Preparing Your Home For Toddler Safety

Children from age one to age three are considered toddlers. It is a time of learning their environment. It is a time for them to explore every corner of every room and everything in between. Remember that the world is new to them and they want to get to know it.

Exploring is a good thing. It is a natural part of their growth. As your toddler explores they gain knowledge, independence, and confidence. It teaches them to use all five of their senses. It teaches them how to put things together, how things work, and enlarges their world moment by moment. They should be encouraged to explore your home, within limits of course.

It can be very difficult to keep up with your toddler and they can get from point A to point B in the time it takes you to turn around for just a second to do your normal daily chores. So you need to have confidence that your home is safe for your toddler to explore, even when you aren?t watching them.

In this article, we will explore areas of your home and help you identify danger zones, then help you fix them so your explorer is safe in his new adventures. Remember, in every room of the house, get on your hands and knees and look at the world from your toddler?s point of view. This will give you a better perspective on the dangers that lurk there.

Let?s start where your toddler starts his or her day, their bedroom.

Is the glass in your toddler?s bedroom made of tempered glass? Non-Tempered glass is dangerous, because it does not break into the tiny pieces that safety glass does. If your toddler?s windows are non-tempered, you can either have new window glass installed or apply security film to them. The film is a much less expensive solution and binds the pieces of glass together if the window is ever broken.

Also, window locks are an essential item to have throughout the house, including your toddler?s room. They allow a window to be open, but not too far. Never leave the window open more than four inches. Gates with vertical slats can also help prevent your toddler from falling out of the window. Screens will not hold them!

Placing your toddler?s bed or crib in the proper place is also important. Experts recommend the space between the bars be no wider than two and three-eighths inches apart. Do not place your toddler?s crib or other furniture under the window or near baseboard or other heaters.

Items left in the crib need to be at a minimum. Make sure your toddler cannot stack or use those items to get out of their crib. You might be surprised how inventive your toddler can be when he or she wants to get somewhere. You?ll turn around and find them in some of the most impossible spots you can imagine.

Look around for any cords or other dangerous items. As your toddler gets more mobile these items present a great danger to them. Make sure you tie all cords and similar items well out of their reach. Any item that is longer than seven inches can be a danger to your toddler. Make sure they cannot get to them and remember your toddler will be more inventive and curious than you might think.

Of course, all medications, baby powder, lotion, and other items must be kept out of reach or stored in a childproof cabinet in your toddler?s room.

Do not use extension cords in your toddler?s room or anywhere else in the house where they can reach them. The danger of strangulation or electrocution is very real and should be taken seriously. Make sure you buy protective covers for all outlets. Having the outlets installed higher up the wall, out of reach of your toddler is an even better solution and much more convenient for you.

Hiding outlets behind furniture that your toddler cannot move or get behind is another solution until you can do more. The advice on electrical outlets also applies to the rest of the house so I won?t be covering that again for every room.
Parents and toddlers both spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so we?ll go there next.

Emergency phone numbers should be located everywhere there is a phone, including the kitchen. In a time of stress it is difficult to think straight or find phone books and the phone numbers you need, so keep them handy at all times.

Not just for toddler safety, but for all homes, there should be a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Take care of that right away, especially if you are a parent.

Toddlers love to climb into things like cabinets, your dishwasher, stove, and refrigerators. Make sure the dishwasher is always latched. Use childproof locks on your cabinet doors and on your refrigerator. They even make latches for your oven.

Speaking of the oven, maybe the most dangerous spot in the kitchen for your curious toddler use a stove guard to protect them. A stove guard keeps them from being able to reach the burners. Cook on your back burners whenever possible. If the controls for the stove are placed on the front of the stove, you will need to remove them.

Train yourself to not use any lower cabinets like under the sink to store hazardous products. Even soap is dangerous. Many soaps contain lye and can poison your child. This applies to all rooms where you store products, including the laundry room. Remember, if it can be reached, it will be reached.

Now do the same for all sharp objects like knives, forks, scissors, pizza cutters, and ice picks. Train yourself to put these items away every time you use them.

If you keep liquor in the kitchen or have a bar in your house where they are kept, make sure your toddler cannot reach it. The tiniest bit of alcohol can make a small child very sick and too much could prove fatal.

Ok, you get an idea of what to do in the kitchen, now let?s head for your bathroom.

A huge number of accidents occur in the bathroom each year affecting both adults and toddlers. It?s a good thing to keep that in mind when preparing your bathroom for safety.

Overhead door locks are available to be purchased and used to keep toddlers out of rooms that are not in use. You should buy these and install them on all bathroom doors.

If you have any low cabinets, get childproof locks for those the same as it was advised for you to do in your kitchen. All medications, ointments, shampoos, soap, and other products should be kept out of your toddler?s reach.

Do not leave hairdryers, electric shavers, radios, and other appliances plugged in. It?s a good idea to keep those out of reach as well because the cords are hazardous to your toddler.

Fire Departments recommend that your water temperature should be set at 120 degrees. Setting your hot water heater higher than that produces the danger of scalding.

Water safety applies in the bathroom, the same as it does for any pool area. A child can easily drown in your bathroom. It only takes two inches of water to create a drowning hazard. Do not leave the tub full of water and buy locks for your toilet seat. Not only can those save your toddler from drowning, it can also help you avoid the headaches of learning the types of things your toddler can find to plug the toilet with.


Your toddler should never be alone in the bathroom. If you are bathing them and have to leave, dry them off and take them with you. Better safe than sorry, as the saying goes.

Your toddler will also spend a lot of time in your family room, den, or living room, so let?s explore that area before we allow them to.

Do you have plants? These seemingly harmless and decorative plants may pose a very dangerous problem for your child. Are you sure that none of your plants are poisonous? Look up information about your plants in an encyclopedia, online, or consult a poison control center to be sure.

Do you have a fireplace? You can purchase guards for fireplaces at many stores. Glass fire screens are not acceptable. They get very hot and can burn your toddler if they touch it. Make sure you create a safe area around the fireplace and that your toddler cannot get into it. Where they can go, they will and the fireplace is an obvious hazard, whether it is lit or not.

Make sure all the doors in your house are safe. If they have metal doorstops, replace them with doorstops that are made entirely of rubber. Doorstops are inviting to young children who play on the floor.

As difficult as it sounds, all furniture should be placed away from the windows. Windows pose a danger to your toddler and they will climb the furniture before you know it.

Is any of your furniture easy to tip over? Floor lamps and other items, which can be turned over easily, are dangerous. Either get rid of them or secure them to a wall somehow.

Also, if your furniture in any room of the house has sharp corners, something needs to be done about it. Either purchase furniture without sharp corners or buy cushions that can be placed over the corners. You can also make your own. Just be sure it?s well padded so the corner cannot cause serious injury.

If you have a home office, I could write a whole article about the dangers for your toddler there. Use the overhead door locks to keep your toddler out of your office if possible. That?s the best advice and might save you having to do a lot of work over again after your toddler gets through with it.

Do you take your toddler into your bedroom?

Make sure all lower drawers and cabinets have childproof locks on them, closet doors have overhead locks, and any chests or other items are also locked.

Jewelry is especially dangerous for your toddler to get their hands on. Cosmetics can be poisonous. Sharp objects like manicure sets or sewing kits can also be dangerous. Again, make sure all cords are tied up where they are out of your toddler?s reach.

Do you have older children? Let?s see what hazards wait in their bedrooms.

You are probably careful about the types of toys you buy for your toddler, but are you careful to make sure they don?t get their little hands on the toys you buy for your older children? You will need your older children to assist you in keeping their toys out of your toddler?s reach. This is a very difficult task, but you have to remember toys made for older children can harm younger ones.

Are there stairs in your home?

You will need to purchase gates for the top and bottom of the staircase if you have a toddler in your home. This is a must. They should have vertical slats no more than two and three-eighths inches apart and should be sturdy and secure. Finding a way to bolt them to the walls is best.

If your banisters have more than four inches of space between supports, then you will have to solve that issue as well. You can use particle board, plywood, plastic or other sheeted product to cover those areas and keep your toddler from slipping between supports and onto the stairs alone.

This article in no way covers all the things you will need to do to make your home a safe place for your toddler to explore, but it is our hope we have gotten you in the right frame of mind to find the rest on your own.

About the Author:

Saviz Artang is the creator of the popular and fun toddler PC game Alphabet Fun with MaeMae and Jakey at http://artangco.com. Saviz is a happy father of two and an educational game creator. Saviz and his wife Carrie and their two kids live in Savage MN. (artangconsulting@hotmail.com)

Frugal Baby

 



Frugal BabySubmitted By: Carrie Lauth  

How can I be frugal and have everything baby needs?

Good question! I think the key is to identify what babies truly need. The advertisers would have you believe that baby needs fancy expensive stuff that will keep you in debt until baby's in college. Not true. Babies need very little in order to be happy. And those things are, in order of importance:

A Momma to love

Nutritious food

To be kept warm

Something to cover their bottoms

Pretty simple eh?

Free Food for Baby

The newborn baby has only three demands. They are warmth in the arms of its mother, food from her breasts, and security in the knowledge of her presence. Breastfeeding satisfies all three. - Dr. Grantly Dick-Read, author of Childbirth Without Fear.

The interesting thing about the first 3 is that they can all be met at the same time with breastfeeding! You can't get much more frugal than free can you?

Not only does breastfeeding save you money that you would have spent on formula, bottles and such, but you will save money on Doctor bills. Formula feeding carries risks: Increased ear infections, respiratory illness, increased incidence of certain cancers, long term implications for obesity, diabetes, and I could go on.

