Safety

Isn’t it great when your kids try something new and love it? That was my experience when one of our Sponsors, Lil Swimmers, Inc., a company specializing in South OC swim lessons for kids, invited my little ones to try a lesson in Laguna Niguel. They are also offering Tiny Oranges readers a free trial swim lesson as well, details below!

My daughter Georgia is 4 years old and has never taken a swim lesson before (I know, I’m a little late to the party, but please don’t judge!). So, when I pulled up to Michelle’s home to take our first swim lesson I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect.

Luckily, Michelle, the owner and instructor of Lil Swimmers, Inc. was patient and caring with my newbie and helped get her acclimated with the water.

Within 15 minutes she was floating unassisted. Disclaimer: she was probably floating on her own for only a couple of seconds, but I was still wildly impressed!

After my lesson I asked Michelle a few questions that I thought would be helpful for anyone looking for a great place to take their kids in South OC for swim lessons.

Interview with Owner/Swim Instructor,
Michelle of Lil Swimmers  

I see from your website FAQ’s that the Red Cross suggests starting lessons no earlier than 6 months. What age do you recommend parents start swim lessons? Do you have a favorite age to teach?

The Red Cross suggests 6 months, but at that age the class is a parent and me class, it’s all about getting comfortable in the water and educating parents on ways to hold their children in the water to help facilitate future learning.  It’s a fantastic building block but by no means required. 

The real learning to swim without assistance takes place around 15-18 months.

For any family with a pool or water on their property, I strongly suggest starting swim lessons by this age.  Having a pool at my home, my own kids were in the water as early as 4 months and safe enough for me to sit on the edge and watch them play by 18 to 20 months.

My favorite age is probably 18-24 months; they’re so cute and their personalities are really forming. Even though they are still so young, they are also very capable. And I just love their little voices!

Older children are great for different reasons; with the big kids I’m able to explain things to them and know that they’re getting it. I love seeing the quick progress of their strokes and observing the bonds formed with fellow swimmers.

You offer both private and group lessons, what would you say are the benefits and challenges (if any) to both options?

Private lessons are great because the child learns quicker, but they are expensive.  And the child doesn’t get to watch and learn from a peer.  They also don’t get to play as much when they are by themselves.  What’s great, is that our semi private lessons only have 2 children sharing 30 minutes.  I feel parents get the best of both worlds!

What can parents do to help their kids learn to love and respect the water?

Start at bath time, don’t be shy about getting your child’s face wet in the bath.  One of the biggest challenges instructors face with new students is that the child doesn’t like to get their faces wet.

The more comfortable they are with this simple step, the better.  Another easy thing parents can do is to discuss the lessons and the instructor in a positive way. Hearing how proud their parents are, really encourages the kids.

What made you want to become a swim instructor?

I became a swim instructor because of my love of the outdoors, the water, and kids.

When my husband and I moved into our home, I was not working.  He encouraged me to find something that I could be passionate about instead of just looking for available jobs.  He kept telling me to do what I love instead of looking for a position to fill. 

As a child, I lived in the water.  We had a pool and water skied as a family.  Teaching lessons started out as more of a hobby.  Luckily, I was good at it and really enjoyed the kids and their families.  Once I had my own kids, I had a better understanding of the importance of water safety and the service that I was providing.  I have made great friends with many of the parents that I’ve met.  I feel so fortunate to have my work.

I love that answer! There’s nothing better than making a living at something you love. Kudos to your husband for being so encouraging. Okay, last question. I love the calm, balanced approach you have to teaching kids to swim. Do you have any go to tricks you use if the child is struggling with nerves in the water?

For any kids struggling with nerves, be calm and consistent.  They need to feel secure, and I do that by using gentle words and by holding them in a way that makes them feel that you are in control and that you will take care of them.

Often, I see instructors try to make the kids happy by trying to make them laugh or distract them.  I don’t think that is the right approach.  They are terrified for their lives and it should be acknowledged.  They need to know that the person in charge is confident and trustworthy.

Our instructors tell the children exactly what’s going to happen and when, so that the child quickly learns what the expectations are.  There are no surprises. Once they are comfortable, then everyone has more fun!

Michelle, thanks so much for your sharing your answers with us. I’ve learned a lot about your teaching style and I think our readers have too.

Free Trial for Tiny Oranges Readers

Now for the best part. Michelle has generously offered all Tiny Oranges readers a free trial swim lesson at Lil Swimmers if you call now through June 30th, 2013 and mention this post!

www.oclilswimmers.com

South Orange County Swim Lessons
Laguna Niguel

949.337.8458

Michelle Coulston
oclilswimmers {at} gmail.com

[Disclosure: Lil Swimmers, Inc. is a Tiny Oranges Sponsor and I received a complimentary lesson to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own!]

