Washing Hands

Have you ever wondered why you have to wash your hands when they appear to be perfectly clean? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if you don't wash your hands frequently you can pick up germs and infect yourself. Germs are still Germs and a bathroom is still a bathroom, no matter if it is a public bathroom or a bathroom at home therefore it is important to wash your hands after using any bathroom. First we will go over how not to wash your hands, then we will look at the proper way to wash your hands, and for when there is no running water, how to wash your hands with hand sanitizer.

How Not to wash your hands:

• Don't use a splash of water and a drop of soap

• don't use a standing basin of water to rinse hands

• don't use a common hand towel, always use disposable towels in day care or food preparation settings.

• don't use sponges or non disposable cleaning cloths since germs thrive on moist surfaces. 

How to Wash your hands correctly:

1. In a public bathroom where there is a paper towel dispenser, push the lever up and down to release some paper towel, leave it hanging there

2. Turn on the water

3. Wet your hands with warm running water

4. Add soap, and then rub your hands together making a soapy lather. Do this away from the water, for 15 seconds. Wash the front and back of your hands, as well as between your fingers and under your nails.

5. Rinse your hands under warm running water.

6. Tear off the paper towel you have dispensed before

7. Use the paper towel to turn off the water

8. Use the paper towel to push the lever up and down to release more paper towel

9. Pat your hands dry with the paper towel

10. then open the door using the same paper towel, and then throw it in the garbage.

How to wash your hands with hand Sanitizer:

• So long as it contains more than 60% alcohol it will do the trick

• you can use it when there is no running water available, it's most common in health care settings.

• Use it when there is no visible dirt on your hands.

• Put on enough hand sanitizer that should be about the size of a quarter onto your hands, enough that when you rub your hands together it should cover all areas

• then rub your hands and evenly distribute it till your hands are dry.

• hand sanitizers are very safe, there is no need to worry about the alcohol, because it completely evaporates as it dries.

In conclusion, washing your hands is very important to stop the spread of germs and prevent diseases. You should wash your hands the proper way since a splash of water won't be sufficient. Children should be encouraged to wash their hands before eating, after coming in from the outdoors, and after using the bathroom. Since children learn by example, show them good hand washing techniques so that they can learn from you and do so too.

"I Don't Care" --- The 'Perfect' Defense

"Why didn't you...?"
"I don't Care"

"How many times do I have to tell you not to..."
"I don't Care"

"What were you thinking when you..."
"I don't Care"

"What happened to..."
"I don't Care"

"When are you going to learnt to..."
"I don't Care"

"Why do you keep..."
"I don't Care"

Having an "I don't Care" attitude can be both good and bad. It can be bad because if you never care about anything then you'll never change. So long as a child doesn't care that they're doing poorly in school they'll never improve. Once they start caring about their grades or want to give their parents something to be proud of then they will put more effort into doing well.

It can be good in instances where children get picked on and bullied by other children. If they have a feeling of "I don't care" then they won't let what the other kids call them affect them in any way. Its a protective shield for them. Or when you have a rough day and things just don't seem to be going right. When you have an "I don't care" attitude, you won't carry the affects of your bad day onto others and instead you can turn your bad day into a good day and make others happy.

However, in the same way, people use the "I don't care" as a shield of defense for when they are being accused. It makes them feel less guilty. It's like their rejecting the accusations and making them null as if they don't exist, just by saying the magic words "I don't care".

Now these questions in themselves are not fair questions to ask children. Their in a predicament, they know what they did wrong, they feel guilty about it already. There is no reason to make the child feel more guilty, it will just make them resent you and feel angry and frustrated. Instead rephrase it in a way where its not told as an accusation. Instead of saying "you" say "I". Express how you feel about it. Say "I'm disappointed that...", "I would appreciate if...", "I know you can do better than...". This way they don't feel the need to defend themselves and yet still know the message you are trying to give them and they will change to make you happy, because you show you care.

