beautiful baby photo contest 2016

GO ONLINE TO REGISTER AND VOTE!bradfordera.com

oleantimesherald.comsalamancapress.com

Each person can vote once per day.

Rosemary

Casey Kristian

Gavin

Sawyer

Cole

Jack

Killian Bret

Caleb

Harper

Manny-James

Anthony Avery Violet

Vote by going to: bradfordera.com, oleantimesherald.com or salamancapress.com

Logan

Avery Kylie

AddisonBallard Mallorie

Knox Ella

Madyxx

Kiara

Mikey

Sophia

Cecelia

Ellyott

Aubrey

Paisley

Dominic

John

Kieran

Xsaver

2 • The Bradford Era, The Olean Times Herald, The Salamanca Press • March 3, 2016 • Beautiful Baby Contest 2016

Welcoming a new child into a family dynamic requires certain adjustments on the part of family members. New

parents have come to expect shortened sleep schedules as they handle early-morning feed-ings and babies who haven’t quite adjusted to their parents’ sleep/wake schedules.

Parents soon learn another aspect of child-care that fills their days is safety. Keeping little ones safe, whether at home or on the go, be-comes the utmost priority.

The Centers for Disease Control and Pre-vention’s “Childhood Injury Report” indicates more than 12,000 children die each year in the United States from an unintentional injury. Injuries involving transportation, drowning and suffocation account for the largest number of accidental deaths among young children.

One of the first safety steps parents can take is to become informed about common child-hood injuries and statistics. Educating oneself about the potential for injury is the key to pre-venting accidents from occurring.

The next step is to take measures to child-proof areas in and around the home. Various organizations, including Kids Health, the Con-sumer Product Safety Commission and the Na-tional Safety Council, recommend caregivers take the following safety measures.

· Use safety latches and locks for cabinets

and drawers to keep children away from po-tentially harmful poisons and household items.

· Employ safety gates to prevent falls down stairs and to keep children from entering rooms that are not supervised or contain possible dangers.

· Keep track of baby’s milestones, including when infants learn to pull themselves up in the crib. The crib mattress should be set to the low-est position and items removed so curious kids cannot climb out of the crib.

· Bathtubs are a common location for injury. Never leave a child unattended in a bath - even for a minute. Bathrooms can be made safer by installing a soft cover on the bath fau-cet head, using a secure and non-skid bath seat for the child and relying on a thermometer to check the temperature of the bath water.

· Use knob covers to prevent access to the stove. Always supervise children in and around the kitchen, where there are many hazards and hot surfaces.

· Use bolts or anchors to secure items like televisions, bookcases or dressers to the wall to prevent them from tipping over.

· Getting a shock is easy when babies with saliva-drenched fingers touch electrical out-lets. Use safety plugs or special covers to pre-vent access.

· Make sure area rugs are secured with a

nonskid backing and repair any tripping haz-ards so children do not fall while learning to walk.

· Drapery and blinds cords should be kept out of youngsters’ reach. Window coverings that are cord-free are safer options.

· Parents can benefit by learning CPR and other first aid techniques. You never know when they might come in handy.

· Window guards and safety netting can prevent falls from windows, balconies, landings, and decks. Check these safety devices fre-quently to make sure they are still secure.

· Be sure to check that smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are functioning as they should and have fresh batteries.

· Create layers of protection around a swim-ming pool, which includes installing self-latching fences, alarms and safety covers.

· Make a first aid kit and store emergency in-structions inside. Post important phone numbers close to a landline phone or program them into a mobile phone.

· Use corner guards to protect young heads from falls against furniture or fireplace hearths.

These are just some of the safety measures parents can take to safeguard their young children from injury at home. Kids’ pediatricians also may have other information that can help prevent accidents and save lives.

Conquering the clutter Cleanliness wtih kids is not impossible

Many parents realize that having children means their homes will be filled with a vast assortment of toys, clothing and other items that seem-ingly spend more time scattered across the family room floor than in children’s bedrooms.

Homes where young children lay their heads at night may not be as tidy as the photos lining home dec-orating magazine spreads. But while lived-in family homes may never be spotless, they do not have to be overrun with clutter, either. It’s pos-sible to find a happy balance with the right strategy and by investing in a few organizational products.

· Work one room at a time. Clean-ing up cluttered homes can seem like a monumental effort when look-ing at clutter as a whole. But par-ents can do themselves a favor

by choosing a starting point and tackling the project one room at a time. Find the room that needs the most work or a space where clut-ter causes the biggest headaches. Once you clean such rooms, you may discover extra motivation to move on to the others.

