Happy 1st Birthday, Storm!
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mapping our life's journey
by Wendy S
by Wendy S
Allstate Canada has partnered with Dorel Juvenile Canada, makers of Safety 1st Canada products, to launch “Protecting Your Most Precious Cargo,” a campaign focused on taking a proactive approach to car seat safety.
A recent Allstate Canada national poll showed that 95% of Canadian parents state that they are confident they know how to properly buckle a child in a car seat.
Sadly, that same poll showed that 23% of Canadians with children under 12 believe that using a snow suit is the best way to keep them warm in the winter months. Only about one-in-10 (11%) parents of children under 12 say the best way to dress a child is in thin, warm layers.
Dressing your child properly to ride in their car seat is very important. Car seat manufacturers state in car seat manuals that bulk clothing is not safe when buckling a child into the car seat.
Allstate Canada has put together this great blog discussing “How to Dress Your Child for their Car Seat this Winter”
The video above shows the impact that bulky clothing has when tightening your child in a car seat.
I wrote a previous blog post where I show my own daughter in her car seat with and without a coat. You can read it here – “A winter coat is for playing in the snow, not in a car seat!”
This image from the Car Seat Lady shows you how to keep your infants and children warm — layers!
More great info about dressing your child in their car seat in the winter can be found on the Vancouver Island Car Seat Tech page.
The one statistic that wasn’t given to me was the percentage of parents who felt they are confident that they know how to properly install a car seat.
As many as 80% of children aren’t being correctly restrained in child seats or booster seats.[Source]
We only slightly touched on the “not used correctly” issues when talking about winter clothing. Some of the most common issues are:
The first thing that I tell all parents is to read the manuals!
You must read your vehicle manual to know where you can install the seat and if the vehicle manufacturer puts any restrictions on car seat installation. You also must read the car seat manual to know how to install the car seat into the vehicle and how to put your child safely in the car seat.
You must read the car seat manual to know how to install the car seat into the vehicle and how to put your child safely in the car seat.
The Safety 1st Grow and Go car seat has colour-coded their manual and the stickers making it easier to find information in the manual.
Safety 1st has really tried to help parents. This graphic on the first page is a quick snapshot of how to find the information they need:
Allstate Canada and Safety 1st made this video with some installation tips:
For more information about installing car seats, see Allstate Canada’s blog post: Tips For Properly Installing Your Child’s Car Seat
Car seats fall into 3 stages:
From Allstate Canada’s GOOD HANDS blog post When to Move Your Child to the Next Car Seat Stage,
“While different car seats and regulations may vary, experts agree that children should stay in their rear-facing car seats until they’re at least 18 kg (40 lbs.); in their forward-facing 5-point harness seat until they are at least 29 kg (65 lbs.); and should use booster seats until they are at least 9 years of age and able to sit up straight with their back flat against the vehicle’s seat, and knees easily bent over the seat.
In other words, you don’t need to rush in moving a child up to the next level. Parents should take their time and transition their child to the next car seat when it makes the most sense for their safety. In fact, the longer a child can stay in their rear-facing seat, the safer they’ll be because these seats help to protect the neck and spinal cord of developing children better than any other seat.”
Safety 1st Grow and Go car seat is a 3-in-1 car seat that can be used for all three stages.
Allstate Canada’s video has great tips about when it is good to move your child to the next stage:
One of the great features of the Safety 1st Grow and Go seat is that it requires your child to be at least 2 years old before they can ride in it forward facing. This will help to ensure that children ride rear-facing until 2 years old. Rear-facing is the safest way for children to ride in a vehicle!
It is aways best to talk to or meet with a Certified Car Seat Technician who can help you with any car seat questions that you might have. They will teach you about your car seat and how it fits in a vehicle.
It is nice to see that Allstate Canada has a certified car seat technician on their staff who can help their clients. This will be especially important if the client is ever in a collision as car seats must be replaced.
Allstate Canada and Safety 1st want to help your child be safe. Enter to win a Safety 1st Grow and Go car seat.
