorite tv show on. Generally it lasts about an hour, sometimes more, depending on my mood.

These quiet times give him a chance to decompress a little and relax. It also gives me time to relax as well. Many parents I know have a "quiet time" policy with their child who won't nap.

4. Snacks. Believe it or not having access to healthy snacks throughout the day can make a big difference in how he behaves. It's pretty simple: When he's not hungry, he's generally pretty happy.

Remember the times when you get hungry? You start to feel agitated. The blood sugar drop might make you feel a little sick. All this makes it real easy for you to get into a bad mood. Toddlers are no different.

I'm not suggesting you stuff their faces all day. Just make sure they can have some snacks between meals. I give my son everything from baby carrots, to grabes, cut up strawberries and maybe even some candy if he's been extra good. Variety is the key.

5. Sleep. I know you don't have complete control over this. Some toddlers aren't good sleepers. Sometimes you child gets sick or for one reason or another, doesn't get a good night sleep. There are tons of books out there on getting babies/toddlers to sleep more, so I'm not going to dive into that subject here.a

A tired toddler is a cranky toddler. Making sure he/she is getting enough rest is crucial to lessening the effects of the dreaded terrible twos.

The above suggestions are by no means the cure-all for the terrible twos and won't deflect all temper tantrums. But I've found they do help my son stay happy throughout the day. And when he's happy, I'm happy.

3 Ways To Cope With Bad Days As A Parent

We all have those days when we want to pull our hair out and set fire to it just to watch it burn. But we don't because we have kids around. And I'm also pretty sure the child protective services department in your county might have something to say about setting fires around your kids too.

Every parent goes through this. It's like a rite of passage. When your child is acting up and throwing temper tantrums and you can't even sit down without your child screaming. Yes, it happens to all of us. That's how we earn our parenting stripes.

So how do we deal with those days without resorting to arson? There has to be healthy coping tools, right? Yes, there are. I'm going to share a few I have found effective when it's "just one of those days."

1. Remember The Positives

I don't want to get all philosophical here, but a little dose might be good for you. When my son is acting out, throwing temper tantrums and behaving worse than usual, I have to put things in perspective. Usually all it takes is to look at my son, closely, and it reminds me what a cute little baby he was, and what a cute toddler he is.

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Remembering your child and how much you love him/her will bring you back down to earth. It's like pushing the reset button on your brain. It also reminds you of the bigger picture, that those moments of torment from your little one are only temporary. Nothing lasts forever.

This doesn't work in all situations. Sometimes you're so stressed out you want to lock your kid in a closet, curl up in the corner and shake. But you don't, because you know, the whole child protective services thing. And this brings me to my next tip...

2. Remove Yourself From The Situation

If you have a toddler that's not a total terror and can be left alone for a few minutes, then go somewhere else. This can be the bathroom, a bedroom, the basement, the room with your medieval sword collection. It doesn't matter. All that matters is you have a door to close so you can have a few minutes of quiet time.

A few minutes might not sound like a lot, but it can do wonders for you. When you're alone, take deep breaths, read a page or two of that book gathering dust on your nightstand. Do a few pushups (any kind of exercise is a great stress reliever). Splash cold water on your face. Almost anything will do, as long as you're removing yourself from the situation, and doing it safely.

My only disclaimer here is that every toddler is different. If you cannot leave your toddler alone safely for a few minutes, then don't do it. I'm lucky enough where this is an option for me.

3. Have Something To Look Forward To

This is a pretty broad one. When I say to have something to look forward to, I mean something the same day. For me, it can be going swimming at night. Sometimes it's just looking forward to when my DS goes to bed.

Aside from having something to be excited about, this also reinforces in your brain that nothing lasts forever. Things will get better. Your child will start behaving again. That hair you pulled out will grow back.

I know this is easier said than done. Trust me on that. Here's the thing, if you keep reminding yourself of this, it'll eventually work itself into your brain and you'll find yourself getting less stressed out when your little one is being a nightmare because you know that it'll end and you know there's something better on the horizon.