Baby Clothes

My best tip for obtaining baby clothes frugally is to make it known that you welcome hand-me-downs. Most Moms hate throwing away perfectly good baby stuff. When babies are young, they almost never wear things out before they are outgrown. If someone gives you things, accept it gratefully and thank them. Even if the stuff isn't as good as you would like and you end up donating it to charity, you still send a message that you aren't too proud for used things. And truly, it has nothing to do with charity. Obtaining used things is better for the environment. And you can put the money you save to better use. Why not start a savings account for your little one and add to it when you use creative frugality to save money? Your child will thank you later!

EBay, thrift stores and consignment shops are also good places to find baby clothes frugally.

Experts agree that babies don't really need shoes when they're learning to walk because it's best for their toes to grip the floor. If it's cold and baby's tootsies are frozen, use soft leather baby shoes. They're flexible and the healthiest, safest choice.

Saving Money On Diapers

The most frugal way of dealing with this issue is to forgo diapers altogether the way women around the world do. It's called elimination communication and basically involves watching for baby's elimination cues (and they do exist, even in newborns) and holding her over the potty so she can take care of business. However, if you're not so inclined, the next best thing is cloth diapers.

Ask people to give you cloth diapers at your baby shower instead of those cute but impractical outfits. A lot of the cloth diaper companies that sell online have baby registries. Buy the high quality cloth diapers if you plan on using them for more than one child. They will likely last you for years. I recommend Fuzzi Bunz.

More Frugal Baby Ideas

Frugality is mostly about what you don't buy than what you do, so I suggest thinking about what you can do without. Do you really need a crib or bassinet? Why not let baby sleep with you? It works for 90% of the population. Do you need a baby swing? Why not wear baby on your body in a sling? It promotes bonding, keeps baby happy, you burn extra calories and get things done too! Everybody wins. :)

Does baby really need those educational toys and gadgets? You know, Einstein didn't have flash cards. All the stimulation your baby needs is you! Talk to baby, read to baby, sing to baby, let baby watch your daily activities from his spot in the baby sling, and breastfeed your baby.

The best baby toys are things you have around the house. (Ever noticed how babies and toddlers would rather play with your keys than any expensive toy?) Babies would rather bang on pots and pans with wooden spoons than just about anything else. Save empty plastic food containers that would have been thrown away, and toss them into an empty cabinet down low in your kitchen. This will provide hours of frugal fun for baby!

One exception:

Baby car seats are best obtained new...don't risk taking a chance on a used car seat that looks fine but that may have been involved in a fender bender.

Baby's needs are truly few, and the best things you can give your baby are free.

Article Tags: babies, baby, things

The hottest tip on getting a web site listed quickly by Yahoo Inktomi MSN FAST Altavista and Hot

Anne-Marie KillerEvery webmaster knows that the free search engines are a major source of traffic.

They also know that applying all the SEO techniques in the world will not in itself get their web pages spidered, indexed and listed. Yes, sure, a perfect page, once indexed and listed will surely rank high for its keywords but unless it is found by the spiders, it is pretty useless.

It is no secret that the process of a web page being found by the spiders can be helped by placing links to that web site on other web sites (e.g. by doing a links exchange with other web sites, by putting one's URL in one's signature file when posting on a forum, by writing and submitting articles for free distribution and placing one's URL in the author's resource block etc.) All of this will surely work but it can take months before anything happens. The webmaster has no option but to be patient and wait...and wait...and wait.

Now there is something very easy and very effective one can do to speed up this process. Actually, using this method, will get a web page indexed and listed in less than 48 hours. And the whole process is controlled by the webmaster. It is easy, fast in terms of setting it all up and what's more it is free!

Here is what one does:
Go to http://www.blogger.com and sign up for a new account (free - they even host the blog on their server at no cost)
Give your blog a name.
Navigate to 'Settings' and then choose 'Site Feed'
Check that the 'Publish Site Feed' option is set to 'Yes'
Copy the 'Site Feed URL' to the clip board (you can paste is some where .. you're going to use it when you've set up your my.yahoo account)
Save your changes
Navigate to 'Posting' and create your first entry.
What should you write? Anything, actually - your words do not make that much of a difference. what is important is that you add the URL of each page you want listed to the blog. Remember to add them as live links (to enable all the spiders to follow them!) As a suggestion, why not make your blog a log of this experiment?
Publish your blog by hitting the 'Publish' button.

Sorry, we're not done yet...

Now you have to go to http://www.yahoo.com and open a My Yahoo! account. Just follow Yahoo's very clear instructions.
Click on the 'Add Content' button.
Click the 'Add RSS by URL' link.
Paste the 'Site Feed URL' you've copied earlier in the 'URL' field and hit 'Add'.
You have just added your site's news feed to your My Yahoo! account.

Mmm, you don't know what a news feed is? I've written a document explaining it all. You can read it here: http://perfect-party-ideas.blogspot.com/2005/01/what-is-orange-xml-or-rss-icon-i-see.html

Last step: go to http://www.pingomatic.com
Enter your blog's name and URL (similar to mine: http://www.perfect-party-ideas.blogspot.com)
Select all the services to ping (of which My Yahoo! is one) and click the 'Submit Pings' button.
Navigate back to your My Yahoo! account and refresh your browser.
Scroll to the bottom of the page where you'll see your blog's feed appearing.

Your job is done - the spider bait is ready!

Now for a bit of excitement. Start watching your web site's stat's to see how quickly the spiders find their way to your web site. You could even throw a free stats counter on your blog and watch the spiders visiting your blog.

Next step: Play log-and-ping every day or so. More often if you have the time! Whenever you feel like it, add another posting to your blog. Remember to throw in some links to specific pages on your web site.

Let me know how successful you were - use my 'Contact Me' page on my web site.

About the author:

Anne-Marie Killer is a mother of two step teenagers and a toddler. She is the webmaster and owner of Perfect Party Ideas
Read her blog where she documents the process of setting up Perfect Party Ideas



Web-site designing Pillars (part2)Pavel LenshinWEB-SITE DESIGNING PILLIARS (part 2)

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copyright (c) Pavel Lenshin
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USABILITY

Usability is what makes your WS pleasant to deal with.
While everyone defines personally for her(him)self how to
make design nice to look at, memorable (in respect to
branding) and serve customer/business needs in the best way
possible, the technical side of usability can and should be
corrected using the standard requirements.

SOURCE CODE OPTIMIZATION

Firstly about the four problems that come to my mind with
dirty HTML source code:

1. Potential cross-browser conflicts as some particular
useless Tags (a piece of HTML source code) may be neglected
by one browser but create some visual errors, when viewed in
other browser.
2. The more useless HTML Tags web-page has, the more drive
space it occupies.
3. As the derivative of the previous problem, the more size
of that web-page, the longer it takes to visitor to load and
view it.
4. Search engines like plain and clear textual information
for easy search and scan. By having a lot of useless pieces
of HTML code, you prevent SE spiders to proper index your
web-pages. The result is the obvious decreasing of your
Search Engine rankings. That is why Meta Tags correcting is
not the only thing you should pay attention to.

Statistic shows that more then 85% of all WSs online demands
graphics or HTML code optimization. That is actually a
common problem, the core of which lies in the use of highly
popular home web editors like FrontPage or other.

The winner among the worst is well-known Netscape
Composer, due to the extremely dirty HTML code it
generates while editing old or creating new web-pages. If
you have ever used Composer and no one have cleaned those
web-pages afterwards, they definitely contain a lot of HTML
garbage.

Based on my own experience every 50Kb Netscape Composer's
web-page can be easily optimized to the 40Kb file size or
less, as a simple result of the deleting junk HTML tags. If
you implement Cascade Style Sheet and HTML compressor you
will get the same, but clean & shiny web-page totaling
25-30Kb (40-50% space savings) with the enhanced visual
effects.

The example above shows saving on a single web-page, but if
we speak in terms of 50-60 pages WS, that occupy (without
graphics) 3-5Mb of hard drive space, the potential savings
as a result of HTML optimization may reach 1-3Mb.
So if you are experiencing the lack of hard drive space with
your hosting provider, the solution to that problem lies in
simple WS optimization. It doesn't only save a lot of space,
but, as we know, eliminates potential cross-browser
mistakes, helps SE spiders to properly index your web-pages
and make your visitors' surfing more quick and smooth and
therefore pleasant.

GRAPHICS OPTIMIZATION

When we speak about poorly optimized graphics we get two
problems: more occupied space and worse load time. Given
that the first obstacle may be overcome by acquiring
personal server with several Gigabytes of hard drive space,
the letter problem will continue to exist as the majority of
web visitors have low speed dial-up connection.

To make your graphics optimized on the basic level, you
should save it in the proper graphic format. Many popular
pictures of eBook covers can be easily optimized simply by
re-saving .JPG format into .GIF or vice versa depending on
particular file. That tactic alone can bring 15Kb file to
occupy 7-10Kb in the matter of 2 min.

The basic math shows that 10 optimized pictures (without
HTML optimization) on a web-page are capable to decrease the
overall size of it from 120Kb to 70Kb with no visual loss in
the quality of picture. Are you aware of statistics how many
visitors leave your site just because they are tired to wait
until all pictures load? It doesn't mean that you have to
simply delete these pictures completely as some people
suggest, what it does mean is that they are better to be
optimized because in case with eBook covers, they proved to
triple selling potential and their absence will be hardly
compensated by new visitors.

To choose the right format, follow one simple rule:
If the target picture is more likely to be a photo, with
many colors, unshaped objects and different lights, this
file should be saved in .JPG format. If, on the contrary, a
picture is more likely to consists of a number of vector
objects like circles, triangles, squares, doesn't have too
many colors or similar to some drown comics, then .GIF
format is the best to use.

If it is hard to determine, then save it in both formats and
compare quality/size ratio. Not much work, big effect.

