Real Life Solutions

People on the run often choose a cold breakfast or no breakfast at all because it’s the quickest. In the colder months, however, a cold breakfast simply won’t do. Why not try one or more of these nourishing winter breafast ideas  to help you prepare for your day.

Winter breafast idea #1 – A big bowl of hearty oatmeal is a great choice for a cold winter morning. Oatmeal doesn’t have to take a long time to prepare. Get it started before you get dressed and it should be ready to eat when you’re done. Soak dried fruit such as raisins, cherries or cranberries before stirring them into the bowl to add depth of flavor. Cinnamon or nutmeg would also be good as additions.

Winter breafast idea #2 - Whole wheat bread is better for you than bread made with refined flour. Use whole wheat bread to make French toast or whole wheat flour to make pancakes. Instead of syrup to top your French toast or pancakes, warm up apple sauce and spread it over them.

Winter breafast idea #3 – Barley is a grain often used in vegetable soup but it can also be used to make a warm, nourishing breakfast. Bring 3 cups of water to a boil and then add 3/4 cup pearl barley and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Turn the heat down and cover, allowing the barley to cook for 45 minutes. While the barley is cooking, mix together 1/4 cup honey and 1 cup chopped walnuts. Spread the walnut onto a baking sheet and bake them in an oven set at 350F for 10 minutes. When the barley is cooked, add 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup currants. Spoon the walnuts over four bowls of cooked barley.

Winter breafast idea #4 – You can’t find a heartier breakfast than an omelet when it has beans, seeds or nuts added to it. Sauté some onions, then add some precooked black beans and chopped almonds. Beat enough eggs for the number of omelets you’re making and pour that into the onion and bean mixture. Sprinkle fresh herbs and cheese over the top and allow it to finish cooking.

Winter breafast idea #5 – Don’t be afraid to try foods that aren’t traditionally thought of as breakfast foods. A thick, warm rice pudding with fruit can be just the thing you need to fill you up and keep you toasty on the inside. You can also use leftover rice from the night before to make rice with cinnamon and raisins. Heat up the rice in a saucepan and add enough milk to moisten it. Add cinnamon, nutmeg and raisins. Cook this over low heat until its warm and then enjoy it.

Winter breafast idea #6 – Prepare hot chocolate, tea or coffee to finish off your nourishing winter warming breakfast. If you start your winter days with hot food, you’ll provide your body with much needed warmth and give you energy you need for your day.

Using one or many of the great winter breakfast ideas above will be a great way to warm up your mornings and get you off to a great day.

Does your family have the winter blues? Get them moving with some fun outdoor activities! Here are some ideas for you to try:

Outside Workout

Gather the entire family and go outdoors for a family workout. Mom or Dad can lead the group in a fun outdoor exercise routine. Or better yet play a game of tag football.

Jogging/Power Walk

If you’re tired of being stuck inside, get outdoors for a good jogging or power walking session. Jog around the block or walk a mile or two. You can add light hand weights to work your arms while you’re walking.

Ice Skating

Ice skating is a fun form of winter exercise. When lakes are frozen, ice skaters come out of hiding and get out on the ice for lots of fun. Most kids really enjoy ice skating too.

Snow Shoeing

If you’re tired of jogging and walking, trade your sneakers for snow shoes. Snowshoeing works your leg muscles even more because you have to really lift your legs to be able to walk around.

Hiking

Many people associate hiking only with the summer months. However, winter hiking is a totally exhilarating fitness activity. Don’t forget to bring along your digital camera so you can take pictures of the beautiful winter scenery as you explore!

Here are some great family safety tips that will help to protect you and your family.

Ten tips for the active family to stay safe while on the go

(ARA) – Activities such as soccer practice, football games, student council meetings, volunteer events and parent-teacher conferences tend to fill family schedules in the fall, quickly replacing the lazy days of summer with extracurricular activities. While many find it refreshing for the family unit to get back into a routine, hectic schedules can often lead to miscommunication among family members and a relaxed attitude toward safety.

“Fall brings an abundance of schedule changes and families working to adapt to new routines,” says Rebecca Smith, vice president of marketing for Master Lock. “As each family member strives to balance various activities, it’s essential that families discuss security measures they should take to ensure they safely maintain their busy lifestyles.”

Here are some family safety tips:

1. Secure your home. With people coming and going at different times, each family member should understand the importance of locking all points of entry when leaving, including dead-bolting doors, windows, sliding glass doors and garage/shed doors to bolster your home’s safety.