Hopefully one of these three tips can help you out. Raising kids full-time ain't easy. And if anyone ever says it is, give them a strong spin-kick to the face with your steal-toed boots.

5 Ways To Beat Cabin Fever With Your Toddler

It's that time of year again. Unless you're lucky enough to live in a warm climate, cold weather is here. This means it's getting harder and harder to go play outside with your little ones. And what happens when we stay inside too long? Cabin fever sets in.

This begs the ultimate question: How do we keep ourselves and our kids active during the winter months? Obviously, I'm talking about kids that are toddler age. Older kids are in school, and babies generally don't play outside.

If you live in a crappy place like this, you probably deserve cabin fever.

I'm gonna give you some ideas. Though if you have your own ideas, please share them in the comments below.

Here's a few ways to beat cabin fever:

1. Find a local Monkey Bizness and/or Gymboree

Both places have great indoor activities and toys for little kids. The only downside is that both cost money, making it hard if you're on a budget.

I take my son to Gymboree once a week and we go to Monkey Bizness a few times a month. It costs us less than $10 to go. But it still adds up.

Of course, there might not be a Monkey Bizness or Gymboree close to you, in which case your screwed.

2. The Library

Most public libraries have a kids department. The library we go to not only has a kids department, but also has little activities for the kids (mostly things like puzzles, games, etc). Even if you don't have a library card, you can still go, and it's free!

Also, libraries usually have programs for kids, mostly story times. These usually require you to have a library card.

3. Embrace the Cold Winters

This means going out and enjoying the winter. If there's snow on the ground then go play in the snow. If it's not too cold, go to the park and run around. Cold weather doesn't seem to bother my son. In fact, he likes to take his jacket off after running around for a while.

4. The Mall

Take your little one to the mall to walk around. And if your son/daughter is being good, dust off your wallet and buy them a toy, or something from the food court.



When my DS was a baby I used to take him to the mall and walk around for an hour or so while pushing him in his stroller. It's not the most exciting thing in the world, but it gets you out of the house and is good exercise - which you probably need anyway.

5. Museums/Community Centers/Misc.

This is kind of a catch-all. If you live in a decent size metro area, chances are there will be places, like museums (especially ones for kids) you can go to. Beware though, if the only museum in your area is one for rare art or other expensive exhibits, you might want to keep your toddler away. Curators frown upon changing your kid's diaper next to multi-million dollar paintings.

Also check for any kind of community center. They always have activities for kids. Some will probably cost money, but if you're a lucky cheapskate, you might find stuff for free.

These are the best ideas I can come up with at the moment. Finding stuff to do during the winter is very much determined by where you live. If you're in a metro area or city, then you don't have much of an excuse. But if you live out in the country and you have to drive to your neighbors house because they live so far away, staying active might be a little more challenging.

Photo Credit: NatalieMaynor via Creative Commons

Holiday Shopping Deals For Kids

I'm not above a little shameless promotion when it comes to sharing good deals from the various affiliate programs I belong to. And now that the holidays are here, why not? This is the first time I've done this here. I don't plan to do it often. Regardless, take a look at the links below. You might just find something you like.

20% off the LEGO® Star Wars™ advent calendar at shop.LEGO.com.

Merry Mint & Christmas Cookie Bear are now at buildabear.com!

Create your own LeapPad or Explorer Game Bundle and Save up to 20%! Offer valid now through December 31st!

New customer offer: Get 50 free prints when you sign up for Shutterfly.com!

Award winning free Internet Safety Software download

Print & iPad Subscription Discount N2027

Spend $50, Get Free Shipping on Select Kid's Apparel at Target.com

Special Deals & Offers in Toys & Baby from Buy.com!

P.S. I don't know what those little white squares are at the end of each link. So don't ask.

Bounce House Injuries On The Rise

If there's one thing my son loves, it's jumping on the bed. If there's one thing he loves more, it's jumping  in those bounce house things.

But a recent USA Today article caught my attention. Those bounce houses are causing more and more injuries. I'm not all that surprised. After all, anytime you have a bunch of really young kids bouncing in a confined area on a cushion of air, accidents are bound to happen.

