Our Best Advice

BABY CARE – Newborns – Childcare

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 | Our Best Advice | No Comments

Baby Nurses and Nannies have very important jobs in the domestic help staffing field as employees in household work, involving both child safety and child development with daily childcare.

If you are a Baby Nurse or Nanny with top references and excellent skills working in the domestic help field, we encourage you to apply and register with us to learn more about top Nanny jobs our clients offer.

Here are some TIPS to add for your Newborn, Baby Care, Childcare jobs, or someone you know that performs this work.

The book Baby Signs, by Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn, is a terrific resource for parents with children under three years old. It also makes for a great Baby Shower gift. For children who attend schools that use American Sign Language (ASL), ASL can afford the same benefits as baby signs as long as the signs are simple. Learning Baby Signs is an important language parents and childcare providers need to know that reinforces baby bonding too.

Another important topic for children is vaccines. Robert Kennedy Jr. provides a detailed PDF file about child vaccinations you can download to give a Pediatrician, read for further information, or forward to your boss or someone you know. We all need to collectively advocate for children and their health as the controversy around vaccinations continues. Children are undeniably our greatest treasures.

For Newborns, Swaddlebees diapers covers with unbleached cotton prefolds and a snappi to hold it together. They are very good at containing leaks. I love all the different colors and patterns that Swaddlebees comes in and they make for really cute baby pictures.

Toddlers are a great age and delightful to teach always best done by example. “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” is simple with toddlers.  Reduce becomes a way of  life as they see we rely on less stuff and use our imaginations to live a GREEN lifestyle.  Reuse becomes a daily activity by trying to reuse everything (or at least minimize), including making fun crafts and home made toys kids love to participate in.  The box a present came in can be the start of a reuse game or craft project. Recycle becomes a way life as we teach our kids to donate their used clothes and toys. I also recycle ribbons and gift bags along with wrappings if at all possible.

A great TIP for dealing with KIDS and shopping is to know that it often helps to let your child pick out one or two things at the store. Instead of saying, “No,” (which most likely will immediately make them respond with a “Yes!”) when a child asks for something give them an alternative by saying, “Let’s write that down.” Carry a pad and pen to write down a list of things your child points out. When you’re done with shopping, read back a few of the things that might be good choices, and let him/her pick one or two on the list. You can add items you believe would be good to include as a joint idea by gently directing them to select it. This interactive exchange provides a narrowing of things under your control, and teaches the child there is a process involved for buying the child participates in. Helps to avoid most tantrums. Most upsets are caused by tiredness, hunger, thirst, or a child not feeling good. Always prepare ahead to avoid them and refrain from shopping with a child who’s unwell.

It’s good advice for all Nannies to take the Child Passenger Seat Technician Certification course, which teaches how to install car seats correctly. Keeping your baby well protected is imperative because motor vehicle crashes are one of the single greatest killers of Americans according to safety statistics. What to look for in a car seat (or infant carrier) and how to use it as Itsabelly Baby Planners recommends for a quick list is below. If you have any tips not mentioned here, please share them with us.

Make sure to test the car seat in your car before purchase. You want to make sure it fits appropriately in your back seat with the seat belt mechanism or latch system

Check child seat ratings, recalls and Child Passenger Safety information on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) site: www.nhtsa.gov

Read product reviews for input from customers who have already used the car seat

Remember the most expensive car seat with all of the bells and whistles doesn’t always equal the safest car seat

Keep your baby in a rear-facing car seat in the back seat from birth to at least age 1 and 20 lbs or whatever the upper limits of the seat are from the manufacturer

Do not buy a used car seat as you don’t know if it’s still under warranty, been through a crash, or has been recalled

Although we do not recommend using a second hand car seat, if you are given a used car seat from a close relative you must make sure it’s not expired (find exp date on back of seat), not recalled and has not been in an accident

Use the appropriate car seat for your baby’s height and weight at all times

Use the car‘s safety belt or LATCH system to lock the car seat into the car. Your car seat should not move more than 1 inch side to side or front to back. Grab the car seat at the safety belt path to test it.

Make sure the car seat is not reclined more than a 45 degree angle, so that baby’s head stays in contact with the seat and the baby’s airway stays open

Find out where your airbags are. Never put a rear-facing car seat in front of an active airbag!