2. Keep your home active. For periods of time where most members of the family will be away, schedule a dog walker to come over or ask a neighbor to retrieve your mail. This helps to ensure that your home still appears to have people coming and going regularly – a natural theft deterrent.

3. Utilize key safes. Whether you’re storing a house key for children to access after school or for your mother-in-law who baby-sits, a Master Lock key safe will allow them access to your home without the risk of losing a key in transit, allowing parties to enter safely, even if no one is home.

4. Establish a “home alone” routine. If your child gets home from school while you are at work, or if your family is involved in activities on weekends, it’s important to have guidelines for your children to follow when home alone. These include locking the door immediately behind them after entering the house, not spending time outside and not answering the door for any visitors.

5. No notes. Many families leave notes on their front doors to communicate a change in schedule. Communication this important should happen directly via phone call, text message or voicemail – not out in the open for everyone to see.

6. Share schedules. Be sure that your family is aware of each other’s schedules, including work, school and extracurricular activities. Keeping a calendar updated with everyone’s commitments in a common room such as the kitchen will prevent miscommunication about who will be home and when.

7. Create an emergency plan. Every family should have a plan that details what to do in case of an emergency. This should include a list of numbers to call and steps to follow should anything happen to the home while a member of the family is there alone.

8. Communicate with neighbors. Communicate your schedules with a friendly, watchful neighbor you trust and empower him or her as an extra set of eyes and ears, keeping watch on your home when you can’t be there.

9. Set social media rules. In today’s digital age, location-based services are growing in popularity with both kids and adults. Set a family social media policy to limit check-ins and location information being made too readily available online to ensure your family’s schedule does not become too predictable.

10. Secure items on-the-go. Whether you’re headed out for a walk or to a soccer game, odds are you are carrying several valuables including keys, a wallet and cell phone. Secure these items in a small, portable safe secured to a fixed item such as a fence, allowing you to relax and enjoy any activity.

For more security tips and solutions for families on the go, visit www.masterlock.com. Also be sure to apply the above family safety tips into your household

For more home safety tips, visit Real Life Solutions.

At time, figuring out  some age appropriate responsibilities for children can be hard.  Issuing out chores to your children is one way to help to instill responsibility into children and they can start chores at an early age. Many parents today are looking for ways to teach their kids to be responsible, and chores are a great place to start. Here are some suggestions for chores – and how to introduce them – that can be done by elementary school-age kids.

Rewards

You don’t have to pay your kid to make her bed, but psychologists agree that a reward system, or positive reinforcement, can go a long way toward motivating your child to do his or her chores. Rewards can take the form of privileges, such as television time, video games, time on the phone or internet, etc. Earning rewards for doing chores tends to work better than receiving punishment for not doing them, say psychologists.

Age Appropriate Responsibilities For Children

Elementary school spans Kindergarten to fifth grade. So, here are some ideas for those grades and ages. Of course, chores for younger kids will already be a part of the chore regimen by the time you get to older grades – the following lists of chores are intended to build on, not replace, each other.

Kindergarten (age 5-6)

This age tends to respond well to simple chores. You can also use this simple approach with older kids for whom this is a new concept. Some ideas include:
* Feeding pets
* Watering plants

First Grade (age 6-7)
* Sweeping the floor
* Emptying trash cans throughout the house into a garbage bag
* Washing bathroom or kitchen sink

Second and Third Grade (age 7-9)
* Vacuuming a small room
* Setting the table
* Clearing the table
* Loading dishwasher or washing/drying dishes

Fourth Grade (age 9-10)
* Taking out the garbage
* Walking the dog
* Making part of dinner (such as a salad or side dish)
* Washing the car

Fifth Grade (age 10-11)
* Making dinner
* Helping with laundry
* Vacuuming several rooms

Helping Them Out

While the list above gives many examples of age appropriate responsibilities for children, it is important to help your child get acclimated to the idea of chores, lists can help. If your child likes organization and takes satisfaction in completing tasks, lists with squares he can check off might help.

A competitive child might respond to timed chores. For example, time how long a certain chore takes him and then see if he can beat his time next time (while still doing a good job).

You can also elicit your child’s help in making a chart or list of chores and privileges, or just the chores. He or she can illustrate the list or decorate it with cut-outs from magazines. If your child participates in thinking up chores and creating the list, he might be more likely to be motivated to do the things on the list.

