I try to keep things out of the landfill as much as possible so I love to give thoughtful and practical gifts. I tend to fill my family's stocking with a few surprises but mostly extremely practical things like toothbrushes,lotion, socks, etc. Your family's safety is important so I thought I would share a few simple ideas for safety-related stocking stuffers and gifts. Stocking stuffers Smoke detector with 10-year battery (new law in IL requires all homes to have them) Carbon

Want to make your home safer for your family in the New Year? Here are a few simple steps. They don't take a lot of time to do and you'll feel a sense of accomplishment when you complete them. 1) Subscribe to product recall alerts. Products are recalled all the time. In the last week, swimsuits, infant rompers, candle holders and ceiling fans were recalled. I would venture to say that you may not have heard about any of them. The fact is that very few recalled products ac

I love a practical gift and always fill my family's stocking with extremely practical things like dental floss, socks, etc. As I've been working to get my family's stocking stuffed, I started thinking about easy to pick up items that would enhance your family's safety. Here are some ideas if you like practical gifts, too. -Smoke Detectors for every floor of your family's home and near every bedroom -Carbon Monoxide Detectors for every floor of your family's home -Batteries fo

When other parents find out what I do for a living, they assume that I might insist my two children are wrapped in bubble wrap all the time and that my home is completely free of any chance of injury. While I do insist that my family wear seatbelts EVERY time they ride in a car and always use a bike helmet, I am definitely not perfect when it comes to safety practices in my home and car. That said, each year I make a New Year’s resolution. Some I’ve done a good job with lik

Guest Blogger - Rebecca Wear Robinson, Make the Minute Matter When the first snow hits before Halloween, you know it is going to be a cold winter. When you think of ice and snow, you don’t think of drowning, but you should. Lake Michigan may look frozen close to the shore, but those ice slabs are constantly shifting and changing. Rivers, ponds, drainage ditches - they all appear to be great for skating and sledding, but it’s impossible to tell whether the ice is thick enough

It's the time of year when we are hosting a lot of parties. Here are some simple tips to keep the holidays safe for our youngest guests. -Keep those choking hazards out of reach of young guests -- hard peppermint candies, nuts, lollipops, popcorn. All are easy to choke on so keep them up high and out of reach. -Half finished alcoholic drinks can look just like something a child might drink. When you see them left somewhere, pour them out before young children can get to them

Online shopping is expected to account for 59% of holiday spending. I know I have spent a lot of time scouring the internet for online deals for presents. Shoppers need to know what to look for whether making retail or second-hand purchases. Many on-line product descriptions may leave out important safety warnings or precautions on the item's description. Some sites are better at listing warnings than others so shoppers should read item descriptions on a few sites to make su

The Holiday Season is upon us and it's time to deck the halls. With the Holidays come lots of decorations. If you have a young child at home, follow these simple tips for decorating safely. - Make sure to keep small ornaments or other small decorations that may be choking hazards up high and out of reach of young children. -Button batteries found in toys, flameless candles and many other items are very dangerous if swallowed. Make sure these batteries are secured . -Do you k

Question - What's colorless and odorless but definitely not harmless? Answer - Carbon Monoxide (CO). It's that time of year in Chicago when we are all turning on our boilers and furnaces. Once we've turned them on, it's time to make sure we also have working CO detectors in our home, especially near all sleeping areas. Carbon monoxide is created when fossil fuels (like natural gas) are burned. Since we can't see it, taste it or smell it. it's critical to have working CO detec