To find out more about Allstate Canada:
Blog: blog.allstate.ca
Twitter: @AllstateCanada
Facebook: Allstate Insurance Canada
YouTube: Allstate Canada
To find out more about Safety 1st Canada:
Facebook: Safety 1st Canada
Disclosure: This post was written as part of the Allstate Canada Influencer Program and is sponsored by Allstate Canada. All opinions are my own.
by Wendy S
As someone who loves nature and the outdoors, the idea of a wooden watch is amazing.
“JORD is run by artists, designers, marketers, and minders. We spend our days creating, considering, arguing, and hopefully agreeing. Then we’ll scrap it all for the joy of starting new. We have fun.”
With back to school in full swing and fall is finally coming in Ontario, the kids are right into back to school shopping! I like to pick up a few pieces myself to freshen up my closet. This fall, I added a watch from JORD Wood Watches to my wardrobe!
JORD Wood Watches are unique and stylish. With the many different styles of women’s watches that they have, there is one that is just right for everyone! There are so many beautiful women’s watches to choose from!
I love the Cora in Maple and Silver. The light maple wood with the silver accents make it easy to wear with every outfit!
The self-winding automatic drive system means that there are no batteries to replace and it will keep itself wound with my regular movements. And I like to move!
JORD Wood Watches would make an amazing gift! I know we have a few people on our Christmas list that can be harder to shop for. These unique watches have such a wide range of styles that there is one for everyone!
Instagram: @woodwatches_com
Facebook: JordWoodWatches
Twitter: @woodwatches_com
Pinterest: JORD_Wood Watches
You could win a $75 e-gift code to spend on your own JORD Wood Watch. And just for entering, you will receive a $20 e-gift code automatically emailed to you.
“This post was sponsored by JORD Wood Watches”
by Wendy S
Since the end of June, Craig and the girls have been away camping. I should probably say RVing since my friends like to remind me that camping is supposed to be in a tent. Either way, I only see them on the weekends.
We have a membership to a campground just across the US border between Lewiston, NY and Lockport, NY. So not only are they away, but they are in another country.
When we first got the membership a few years ago, we would keep in touch with our loved ones using the camp wifi. The campground does their best, but on a busy weekend, getting on the wifi is hard.
Last summer was the first summer that Craig and the girls were away all summer-long. They were gone for 68 days. Craig can work as long as he has an internet connection and can work from camp. I only get so many vacation days so I join them on the weekends.
Juggling SIM cards while going back and forth across the border and trying to get on the camp wifi gets really frustrating. Before I left I would need to log into the company’s website and add a plan to my account and set it up to start at a certain time. I would get to the Duty Free on the Canadian side, text Craig to let him know where I was, change the SIM card and head across the border. When I got across and the US signal was picked up, I would then stop and text Craig to let him know where I was.
This year we have Rogers Roam Like Home. One SIM card, one account and no hassles.
Roam Like HomeTM now includes over 100 destinations around the world, so if you’re on a Share EverythingTM plan like Craig and I are, you can use your phone just like you do at home. If you’re not on a Share Everything plan, check out our Travel Packs, which cover you in over 230 destinations!
It uses the same calling minutes and data plan that we already have with our Share Everything plan, just no scary roaming charges that show up on your next bill. For $5 per day to a maximum of 10 days per bill, we get to use our phones in the US. It’s that easy.
Rogers Roam Like Home is available in so many places!
It truly is comforting knowing that I can keep in contact with Craig and the girls while they are away. Craig and the girls will share photos on Instagram or Craig will comment on Facebook. The girls and I can text back and forth. I can’t be there during the week so this helps me make it until the weekends!
And over the next few weeks, we’ll be able to keep in contact with our families at home when we go on a big road trip! We’ll be using our Roam Like Home to the fullest extent!
We’ll be sharing a lot of great photos of our journey and lots of info about Rogers Roam Like Home.
#RoamON
#100Days100Destinations
#SilvaBulletRV
#SilvaRoadTrip16
@mapsgirl
@bigdaddykreativ
by Wendy S