Having semi- or fully professional graphic editors will
allow you to get even better results by selecting
compression rate, smoothness, sharpness of edges if we
speak about .JPG format; or palette, colors, rate of
transparency, animation features etc. if we deal with .GIF
format.

Today's technological opportunities are vast, so it is you
to decide how deeply you want to dive in.

CROSS-BROWSER &
SCREEN RESOLUTION OPTIMIZATION

The numbers are the following:
- 2% have outdated 14'' with 640*480 pixels in width and
height respectively.
- 49% of web-surfers use 15 monitors with preferable
standard screen resolution of 800*600 pixels;
- 45% surf the web with 17 monitors with reasonable
1024*768 resolution;
- 4% of users enjoy 18-19 monitors with 1152*864-1280*1024
screen settings.

What should these numbers tell you? The very simple thing
if you created the WS on your 15 monitor, don't assume that
it will look as good on other monitors as on yours.

Let me draw several notes here about the tendency that
monitor market will follow in the nearest future.
First is that all 14 monitors are gradually going to their
deserved eternal rest. Even the share of notebooks with 15
TFT screens growing exponentially. There are even several
new versions with 16 active matrixes. Don't also forget
that notebooks' 14 TFT screen have almost the same diagonal
inches as usual 15 CRT (Cathode-ray tube) monitors.
Secondly, the number of 15 monitors is also decreasing, due
to growing number of 17 monitor owners that is the third
point.

One sentence conclusion of the above statistics is that your
WS should look fine, at least, under 800*600 and 1024*768
resolutions. This is a market demand to your WS and, as we
know, you better not joke with The Market.

Without going deep into theory, there are two ways:
- more simple;
- more complex.

Both correct, both satisfy the demand above but the letter
way, given it is more complex, usually perfectly fits any
screen resolution, whether it is 14 or 21 and more
favorable to WS space usage.

The easier way would be to make the borders of your web-page
(tables of your web-page) to be fixed with certain number of
pixels.
The most popular settings are something between 650 to 750
pixels just to fit that 800 pixels width screen under the
most popular 15 monitor 800*600 resolution. If you go that
way your web-page will have the same look under different
sets of resolutions.
If we try to see it at 14 monitor with 640 pixels in width,
the unpleasant horizontal scroller would appear because our
fixed setting in 700 pixels is wider then 640 and it just
won't fit in it. If, on the other hand, we look at our
imaginable site under 1152*864 or 1280*1024, it will look
too narrow, as it will occupy only 60% of the screen width
(our 700 in comparison to 1200 screen pixels width).
Why does this designing way simpler? You just won't have any
problems building it: no need for resolution or
cross-browser optimization, as fixed pixels are read
correctly under almost every browser.

The more complex way is to have width of one or several HTML
tables columns on your site to be set in percents like 75%
or 100% and, therefore, poses the ability to automatically
broaden or narrow according to the specified percents,
depending on what screen resolution the site is being viewed
under.
If you have 600*800 screen settings (the screen width is 600
pixels) and one of the table width of your site is set to
100%, then this particular table along with all included
text and graphic will narrow to 600 pixels, if we set the
monitor to 1200*1024 resolution, i.e. having 1200 pixels
wide, our site's table will stretch to the specified 100%,
in that case, 1200 pixels.
That's why it looks more attractive under different
resolutions but demands additional optimization, including
cross-browser optimization, as Netscape Navigator browser
has some problems with proper interpreting of percent
settings in multi column tables. Which way to choose depends
on the tasks and your preference.

I wish you endless creativity and no more then 70Kb per page

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About the author:

Pavel Lenshin is an Internet entrepreneur, web-developer and
marketer, founder of the entrepreneurship portal, where you
can find discounted Internet services, marketing solutions,
FREE ebooks, FREE reports and finally uncover innovative
business strategies through FREE NET Business Magazine.
Visit: http://asbone.com


Web-site designing Pillars (part1)Pavel LenshinWEB-SITE DESIGNING PILLIARS (part1)

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copyright (c) Pavel Lenshin
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It is a hot opinion that it's the words that sell, not a
design and that you should invest all your money into
writing a good sales copy and what is left (if anything)
into web-site. I can give you 99 out of 100 that authors of
these claims are copywriters, web-designers usually don't
write articles. It is like asking football player what game
he enjoys more: football or hockey? :0)

I don't want to argue that statement about the importance of
copywriting, on the contrary, I think that it is totally
true, but under one condition your Web-Site (WS hereafter)
is already implied to make your visitors feel, at least,
comfortable.

It could never be counted, how many times I closed down the
browser without reading a single word, just because of the
amateurish and clumsy look those WSs had.

No need to emphasize on importance of the professional WS.
It is obvious, at the same time you won't read there, that
web-design is everything and that professional sales letter
or text message is nothing, because it is like answering the
question what is better to have skin or heart cancer? To
my mind, it is better to be totally healthy.

Business WS usually plays the role of virtual office, shop,
informational dep., marketing dep. and service dep. It is a
main representative and the core of your business the
final proof, the image of your company is based on.

-----What it is all about-----

The target is set to make your WS as good as it can
possibly be. Here I pointed the crucial pillars of designing
a professional looking WS. You will not find there basic
HTML teaching or how to use particular web-editor. The
knowledge of HTML will help, but is not compulsory, as
WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors will make all
HTML coding work ehind the scene for you.

You require general understanding of what HTML is and
ability to use one or several WYSIWYG web-editors, that is
three hour learning process. The feeling of style and taste
is also advisable; otherwise you will have to consult a
designer.

The problem with design How to.. is that WS design is 90%
creative work, where is no two identical WS (unless copied),
that is why there cannot be any step-by-step study, the same
way there is no step-by-step study on how to paint a
masterpiece paint.

What we can teach is how to hold a brush, but it is you,
who should paint Mona Lisa and become Leonardo da Vinci.

-----What your WS should look like?-----

+ Stylish. Consider it as an exterior and interior of your
whole off-line business premises, starting from hall
(main-index web-page) and ending with your personal office
(about me web-page). It has to have its unique feel and
style. Don't also forget about branding features your WS
represent.

+ Clear structure. Imagine a shopper who wants to make a
purchase at your offline store, but in order to enter it, he
has to go through warehouse, service department and all
kinds of office premises. Don't allow your web visitor feel
like that shopper.

+ Harmonically allocated design elements like graphics and
text. The WS is united entity and your brand. Every element
on the WS is to be blend with exterior, no separated
elements or graphics like a number of flashy banners.

+ High usability standards and complete WS optimization
including clear HTML code and optimized web graphics that
are similar to clear shop. The more dirt your web-pages
contains, the more time it will take to load them, the more
potential errors it may show in different browsers, and the
harder it will be for Search Engine spiders to index your
WS. We will discuss these issues later on.
Pay also attention to broken links, as it is similar to wall
behind the door of your off-line shop. Let your visitors
find good resources with your help, rather than an Error
404 Page not found.

+ Absence of grammatical errors. It concerns grammatical
correctness of textual information. The importance of
correct grammar is clear, no one wants to deal with
uneducated people, especially if they represent businesses.

-----What programs you will need-----

First of all you will need to equip yourself with right
armament, that are mostly WYSISWG (What You See Is What
You Get) web-editors. The download links and short
description you can find below:

Macromedia Dreamveawer -
http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/ - considered
to be the best WYSIWYG HTML editor. Ideal for beginners as
well as professional users. Anything you can only imagine
has already been included :0) 30 days trial version.

EzyPage - http://www.ezyware.com/ - very simple drag&drop
web-page creator for beginners. Although it has several very
interesting features build in like dropdown menu or
scrolling table. Free distribution.

Stepzilla - http://www.stepzilla.com/ - the software's
motto - step by step to the web - tells everything for
itself.

1st page 2000 v.2 final - http://www.evrsoft.com/products/ -
very pleasant HTML editor for beginners as well as advanced
webmasters. Has ability to choose the interface that will be
more suitable. Available HTML cleaning option, XML
converter, build in FTP-client and preview function. A lot
of ready to use Javasript, VBScript, DHTML, Perl
applications. The software is being distributed for free.

Hot Dog Professional -
http://sausage.com/products/index.html - three HTML
editors - HotDog Junior for kids, PageWiz for beginners and
Professional ver.6 for advanced users. Convenient interface
with easy to access HTML functions. Includes CSS editor,
checker for tag errors and many others. All three editors
allow to download 30-days trial version.

CoffeCup HTML editors - http://www.coffeecup.com/software/ -
another offer with several versions of softwares for
beginners as well as advanced users. Pre-made JavaScript
applications libraries, Flash effects, font creator, HTML
code cleaner, FTP-client, and many more. Collection of
web-pictures, backgrounds, icons. Available 30-days trial
PRO or free version.

AceHTML 5.0 Pro - http://www.visicommedia.com/ -
professional HTML editor. DHTML ? JavaScript libraries.
Build in CSS editor, HTML, JavaScript, CSS checker, supports
XHTML, XML, Perl and WML documents. HTML code optimizer,
link checker. Available 30-days trial version.

-----PILLARS OF PROPER DESIGNING-----

TASKS DEFINING.

You next step after setting up the appropriate web-design
program is to set the list of tasks your site should solve.
You should answer the following questions:

1. Are your WS a sales letter or a content rich project?
Depending on your answer you have or don't have to pay
attention to the structure and flexibility of navigational
menu, as it may bring new challenges, as your content-rich
WS will grow. Consider to reserve WS space to future
informational blocks like announcements, exclusive offers,
visitors voting, polls, that you may like to include
sometime in future. Don't make the page layout look too
tight, as you will require redesigning the whole page just
to insert a small table for visitors' voting.