· Resist the urge to wander. One of the obstacles many people face when attempting to declutter a home is the tendency to remove an item from one room only to add it to the existing clutter in another room. For example, if a child’s toy is in the living room, you may walk that toy up to the bedroom and get in-volved in tidying up the bedroom, leaving the mess behind in the liv-ing room. When organizing a home, stay in a particular room until that room is clean. Have designated bins or bags for items that need to be carried into another room, but only transfer such containers after a

room has been cleaned.· Cull twice a year. Children accu-

mulate the greatest number of new toys on birthdays and holidays. Set a schedule to go through existing toys prior to these events and sort out the broken, old or seldom-used items. Donate these toys to pre-schools, afterschool programs, fam-ily support centers, or babysitting centers at your office or gym. What-ever can’t be salvaged should be put into the trash or recycling bins.

· Invest in storage cubes and bins. Toys that are easily accessible and seen are easier to find and put away. Develop a storage system that works for your family. Labeling bins with words (or pictures for chil-dren who can’t yet read) helps chil-dren identify where things belong. Find a system that will have long-term functionality and grow with the family. Many stores sell storage bookcases that blend with home

de^acor.· Tame the toys. Making too many

items available at any given time can become overwhelming to chil-dren. Rotate toys rather than always buying new ones so that items will be fresh and interesting. Toys out of the rotation can be stored in a basement or attic. Belongings that are not requested or missed can be given away. Another idea is to create wishlists for birthdays and holidays. This way friends and rela-tives only buy what kids want, rather than an array of toys that may just end up taking up space.

· Get items off of the floor. Any or-ganizational system that can move items vertically is beneficial. Children will become accustomed to hang-ing things up rather than leaving belongings on the floor. Hooks, hangers and shelving mounted on walls, will free up precious floor space.

· Choose furniture that serves double duty. Beds with drawers underneath or a toy chest that doubles as a bench can work well in spaces that need some clutter control.

· Establish a school memory box. Parents can give each of their chil-dren a plastic bin where they can store memorable items from school. Not every assignment or draw-ing sent home needs to be kept.

Reserve the memory box for those special things that have the most meaning.

Kids and clutter often go hand in hand. However, there are ways to keep the mess under control.

Beautiful Baby Contest 2016 • March 3, 2016 • The Bradford Era, The Olean Times Herald, The Salamanca Press • 3

Safety guidelines for new parents

A tidy house with kids is not impossible


Olivia

Kinsley

Sarah Piper Rowen

Ace

Reagan

Arianna

Noah

Jackson

Skylar

David

Alyssa Frankie Lily, Logan, & Oliver

Meryem

MariaMaddox

Braxton Kendall



Scarlett

Adrianna

Robin Sawyer Alexander

JoshuaGabriel

Ellie

Kaylyn

Scarlett

Axel

Averie Marvin

Elijha Sophia

Axel

Ellie

Mia

Tania Evan



Serina

Autumn

River Rose

Elianna

Adelyn

Colton Mattie-Lynn

Josiah Kamryn Steelie Noel

KaterinaEmilia

Elena

Jack

Bella

AubreeLandon

TyRilynn



Keegan

Zachary

Joey

FaylinnNatasha

Aksel Barker

Ryla

Harper

Kora

Emmalynn

Blake & Codie Liam

Chase Kalista

Lucas

Vedderlynn

Kyrha

Maddox Lylah


Hiring a babysitter can be a difficult decision for many families. For the first several years of their children’s lives, many parents only trust

themselves or direct family members to take care of their kids. But most parents must eventually rely on babysitters to look after their children.

Selecting a babysitter is not something to take lightly. Putting your child into the care of another person requires trust and careful vetting of that per-son.

The best place to begin looking for a babysitter is within your own community. Churches, preschools and a network of friends can usually yield sugges-tions for potential babysitters. An older child of a close friend is often a person to consider. Other-wise, ask around at your child’s day care center or preschool. Some teachers watch children as a side job, while others may offer recommendations. A school that conducts background checks on their employees as well as screens them for drug use and illnesses can take much of the work out of the vetting process for you. As a parent, you may simply need to call up some of the sitter ’s references to validate his or her claims of responsibility.

The next step is to interview a sitter and see how he or she interacts with your child or children. Ask questions at this point, finding out if the sitter is trained in CPR and first aid and if the sitter complet-

ed any courses in handling medical emergencies or other potentially sticky medical situations. Be sure to ask about experience watching particular age groups as well.

Discuss your rules with the sitter, including bed times, food restrictions, policy on visitors, use of cer-tain appliances and use of social media or digital devices while babysitting. The babysitter should understand all of your requirements and agree to them readily before being offered the job.