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In part, the article says:

The moonwalks, slides and bounce houses are popular entertainment at young children's birthday parties and carnivals, but the toll they are taking on the young is "epidemic," says lead author Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

 In 2010 alone, 30 children a day were treated for these injuries in hospital emergency rooms, the report says. The number of injuries increased to 11,311 in 2010 from 702 in 1995. Falls were the most common cause, followed by stunts and collisions. Smaller kids are a greater risk.

I take my son to Little Monkey Bizness, and they have a large, multi-level bounce house with slides and everything. The biggest threat to my son, in my opinion, is the older kids who don't pay attention to what they're doing. But to be fair, little kids don't pay much attention either.

The fun is real, so are the broken bones!

I'm not one to read an article like this and then not let my DS ever go in a bounce house again. I think it's worth noting and all parents should be a little extra vigilant. 

Heck, if we banned all the toys and fun things kids have these days, they wouldn't have any toys or fun things. Getting a little roughed up builds character and is part of being a kid. Damnit, I used to drink water from a dirty hose and jump off the roof of my house, and I turned out fine (though some would beg to differ).

Photo Credit: JollyJump Creative Commons

Sometimes The Simple Toys Are The Best

We have a lot of toys for my little DS. Actually, I should say, we have A LOT of toys. Sometimes we feel like our house is being overrun with toys (which it probably is).

I've noticed something with toddler toys: It's always the toys that are most simple that my son seems to take pleasure in the most. A lot of our toys have all kinds of cool lights, buttons, things that spin, things that make very annoying sounds (all of them) and take batteries (all of them).

Yes, he has fun with those toys too. But they break. The batteries die. We have to hide them because they are too annoying. But he still plays with those simple toys we bought when he was younger and less toddler-ish.

For example, the toy below:

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I can't remember when we bought it, but he still plays with it. We also have a wooden train set that he plays with.

The cool part is that these toys are very durable. He throws them around like rag dolls and they never break.

Most importantly though, they are very inexpensive. Without all the bells and whistles (and batteries) that a lot of toys come with nowadays, the price on the basic ones can be great.

My point is to not feel bad about getting these classic wooden toys. Kids love them (at least, my son does) and they'll last longer than most newer toys. And you can easily pass it down.

One Overlooked Cause Of Temper Tantrums

A lot of parenting is trial and error. I learn the most, not by reading books, but by figuring out what works and what doesn't with my little DS.

The one issue every parent of a toddler can identify with is temper tantrums. They're those awful few minutes where you child acts as if the world is coming to an end. Parents really earn their stripes by dealing with tantrums on a daily basis.

The Cause Of The Tantrum

Most of the time, this can be easy to figure out. With my own son, it's when he can't have something he wants or we take something away from him. He'll even throw tantrums when we're about to leave somewhere he wants to stay (like coming inside after playing outside).

Sometimes, however, there are tantrums with no identifiable cause. They just come out of nowhere. These are the toughest to deal with because they are the most frustrating for a parent.

I've figured out one reason for these tantrums-out-of-nowhere:

Boredom!

Toddlers are people too and they get bored, just like the rest of us. When we get bored we get fidgety and restless. We'll seek out something to end our boredom like watching television or surfing the internet (for example).

A toddler can't communicate what he or she wants very easily. So they get frustrated, which leads to a temper tantrum.

When my son is throwing a tantrum and there is no obvious reason why, I get on the floor and start playing with some of his toys. 9 times out 10 it's enough to stop his crying and he'll come over to play with me. He was just bored.

The next time your toddler is throwing a temper tantrum try playing with him or her. It's a simple, but very effective way of calming them down while keeping your own sanity.

My Son Discovered Street Running

My son's new bad habit is running into the street when we're outside playing. Luckily, our street is very quiet with only residential traffic, and, we have a lot of kids on our street so cars generally go slow. But it's still something we're very strict about.

Before I get into that though, I should say it is kind of cute. He has a little toy lawnmower he likes to pull around and takes it with him into the street. He usually runs towards our neighbors house. He looks like he's proud of himself. I guess he probably is. He's escaping from mommy and daddy.

