Great Birthday Gifts for $20 or Less

Seems as though the cost of everything is on the rise. Many of us are trying to think of ways to tighten up household spending without losing certain standards of living such as affording healthy foods, good books and still putting away savings for retirement. See post here.

I think birthdays are another way to save. The below presents are all under $20 and some less then $10. I think these presents are worthy gifts for family, friends or one's own child.

Handmade Gifts

One of my friends is getting sheets of felt, cutting shapes and sewing crowns. Her child will bestow these special gifts at each party he attends. I was informed by the crown crafter, that the most recent birthday honoree wore his crown during the whole party with pride !

If you are not a crafter then head to Esty it is a great website to find handmade items. The site allows artist and crafts persons to have on-line shops to sell their creations. Most toys are made of felt, cloth, wood, or recycled materials.

A search under "handmade" for "wooden waldorf", will give you a list of handmade toys. I bought some wooden figurines; a gnome ($6.50), trees, hedgehogs, mushrooms, a Leshiy (forest creature $10.00) from the artists called "Mamaroots" and "Youreinspired". The products were well constructed, painted and delivered well packaged. They both have items under $20.

Books - you can never go wrong with a great book.

Many Dr. Seuss books can be had for under $15 per book. We have a few of Dr. Seusses books, as does many parents. "The Foot Book" is fun for small children. Our daughter gets to get a kick out of it. "The Sneetches and other Stories" is another great book. The Sneetched are divided into those with stars on their bellies and those without. The stories goes on to tell how the Sneetches came to realize that it is not what a Sneetch has, but who they are that matters.




Another favorite author of mine is Shel Silverstein who's books are between $12 and $20. Silverstein stands out for me because it was my first grade teacher that use to read "A light in the Attic" or "Where the Sidewalk Ends". She was a the sweetest woman and I remember always feeling warm and intrigued when she read to the class.

"I only turned away for a minute"

This question caught my attention, "When can my child bathe alone?" Many caregivers asked this question because the cleaning of the child often lasted only 5 minutes and the play time last another 30. Many caregivers often want to attend to other "chores" while the child plays.

The first thing I will mentioned is that, the Consumer Federation of America and 8 other group petitioned, in 2000, to the Consumer Product Safety Commission for a ban on "Bath Seats" citing that it leads to a false seance of security and has lead to 8 deaths a year and over a 100 injuries. These were easily preventable.

In another report I found this information. "Unintentional drownings cause over 600 deaths annually among children 5 years old and younger. Bathtubs are one of the leading sites for such drownings for children 2 years of age and especially for children 1 year or younger." When these parents were questioned 31% of the respondents admitted to leaving their child alone in the bathtub. The mean age of the child was 37.5 months (3 yrs 1 mo. old). The most common excuse given for leaving the child was to retrieve a towel, diaper, answer the phone or cook dinner. Five of these injured children were left alone with another child under 10 years old. The less then 10 year old was meant to be the supervisor.

Conclusion: The children, at 5 years or younger, who had parents that left the bathroom were deemed "inadequately supervised". Th parents were then labeled as those who should "be advised concerning proper supervision in early anticipatory guidance." In other words these parents lacked the education and understanding that a five year old has not developed enough to navigate in and around water, in problem situations. "Reported Level of Supervision of Young Children While in the Bathtub"
Ambulatory Pediatrics, Volume 3

Third, According to the Committee on Injury, Violence and Poison prevention, Studies have shown that a 0-4 year old child can not navigate water environments well enough to be left alone. Citing that parents will leave a child to answer the phone, door, or retrieve a towel. It has been determined that these and other reasons will not be excepted as excuses for leaving a child four and under in or near water of 5 gallons or more. American Academy of Pediatric

The above is what I found on the internet. Often, I think, caregivers do not want to "just sit and watch" their child in the tub when they feel like other works "needs" to be done. Instead of thinking that bathing your child is a "chore" consider playing with the child and their toys. Or if you do not want to do that you can clean the bathroom while your child plays. You could bring in a magazine or read.