2. What kind of integrated services you are planning to use?
Whether it is going to be shopping cart, discussion board,
chat or separate section totally devoted to the WS
newsletter, it should fit overall site layout and design.
Think in prospective, as it will take several hours now, but
avoid several weeks of headache in the future. Make sure
that the foundation of your online empire will bear all
possible additional storeys, without need of demolishing the
whole uilding and strengthening the foundation.

3. What market sector your WS belongs to in general and what
product/service you are going to offer in particular? If
your WS is an entertainment portal, full of flash games,
casino offers and reviews of upcoming PC games, it is
obvious that design and layout plays extremely important
role as a representative of more than 50% of all
information. Be sure that boring graphics in that case would
cut the roots of your WS growth. If, on the other hand, you
are working at corporate business-to-business online sector
(B2B), there is absolutely no need in complex graphics
elements or flashy stars in the top-left corner. Online
businesses always experience lack of time, therefore, they
need quick answers of who you are, what you are and why are
you, rather than waiting till your welcome 300Kb flash clip
will load. The answer to efficient finding partners among
businesses is textual and to the point information that is
easy to access and that is, usually, represented in business
white-gray-black color scheme.

VISUALLY FINISHED.

Anybody can do that, although the broader imagination you
have, the simpler it will be. What you need is comfortable
seat, paper and a pen. Put your feet on the table, close
your eyes and imagine your WS.

Let me only tell you one of my favorite jokes concerning
technique mentioned above.

There was a group of foreign visitors coming to see a very
prosperous and profitable company.
At the end of their excursion one of the visitors asked
their guide:
You know, your company is really perfect, with the best
technology I've ever seen, everybody is working very hard,
but, tell me, who is that man in the biggest room on the top
floor doing nothing but relaxing on the soft armchair with
his feet crossed on the table, sipping Cola and listening to
music?
Oh, that man came up with the idea last year, that earned us
$1.000.000, and, as far as I remember, during that time he
was also sipping Cola with his feet on the table.

So follow this man and don't allow anybody disturb you
during this work!

Don't make any mistakes about it. You may be surprised, but
it is the most challenging and crucial part of your WS
creation. The brighter efforts you put into your paper, the
more beneficial result you will get. No need for degree in
painting, just basic elements on paper as a background of
your future WS building, the rest in mind.

Don't be afraid to experiment! It's a pleasant time spending
anyway. Remember all great works of all times are
considered to be masterpieces, only because they, firstly,
perfectly reflect the depth of their creators' souls and,
secondly, they are unique in their nature. There is no
masterpiece based on well-known standards. They are good in,
let's say, decreasing production costs, but they are not
welcomed in the art creation process, which the design
surely is.

On the other hand, you should always keep in mind that the
experiment ends exactly when the web-surfer disappointment
starts.

ELEMENTS.

The key point, while visualizing your full color WS, is to
decide what and where will you place 3 basic elements:
1. Header.
2. Navigational menu.
3. Space for main text.

The following list represents possible WS elements that you
consider to have as a result of previously conducted Task
Defining. Designer should also reserve a proper place and
harmonically blend them with the rest of WS elements:
1. Banner ads;
2. Menu mirror at the bottom;
3. Additional text for news column, announcements,
testimonials etc.;
4. Email forms, visitor polls, questionnaire etc.;
5. Any other items you consider to include.

It must be stressed that all the main elements of the WS as
well as any other WS items, which should be added at your
sole discretion ought to be put in mind while visualizing,
and therefore written down on paper to be sure there is no
forgotten element left behind. If it occurs at the next
stage you will have to start from the very beginning as
there is no way to move further. So don't quadruple your
work with your own hands. Make sure you have put every
present into the box you want to receive on Christmas. ;0)

WS STRUCTURE AND LAYOUT

Draw the scheme of your WS structure. How you are planning
to arrange, link and create logically relations between
sections or stand alone web-pages. It is easy to navigate
four-page sales letter WS, but everything changes when we
are exploring 100 spontaneously linked WS. It is easier to
get out of Sahara desert rather than to find what you need.

Your navigational structure could be linear or functional.
There are unlimited number of variations, just pay close
attention and follow one simple rule:
The more difficult for you to write a WS structure, the
more difficult it will be for potential user to navigate
it!

It doesn't depend on number of web pages rather then logical
sequence and connection of different parts or sections of
your site.

COLORS

I've also read numerous times, that Headlines is what the
visitor sees first, when comes to your site. Wrong! The
first thing a surfer sees on the WS, while it loads, is the
color and, sometimes, design appearance. Don't underestimate
the importance of color influence. With the help of color
play you can easily create a feeling of excitement or grief
even before s/he will see the first letter of your Headline.

One note should be also mentioned: try, if possible, to
avoid main colors green, red, yellow, blue. They are very
Day-Glo and very annoying while using them in the company
Logo sometimes considered to be enticing.

Don't use aggressive color scheme, make it to be polite
to your customer's perception. By doing so, you don't, at
least, make your visitor be irritated. Just experiment with
hues and brightness and you will get the color you need.
Follow this rule if you are not intend to sell clown noses
in the circus tent. :0)

Text color is also ought to match the background color.
Please, avoid red text on green color, dark blue on black
etc.

(to be continued...)
------------------------------------------------------------

About the author:

Pavel Lenshin is an Internet entrepreneur, web-developer and
marketer, founder of the entrepreneurship portal, where you
can find discounted Internet services, marketing solutions,
FREE ebooks, FREE reports and finally uncover innovative
business strategies through FREE NET Business Magazine.
Visit: http://asbone.com

Celebrity Chefs Lead Stellar Culinary Careers

Charismatic and creative chefs have impacted culture since the 1880s, when France's Antoine Car?me rose to stardom as chef for Napoleon and European royalty. Less than a century later, American Julia Child recreated the world's understanding of French Cuisine through her cookbooks and television appearances, paving the way for a slew of celebrity chefs in the 1990s and into the next century.

Celebrity chefs earned their fame by starting with culinary school degrees or cooking in their parents' kitchens. Some supplement culinary school or formal culinary education with natural talent and magnetic personalities to earn public success. Celebrity chefs and their cooking wisdom are available everywhere including a television network devoted entirely to culinary arts and shelves of cookbooks at the local bookstore.

Julia Child: American Chef Turns French

Julia Child, born in 1912 in Pasadena, California, got her start in cooking in the late 1940s after a career in advertising and public relations. Already a graduate of Smith College, she enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu culinary school when her husband was assigned a job in Paris. She later opened a cooking school, L'Ecole des Trois Gourmandes, and published the famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking with two colleagues from Le Cordon Bleu. Child became one of American's first celebrity chefs and enjoyed a long career of television appearances, teaching, and writing.

Rocco DiSpirito: Reality Cooking

New York's Rocco DiSpirito is one of celebrity chefdom's best educated stars. He enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America at age 16, where he earned a culinary school degree with honors. He later studied at the Jardin de Cygne in Paris, and spent two years studying regional French food and wine. Rocco rounded out his culinary education with a business degree from Boston University. DiSpirito is known for his fusion of French and Asian styles, and he has opened several popular restaurants. His television credits include the reality show The Restaurant and selling Rocco Cookware on QVC.

Bobby Flay: Natural Culinary Talent

Bobby Flay began his culinary career at age 17, when he was hired at Joe Allen's restaurant in Manhattan. Allen was so impressed with Flay's cooking abilities that he paid for Flay's culinary education at the French Culinary Institute. After receiving his culinary school degree, Flay became famous for his unique blends of Spanish and American cuisines. Flay owns four restaurants, including Bolo in New York, and appears regularly on the Food Network and the Early Show on CBS.

Emeril Lagasse: Kickin' Cooking up a Notch

Known for popularizing Cajun and Creole cooking, Emeril Lagasse first learned about cooking from his mother as a young boy in Massachusetts. He received his culinary school degree from Johnson and Wales University, and worked as head chef at Commander's Palace in New Orleans before opening his own restaurants there and in other U.S. cities. He also is a famous TV personality, getting his start in 1993 on the Food Network. The word am has become synonymous with his name.

Nigella Lawson: Writing Her Culinary Career

Unlike most celebrity chefs, Nigella Lawson began her culinary career as a food writer. She earned a language degree from Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford, England and got a job writing a restaurant column for Spectator. She now writes for several major culinary publications, including Gourmet and Bon Appetit, has published a number of bestselling cookbooks based on her motto, To achieve maximum pleasure through minimum effort. Today, she hosts several successful TV cooking shows such as Nigella Bites.

Jamie Oliver: Life-Long (and Naked) Chef

Jamie Oliver began his culinary training at age eight in his parents' popular pub in England. He worked on his culinary education at Westminster Catering College through age sixteen, and he got his celebrity break when he appeared on a documentary about the British caf? in which he was working. Television producers called him in the next morning, and he began starring in the enormously successful Naked Chef. He has since written several Naked Chef books, taken his live cooking show on the road, and opened a popular not-for-profit restaurant. Jamie's dedication to public service and to making culinary education accessible has won him many fans.

Wolfgang Puck: Charismatic Culinary Talent

Originally from Austria, Wolfgang Puck was one of the first super chefs to establish a cooking empire. His interest in cooking was first sparked by his mother, a hotel chef. Puck received his culinary education as an apprentice in the master kitchens of top French restaurants in Europe. His charismatic personality and cooking talent led to television appearances, popular cookbooks, and wildly successful business ventures. Spago, his famous Los Angeles-based restaurant, revolutionized California pizza with its menu of gourmet toppings.

Gordon Ramsay: Villain Chef or Hero Helper?