By using the tips and ideas above you will be well on your way to issue out age appropriate responsibilities for children in your home.

(ARA) – Pens, pencils, erasers, paper – these are the school supplies students need year after year and are on almost every parent’s back-to-school shopping list. However, that doesn’t mean they’re the only supplies students need to survive the school year with ease. Instead of waiting until your student realizes what he’s missing once it’s too late, shop now for these easily overlooked back-to-school essentials.

“Most students have that ‘oh no’ moment once they’re under a deadline and realize they don’t have the right materials to complete it or when they’re already stuck in a difficult situation,” says Rebecca Smith of Master Lock. “Using past experience to think ahead and shop early will help students – and parents – avoid those dreaded moments and navigate the school year a bit easier.”

1. Pencil sharpener. You’ve got the pencils, but sharpening them can be a real hassle as not all classrooms have a functioning built-in sharpener. To help students avoid trips to and from their desk during important tests, purchase a small pencil sharpener with a built-in shaving collection system that can be stored in a backpack pocket.

2. Portable stapler. Students are often in need of a quick staple, yet a stapler is nowhere to be found. A small, portable stapler can be a major timesaver for students who are frequently required to turn in multiple-page assignments.

3. Umbrella. Whether walking to class on a college campus or home from middle school, umbrellas are an easily overlooked school essential that pay dividends in student comfort. A collapsible model that fits in your student’s backpack or book bag will be easiest to carry whenever the weather looks questionable.

4. Correction fluid or tape. For last-minute, on-the-go fixes to important school assignments, a bottle of white correction tape or a correction pen is a must when re-printing or re-doing isn’t an option.

5. USB flash drive. Since so many school projects are now completed on computers, a USB drive makes it easy to save files and work on them anywhere. Whether your student is working on a paper at home, or on a group presentation at a friend’s house, files will be easily accessible.

6. Stain remover pen. From lunch spills, to grass stains to stray pen marks, students appreciate being able to touch up messy spots that wind up on their clothing throughout the day. Where water doesn’t always work, portable stain remover pens work well on hard-to-remove spots.

7. Security products. School supplies become useless if they’re stolen from your student. To help avoid theft, invest in at least four types of security products: a padlock for students’ school or gym lockers such as Master Lock’s Speed Dial combination lock, a backpack lock to deter pickpockets, a portable mini-safe that can help keep valuables safe in a dorm room or in transit and a lock to attach to your laptop or desktop computer.

8. Three-hole punch. From organizing class notes and handouts in a three-ring binder for easy review, to binding presentations before turning them in, students find endless uses for a three-hole punch after investing in one.

9. Mints or brush strips. Since many schools do not allow gum in classrooms, mints or brush strips are great options for students to carry with them for use after a potent lunch.

10. Water bottle. If your school allows it, help your student stay hydrated by providing them with a portable water bottle that can hang from a backpack via a simple carabineer. A hydrated student equals a happier and more productive student. Water bottles are particularly handy if the school is older and not equipped with air conditioning.

For more advice on back-to-school essentials, visit www.masterlock.com. Also check out our Time Saving Back to school Tips.

Wilmington, DE, August 3, 2011 — Many parents have a hard time deciding if their kids are well enough to go to school. What well-intentioned parent hasn’t sent a child off with tissues in hand, only to get that mid-morning “come get your child” phone call?

But if your child is feeling better, making the right decision isn’t as tough as you might think. It basically boils down to one question: Is my child contagious? Infections that are contagious, like strep throat, require a day at home with appropriate treatment.. Most daycares and schools won’t let kids return until after a fever has broken naturally (without fever-reducing medicines) for at least 24 hours.

“When kids come into contact with germs, they can unknowingly become infected simply by touching their eyes, nose, or mouth,” says Kate Cronan, MD, medical editor at Nemours’ KidsHealth.org and a pediatrician at the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE. “And once they’re infected by contagious germs, it’s usually just a matter of time before other family members come down with the same illness.”

So what infections should parents be concerned about as kids head back to school? KidsHealth.org, the # 1 website for children’s health and development, says these are the top 5 illnesses parents should look out for during the school year:

Pinkeye: Also known as conjunctivitis, pinkeye is very contagious when caused by viruses or bacteria. To prevent spreading pinkeye, kids should wash their hands often with warm water and soap; not touch their eyes; and avoid sharing eye drops, makeup, pillowcases, washcloths, and towels.