Cute or not, it is dangerous. Since he can run fast for having such little legs, I have to run to catch up to him. Once I have him in my grip, I lead him back to our yard.

"Olympics, here I come!"

I go by the strike system. Three strikes, your out. Each time he goes into the street is one strike. After we hit three we go inside.

It seems to be working. Now he'll run to the edge of the driveway and stop. I still panic when he does that, but at least he's not actually in the street.

I told my wife we should get one of those 'invisible fences' that people use for their dogs. The dog wears a collar and if they go outside the fence, they get a little shock. I'm kidding of course. If you really did that, you can expect a visit from your county's child protective services.

This is just one more hazard of nice weather. When toddlers play outside more and more, they will get into more mischief.

Does your toddler run into the street? If so, how do you handle it?

Photo Credit: Nina Matthews Photography via Creative Commons

Childproofing Your Kindle Fire (video)

Note: I originally posted this on my Brad's Reader blog. I decided to post it here because it's about parenting and cool electronics - my two favorite things. Enjoy!

If you're a parent with a toddler or older, you know that a tablet can be a lifesaver when it comes to keeping your kid occupied. There's nothing easier than sitting your kid on the couch, handing them your Kindle Fire and letting them play with it for several hours while you take a much-deserved nap. That's just good parenting.

However, a tablet like the Kindle Fire is tied to your Amazon account, which is also tied to your credit card. It's important to child-proof your Kindle Fire before handing it over to your kid's grubby little hands. This means preventing him/her from watching your NC-17 movies and keeping your kid away from the dark side of the internet.

Here's a great video from CNET that walks you through how to child-proof your Kindle Fire. Pay attention, because there will be a quiz at the end.

Traveling With A Toddler During The Holidays (and how to make it easier)

Over the holidays the family and I traveled to Washington state to spend Christmas with the family. This was our first time flying with our little toddler (we have previously flown with him as a baby). We flew from Chicago to Seattle's Sea-Tac International Airport with no problems. My DS took a short nap, spent some time walking up and down the aisles, and playing with some new toys we brought along.

When we arrived in Seattle we faced a 5 hour layover until our next puddle jumper flight to the town of Wenatchee. How do you entertain a toddler in an international airport for 5 hours during the holiday travel season?

That's a good question. We tried to keep him occupied with toys. But we also walked him around a lot. Now that he's walking on his own, we took him out of his stroller to let him get some exercise. We had a little backpack for him that had a leash attached.

I'll be honest, it felt a little weird walking around Sea-Tac Airport with my son on a leash and me saying "Heal, heal!" I got some strange looks. Though I think most people thought it was cute. Still, walking a toddler around in a crowded airport is never easy.

I've said in a previous post that flexibility is the key for any parent, and this is especially true for air travel. Here a few tips:

1. Don't count on getting any work done. When he fell asleep for 45-minutes I was able to close my eyes and listen to some music, but that was it. Forget about doing any work, catching up on your reading or anything else.

2. Come prepared with a lot of toys. They should be fairly new toys that your child hasn't played with that much (or not at all). Don't bring regular toys that your child plays with all the time, or might be bored with. A new toy will keep him/her occupied much longer. And when traveling with a toddler, every minute counts.

3. Buy your child his/her own seat on the plane. This was invaluable to keeping our sanity. This might not be an option for everyone because you are paying the regular fare for a seat, which can get expensive. For us, the extra room was well worth it. Just keep in mind that if your toddler is 2-years or older, airlines require you to buy a seat.

There are a lot of things you can do to make traveling with a child easier. The above tips are the ones we found the most helpful.

How do you make traveling with a toddler easier?

Getting Stuff Done While Caring For Your Baby

If you're a full-time dad, the first year taking care of your baby can be frazzling. There are feedings, diaper changes, nap times, more feedings, more diaper changes and the non-stop task of keeping your baby from crying all day.