England's Gordon Ramsay has become one of the most notorious villains of celebrity chefdom, known for both his outstanding cooking skills and abrasive personality. His soccer career was cut short with an injury at age fifteen. He began cooking four years later, working with top chefs in London and Paris before becoming head chef at Aubergine in 1993. Ramsay's infamy has spread to the U.S. in his reality television show Hell's Kitchen. His culinary career continues to flourish with new restaurants and another television series where he provides on-the-spot culinary education to struggling restaurant owners.

Rachael Ray: Much More Than 30 Minutes of Fame

Culinary entrepreneur Rachel Ray began cooking at her mother's side as a toddler. Her family owned and worked in restaurants in the northeastern United States. Ray learned about gourmet foods working at the candy counter and the fresh food department at Macy's. She opened a prestigious gourmet food market in New York but left to pursue a culinary career in the Adirondacks. She managed restaurants and taught her 30-Minute Meals cooking classes, which catapulted her to fame when she was featured on the local news. Ray now is the author of New York Times bestselling cookbooks, publishes her own magazine, and appears regularly on television.

Sources:

Rocco DiSpirito, About.com
BobbyFlay.com
Julia Child, Chef2Chef
Emeril Lagasse, Emerils.com
Every Day with Rachel Ray
Jamie Oliver, Food Network
Rachel Ray, Food Network
Rocco DiSpirito, Food Network
Jamie's Kitchen
Jeff Smith, Seattle Times
Bobby Flay, Star Chefs
Julia Child, Star Chefs
Nigella Lawson, Style Network
Celebrity Chefs, Travel-Quest
Celebrity Chefs, USA Today
Celebrity Chefs, Wikipedia
Bobby Flay, Wikipedia
Emeril Lagasse, Wikipedia
Gordon Ramsay, Wikipedia
Nigella Lawson, Wikipedia
Wolfgang Puck, Wikipedia
WolfgangPuck.com

About the Author:

Joe Taylor Jr. is a columnist for www.CulinaryEd.com. Joe also coaches musicians, entrepreneurs, and other adults who want to shift their careers. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Ithaca College.

Camping with Toddlers

Camping with Toddlers

When you take toddlers camping with you it requires a little more work and responsibility on your part as a parent or guardian. This doesn't make the camping experience any less fun, it just takes some more attention to detail. Here are some areas of concern when you take a toddler camping.

During Setup

If the toddler is asleep when you first arrive and about to setup the campsite, great! Keep the toddler buckled into their car seats with the windows rolled down a fair amount; just check in on him or her frequently. However, if awake, they are usually very excited and will want to wander about so have someone watch them at all times. During setup, everyone is usually too busy running around and may not notice the toddler crawling nearby.

Diaper Disposal

On most campgrounds, a garbage bin is usually available near or even at each individual campsite for easy diaper disposal. Although disposable diapers are the convenient choice, using cloth diapers with you when camping is certainly manageable. Bring a large plastic bag with you in case a trash bin isn't nearby. This way you can hold the soiled diapers in there until you get a chance to make a trip to the next dumpsite. Just don't wait too long, nobody likes to be around a bag full of dirty diapers for very long.

A Crawling Toddler

Always remember that toddlers love to explore, this is especially true when camping. Dress the toddlers appropriately and keep an eye out for anything that may be a hazard as camping has many of them; sharp sticks, ant hills, poison ivy, etc. You can always spread out a quilt or blanket on the ground to define their play area. You can use lawn chairs to build a perimeter around this area. But, regardless of how safe you think it is, always have an adult watching the toddler.

Bathing Options

When out camping, a toddler can easily get him/herself dirty in a hurry. You have seeral options when it comes to cleaning your toddler. A bath house, if available, is one method. If there are shower stalls accessible to the disabled, there may be a tiled bench that you can use to sit and hold the toddler while you both rinse off. Using a large rubber bin at the campsite is also an option. Just heat up some water using a camp stove or the fire and fill the tub with it.

Toddler duty

Assigning and alternating someone on toddler duty while camping would be an advisable option to keep a toddler out of trouble. Make sure to keep the toddler away from the campfire but confine them within the campsite. Also, make sure the toddler doesn't get tangled among the many ropes used around the campsite.

Toddlers are great joys at home as well as camping and I'm sure that they enjoy the company just as much as we do. Give a child the chance to get to know nature at such a young age will assure that they love the outdoors just as much as you. Enjoy and stay safe!

Don't miss John Dee's article on Choosing Campgrounds

About the Author

John Dee also writes articles in other subjects such as Fishing, Exercise and Websites

Keeping Baby Safe: your most important role as a parent

Keeping Baby Safe: your most important role as a parent

 by: Claire Bowes

Saying Thanks, But No Thanks to Used Safety Equipment

Once your beautiful bundle of joy arrives, the work of raising your child really begins. The biggest job you have as a parent is keeping your baby safe. Yet, it is impossible to watch over your children twenty-four hours a day.

Thankfully, there are many safety products available to keep them from getting hurt. These products include safety gates, outlet covers, oven and table bumpers, doorknob covers, bed rails, locks and guards, and many more. As a parent, you need to use products that are one step ahead of their children's abilities, and can do so by getting down on their level and looking around. This gives you a child's eye perspective of child safety issues in your home.

But with so many products to buy and so many different brand names, how do you decide what products you need most? The best thing to do when it comes to safety is buy new products rather than used ones. An older, used product may have been recalled due to dangerous safety issues, or it may be damaged from previous use. Although hand-me-downs are great for clothes and toys, your childs safety is just too important to leave to chance. Babies R Us is a great place to find all the safety products you need.

That still leaves the issue of how to choose between one safety gate, for instance, and another. Here are some purchasing tips for some of the more popular safety items you will need for your baby.

Car Seats

More children are seriously injured and killed in auto accidents than in any other type of accident. Each year, hundreds of lives could be saved if children were protected in cars by using child safety seats. Using a child safety seat is the best protection you can give your child when traveling by car.

When purchasing a car seat, look for:

• Label states that it meets or exceeds the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards;

• Is the car seat appropriate for your child's height and weight?

• Be aware of the type of seat belts your car has; all car seats are not compatible with all seat belts;

• Check recent car seat recalls before making a purchase;

• Be sure that the seat you choose fits your child - a smaller baby can slip out of a seat that's too large. Infants one year or younger and up to 20 pounds must be placed in a rear-facing seat, toddlers (older than 1 year and between 20 and 40 pounds) may use a forward-facing seat, and children who are between 40 and 80 pounds need to be placed in a booster seat;

• Consider choosing a seat that is upholstered in fabric - it may be more comfortable for your child.

Safety Gates

Baby safety gates are an essential element in making your home baby proof. Now that he's on the move, every nook and cranny is a potential area of exploration for him. Your baby is curious about his new environment, wanting to investigate each little corner and new room. The best way to make sure he can't do any harm to himself is to install safety gates. These will prevent him from reaching the stairs, kitchen, or an office room, where there might be many wires and electrical equipment just at his height

Accordion gates, which open to form diamond-shaped patterns with wide V's at the top, can trap a baby's head and have resulted in strangulation deaths. In January 1985, gate manufacturers halted production of these gates, but there are still an estimated 15 million gates in use. Mesh gates also can be dangerous because a toddler's fingers can become trapped.

When purchasing a safety gate, look for the following:

• A hardware-mounted gate that attaches to the doorframe without any openings to trap fingers or necks. Pressure-mounted gates should not be used between rooms of different levels or at the top of stairs; children can dislodge them and take a tumble.

• Gates that swing out should never be used at the top of stairways;

• Nonflexible vertical slats or rods should be no more than 2 3/8 inches apart;

• Check for sharp edges and protrusions that could hurt a toddler's hands;

• Avoid gates with structures that could give a child a foothold for climbing. Keep large toys away from the gate to prevent a child from using them to climb over;

• The gate should be no less than 3/4 of the child's height

Playpens

These high-sided, enclosed play areas are popular because they allow parents to put their baby down with the knowledge that he can't wander off. It is great when you have to answer the phone, do a bit of ironing, or just catch a quick breath!

When purchasing a playpen, look for the following:

• Holes in the mesh should be no larger than 1/4 inch to keep small fingers from getting caught;

• The sides should be at least 20 inches high, measured from the floor of the playpen;

• Look for padding on the tops of the rails to protect your baby from bumps;

• The locks that allow you to lower a side should be out of your baby's reach.

Baby Monitors

The idea behind a baby monitor is that you can have the ability to move around the house or your yard and still be able to keep tabs on your baby by listening or now viewing your baby. This can help alert you to a crying baby, a baby who needs your help or just help you watch baby while he or she sleeps.

The baby/nursery monitor that you buy will have different levels of mobility. The base usually plugs into the wall, usually the nursery or wherever your baby is sleeping. The receiver can plug in or be mobile. If you intend to use the monitor as you move from room to room, you will want to invest in the mobile kind, versus the stationary variety.

When purchasing a baby monitor, look for the following:

• There should be at least two channels to choose from;

• Be sure that you have a low battery indicator light. Without this you might be listening to the receiver, thinking all is quiet in the baby's room, when in fact all you've got is a dead battery;

• Has a power-on light so that you can know the unit is on without disturbing the baby;

• Has a volume control to put you in charge of how loudly you wish to hear your baby;

• Are you planning to carry around your end of the monitoring system? Then you might want a belt clip!

Bath Seats

A bath seat gives your child added support while in the bathtub and can help prevent a soapy baby from slipping out of your hands and hitting her head on the tub. Keep in mind, however, that you should NEVER leave your child unattended in the tub!

When purchasing a bath seat, look for the following:

• Never use a bath seat on textured or non-skid surfaces unless the manufacturers instructions specifically state the seat is intended for such surfaces;

• Look for the JPMA Certification Seal.

Always remember, no matter what safety product you are buying, to look at the features to be sure they meet your specific requirements. Also check to be sure that the product you are considering has not recently been recalled. The safety of your child is of utmost importance dont leave it to chance!

