Spend more time with the kids and stay fit.

Most of us parents know that feeling guilty is part of the job of being a parent.  I am not so sure this goes as much for men as for women, because my husband doesn’t have the guilt-gene very often, but I guess that is a good thing. Because it is horrible always having to feel guilty…. am I spending enough time with the kids? Do I/we teach them the right things? Should I spend less money on clothes and more on toys? And the guilt goes on and on….

Well, while hitting the gym the other day, I thought about it all. Why was I here and isn’t there be a better way of staying fit and still be with my kids? I see my 5 year old jumping around like a maniac for the better part of the day and she has stomach muscles as hard as a piece of metal. Why am I walking around with this big lump of fat around the middle? (Of course, I should maybe mention that I have had 3 kids all 2 years apart). But then I started thinking. What if I would start doing a lot of the things that my daughters are doing, wouldn’t I be in a much better shape? It would also give me the opportunity to spend more time with my kids.

It is so easy to say ‘Ohh pumpkin, mommy is tired, why don’t you jump and I will sit here and watch you’ or something like that. But actually, if you have tried it, you already know that working out and staying active gives you more energy and actually is much better for your brain. It is a win – win situation. Your kid will have much more fun if you are jumping around with them AND you will be fit. And, of course, there is the added benefit of saving the gym membership fees that can run quite high!

Many of the mothers that I know do not like to work out, but they like spending time with their kids. Having fun with them, while being active is just perfect. If you have a kid that would prefer sitting in front of TV… try to convince them coming out of a walk to the mail box (no, not your own, but the one down the road or 10 blocks down). At least it gives them a goal and it will give you and your kid time together.

Check back in a while and I will report on the progress…

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Making sure our kids are safe

Everybody who has kids knows how important it is to keep them safe. I am the mother of 3 and the youngest is 18 months old and puts everything in her mouth. So, of course, I was extremely concerned when I heard about the lead and phthalates problem in certain children toys.

All parents talked about how awful it was and that it is amazing that this could happen in today’s world. So the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) decided to do something about it and the CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) was passed.

Basically, the Commission has decided to request that all manufacturer / retailers get all their products, intended primarily for children 12 years and younger, to be tested. No product is allowed to contain more than 600 ppm of lead (as of February 10, 2009), 300 ppm of lead (as of August 14, 2009); 100 ppm after three years (as of August 14, 2011), unless the Commission determines that it is not technologically feasible to have this lower limit.” All testing has to be performed by a laboratory accepted by the Commission. For more details, please click here

Of course, this is causing a big commotion, since thousands of small and medium-sized businesses may go out of business because they can’t afford (it can cost up to $ 4,000 per toy) getting all their products tested to the CPSIA standards.

However, when this act was made the CPSC included all children-product manufacturer, even businesses who offer clothing, jewelry and other gifts for children. In short, the entire children’s industry is affected.

They simply forgot to exclude the class of toys that have earned and kept the public’s trust and unless the law is not modified, handmade children’s products will no longer be legal in the US.

Thousands of citizens and business are standing together to fight the pending demise of handmade children’s products. A “Help Save Handmade Toys from the CPSIA” has already more than 15,000 members, and is gaining members every day.

Who doesn’t want their child to be safe? But is it really realistic to implement such a law on such short notice? And shouldn’t all business, small and large, be considered?

My oldest is 5 ½ years old and I remember already hearing about phthalates back then and I remember looking at all products before buying them to make sure they didn’t contain phthalates. Did I get annoyed when most products didn’t even seem to care about writing whether or not they contained phthalates? Yes, because being a first-time mom you just want the best for your baby. But I don’t believe in pushing this law through so fast that many businesses will have to close their doors, ESPECIALLY since the current economy situation is already doing hurting small companies really badly. There has to be a better way of doing this.

UPDATE: The CPSC has granted a 1 year stay of testing and certification requirements.

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