Have your car seat installation checked at a local Safe Kids coalition by a Child Passenger Seat Technician who’s been certified to install car seats correctly at www.usa.safekids.org

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Serving Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air, Benedict Canyon, Torrance, Hancock Park, Laurel Canyon, Los Feliz, Marina Del Rey, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Melrose. Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Encino, Woodland Hills, Topanga Canyon, Westwood, Hollywood Hills, Pasadena, San Mareno, Santa Barbara, Orange County, Ventura County, California, New York, & the greater United States…

Our Best Advice has been brought to you by www.ISAstaffing.com, renowned Best of The Best in Household Work and Domestic Help staffing. Visit often for other great ideas, use our Tell A Friend featured link to this blog, and our Domestic Staffing website to pass our HOT TIPS and renowned services. THANKS!

Tags: American Sign Language, Baby, Baby Bonding, Baby Care, Baby Nurse, Baby Signs, best jobs, Child Safety, childcare, Domestic Help, GREEN, Green Toddlers, Household Work, Itsabelly Baby Planners, Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn, Nannies, nanny, Newborn, Recycle, Swaddlebees, TIPS, Toddlers

HOLIDAY EVENTS

Monday, December 21st, 2009 | Our Best Advice | No Comments

The year ending is about celebration with compassion for the travail and anguish many have suffered we must not forget. Do not solely celebrate a religious holiday event you identify with. Although we know our holidays are deeply meaningful for billions, broaden your world to include gratitude based on compassion, without a denominational orientation.

Our TIP for this holiday events season: The Charter For Compassion is an important declaration with membership partners growing worldwide quickly. Originally created out of Karen ARmstrong’s wish after receiving the TED PRIZE in 2008 (she’s the woman narrating the video above), check their site out and get involved. If you’re a Chef or Cook, see if there isn’t some probono work you can do to assist as I know many of you are already doing. Take an action today and add yours to the growing list.

Yves Behar and his team (see  fuseproject) designed a plaque which will be hung throughout the world in secular locations. Detailed in the Charter’s words, the plague’s design is made from sustainable maple in an isometric perspective of a book. The laser engraving and unique iconic design is reflective of Karen Armstrong’s message, hand crafted by Thomas Duffy, a superb designer/craftsman. Even if you order and send it to arrive as a gift after the holidays, you’ll be glad you did. You can email the charter or visit their website for more details.

One of my favorite films to watch during the holidays is a classic by Frank Capra, Lost Horizon (see trailer below). It’s a huge heart opener. Whether you watch it with those you love, give it as a gift (makes for a great last minute present), or use it as a meaningful story to serve foods creating a theme around spiritual awakening, take an action to introduce compassion into your life daily.

We are committed at ISA to act compassionately and work hard to find everyone work, getting people back to work, or help find jobs to make ends meet until an ideal one is available. We know some of you are sending money to family’s in some of the hardest hit economic areas domestically and abroad, with many of our clients working hard to assist bringing relief to areas of inhumane conditions worldwide. We share your effort and compassion.

This year I’m using a large vessel filled with evergreen branches along with willow and herbs from our garden in a mode to celebrate winter solstice and all the holidays combined. A large branch that needed to be cut now stands against the wall at the front door as our welcome to guests. After the holidays we’ll recycle it and use dried fragrant leaves thrown into the fireplace. TIP: Make sure not to use candles with a lead wick and burn only beeswax or soy to be eco friendly. We generally don’t use anything but candlelight at night to save on energy, and because it’s simply more beautiful light. The house is warm, the mood “tucked in”, the fire is on, and I like to burn fragrant candles both day and night to set a special experience, a reminder of illumination we all share. We offer our prayers of gratitude and appreciation from all of us at ISA, including to you, as we do daily. Thank You for your patronage, we value you greatly in our lives! Please come visit us in our new location we’d love to chat about jobs with you, or email us at our contact address.

HAVE A LOVELY, JOYOUS, AND COMPASSIONATE HOLIDAY SEASON!

Serving Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air, Benedict Canyon, Torrance, Hancock Park, Laurel Canyon, Los Feliz, Marina Del Rey, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Melrose. Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Encino, Woodland Hills, Topanga Canyon, Westwood, Hollywood Hills, Pasadena, San Mareno, Santa Barbara, Orange County, Ventura County, California, New York, & the greater United States…

Our Best Advice has been brought to you by www.ISAstaffing.com, renowned Best of The Best in Household Work and Domestic Help staffing. Visit often for other great ideas, use our Tell A Friend featured link to this blog, and our Domestic Staffing website to pass our HOT TIPS and renowned services. THANKS!

Tags: beeswax candles, Beverly Hills party events, Catering, Charter For Compassion, CHEF, CHEFS, Cook, Cooks, energy, fuseproject, Holiday Events, Holidays, illumination, ISA Staffing, Karen Armstrong, light, Lost Horizon movie, Parties, party planning, Party Staff, Party staffing, Recycle, soy candles, TED, TED PRIZE, Thomas Duffy