About The Author

Claire Bowes is a successful freelance writer and owner of http://www.baby-gifts-unique.com where you will find further tips on http://www.baby-gifts-unique.com/baby-showers.html, and unique baby gifts http://www.baby-gifts-unique.com/baby-personalized-gifts.html.

TwoYear Olds: The Original Freedom Fighters

We call him the Buddha Napoleon. Anyone who's ever lived with a two year old knows exactly what I'm talking about. He's this amazing blend of cosmic beauty, love, and peace while simultaneously making it crystal clear that he's the grand dictator of the known universe. His little size never deters him from anything he sets his mind to. I'd forgotten so much since raising my first two children. The ten and twelve year age difference allows for that. Lucky for the Buddha Napoleon, I've had practice and am therefore a lot more knowledgeable and patient this time around.

I believe this is probably the most important year for his social development. During the first year of a baby's life, we're supposed to set a solid foundation of love and trust. That first year puts in place a basic belief that the world is a wonderful place full of love and light, or it's not. The second year, we teach them to believe in themselves. Get up and walk, learn to speak, learn to manipulate toys, learn that ever important can-do attitude. After the second birthday, it's all about personal power and boundaries. How do we get what we want from others? How do we stay out of trouble? Why do all of these stupid rules exist anyway? Do I have a right to tell you No since you say it to me all of the time? What are the consequences if I give in all of the time? And if I don't give in, then what? Am I in charge of my life or are you? I think it's a miniature version of the same dynamics we go through with our teenagers. They're just revisiting these same questions from a taller and more hormonal perspective. Handle the two year old stage well, and I think you'll find the teenage years aren't nearly so difficult.

Remember back to when you were thirteen... did your folks answer your questions with, Because I said so or did they actually give you real reasons for their decisions? Which had a bigger impact on your ability to honor and respect their view point? It's no different with two year olds. Find the vocabulary that they understand and explain to them why they can't scream at the top of their lungs just to hear the echo throughout the grocery store. It hurts my ears. It hurts everyone in the stores ears, and that's not okay. Explain why they can't kick and pound on you while you are buckling them into the car seat. That hurts me, and I don't like it. Quite often they'll quit. You'll still have days when they'll do it anyway, but they'll completely understand why they're getting busted. They'll know that it's because they made a choice not because you're just being mean for the heck of it. Over and over, you have to keep telling them why. They also need to see you enforce the rules on others too. Role model for them that everyone in the house is being held by the same standards of behavior. Conduct yourself accordingly. Eventually, they'll come to agree with the rules if they understand the reasoning behind them. Because I said so isn't a reason that any self-respecting two year old will ever embrace.

Self-respect is a very important aspect that I think too many parents downplay in raising their children. How is someone supposed to come away with any kind of self-respect if they've been raised to never ever disagree or question authority? My favorite is when I hear people say, Don't say no to me, I'm your mother! The fact that people are capable of breeding doesn't make them right! If you want your child to respect you and to speak to you with respect, then earn it. Children are very observant. Do you practice what you preach? Do you scream and yell at them and then bust them for doing the same thing back to you? They mimic your behaviors because you represent what it is to be a grown up in society. Do you spank first and ask questions second? Then they will too. Do you want a child who grows up to be a follower or a leader? If you punish them every time they try to take the lead, then they will either avoid leadership, or they will punish anyone who gets in their way.

Give your child the right to say No. Tell your two year old it's okay to say No, I don't want Uncle Johnny to pick me up and tickle me right now. Then, make Uncle Johnny respect your toddler's personal space. Later, when the child is in someone else's space, you can remind them of how it feels as you explain why they need to back off.

The key to this is to teach your child about presentation and about listening skills. It's okay to disagree with me, but you can't scream and yell and kick. It's okay to tell me no, but you also have to listen to my side of the argument too. You then have to role model what it is you want from them. You have to listen to their reasons and then they have to listen to yours. Teach them negotiation skills. Teach them how to say no so that it's not offensive. Sure it's a lot easier to just deny them the right to disagree, but it'll come back on you when they're teenagers. Almost everyone disagreed with me when I gave my older two kids permission to question authority and to openly argue their point. I just made sure they were polite and respectful while doing so. Their teachers and babysitters weren't always thrilled, but communications were always open and honest and understandings were always reached. My older two have a solid belief in setting personal boundaries and not allowing others to take advantage. And so does the Buddha Napoleon.

Copyright 2004, Tomorrow's Edge, Skye Thomas

I believe this is probably the most important year for his social development. During the first year of a baby's life, we're supposed to set a solid foundation of love and trust. That first year puts in place a basic belief that the world is a wonderful place full of love and light, or it's not. The second year, we teach them to believe in themselves. Get up and walk, learn to speak, learn to manipulate toys, learn that ever important can-do attitude. After the second birthday, it's all about personal power and boundaries. How do we get what we want from others? How do we stay out of trouble? Why do all of these stupid rules exist anyway? Do I have a right to tell you No since you say it to me all of the time? What are the consequences if I give in all of the time? And if I don't give in, then what? Am I in charge of my life or are you? I think it's a miniature version of the same dynamics we go through with our teenagers. They're just revisiting these same questions from a taller and more hormonal perspective. Handle the two year old stage well, and I think you'll find the teenage years aren't nearly so difficult.

Remember back to when you were thirteen... did your folks answer your questions with, Because I said so or did they actually give you real reasons for their decisions? Which had a bigger impact on your ability to honor and respect their view point? It's no different with two year olds. Find the vocabulary that they understand and explain to them why they can't scream at the top of their lungs just to hear the echo throughout the grocery store. It hurts my ears. It hurts everyone in the stores ears, and that's not okay. Explain why they can't kick and pound on you while you are buckling them into the car seat. That hurts me, and I don't like it. Quite often they'll quit. You'll still have days when they'll do it anyway, but they'll completely understand why they're getting busted. They'll know that it's because they made a choice not because you're just being mean for the heck of it. Over and over, you have to keep telling them why. They also need to see you enforce the rules on others too. Role model for them that everyone in the house is being held by the same standards of behavior. Conduct yourself accordingly. Eventually, they'll come to agree with the rules if they understand the reasoning behind them. Because I said so isn't a reason that any self-respecting two year old will ever embrace.

Self-respect is a very important aspect that I think too many parents downplay in raising their children. How is someone supposed to come away with any kind of self-respect if they've been raised to never ever disagree or question authority? My favorite is when I hear people say, Don't say no to me, I'm your mother! The fact that people are capable of breeding doesn't make them right! If you want your child to respect you and to speak to you with respect, then earn it. Children are very observant. Do you practice what you preach? Do you scream and yell at them and then bust them for doing the same thing back to you? They mimic your behaviors because you represent what it is to be a grown up in society. Do you spank first and ask questions second? Then they will too. Do you want a child who grows up to be a follower or a leader? If you punish them every time they try to take the lead, then they will either avoid leadership, or they will punish anyone who gets in their way.

Give your child the right to say No. Tell your two year old it's okay to say No, I don't want Uncle Johnny to pick me up and tickle me right now. Then, make Uncle Johnny respect your toddler's personal space. Later, when the child is in someone else's space, you can remind them of how it feels as you explain why they need to back off.

The key to this is to teach your child about presentation and about listening skills. It's okay to disagree with me, but you can't scream and yell and kick. It's okay to tell me no, but you also have to listen to my side of the argument too. You then have to role model what it is you want from them. You have to listen to their reasons and then they have to listen to yours. Teach them negotiation skills. Teach them how to say no so that it's not offensive. Sure it's a lot easier to just deny them the right to disagree, but it'll come back on you when they're teenagers. Almost everyone disagreed with me when I gave my older two kids permission to question authority and to openly argue their point. I just made sure they were polite and respectful while doing so. Their teachers and babysitters weren't always thrilled, but communications were always open and honest and understandings were always reached. My older two have a solid belief in setting personal boundaries and not allowing others to take advantage. And so does the Buddha Napoleon.

Copyright 2004, Tomorrow's Edge, Skye Thomas

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Skye Thomas began writing books and articles with an everyday practical approach to life in 1999 after twenty years of studying spirituality, metaphysics, astrology, personal growth, motivation, and parenting. After years of high heels and business clothes, she is currently enjoying working from home in her pajamas. Go to www.TomorrowsEdge.net to read more of her articles and to get a free preview of one of her books.

Preparing your Home for a Puppy

A wriggling bundle of joy explodes into your home. Watch out, it's your new puppy, and she is interested in everything around her. Unfortunately, what she wants to sniff, eat or chew on, may not be the safest things for her, and even cause a serious injury, or death. Before your new puppy arrives at your doorstep, you need to examine your home and take some easy steps to prevent a disaster.

Preparing your house for your new puppy is very similar to baby proofing a house. Look at your home at puppy level. What will your puppy be able to reach? What could she jump up on and injure herself with? What kinds of plants do you have at puppy level? Can she pull anything down onto her head? Go room to room and make a note of any of the following potential hazards:

1) Stairs. Some puppies are not very coordinated, and could fall down the stairs easily. Invest in dog gates, or even child gates, to limit your puppy's access to the stairwells.

2) Electrical Cords. Dogs explore their world with their mouth instead of their hands. Puppies will chew on any interesting thing on the floor, including a live electrical cord, risking an electric shock.

3) Furniture. Your puppy will chew on your furniture, but you may be able to prevent it using Bitter Apple spray, or through behavior training. If your puppy eats enough of the wood from the furniture, she risks getting intestinal injuries from splinters.

4) Household cleaners. Just like you would keep poisonous cleaners out of the reach of a toddler, so you should do the same for a puppy.

