A house fire is one of the most devastating events a family can experience. Fires may destroy your home’s structure, and they can also cause physical harm if members of your family aren’t able to evacuate the building. For these reasons, preparing for a fire is an essential goal in every household. Below are some strategies you can use to prepare your family and home for the possibility of a fire.

Many of the most common household products contain toxic chemicals that can be harmful to our children. In fact, according to a study published in Pediatrics magazine, over a period of 16 years (1990 to 2006) more than 250,000 children under the age of five were rushed to the emergency room for treatment after exposure to toxic products. The vast majority of those children were under the age of three.

Dangerous household products can include:

• Dishwasher detergents
• Bleach
• Toilet bowl cleaners
• Drain cleaners
• Laundry detergents
• Floor and furniture polish
• Paints
• Pesticides

Controlling your weight with a new baby around can seem impossible, but shedding those final pregnancy pounds is actually easier than you think. To lose fat, tone up, and increase your energy levels, just follow these five easy weight control tips for new moms

• Catch more zzz’s. There’s no such thing as “enough” sleep when there’s a new baby in the house, but you should stock up when you can. Lack of sleep stresses the body, which means you’ll hold on to more fat. To help shed the pounds, nap anytime your baby does – your waistline will thank you.

 We all want to keep our children safe and injury free. You can start by teaching your children these five safety tips:

Tip #1: Street Safety. Demonstrate how to look left and right before crossing the street. Teach your kids how to use and obey traffic and safety signals, and to walk on the left hand side of the road (i.e., facing traffic). Explain that cars can’t always see them, and that they must be aware of everything around them at all times. Above all, make sure they understand that they can’t play in the street.

Tip #2: Water Safety. Knowing how to swim is both a fun activity and a potentially life-saving ability. If you don’t know how to swim, consider taking yourself and your children for swim lessons and safety training at a local pool or athletics club. And, never let a young child swim alone. A person can drown or nearly drown in seconds – active supervision is the key to prevention.

Share Your Life Without Sacrificing Your Privacy

Years and years ago, summer plans were talked about. Times sure have changed. Now you can Tweet about your trips, Facebook your photos, blog at the barbecue, and Skype from the surf and sand. With all the new ways to share your summer days with others, maintaining privacy can be a real challenge.

These four simple summer social media privacy tips can give you more control over your private life and more importantly, give other people less control:

1.    Why did I post that? A great rule to follow when posting a message, video, or photo on a social media site is to ask yourself, “Is this something I want my boss to see?” This will keep you from showing the world too much. Remember, just because you delete a message, photo, or video doesn’t mean it’s gone forever. It could live forever, and another person, sometimes someone you don’t even know, who is ready to share it with the rest of the world, also could have easily downloaded it.