Once a babysitter has been selected, have the sitter come to the house roughly 30 minutes before you decide to leave. This time gives your children time to grow acclimated to the sitter ’s presence, and it gives you the chance to answer any ques-tions the sitter may have. Leave emergency phone numbers as well as details on how you can be reached and where you are going. You may want to inform a close neighbor that you are having a sitter watch the kids and find out if he or she can be available in case of an emergency.

You will probably be anxious the first time you leave your children with a sitter. Call home several times to check on things and reassure yourself that all is well.

When you return home, ask the sitter how things went. Talk about situations you know may have been a problem, such as a reluctance for the kids

to go to sleep. Reassuring the sitter that these be-haviors are not a reflection on his or her skills as a sitter will make the babysitter feel more comfortable and secure.

Some parents feel better by using a nanny cam to keep a close watch on the situation at home. This is a personal preference and may not be neces-sary unless you suspect something is awry. In such instances, it is better to look for a new sitter instead.

Your children can tell you if they liked the sitter and if they felt comfortable with him or her. Kids who ap-pear reluctant to be around the sitter or who exhibit a strong desire for their parents to stay home should raise some red flags. However, if you’ve done your research and have found someone you believe to be a reliable and safe sitter, there should be no problems.

Install a new appliance, which comes with an instruction manual. Buy a new gadget, and there will be an operation

booklet tucked into the box. But have a child, and there’s no how-to guide that comes with the new baby. Parents must learn the ropes themselves with some guid-ance from others who have been there. Parents with good intentions make mistakes when parenting their children, and most of these mistakes are quite common.

Parents employ many strategies for raising children the right way. It is often a task of trial and error to find methods that work in certain families. When mak-ing parenting decisions, individuals may want to avoid these common pitfalls that may lead to potential problems down the line with children’s behavior.

* Do as I say, not as I do. Parents are often guilty of instructing children how to do something, but not following their own advice. For example, telling chil-dren to eat a balanced meal (includ-ing those vegetables) while the parent doesn’t put any on his or her plate. Children learn best by example, and they are always watching their parents’ behavior. Setting a good example all of the time is important.

* Failure to be consistent. Empty threats will soon be recognized by children for what they are. If a certain punishment is mentioned in reference to poor behavior, it is important to follow through. Don’t allow children to feel as though they can behave badly without

facing consequences.* Setting unrealistic expectations. This

is a fast-paced world, and one in which many people are trying to keep up with the Jones’. This can cause parents to compare their children to others the same age and wonder whey their kids are not yet meeting a milestone some-one else may have accomplished. As a result, parents tend to get pushy and impatient with their own children. This is often the case with a toddler who is not yet ready to potty train or a teenager who has yet to a commit to a course of study at school. Parents should set realistic expectations for their children, taking time into consideration. All chil-dren mature or do things on their own schedules -- and will come around in time.

* Offering too many choices. Chil-dren presented with too many options might become indecisive. Parents can keep this in mind when allowing kids to have some independence by making a few decisions but limiting the choic-

es to a manageable amount. For ex-ample, when asking children what they may want for breakfast, only give three choices, such as: cereal, oatmeal or yogurt. They ’ll still feel like they are mak-ing choices, but fewer options are less likely to overwhelm kids.

* Packing the schedule. More is not necessarily better when it comes to setting a child’s schedule. Too often parents fill their kids’ schedules with too many activities, especially extra-curricu-lars. Although afterschool activities help kids make more friends and become well-rounded individuals, overdoing it can cause stress, fatigue or inability to concentrate. Children need a balance between just having fun with free play and their school and extracurricular commitments. Having something to do each and every afternoon may over-whelm some children.

* Over-praising mundane things. It ’s good to reinforce positive behavior with praise, but often parents heap on too much praise or reward things that

don’t have much merit. This may cause children to expect a pat on the back every time they do something. When parents applaud everything a child does, he or she may end up undermin-ing the effectiveness of praise as a form of positive reinforcement.

* Nagging doesn’t work. Repeti-tively asking for something to get done may cause children to tune out. If the child doesn’t comply in a reasonable amount of time, then he or she will face some sort of punishment.

* Children and adults are not equal. In an effort to befriend their children, parents often worry about hurting feel-ings or having their kids mad at them. Children shouldn’t be treated as small adults, and parents should remember they are parents first and foremost. Some decisions will be unpopular, but such decisions need to be made if they are in the child’s best interest.


How to select a babysitter

Most common parenting mistakes to try to avoid

beautiful baby photo contest 2016

Documents