5) Try to supervise your puppy when she is outside. Puppies don't know enough to be afraid of biting a snake or eating a toad and being poisoned. Keep an eye on your puppy so she doesn't run away from you and get hit by a car, or even stolen right out of your back yard. Puppies are trusting little creatures and could be killed by a wandering older dog, or a coyote.

6) Don't leave your puppy alone in a car in warm weather. Heat builds up in a car very quickly, even with a window open. In some states it is against the law to leave a dog in a car during the warmer months.

7) Keep your puppy in a crate, or a harness attached to a seat belt in your car when traveling. A small puppy can be a projectile during even a minor accident, leading to severe injury, or death.

8) Automobile liquids are lethal to dogs. Gasoline, motor oil and antifreeze can kill your dog.

9) Puppies like to eat stretchy things that smell like their humans, such as socks, nylons, shoe laces and hair accessories. All these things can injure your puppy's intestinal tract, and may require a trip to the emergency vets.

10) Keep human medicines and vitamins away from your puppy. What is good for you, may not be good for your puppy.

A little prevention will save you and your puppy a lot of grief later on. Using common sense and a sharp eye, you can stop a potential puppy hazard before it happens.
About the Author

This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.PetLovers.Com/ which is a site for Pet Forums.

Mary Casey is a writer and avid dog lover.

Diaries of a (London) Bus Driver Vol. 1.5May 30th 2003

Dear friends,

Filling in accident reports is becoming a very unwelcome habit! Friday, May 23rd was a busy day - hordes of shoppers out in advance of the 3-day weekend. By the end of my shift, I was running close to a half an hour late. For most of my last run, I was driving in tandem with the bus that should have been 15 minutes behind me. This happens because as one bus gets later, as I have previously mentioned, it picks up extra passengers, slowing it further. The converse of this, is that the next bus picks up less passengers, speeding its journey. While I was to take my bus back to the garage we are based at, the other driver was to leave her bus at Palmers Green Garage and then, rather unfairly, have to fend for herself in getting back to Edmonton. She asked for me to pick her up, and I did.

The last road before the Edmonton garage approach path is Hawley Road. It is fairly narrow and way too busy. Also along the road, there's an office building, a large vehicle testing centre - buses and lorries, a tyre wholesaler and several small haulage firms. The approach road always has loading activity and cars parked on one side, and frequently, lorries and vans on the other. This was the scene that I found on the day of my latest accident. I edged between parked vehicles, coming almost nose-to-nose with a large artic (articulated lorry) coming from the opposite direction. He's bigger than me. I backed off! With the guidance of the other driver, I reversed into a parking position. The lorry driver, without acknowledging my gesture, edged forward. As he was getting closer to my bus, M, as I shall call her, advised me of company policy. If someone appears about to hit your vehicle, DON'T MOVE! If you move, the accident is your fault. If you don't, it is theirs. With at least 4 feet on the other side of his vehicle, he managed to wedge himself into my bus. Other vehicles were trapped. Tempers were frayed. Out with the trusted camera. Hands trembling as I wrote the report. Colleagues tell me not to worry. The garage manager jokes that he won't read my report until Tuesday - I should enjoy my weekend and he'll sack me on Tuesday! I have my witness. There will be no repercussions. But, I still don't like it. 4 pints of cider and two numbers on the karaoke (Summer Breeze and Blueberry Hill) later, I was relaxed.

The previous days' excitement was a bomb scare at 'the Jewish Centre' in North Finchley. I was stuck there for about 40 minutes. A frequent passenger, who introduced herself as Anne Marie, was extremely helpful, finding out what was going on helping to explain the situation to some of the other passengers. She was with her brother, who is somewhat learning disabled. When the emergency Controller gave me the all clear to proceed, I pointed to Anne Marie: This woman deserves a medal. She's been very helpful. She, in a loud clear voice: My name's Anne Marie. That's ANNE... MARIE. No modest embarrassment there! I saw her again the next day (the day of the accident). She didn't get on the bus, but put her mother on, asking me to make sure she got off at the right stop. When I got there, I called out is Anne Marie's mum getting off? Several chuckles from the rear. Not surprisingly, everybody seems to know her.

Those are the nice moments that make the job sometimes enjoyable. Other things that put a smile on my face are the little kids showing me their parent's bus pass - 'I'm a big kid' grins all over their faces, when a kid manages to climb the step onto the bus 'all by themselves' for the first time, and the number of gorgeous women who smile so nicely at me almost daily. A toddler of barely two said Thank you. Bye, as he was leaving the bus - so cute! A schoolgirl's bus pass was left on the bus and handed to me by another passenger. Rather than handing it in to the garage that afternoon - it would be unlikely to be claimed - I gave it to another girl from her school the next day, as she didn't get on my bus. Seeing her again, flashing the pass, was nice.

The new buses are very sleek, and much faster than the old ones. I have heard them described as sexy - presumably by people who would consider an attraction to sheep unnatural! One of the many serious drawbacks is that they have only 20 seats downstairs, giving more standing room. The 125 route is sometimes unaffectionately dubbed 'the ambulance route', for the number of senior citizens who ride it. A particularly annoying feature is that the horn, which wouldn't go amiss at sea, is touch sensitive and on the end of the turn signal lever, which can be extremely difficult to engage. It can be embarrassing when I accidentally let the thing off. Passers-by and other drivers look bemused, once they've settled back into the skins they jumped out of! My heart skips a beat! One car driver, on hearing this, drove through the red light we were stationary at!!

Accident day was eventful. A third incident that I think worth relating is when I must have had over 20 seniors on my bus and other people were taking up some of the seats. A particularly frail woman got in North Finchley and couldn't find a seat. Would somebody please give up their seat for this Lady. Nothing! I got angry. Look! I will not drive my bus if a seat isn't found for this lady. I will not be responsible for her falling over, if I'm forced to brake suddenly. There must be someone seated who's half her age. You should be ashamed of yourselves! I know I would be if I were you! I shouldn't have to ask! Voice from behind: Thank you driver! About time someone said that! The lady was seated. I drove on. Several other people thanked me as they left. One middle aged man wasn't so pleased with me!

One evening, while driving the W15, there were 4 teenage boys on my bus. An Afghani man got on, wearing full national dress. The boys sang the Harry Belafonte number, some words purposely changed, others presumably just wrong: Hey Mr. Taliban. Give me a banana. My initial reaction, I'm ashamed to say, was a chuckle. But I quickly thought of how intimidating that must have been for the man and just how difficult it must be in general for religious Afganis, both here and in America.

We can communicate with our car lights. Flashing your headlights can mean 'you first' or 'thank you' (only unofficially, though. The only legal use is to let someone know of your presence, so if, by moving forward, you end up in a collision with the person who flashed you, according to the law, you are to blame!). You can give a couple of flashes of your hazard lights to say 'thank you' or 'sorry'. What I want to know is, how do you tell someone to go f#%k themselves?!

You've heard of Tennis Elbow. You've heard of Housemaid's Knee. Well, since the weather has warmed up again, I have developed Bus Driver Thumb. This condition is caused by repeatedly giving the thumbs-up instead of flashing my hazards, to thank drivers who let me in to the traffic flow.

Yesterday, or at least what passed us such at the time of writing, was another eventful day. I was pulling away from the Southgate Asda bus stop, heading towards Finchley. It is just after a roundabout, from which, a car emerged during my manoeuvre. The driver seemed to think that I should stop and let him go, and expressed his anger that I did not. I too expressed my anger at his cheek, with a two-finger salute out of my window. At the next bus stop, he pulled alongside my bus, jumped out of his car, and proceeded to hurl blue clouds of abuse in my direction and punch the bus windows. He pointed to his kids in the car, as a reason why I should have let him in front of me. Great role model for them, wouldn't you agree? Are there holes in his argument? I had 30 passengers. He was driving recklessly, with or without kids. The law states, buses have the right of way. I have a busmen's key - a Cast Iron 'T', which, as a last resort, could do life-altering damage to potential attackers! I apologised to my passengers, who in turn commiserated with me. An elderly woman told me that a week ago, in similar circumstances, she saw someone shoot at a bus driver!

Earlier, while doing some overtime on the 34 route, I was driving along the A406, towards Walthamstow with a full bus. A van driver pulled directly in my path, causing me to brake and swerve sharply enough that an elderly man fell off his seat! I felt awful, but again, the passengers found me blameless. From the other driver, no remorse, of course.

There was an amusing moment. While waiting at the traffic light at Whetstone, Finchley-bound, a man spoke to me. In broad accent: I am sorry! I am French! I understand it might be necessary to apologise for this in parts of America, but not here. Macdonalds still call their fries French Fries here. In America, they have been renamed Freedom Fries!!!!! And here was me thinking that we Brits are xenophobic and proudly ignorant!
Anyway! I correctly guessed that he was apologising for his poor English, and that he wanted to get off the bus. I told him with a smile, that I would have let him off, even if he weren't French!

On a personal note, I went to see a flat. I was expecting a studio, but it had 2 bedrooms. Nice enough. BUT! It is situated at the corner of Green Lanes and The North Circular Road (A406) - heavy traffic almost all day. Very noisy. Terribly polluted air. I could never open my window! That most raids on suspected terrorists seem to be either in the direct vicinity or within a mile or so of there is not entirely negative, as it the last place likely to be the target of a gas attack! The following day, a controller from Palmers Green Bus Garage, who was standing at the opposite corner, pointed to the house next door: You see that kicked in door over there? A serious drug addict lives there. Bothers all the local shops - a real nuisance. No wonder it was cheap! I'm still looking!

That's all for now.

Love,

Andy

About the Author

My name is Andy. I am an Englishman who has spent most of his adult life in the United States. In 2001, I moved back to London, thinking I would remain there for the rest of my life. But things didn't go as planned. And instead of finding a job in IT, I became a bus driver. This is my memoire, written from 2003 to 2005.