But you still have other stuff to do. How are you going to get it done when babies demand so much attention? I've acquired a few tips and tricks for this in my own experience in Mason's first year. Note that every baby is different with different needs, so not all these tips will work for everyone.

1. Use naps to your advantage

If your baby takes naps during the day, you have the perfect opportunity to get stuff done. You can take a nap yourself (like I did), get housework done, or enjoy the free time to spend on your hobbies or other interests.

The main thing to remember about naps, is that as a baby grows and matures, his/her napping habits will also change. So be flexible, as these changes can happen suddenly.

2. Play time

This is for younger babies who are not yet mobile. In other words, this works best for babies that play a little on their back (maybe even sitting up) and that's about it. Susan and I called DS during this phase a "sack of potatoes" because they are still pretty helpless.

You can play with your baby and still do minor tasks. For example, I'd play with DS on the floor and prop my computer up on the coffee table. As I played with him I'd also write blog posts for my flagship blog Brad's Reader. Sometimes I'd only write one sentence at a time. At other times, when DS began to entertain himself a little more I'd be able to write an entire blog post rather quickly.

I'm not suggesting you completely ignore your little one during play time to get other stuff done. Far from it. Your baby should always be your first priority. But let's be realistic, there's only so much baby-talk and toy rattling you can do in a day before going insane.

Try to find simple stuff you can do while playing with your baby.

3. Meal time

Once your baby is older and is starting to eat solid foods while sitting in a highchair is a great opportunity to get stuff done.

When I'm feeding DS, I will sometimes use that as an opportunity clean up the kitchen or vacuum the area around him. My one caveat to this, however, is to always stay within view of him (so I can see him and he can see me). You never know if/when they might choke on a finger food. The only exception I make is when I have to go to the bathroom really fast.

The other stuff I do is check email, work on blogs and try to stay out of the firing range of DS's habit of throwing his food everywhere. But I also spend a good chunk of time giving him my full attention by talking to him while I shovel processed green beans into his mouth.

4. Before Baby Wakes/After Baby Goes to Bed at Night

Perhaps this is your greatest opportunity for you to do the stuff you want to do. I can count on a few hours to myself after DS goes to bed at night. These long chunks of time are a luxury to any parent. But for a full-time parent (dad or mom), having a few hours to yourself is nothing less than heaven.

The big question here is: Would you rather have your free time early in the morning, before baby wakes up? Or would you rather have it at night, after baby goes to bed? Or maybe both, if you're one of those lucky ones who don't need much sleep?

Those questions will probably be answered by your baby's sleeping habits. If baby wakes up at 5 in the morning, it might not be a good idea to be up at 3am to mow the lawn or practice your guitar.

Likewise, if your baby goes to bed late, do you really want to be up at midnight hitting the weights?

It's very much a balancing act. Because DS varies on the time he wakes up, I might get an hour of free time in the morning (but I don't count on it). He goes to bed at 7, so I know that's roughly when my "Brad time" will start.

It's a good idea to know in advance what your priorities are for these large chunks of free time. This will prevent you from sitting on the couch wondering what to do while watching reruns of the Golden Girls. Unless watching Golden Girls reruns is your priority.

5. Get a Babysitter/Have your Wife Step In

A babysitter is geared towards allowing your spouse and you to go out at night and enjoy dinner and a movie. You can also use a babysitter when you have an appointment where bringing baby along might not be a good idea (i.e. outpatient surgery). This might not be an option for everyone since a babysitter can be costly.

But try to get your spouse involved. Have her take the little one for a few hours so you can recharge your batteries. On the weekends, Susan will often take DS on errands with her, leaving me home alone.

Parting Words

I'm going to throw in my disclaimer again and say that all babies are different and have different needs. What works for my little one, might not work for yours.

The key is to be creative with your time. Use any free time you have wisely. And remember that even though your job is to take care of your baby, you also have to take care of yourself. This means eating healthy, getting regular exercise and doing activities that have nothing to do with your little boy or girl. I know that sounds harsh, and even a little selfish, but trust me, it will keep you sane.

If you have any tips for getting stuff done while taking care of your baby, let me know in the comments below (haha, that rhymes).