Bike and Scooter Safety Tips

Our association wants your kids to be safe while riding their bikes and scooters in our community, and we recognize that you can’t be there to watch them all the time. Here are four steps that could increase their safety when you’re not around.

• Teach kids how to fall. Learning how to ride correctly is only part of what keeps a kid safe. Falls are inevitable, and teaching your children to fall correctly will prevent many serious injuries. Teach them to roll on impact, relax their body, and try to land on their padded and fleshiest parts.
• Check equipment. Check bikes and scooters for cracks or dents, sharp metal parts, jutting edges and slippery surfaces. Replace defective equipment, consult a professional for repairs and apply self-adhesive, non-slip material to slippery surfaces.
• Make a rule for your kids—one person to each piece of equipment. They might be less likely to hop on a friend’s scooter if they know it’s unsafe and that they’ll have to pay for replacing it when it breaks.
• Require protective equipment. Scooters, roller blades, bikes and similar equipment cause thousands of injuries—and even some deaths—every year. Make sure your children are wearing helmets, knee pads and elbow pads, especially if they are just learning. Buy a helmet your kid thinks is cool and you know is safe—it’s worth the extra money if your child is more likely to wear it.

Have a Safe Halloween!

Halloween is a kid’s delight. It’s a blast to dress up in costumes, go trick-or-treating, attend parties and, most of all, eat candy.

At the same time, Halloween can be scary for parents. Costumes can be dangerous, too much candy can be sickening and walking around at night can be risky.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer these tips (in anagram form) to make sure your little ghouls and goblins have a safe Halloween:

S – Swords, knives and similar costume accessories should be short, soft and flexible.

A – Avoid trick-or-treating alone. Children should walk in groups or with a trusted adult.

F – Fasten reflective tape to costumes and bags to help drivers see trick-or-treaters.

E – Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before they’re eaten.

H – Hold a flashlight while trick-or-treating to help see and help others see you.

A – Always test make-up in a small area first. Remove it when done to avoid skin irritation.

L – Look both ways before crossing the street. Use established crosswalks wherever possible.

L – Lower the risk for serious eye injury by avoiding decorative contact lenses.

O – Only walk on sidewalks or on the far edge of the road facing traffic to stay safe.

W – Wear well-fitting masks, costumes and shoes to avoid blocked vision, trips and falls.

E – Eat only factory-wrapped candy. Avoid eating homemade treats unless you know the cook.

E – Enter homes only if you’re with a trusted adult.

N – Never walk near lit candles or other open flames. Be sure to wear flame-resistant costumes.

If you’re hosting a party or expecting trick-or-treaters:

• Provide healthy treats, such as individual packs of raisins, trail mix or pretzels. Offer fruits, vegetables and cheeses to party guests.

• Use party games and trick-or-treating as an opportunity for kids to get their daily dose of 60 minutes of physical activity.

• Be sure walking areas and stairs are well-lit and free of obstacles that could cause falls.

• Keep candle-lit jack-o-lanterns and other open flames away from doorsteps, walkways, landings and curtains. Place them on sturdy tables, keep them out of reach of pets and small children and never leave them unattended.

• Drive safely and watch out for trick-or-treaters.

Home-Improvement Apps: Tools You Need—In Your Pocket

Ready to tackle a few home improvement projects? There's an app for that.

Houzz Interior Design Ideas

This highly-rated app—4.5 out of 5 stars in the Apple store—lets you discover ideas for your home through a large database of design ideas. You can browse photos by style, room and location, and save them to a virtual idea book. You can also find product and local professionals, and read articles by renovation experts. You can save your ideas for offline access and ask for advice from the app's community. Available free in both Apple and Android stores.

MyPantone

There are many paint color apps, but this one lets you save colors based on their PANTONE ID and create colors palettes from inspiration. You'll be able to share the exact hue you like with designers, manufacturers, family and friends. It suggests complementary colors too. Available for $9.99 in the Apple store and $7.99 in the Android store.

iHandy Carpenter

This app turns your phone into the tools you need to complete your improvement project. It features:

• A surface level
• A bubble level bar
• A protractor to measure angles from 0 to 180 degrees
• A ruler with both inches and centimeter readings
• A plumb bob to verify the verticality of lines or walls

Once calibrated, the plumb bob, surface level and level bar also can be used as an inclinometer/clinometer by reading the angles on the screen. Available for $1.99 in both Apple and Android stores.