Now back in Brooklyn, I have a blog I currently enjoy writing: sceneandheardinny.blogspot.com

Why Kids Toys Are For Kids

Why Kids Toys Are For Kids

 by: Jennifer Gove

I have made a discovery in my adult life, kids toys were made for kids. Now I know you may be puzzled about this because we all have sat down and played with our children, but if you peer deeper into this issue you will see as I do.

Lego Mines

Tell me why it is a child can run blind folded through a room littered with Legos. Yet me I carefully navigate threw the room watching my step, stepping like that of a cat carefully then it happens. I step down onto one of these plastic toys and it rips threw my heal. Of course that sends me to the floor only to have Legos sticking me in the rear. These blocks were not intended for adults.

Play Doh is wonderful, entertains the kids for hours, the mess it not to bad if you can stand the smell of the stuff. You have to love it though as a fashion statement. Where you sit in it unknowingly and you wear it on your hind side to the store. Of course you see this handsome man looking at you fanny, and you prance about feeling young and exuberant , only to get home and have you husband point out the gray blob of play doh stuck to your bum.

My kids like many other love to color, who would have though a pack of 96 crayons could be an issue, well if you have toddlers about you better love the arts because you walls will have plenty of art. The kind your cant remove unless you want to spend hours scrubbing think layers of the wax off your walls. But the very best thing I LOVE about crayon is how the melt in a car on a hot summer day. Like the time we took a trip to the beach, a lovely day it was. The kids happily colored in the back seat then we got there swan and came back to a car with a puddle of wax in the back seat.96 crayons and a huge colorful melting puddle. Six car details later you can still see our lesson it nice tints of yellows purples reds and greens.

Hot wheels are great, ya gotta love any thing that sends kids into a fit of move the fridge my car is under there. Or how about how they act as little unsuspecting roller skates that send you flailing across the room failing about the room.

My favorite is the super balls. That pelt about the room like little rubber bullets. They send you running for cover. Then they roll awayleaving your kids screaming you can never find these things once they go out of your site. I have eight kids. They love these little rubber balls. Of course they bounce them at a high rate of speed that only a child could get out of one of these things. I can tell you .They HURT!!! They ignore my pain and scream ear splitting head cracking screams to chase the balls that is theirs or the one they wished was theirs. Little arms searching wilding for the lost balls. Cries of anguish for those that are missingYou dont have to remind mein the adult world kids toys are for kids.

About The Author

Jennifer is a stay at home mother of eight and owner of Http://simplymoms.com . A wonderful parenting site just for mothers that offers - Forums, Chat, EDD Calculator, Baby name finder and more!

admin@simplymoms.com

The Wacky Eating Habits of a Toddler

Once your child begins to leave the world of baby food behind, meal times can be a roller coaster ride. Toddlers are notorious for being fickle and picky eaters. But, how you handle your toddler's eating habits at this age can have an impact on their eating habits for life.

Toddlers thrive on routine, including mealtime routines. When you disrupt this routine, it can wreak havoc. Unfortunately, sometimes this need for routine means that your toddler wants to eat the same food at every meal for six weeks. Don't obsess about this, but do continue to introduce new foods. For instance, if the favorite is macaroni and cheese, you might try switching the menu to the same macaroni noodles but with a little butter instead of cheese sauce. Then add some grapes or apple slices, and see how it goes. Lie about the name if you need to (this is macaroni and butter cheese, yum!), but offer some alternatives.

My experience has been that alternatives will only be tolerated if the rest of the routine is maintained. So, I never try to get a toddler to eat a brand new food in a restaurant. Only in the privacy of my home, where she can sit in her usual seat, at her usual time will I offer some new food. The main point here is that you must continue to offer other foods. If you are content to let them munch on French fries and mac and cheese forever, they may never be willing to try new foods.

One of the best ways to get your toddler to try new foods is to eat them yourself. My daughter wants anything I'm eating if I haven't offered it to her. So, when she asks to try it, I grudgingly give her a few bites of my food, making sure she understands that I was really enjoying it, but am willing to share. After a couple of days of this, she is ready to eat the same food, calling it her own.

Don't lose hope- nutritionists say that most children get a fairly well rounded diet if one is offered to them. Just find the healthy foods they will eat, and offer those more often than the less healthy ones. But, keep trying those new foods so that your child is reminded that there are more things to eat than macaroni and cheese!

About the Author

Sarah is a 41 year old wife and mother of two boys and one girl. She spent many years as a manager in the corporate world, and gave it up to be a stay at home mom.

Go to http://www.infantresources.com now and get her incredible baby minicourse - absolutely free.

How To Save Your MarriageOr Here's How to Learn to Put the Toilet Seat Down

Gentlemen: if you want to save your relationship, read this.

George Foerst, Lighthouse Point, Florida inventor, was listening to a friend complain that her partner always forgot to put the seat and lid down after using the toilet. This ?primordial act? was perceived to be so irritating, this guy was going to be shown the communal door. George figured he could solve this, having himself lived on a boat at one time, having to use a marine toilet. He knew full well that his answer to this perennial problem might create a market for boats and their marine toilets, too. He invented the Toilet Lid Alert, a unique, patent-pending device that is affixed to the underside of the toilet lid. It makes sure you ?remember? to put the seat and lid down after use. To ensure this happens, George designed a way to remind you with sound: either the pre-recorded alert, as it comes from the factory; or the one you can record creating your very own customized message. Most folks would have stopped there, but not George. This is where the real marketer comes in. He continued to talk with people and do more research on this ?problem? caused by ?unevolved males?. He studied the history of the toilet and uncovered a few more needs that he could fulfill.He discovered that the TLA could be used by mothers toilet training girls and boys. It would help prevent an accidental drowning of toddlers; if/when left unattended in a bathroom with the seat and lid up (the statistics are horrifying).

Additionally, he learned from pet owners that the fear of drowning is ever-present whenever the lid is not down. Additionally, dog owners explained that taller, lanky canines like to take a cold drink from the bowl, and then give their owners a big ?ol juicy ?kiss.? (Even more dangerous, I have read about toilet bowl cleaners in tablet form that you put in the toilet tank. The instructions warn that these tablets are extremely poisonous and may cause fatalities if ingested.)George took a prototype of his invention to several trade shows. Many different individuals and groups, representative of different potential TLA uses, (e.g. sports teams, pets, potty-training etc.) wanted the rights for this device to sell in their own niche markets. Many wanted to sell special Toilet Lid Alerts that were made in their sports team colors and were capable of playing the (football) ?fight song? until the lid was put in the down position. (One baseball-oriented group wanted the lid to sing ?Take Me Out to the Ballgame.?) Others were interested in the pet market; particularly those who owned ferrets. George was astounded to learn that next to dogs and cats, ferrets are the next largest group of domestic residential pets in America. It is estimated there might be up to 25 million of them in houses and apartments. These lovable, fuzzy critters are very inquisitive. They get into loads of trouble, including drowning in carelessly uncovered toilet bowls.(If you would like to see a brief video of just what this little invention looks and sounds like, click on the live link found in the credits section at the end of this article).

Just recently, the hit television show, Las Vegas, featured a scene in which we hear a ?splash sound? (off stage), the female protagonist, (Belinda) screams loudly from off stage, then storms back on stage to yell again at the male lead character, (Danny) in the living room of the newly shared apartment. She is red-faced-furious that he has forgotten to put the toilet seat down. He has some smart-ass answer but the point is well taken. Even fictional television is portraying this no-longer-funny scene in their scripts!

But let?s get back to George Foerst, the inventor. George didn?t stop with the obvious; he continued to do his research. Now he had a potential market that was four times the size of his original estimates. He reasoned that if less than one half of one percent of dual-gender homes (with or without pets or toddlers) bought a toilet lid alert, he would have to manufacture millions of these devices.Next, George and his associates took a long look at their own resources...and what they knew and did best. They were very good at inventing new concepts and products, not manufacturing them. ?The best solution? ?Send potential manufacturers and marketers to the toilet lid alert web site, where there they could be informed and motivated about licensing the Toilet Lid Alert for their own market purposes. They?re the experts at manufacturing. They have all the contacts with suppliers ? they work with these folks daily in their other pursuits ? so why invent a flat tire? ?Joint venture with people who will want to license the invention for their own market segments and uses. George told me: ?we want to sign a licensee agreement with a first-class firm that preferably manufactures and markets toys.?

He quickly added: ?We want a firm with a good reputation, a strong track record in the domestic and international marketplace; one that has established relationships with major retail chains, like Wal-Mart, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Publix, Kroger and such too. ?A lot to ask, but we know they?re out there.? They determined that when they sign an agreement with one or more licensees who are already in the business of making and marketing toys and novelties, they won?t have to do it themselves. Why take on something where you don?t have the industry contacts or that specific market experience? Let others do what they do best.

George said: ?We?ll drive pre-qualified, targeted traffic to our site, which explains our product and its many uses. Then, we?ll discuss possibilities with the interested manufacturers or other parties who visit the toilet-lid-alert site?. When a prospective licensee calculates the potential sales of this device, his pulse should quicken, and then start to race. ?Copyright, Roy W. MacNaughton, 2007

Roy MacNaughton is a niche marketing coach and business writer. He?s a seasoned marketer, with more than 30 years of international marketing and franchising experience, including nine years online. His new e-book, (Marketing Yours), teaches solo practitioners, entrepreneurs and professionals how to market their most important product. To learn more and see the video of this invention, go to its web site at: http://www.toilet-lid-alert.net or click on this live link: http://members.viditalk.com/view/?id=WBP7X2WYJ06EQBJRSQWN . Learn more at Roy's blog: http://www.UmarketingU.com