Last month I was contacted by Safety 1st Squad to see if I was interested in meeting with them to learn more about the benefits of professional childproofing.   The timing couldn’t have been better, as I have a newly crawling/exploring/ into everything baby, so I almost jumped through the computer yelling “YES PLEASE!”  Make sure to read the last paragraph below on how you can enter to win a free in-home consultation too!

So, they set up a meeting with Kimberlee Mitchell, childproofing expert, local OC mommy of two, and founder of Boo Boo Busters, which is now Safety 1st Squad to come to my home and give me a complimentary consultation.

Let’s face it, discussing safety hazards for your children and babies is not a pleasant topic as for most moms it is probably our biggest nightmare.  To  be honest, I was sort of nervous she would come into my home and point out death traps behind every corner.

However, I was pleasantly surprised because she was “so NOT scary!” and I told her so!  Kimberlee shared with me that their goal is to empower parents with education, not scare tactics, and every employee of theirs is trained accordingly.  Instead of walking away feeling scared, I left feeling MORE sure of my ability to keep my baby safe.

The professional difference.

I have babyproofed before, so this is not entirely new to me.  I have an almost 4 year old, and we did it ourselves the first time, sort of winging it as we went along.   This time around, with a baby AND an older sibling it is a whole new scenario.   Actually scarier to me , much scarier, now that big sis has toys that are not baby-friendly. It’s a way more vulnerable feeling.  As we walked though our home, she pointed out things I would have NEVER thought of. Not just for our baby, but for my oldest too.

With their service, they will walk through your home, point out potential hazards, suggest solutions and provide you with the option to purchase professional grade childproofing items. You can then DIY or hire them to install, you have the choice depending on your budget.

What’s the difference with professional products?  Well, with most things in life, you get what you pay for.  With a professional safety device (i.e. locks, latches, gates, etc.) you will get better longevity and usually a “prettier” more esthetically-pleasing product, but you will pay a little more.  Plus, with a professional install, you know it is done right!

Case in point, we bought this (pretty inexpensive) baby gate for my first baby. Hard to open, narrow opening, not convenient.   We used it for a LONG time, and here we are again, pulling it out of the garage for baby # 2.  So, seriously with two kids, there is probably 3 -4 YEARS of use involved.   And, I dislike it as much as I did the first go round!  I seriously wished we had forked out the money and gotten a professional gate from the get-go.   Here is Kimberlee talking about the difference of a professional quality baby gate (and demonstrating on mine!)

Kimberlee had so much to share with me and I learned so much, too much to share in one post, but if there was one important safety hazard I had to pick to share, it would have to be the potential dangers of  front loading washer/dryers.

Do you remember that story of the little girl who died not long ago in Mission Viejo in a front loading machine by accident? Click here to read the article. Horrendous, unfathomable story.   May this tragic loss be a wake up call to all of us, to get a latch and lock the front loaders ASAP.  This Safety 1st ProGrade Front-Load Washer/Dryer Lock is only $16.99.  I installed it the same day I met with Kimberlee.

Take away point, childproofing is much more than installing latches, gates and outlet guards. It’s about looking at your home with a new set of eyes and professional consultations are more affordable than you might think!   Let me tell you, the peace of mind you get after having a childproofing pro comb through your home for potential safety hazards is priceless!  You’d be surprised at what they find – better they find it instead of your baby!

Hooray! It’s a Tiny Giveaway!

Safety 1st Squad Professional Home Childproofing Service is giving away a FREE one hour in-home child safety consultation (a $75 value) to one lucky reader (contest open to Orange County and Los Angeles residents only.)

After the consultation, the winner will be presented with a detailed list of recommended safety devices to eliminate your home’s specific child safety hazards.  You will then have the option to take their expert advice and DIY (do-it-yourself to save some cash) – OR – you can Let the Safety Pros Take Charge and schedule Safety 1st Squad to return to your home for the professional installation at an additional cost, if desired.  Totally optional!

Here are the entry options, please leave a separate comment for each one!

1. Simply comment below and tell me one of your home safety concerns – 1 ENTRY

2. Visit Kimberlee’s Safety Blog and tell me something you learned! – 1 ENTRY

3. Follow @Safety1st_Squad on Twitter – 1 ENTRY

4. Follow @TinyOrangesOC on Twitter – 1 ENTRY

5. Subscribe to Tiny Oranges emails (top right column) – 1 ENTRY

And, to stay abreast of safety info, become a Fan of Safety 1st Squad on Facebook!

Good luck, contest will run all week, have your entries in by 5pm PST on 4/20/2010!