Household Activity

Have any of you done household chores when you were younger? Studies show 88% of children do household chores. Children prefer to do household cleaning and food preparation rather than clothes related tasks. There are three factors that determine the children’s performance in household activity, they are age, gender, and employment status of the mother. (look at the picture to follow along)

1. Age: Older children tend to participate more in household activity than young children. Either because mothers expect more out of older children and think the younger children incapable. Or Once there are more children there are more tasks to be done so the older children are needed to do these tasks, particularly in food preparation.
2. Employment of mother: Children who’s mothers work full time or are stay at home Mom’s are more likely to be participating in household activities. However, children who’s mothers work part time are found to have the least amount of household activity. The reason for this being that mothers who work full time have no choice and need to get the chores done, so they delegate the tasks to their children, particularly that of dishwashing. Mothers that do not work have more time to spend with their children and therefore their children participate more in household tasks, performing them together with their mother. Mothers who work part time previously had been doing all the chores themselves before working. Now that they are working, they feel guilty to delegate these tasks to their children, so they don’t encourage their children to be involved.
3. Gender: Girls are found to be participating more in household chores, particularly dishwashing. While boys are found to not participate as much. Boys participate more in maintaining the car and yard. The reason why girls like dishwashing is that it is a job that uses companionship. One person can wash the dishes while another dries it.

If a parent is overworked they may feel guilty and upset if they have left chores undone while they are busy helping their kids with homework. What they don’t realize is children are the best source of household help available. A creative parent can use household tasks such as following a recipe to reinforce reading and math skills. A parent can use tasks like meal preparation, washing windows, cleaning a closet or room as a way to engage in activities with their children. This way they accomplish two things at once, getting chores done and spending valuable time with their children.

By having children participate in household tasks they distribute the family load equally so there’s less stress from the pressure of having to get everything done. Additionally, household tasks have an important role in teaching children family responsibility, home living skills, and the attitudes that go along with these tasks and they carry it into their adult lives.

Instead of having to worry about the clutter of children toys, instead of having to pay tons of money on toy “kitchens” “paint sets” “cleaning tools”, give the child a spray water bottle and some paper towels and have them help wash walls and windows. Tasks like folding clothes, sorting laundry into different colors, counting silverware and setting the table can be a valuable learning experience when shared with an adult.

If you wait for the child to become a teenager before you ask them to participate in housework it may be too late. So start now, give your child some chores that are age appropriate. It will help make a relaxing environment in the house and provide lifetime learning experiences.

To Win or To Play

This may come as a contradiction to the well known phrases, such as “You eat to live” or “You work to live” or anything for the sake of living. If everything is goal oriented then there is less enjoyment along the way and there is more cheating involved.

I was playing Candy Land with the kids I was babysitting. Now each kid was different. One constantly wanted to win. He started off the game saying “I’m going to win”. This may seem good at first, that he has good ambition. But then when it was his turn, he wasn’t happy with the card he got and wanted to land on the ice cream cone or cupcake instead. So he just moved himself to a different place he wanted to be on so that he will be closer to the finish line.

Meanwhile one of the girls sincerely wanted to play the game and was very into following all the rules. She would yell out to her brother “no you can’t do that” but of course he wouldn’t listen cause he just wanted to win. Now she didn’t get to enjoy the game so much when she was the police man enforcing the rules of the game on others. I told her not to worry that she should let him put his piece where he wants but then it will be like he’s not really playing the game. After that she was playing the game more happily.

The third child wasn’t goal oriented and her main focus wasn’t winning the game, she just wanted to play the game and have a good time. Then when she did get a double color or got to jump to a far away place she was happy. She might not have been able to win the game like that, but she definitely enjoyed the game the most.

Now, taking this lesson to life, there are three types of people. You can either be very competitive and take all means to get there, you can be money oriented and lie and cheat to get your million dollars. Or you can be the preacher telling everyone else what to do and making sure everyone is law abiding while you suffer and don’t get to enjoy what you have and are too busy meddling into other people’s affairs. Or Finally you can be the opportunist who just lives life as it is and enjoys every moment of it without worrying about achieving a goal.

This doesn’t mean you can’t have a reason for doing what your doing. You can have a reason for your actions. But you shouldn’t have a goal that interferes with you completing your actions righteously. You can have a goal to live a honest righteous life and therefore all your actions will be correct and you will be pleased with yourself for being good.

Communication and Fear

There are two types of fears that stem from the same source- communication. One is the fear of the insane and the other is a fear of respected people.

