Tag Archives: kids

Summer Safety Tips for Families

Whether you’re staying in Boston this summer or headed abroad, summer presents many opportunities for fun and adventure.

Unfortunately, from swimming and boating to hiking and camping, summer can also present a number of safety hazards. To help ensure your family has a safe and happy summer, we’ve collected some safety tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SummerSafety

1. Water safety

Drowning is responsible for more deaths among children ages 1-4 than any other cause except birth defects. To help prevent drowning and similar accidents, be sure to:

  • Always supervise children when in or around water. A responsible adult should constantly watch young children.
  • Teach kids to swim. Formal swimming lessons can protect young children from drowning.
  • Learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Your CPR skills could save someone’s life.
  • Install a four-sided fence around home pools.
  • When riding in a boat or other water craft, always wear a properly fitted life jacket.

2. Beat the heat.

Heat-related illness occurs when the body’s temperature control system is overloaded. Those at greatest risk for heat-related illness include infants and children up to 4 years of age.

To prevent heat-related illness:

  • Never leave infants, children, or pets in a parked car, even if the windows are cracked open.
  • Dress infants and children in loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.
  • Schedule outdoor activities carefully, for morning and evening hours.
  • Stay cool with cool showers or baths.
  • Seek medical care immediate if your child has symptoms of heat-related illness.

And don’t forget to protect against too much sun exposure, too. Even a somewhat cloudy day can expose children to harmful ultraviolet rays.

To protect against sunburn:

  • Cover up. Clothing that covers your and your child’s skin helps protect against UV rays.
  • Use sunscreen with at least SPF (sun protection factor) 15 and UVA (ultraviolet A) and UVB (ultraviolet B) protection every time you and your child go outside.

3. Protect against insects.

Ticks, mosquitos and other insects are out in full force during the summer, and can carry some nasty diseases, like West Nile virus and Lyme disease.

Protect against insect bites by:

Keep these and other safety tips in mind this holiday weekend and throughout the summer to ensure this remains a summer to remember!

Have some safety tips of your own? Share them in the comment section of this post!

10 Things to Do With Your Kids in Boston

Staying in the city over the break and worried you won’t find enough to entertain your kids? Check out this list of some unique kid-friendly activities in Boston and make this a holiday to remember!

1. Missing the taste of home, or simply looking for a way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Boston is one of the best places to do just that!

While there are many great Irish pubs in Boston, Somerville’s “The Burren,” is known for its live Irish music and great food. It was even named one of the top 10 Irish pubs in the United States!

Stop by on Saturdays for live local music, or on Monday for a 5K run, followed by St. Patrick’s Day festivities!

2. Make some decorations for your home at Brookline’s The Clayroom.

Visit The Clayroom and paint your own pottery, from plates, mugs and glasses to decorative pieces. After the pieces are painted, The Clayroom will fire them for you. And while it takes about five days to get your items, it is well worth the wait!

The Clayroom is open daily from 12 pm- 10 pm. Reservations are not required, but are recommended. Feel like getting away from the kids for a night? Stop by the shop on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. and enjoy a wine and cheese night!

3. Learn some cooking skills, and teach your kids about healthy eating!

Visit “Create a Cook” in Newton and become a better cook alongside your child. The cooking school offers weekly classes and drop-in workshops throughout the week. From knife skills to nutrition lessons, the school offers a wide variety of classes for families.

Over the break, stop by on March 22 for a “Pie in the Sky” class for parents and children 5 years old and up, learning how to make everything from pizza pie to sweet cream pie! YUM!

4. Visit the Larz Anderson Auto Museum! 

It should be a familiar sight for our families: the tall brick structure, looking like a castle coming up out of the grounds of Larz Anderson Park across the street from BSB. What you’ve been passing on your way to school is actually the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, and it’s a great place for adults and kids.

The museum is home to “America’s Oldest Car Collection,” with at least one car dating back to 1899! For over 85 years the Larz Anderson Auto Museum has been supporting the community through a variety of educational programs, exhibits, and lectures. It is open to visitors from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

5. Bring your little ones out to make some music!

Head over to Jamaica Plain’s community arts headquarters, Spontaneous Celebrations, for Saturday morning drumming sessions from 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Stop by to learn some drumming techniques and celebrate the break with music! This is a great way to experience the local culture and help your kids get some energy out!

6. Visit the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

You’ve likely visited the Museum of Fine Arts already (if not, check that out over break, too!), but you may not have visited this other great local art museum.

Founded by and named for one of the foremost female patrons of the arts, the museum features pieces from around the world, which Gardner collected throughout her life.

The museum is also famous for a 1990 heist of 13 works of art, in which a pair of thieves disguised as Boston police officers entered the museum and roamed its galleries before making off with the art.

The investigation is still open, and the empty frames left behind by the theist are still hanging.

7. Learn more about some of the city’s heroes.

Take a trip to the Boston Fire Museum, and learn more about the history of fire fighting in the city, and the heroes who keep us safe. This is a great outing for parents who love history, and for kids of any age.

The museum features antique fire apparatus, fire alarm displays and artifacts, and photographs from some of the city’s famous fires.

8. Visit the Boston Children’s Museum.

Visit the construction room and reptile room and dance across the light-up floor! Take a stroll down Sesame Street or visit the toddler room for an area overflowing with toys and activities!

This is a great way to spend the day, and has activities for kids of all ages that even parents will enjoy!

Find out more about the Boston Children’s Museum on the Mommy Poppins website, another great resource for finding family fun in the Boston area.

9. Head north of the city for a real “Beantown” experience.

Drive north to Reading, Massachusetts and you’ll find a world of jellybeans inside the Jordan’s Furniture store. It sounds like an unlikely place for a fun family day, but Jordan’s Beantown features a replica of the State House, a giant ice cream sundae and the Red Sox mascot, Wally the Green Monster- all made out of millions of jellybeans. That’s right, walk right into a candy shop, located in the State House replica, made of candy!

Other activities include a trapeze experience, duck boat racing and “liquid fireworks,” a water and light show that will really impress! This is truly a unique trip for families!

10. Visit the world’s only store dedicated to Curious George!

Do your kids love the curious monkey and his adventures with the Man in the Yellow Hat? Then head on over to Cambridge’s Harvard Square for a visit to the Curious George Store, dedicated to helping children and parents stay curious.

Stop by for an amazing selection of Curious George books, movies, toys and other items, and learn more about the store’s parties and celebrations of curiosity. This is a great addition to any day in Cambridge!

We hope this blog will get you started on your holiday adventures! Please share your pictures!