Strep Throat: Strep throat spreads through close contact, unwashed hands, and airborne droplets from sneezing or coughing. Anyone can get strep throat, but it’s most common in school-age kids and teens. To prevent the spread of strep throat: keep a sick child’s eating utensils separate and wash them in hot, soapy water or a dishwasher; the child shouldn’t share food, drinks, napkins, or towels; teach your kids to sneeze or cough into a shirtsleeve, not their hands.

Head Lice: Lice are common among kids ages 3-12 (affecting girls more often than boys), but anyone can get this infection. It’s not a sign of poor hygiene and lice do not spread disease. Parents should discourage sharing combs, brushes, hats, and helmets with others to help prevent the spread of lice.

Molluscum Contagiosum: This skin rash is common among kids 1-12 years old, yet many parents are not familiar with molluscum contagiosum. It spreads easily, most commonly through direct skin-to-skin contact, but kids can get it by touching objects with the virus on them such as toys, clothing, towels, and bedding. Wash hands frequently with soap and warm water and avoid sharing towels, clothing, or other personal items to prevent its spread.

Walking Pneumonia: Walking pneumonia is the leading type of pneumonia in school-age kids and young adults. It spreads through person-to-person contact or breathing in particles sent into the air by sneezing or coughing. Walking pneumonia usually develops gradually and can be successfully treated with antibiotics. Encourage kids to wash their hands thoroughly and frequently to prevent its spread.

Want more information about common childhood illnesses and infections? Visit KidsHealth.org or download KidsHealth’s free iPhone app, Is it Contagious? Featuring 85+ infections and illnesses, the app answers common questions parents ask and helps identify and assess the contagiousness, symptoms, treatment, and prevention of the most common childhood infections. To download the free app, search “Is It Contagious?” on the iPhone App Store.

When incorporating frugal living tips into your life, be sure to include the internet. There are many frugal living tips that you can incorporate into your live while using the internet to your advantage.

In todays world, using as as many frugal living tips as you can find can make a huge difference to your bank balance, and this is now easier than ever thanks to the internet. Here are four ways you can get online and help make the task of saving money as simple as possible.

1) Use Price Comparison Websites

There are more and more price comparison websites popping up all the time. These are great for saving money, especially when you’re buying things such as insurance, as it won’t take you long to look something up. Never buy car, health or home insurance without checking these sites first, and it’s still worth checking even if you’re currently tied into a policy (you can switch as soon as it ends)!

But it’s not just the big things that count. Some of the best frugal living tips include using price comparison websites to search for the price of groceries and other common items you buy. It’s well worth it, as every little saving will soon add up.

2) Sign Up To Daily Deal Sites For Your Area

This is one of my favorate frugal living tips! You’ve probably heard of Groupon, a site that delivers daily deals for different areas. These are often things you don’t need, such as manicures or other beauty treatments. But sometimes you’ll find excellent offers that make it worth signing up. Do a search for various deal sites that serve your area, but before you spend any money make sure you search their names to check that they’re legitimate.

3) Sign Up To Coupon Mailing Lists

Many different companies will have their own mailing lists online, so get signing up to the stores you shop at frequently and you’ll probably get some great coupons sent directly to your inbox. This is far easier than signing up to traditional paper mailing lists, with the added benefit that you can cancel them with one click if you find they aren’t as useful as you’d hoped.

4) Use Forums To Keep You Accountable

Last on the list of online frugal living tips is to sign up to a money saving forum to meet likeminded people. This will stop you going mad during those moments where you feel as though you’re missing out by being so frugal. You can even post public saving goals and challenges to help keep you accountable.

One Important Thing You Need To Remember

There’s one thing you need to remember throughout all of this: a deal is a not a deal unless you wanted to buy it anyway! What that means is that you shouldn’t go spending extra money on “deals” you find on the internet, unless you already had a use for the item or service. If you do, you’ll actually end up spending more money than you would have originally. Use these frugal living tips wisely!

To find out how to get organized and put these strategies to use right away, visit: The Definitive Guide to Home Organization for Busy People today and get your life and home organized and clutter free forever!

When it comes to sun safety for kids, you can never be too careful. Most kids rack up between 50% and 80% of their lifetime sun exposure before age 18, so it’s important that parents teach their children how to enjoy fun in the sun safely. With the right precautions, you can greatly reduce your child’s chance of developing skin cancer.