In my naive opinion I feel there is no reason to be afraid of robbers, criminals or any other such harmful people , so long as they are sane. If a person has a brain that is working I feel there is hope to communicate to them  not to commit their evil act and escape freely. However, if the criminal is insane; mentally ill, then they are just as much dangerous as any other mentally ill person. Since they can not communicate properly. Their brains aren’t functioning so you can not convince them not to harm you.

Now, respected people can be completely sane and usually are since they need power and intelligence to be respected. However, because of the need to respect them they have an aura of fear around them. There is a disturbance of the ability to communicate with powerful people.

One such respected person can be a teacher. Teachers always tell parents at PTA that their children are excellent good kids, the trouble makers are exceptions. Now why is it that kids behave so well in school while at home they can be misbehaving. It is because in school children are taught to respect their teachers, they are afraid to be absent or late for the consequence. A child can be able to give a whole review lesson to its classmates before the test. However, when it comes to giving a speech in front of the class with the teacher there, it can become impossible. There is a fear toward the respected teacher.

That could be why we have to fear G-d, it signifies our respect. Among our peers, friends and families it may be easy to communicate since we are all on the same level. You don’t have to prepare a speech in advance, it just comes out naturally. Now, one can appreciate the power of Tefillah, of having a Siddur in front of you with all the words written for us.

Toy Recalls

There has been twenty million toys recalled in 2007. You start to question why are these toys being recalled and why they are being sold if they are harmful. Most toys are recalled because they are found to have led in them. Additionally, some toys are recalled because they have small parts that can become a chocking hazard. Parents want manufacturers to make sure the toys they are selling are safe and won't hurt their kids. They expect the Consumer Product Safety Commission to do its job and make sure dangerous toys stay off store shelves.

Why there are so many Toy Recalls:

• The CPSC has responsibility for over 15,000 different products, however it is underfunded, understaffed and dependent on voluntary testing by industry.

• However the toy industry is highly competitive where consumers expect low prices. This forces manufacturers to look for low-cost materials.

• It used to be most toys sold in the United States were produced within the US. Now 87% are produced in other countries. Where 74% of those are manufactured in China.

• A study led by Scott Clark, a professor of environmental health at the University of Cincinnati, found that 50% of the paint sold in China, India, and Malaysia had lead concentrations of 30 times higher than the CPSC standard.

• Since the manufacturing role has been shifting overseas, U.S. Toy importers have come to rely more and more on test results from foreign suppliers.

• Some overseas vendors will circumvent long-established standards and procedures on purpose or out of carelessness.

• Federal Hazardous Substances Act implied that manufacturers can sell potentially toxic products as long as the exposure pathway is unlikely to be completed.

• According to the Ecology Center's investigations, some charms, bracelets, earrings, key chains, rings and other inexpensive jewelry marketed to children are made entirely of lead.

• The CPSC acknowledges that children's jewelery is a problem. CPSC spokesperson Julie Vallese says she knows kids will put things in their mouth and they are trying to get manufacturers to use nonhazardous metals.

What's being done:

• President Bush through CPSC's authority proposed to:

1. make it illegal for companies to knowingly sell a recalled product.

2. Establish a certification program for companies with a track record for meeting safety standards

3. increased penalties for violating U.S. Import laws.

4. More training for overseas inspectors
   
   

• Approved by Senate Committee: The CPSC Reform Act of 2007:

1. more than double agency's budget from 62.4 million to 141.7 million by 2015

2. increase staffing levels 20%

3. increase the maximum fine on companies from $1.8 million to $100 million

4. more testing of children's products

5. bans led in children's products

6. makes it illegal to knowingly sell a recalled product.
   
   

• Manufacturers

1. have been issuing voluntary recalls when they learn about unsafe products.

2. Said they will conduct more stringent testing of their products and impose rigorous standards on imported goods

3. Some retailers, such as Toys “R” Us, have called for further testing of the products they stock
   
   

Currently the CPSC has begun to address led paint hazards from imported toys. They entered into agreements with the Chinese government to address safety in production. Parents should avoid purchasing cheap jewelry at all costs. Parents shouldn't excessively worry on the risk of dangerous toys. However, the vast amount of recent toy recalls should serve as a wakeup call to the industries and federal regulation to make beneficial changes