Search Results for: blog household survival tips fire

Telephone Tips for Parents and Children

In a previous blog I shared my adventures in parenting in regards to teaching my preschooler how to use the telephone. Learning how to use the phone properly is a skill that is best practiced at home. After all, home is the place where your child has the most interaction with the telephone (unless you are one of those parents who’s surgically attached to their cellphone). As I mentioned in my previous blog, one of my brother’s duties as a firefighter is to visit schools to teach students about safety issues. A couple of years ago he sent me a … Continue reading →

Baby Blog Month in Review: July 2008

Two of my three children are summer babies. That is, they were born in the summer and had their first months surrounded by sunshine streaming in the windows, the sound of birds chirping, and days spent wearing nothing but a diaper and a “onsie.” I made sure that they had Fourth of July outfits ready, even though one of them arrived a week after the holiday. I guess he just wasn’t interested in the parade. Do you have a summer baby, too? We had a lot of new information to share this past month, such as recall notices and new … Continue reading →

Cats and Fire Don’t Mix

Between the car accident and my mom’s stroke, I’m ready for things to get back to some level of normalcy. It won’t be today. I had just gotten into the shower when I heard the doorbell ring. Since I was naked and wet, as well as running behind schedule, I figured whoever was ringing would come back. Or call and say they’d tried to stop by. But a few minutes later I heard sirens. A few seconds after that I knew they had turned into our neighborhood, and it didn’t take me even a nanosecond more to realize they’d turned … Continue reading →

Snapshot Of A New Photography Blogger

Your house is on fire! Besides your family members (pets included), what’s the one item you would try to save on the way out? My answer: My photo album. Okay, albums—as many as possible. My firefighter brother would frown upon my answer as he constantly warns people not to grab anything when fleeing a burning building, but then again photography is not his passion like it is mine. My name is Michele Cheplic and I will be joining Nicole Humphrey (who, by the way is doing an incredible job) here in the photography blog. Some of you may know me … Continue reading →

A New Way To Protect Homes From Fires

October is Fire Prevention Month. It’s a great time to review ways to protect your family and your home from the ravages of a fire. Some ideas include designing a family fire escape plan and installing or checking on smoke detectors in various rooms throughout your home. Another tip—use this month to talk to your children about the dangers of smoking. Did you know fires started by cigarettes kill more than 1,000 people every year in the United States? Yet, there are still people who choose to light up in their homes. Unfortunately, if you have a friend or loved … Continue reading →

Top 10 Tips For Dealing With Electrical Hazards In Your Home

Years ago our family suffered a terrible tragedy as a result of electric shock. A seemingly innocent frayed toaster cord was later found to be the culprit. This simple household device found in practically every home in the universe turned into a deadly weapon. Not a lot has been written about the risk of death from electric shock. The media tends to focus on potential fire dangers in homes, the risk of poisoning, and ways to baby proof a house, but little is said about how to prevent electric shock. The best way to reduce the risk of death from … Continue reading →

Household Survival Tips–Fire

Regular readers of my blog know that my oldest brother is a firefighter stationed on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. I just spoke to him two days ago, and like many of our conversations, this latest one segued into an exchange that went something like this: Me: “Have you been reading my blogs?” My Brother: “Have you written any on fire safety?” Actually, he is only half-kidding in asking me that question. My brother is very passionate about his job. (Translation: He is constantly inundating my family with tips on preventing house fires and providing us with steps we … Continue reading →

Overconfident Mommy Gets Burned

Ouch! Burns hurt. I should know. I was the overconfident mommy, and boy did I get roasted, toasted and charred during a recent conversation with my preschooler. The incident was initiated by a study I had just read. Researchers asked a group of children ages 5 to 10 what they would do if they were in a building that caught on fire. Amazingly, the majority of the kids (nearly 60 percent) said they would remain inside and try to find a grown up or use a phone to contact an adult to help them. Another large group responded that they … Continue reading →

Halloween Candy—Yours, Mine, Ours

How many pieces of candy do you allow your children to devour on Halloween night? My parents had a strict seven-piece limit, which was imposed as soon as we returned home with our haul. Of course, that rule never sat well with my older brother, who devised his own counter-plan, whereby he stuffed as many snack-sized candy bars in his mouth as possible while roaming the neighborhood. So much for parental control. Ironically, once he became a parent himself my brother suddenly saw the benefit of placing restrictions on candy consumption. These days he allows his young son the privilege … Continue reading →

Is Your Child Ready to Answer the Phone?

It’s a question I asked myself a few weeks ago when my 4-year-old begged to pick up the phone while I was in the shower. Here’s the answer I came up with: If your child still holds the phone upside down and can’t figure out why grandma sounds so far away OR He or she tries to shove a freshly colored picture of Elmo into the receiver so grandma can see how well he or she stayed within the lines, then your child’s phone skills need some work and you might want to hold off on using him or her … Continue reading →