Here are some great tips regarding sun safety for kids that you should keep in mind:

1) Shade – We all know that sunscreen is essential for protection against harmful rays. However, the number one rule when it comes to sun safety for kids is to refrain from being in the direct sunlight for long periods of time. When kids are playing outside, they should try to seek shade or create it with an umbrella between the hours of 10 am – 4 pm when the sun is at it’s strongest.

2) Sunscreen – Kids will be kids and it can be difficult to keep kids in the shade for too long, so be sure to protect them with sunscreen while they’re playing outdoors. Help avoid this risk by using SPF 30 or above for children aged 6 months or over, and always use a sunscreen that protects against UVA and UVB rays. Reapply once every couple of hours, and after swimming (even if using waterproof sunscreen).

3) Clothing – Another easy way to demonstrate sun safety for kids is to carefully choose their summer wardrobe. Start by making sure they wear a sun hat whenever they’re going to be in the sun for any length of time. These protect vulnerable areas such as the face, ears and neck (that are often missed by sunscreen). Wearing long clothing will also help to protect your child’s skin, though not all clothing is created equal.

You can buy specific clothing for the sun, sold with a UPF rating to help determine how much sunlight gets through. The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends choosing clothing with a UPF rating of 30 or above. You should use sunscreen in combination with standard clothing to get maximum protection against the sun’s rays.

4) Don’t Forget The Eyes – Your kids should be wearing sunglasses too! Long term exposure to the sun can increase the chance of cataracts, so make sure your kids are protected with sunglasses offering 100% UV protection (not just any darkened lenses). If your child really won’t wear sunglasses then a wide-brimmed hat is another option.

Sun safety for kids is even more important than for adults. A child’s skin is especially delicate, and overexposure to the sun in early years can have a huge impact on their risk of developing skin cancer later in life. Remember, the sun’s rays can still do harm even on a cloudy day, so it’s better to be safe than sorry!

In this day and age, just about everyone is looking for tips for budgeting and saving money. Many people aren’t aware of all the ways money slips through their fingers, and they’re not sure why they never seem to have enough. Paying attention to your spending habits and making some changes where necessary is a great tips for budgeting and saving money every month.

Follow these tips for budgeting and saving money and you will be able to get your finances in order:

1) Brown Bag it. – The amount of money you can save by making your own lunches and taking them to work each day is staggering. When you take in your own lunches every day–made from leftovers or sandwich fixings, you will be spending much less than you would at even the least expensive restaurants and diners. Healthy eating is easier as well when you make your own lunches since most take out has extra calories and lots of fat and salt. Eating out also takes up a lot of time which can be a problem for those with tight schedules. Making lunch for yourself is an easy way to to start budgeting and saving money.

2) Plan your shopping – Learn to shop methodically and not on a whim. The absolute worst time to buy holiday gifts, for example, is just before the holidays. You should wait for the holidays to be over when you wait for things to go on sale.

Not only is this a great budgeting and saving money tip but it’s a lot less stressful to shop like this because you’ll avoid all of the crowds and that feeling that you have to buy something right away. Similarly, winter and summer clothing is most expensive right before those seasons have started. Plan ahead and buy things both as gifts and for yourself when they are the cheapest. Stores typically charge more for products when everybody wants to buy them so if you do some advance planning, you’ll get the same items for much less.

3) Buy more now, to save more now and later. – The price of food is always going up, even faster than most peoples’ incomes. If you want to respect your budget, you need to figure out how to save money at the store.

Most of the time people shop for groceries when they need them and that means that they end up paying money depending on what the store wants to charge. Buying lots of groceries when they go on sale is a great way to save money at the store. You obviously can’t do this with items that perish like dairy, meat and fresh produce but you can do it with everything else like canned goods, frozen foods, etc. Look for clearance sales and similar specials to help you stock your pantry and you will quickly see that you are spending much less on groceries than you used to.

When you start to think creatively, you will see lots of ways that you can start budgeting and saving money. For the most part, people spend a lot more than they absolutely have to on things like food, entertainment and shopping because they don’t take the time to search out more reasonably priced alternatives. In addition to helping you save money, the tips in this article will help you train your brain to be more frugal as well.

Follow any or all of the above tips for budgeting and saving money and watch your savings slowly increase.

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