But think of it this way, all the work you are doing is mostly for your family, right? All the cooking, cleaning, and toweling off of wet bodies. If your child slips, that 30 seconds it takes you to run into the bathroom to assess what happened, then another minute goes by while you try to find your phone so you can call 911 could take too long, then you will no longer have a family to worry about. Was that extra cleaning you did worth it?

Homes, Pesticides & Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma Linked to Homes Treated with Pesticides

SOURCE: Epidemiology: 12(1):20-26, January, 2001

One of the largest studies to date has found that pesticide use around the home can more than double the chance of a child developing neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma accounts for approximately 10% of all childhood tumors. There are 550 new cases in the United States each year, with an annual incidence rate of 9.2 cases per million children under 15 years of age. This works out to approximately 1 per 100,000 children under age 15 on a national level. (These rates were reported in the book "Principles and Practice of Pediatric Oncology, Lippincott-Raven, 1997). It is a very serious cancer as approximately 60% of children over age 1 who develop neuroblastoma do not live 3 years even when receiving treatments of radiation and chemotherapy. Children under age 1 have a more positive prognosis. As statistics show that neuroblastoma rates have increased over the past 50 years, it is reasonable to assume environmental factors may be involved.

One of the largest collaborative efforts among 7 Universities and medical facilities worked together to determine what extent pesticide use in the home could increase child neuroblastoma rates. 390 neuroblastoma children and 460 non-cancer controls were included in the study. Investigators questioned both parents regarding use of pesticides in and around the home.

Results showed that using pesticides in and around the home resulted in a 60% increased likelihood of children developing the disease (Odds Ratio=1.6). Looking at pesticide use for the lawn and garden only resulted in an increased risk of 120% (Odds Ratio=2.2) when the mother had applied pesticides in the yard and 50% higher (Odds Ratio=1.5) when the father had applied pesticides in the yard.

(Chem-Tox Note: Outdoor pesticides are much different from indoor pesticides as they include fungicides and herbicides some of which have been reported to contain dioxin).

Julie L. Daniels, Andrew F. Olshan, Kay Teschke, Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Dave A. Savitz, Julie Blatt, Melissa L. Bondy, Joseph P. Neglia, Brad H. Pollock, Susan L. Cohn, A. Thomas Look, Robert C. Seeger, Robert P. Castleberry
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, University of British Columbia, University of Texas, University of Minnesota, University of Florida, Northwestern University, Department of Experimental Oncology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and University of Alabama

Lawn Pesticides & Breast Cancer

Does your neighbor spray pesticides? What health effects are there for your neighbor, you and your family?

Pesticides have complex repercussions that take a bit of time and energy to understand. But in my opinion my child is worth me spending 10 minutes here and there to keep on top of these issues. Say with morning coffee I could read an article. Or print and take the article with me to read at lunch time. What do you do with your time? I like spending time with my family having fun. Reading helps me keep them healthy so we can continue having fun not spending time being sick.

Here is one thought to chew on, Cancer.

Breast Cancer Linked to Home Pesticide Chlordane

One in eight women in the United States will develop breast cancer according to the latest statistics. Breast cancer rates in the U.S. are 3-7 times higher than those in Asia. This 2005 study conducted at the US Army Institute of Surgical Research and Texas Tech University Health Science Center in Lubbock Texas found that cancerous human breast tissue contained the chemical heptachlor epoxide (found in the common home pesticide chlordane) at levels 4 times higher than non-cancerous breast tissue. Chlordane was the primary termite prevention pesticide used in over 30 million U.S. homes between the mid 1950's and 1988. An estimated 50 million U.S. residents are currently exposed to the volatization of this chemical from previously treated pre-1989 homes on a daily basis.

Dr. Richard A. Cassidy, Sridhar, George M. Vaughan
Tox Free, Inc., Tell City, IN
Texas Tech University Health Science Center, Lubbock, TX
US Army Institute of Surgical Research