The picture above is what my daughter is wearing tonight, and its the exact pic on the packaging of the costume too, which is why I just had to post it! Isn’t it adorable? My toddler boy, by the way, is Thomas the Tank Engine (his idol), which is also too adorable for words.

Anyway, as we all know, tonight is the long awaited Hallow’s Eve, which means, trick or treating!!! As I’ve already posted of safety tips for pets, here’s what we should be aware of for our kids, which I will be explaining to my daughter too. Its never to young to learn to be a responsible Trick-or-Treater!! This one is from a website aptly called Halloween Safety.

1. Children should go out during daylight hours only unless accompanied by a responsible adult.

2. Plan a safe route so parents know where their older kids will be at all times. Set a time for their return home. Make sure that your child is old enough and responsible enough to go out by themselves.

3. Let your children know not to cut through back alleys and fields. Make sure they know to stay in populated places and don’t go off the beaten track. Stay in well lighted areas.

3. Stop only at familiar houses in your own neighborhood unless they are accompanied by an adult.

4. Small children should never be allowed to go out alone on Halloween. Make sure an older sibling or adult is with them.

5. Instruct your children not to eat any treats until they bring them home to be examined by you.

6. Instruct your child to never go into the home of a stranger or get into their car.

7. Make sure your child carries a flashlight, glow stick or has reflective tape on their costume to make them more visible to cars.

8. Let them know that they should stay together as a group if going out to Trick or Treat without an adult.

[tags]Halloween, Safety tips,Trick or Treating, Kids safety,Toy Story 2[/tags]

In the news: A recent study performed by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) found disturbing information claiming that teens who listen to their iPods and MP3 players at volumes relatively louder than adults experience symptoms of hearing loss.

The ASHA notes that it’s not solely MP3 players and iPods that are responsible for these signs of hearing loss. Instead, it’s the combination of length of time and volume at which the teens are listening to music through headphones that is responsible for the damage.

Thankfully, teenagers seem to have some understanding of this. The ASHA’s survey shows that nearly 70 percent of students say that they are “likely” to turn down the volume of music when listening to it through earphones. However, 58 percent said they weren’t likely to cut down on the time they spent listening to music with earphones on. “Louder and longer is definitely not the way to use these products,” says Brenda Lonsbury-Martin, PhD, ASHA’s chief staff officer for science and research.

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) offers three basic rules for limiting the damage done to your children’s ears by listening to iPods and MP3 players:

1. Make sure that he or she can hear normal conversation voices while listening to music through headphones

2. Limit the amount of time he or she spends listening to any type of music through headphones to one hour a day

3. Set the volume of their music player no higher than 60 percent of the maximum

If you think that shopping with a toddler is bad enough, imagine what it would be like if he discovers how much fun it is to run away from you at a crowded store. Or worse, a crowded airport.

You can’t keep him chained to his stroller all the time, but the possible alternative of losing him would be the worst nightmare ever.

Experts say that for children under 3, it is virtually impossible to teach them the dangers when in public places or when travelling, so the bottom line is it is up to the parents.

Rule number one is to keep him safely strapped into his stroller, until you find a child-friendly area he can explore – like a playground for instance. And always keep him close to you. There have been too many terrible news reports about a parent entering a store to buy something quickly, leaving the child outside in the stroller for conveniences sake, only to find the stroller (and their child), gone when they return. That obviously is the worst case scenario, but when it comes to your child it always makes sense to be extra cautious.

Other alternatives are backpacks or a toddler harness. Stay away from wrist straps as this could pose as a danger if someone (or something) comes in-between suddenly. These devices can extend up to three feet, so imaging walking in a busy street (or park even), and a big dog bounds through unexpectedly. Your toddler could fly off with him!