{Disclosure: I received the consultation free of charge and received a small amount of childproofing products as well including Safety 1st sliding outlet covers, toilet lock, front load washer/dryer lock, and a top of door lock.}

Can you even believe the weather this week??  I can’t remember the last time it rained this hard in Orange County.   My patio furniture was knocked over, rain started pouring in a leak in our sliding glass door, and I was afraid the tree in the neighbor’s yard was going to end up splitting in two and landing on our roof.   It didn’t. Nothing like a little weather to freak out us OC residents, huh?! We are not cut out for this!

There was actually a tornado warning in my area.  Tornadoes?!   What on earth? My girlfriend sent me an email from South County wanting to make sure our house was still standing.  I told her it was.  Then she suggested an emergency preparedness post. Awesome idea!  Thanks Melanie!

So, I hopped on over to www.redcross.org to find some info.

{If you head on over there, consider making a donation to the Red Cross Haiti relief efforts.    And, just so you know, you can also text “HAITI” to 90999 and $10 will be donated to the Haiti relief fund.}

In any case, here is a great PDF you can download with easy information on how you can prepare your family just in case.  No time like the present.  Click HERE to download it.  You can also Click HERE for emergency fast facts.

Stay dry out there and be safe!

“You’ve brought your new little one home, you’ve adjusted to Motherhood and just when you think you can relax… your little bundle of joy starts crawling! Ack! Are you ready for this? Have you crawled around on all fours and pretended you were looking through the eyes of your baby? Most likely not, but Kimberlee Mitchell, founder of Boo Boo Busters (www.BooBooBusters.com) has! You may have heard or read about Boo Boo Busters lately because of such high profile clients as “OctoMom” and Britney Spears among others. But did you know that the company is based right here in South Orange County? Kimberlee Mitchell lives in Ladera Ranch with her two children and husband.

I’m sure you’ve walked through your home a million times and not seen the hidden dangers that lurk around every corner. Did you know that plasma televisions improperly secured to the wall can easily fall off and injure your child? It’s one of many inexpensive fixes that can save your child. Kimberlee can come in and help you find these very easy safety fixes and give you the peace of mind you need as you baby transitions into a toddler!”

Katie is a Client Service Specialist at South County Law Group, mommy to two boys, 5 and 7, and lives in Ladera Ranch.

Most unfortunately our house was burglarized last November.  It was seriously a complete and total nightmare, financially and emotionally.  I wrote a post about some valuable lessons we learned when it happened, click here to see the post.   Hopefully some of the things we learned can help prevent it from happening to someone else!  

If you take one thing away from reading this, it would be to lock every door and window every time you leave your house.   You never think it would happen to you or happen in your neighborhood, but it does and it can.   I will never take my safety or security for granted again.  I used to feel very safe in our neighborhood, but now we never step out without everything locked, bolted, and our alarm system on.  Even if we are going for a walk around the block for 15 minutes. 

BUT, I do have some good news and an update that I wanted to share!  

Last December I got a call from the detective on our case from a pawn shop saying they had recovered our video camera!  The person (I have other choice words to call him, however, I will abstain) that robbed our house didn’t even take out the tape in the camera!  I was so grateful, because on that tape was footage of the moment we told my parents that I was pregnant.  I was devastated about losing this and the recent video of Emma. 

The way it was recovered was through the SERIAL NUMBER.  My husband had kept the serial number for the camera, which we provided to the police when they did the report.  When the guy pawned our camera, the pawn shop entered the serial number in a database of stolen property, and it came up as a hit and the police were notified.  

Even better, the guy had to give a photo ID and fingerprint when he pawned it (the same afternoon that our house was robbed.)  So, not only did we get our camera back – but now they had a suspect. 

I am so happy to share that we just got notice that after 9 long months, the suspect was arrested!  The fact that this person was on the street and possibly burglarizing other houses all this time has been so hard.   I would never want another family to go through this.   The feeling of violation is haunting, I really think about it every single day.

Moral of the story:  This guy would not have been located or caught if it was not for us having a record of that serial number.   So, today, do yourself a favor, and make a master list of all the serial numbers on your electronics…computers, laptops, cameras, video cameras, etc.   Even things like iPods have them.   You will often find them under the battery, but they will be located somewhere on the device.  Keep the list in a safe place and make a copy to give to someone else as well. 

You should also read this great blog post by Angry Julie Monday, a local mom that works in law enforcement.  

I hope this person will pay for what he did to us. None of our other items were recovered, but when it happened I said the only thing that mattered to me was that video (which we got back) and that somehow the person would get caught and pay for it.   What goes around comes around – karma is a bitch! 

Pass this blog on to all your friends and family!  Hopefully it might prevent it from happening to you or someone you love.