Callaway County
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December 2001 |
Holiday
Electrical Safety Tips (for Grandchildren) What Can You Learn From Grandchildren? Poinsettias A Tradition of the Season |
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Return to 'The Senior View' Home Page Holiday Electrical Safety Tips (for Grandchildren The sparkle of holiday decorations is a delight to children. They’re also a source of potential accidents, including decorations that get plugged into an electrical outlet. To keep infants and toddlers out of harm’s way this holiday season, the Leviton Institute offers these simple safety tips. ·
The best place to start looking for potential
electrical hazards is at eye level—not at adult eye level, but
at child level. This
means getting on your hands and knees and seeing the world from a
child’s perspective. ·
Christmas tree lights can beckon a child to grab
hold of a stand for a closer look—or worse, if they end up in an
infant’s mouth. Start
the lowest strand of tree lights out of the reach of infants and
toddlers. Avoid putting small and breakable ornaments, metal hooks, and
ornaments that
look like food on the lower limbs of the tree. ·
Children like to pull on, and sometimes even chew
on, extension cords. For
safety’s sake, keep them out of reach and out of sight.
But don’t run extension cords under carpets or
rugs—walking on cords could break the insulation and possibly
cause a fire. ·
While crawling around on the floor, look for other
electrical cords that can be a hazard.
A lamp cord dangling from a table invites a child’s
curious hands to pull on it.
Use a cord reel to shorten the cord and help prevent an
accident. ·
Finally, take a look at the electrical outlets.
While they hold no appeal to you, to an infant or toddler
they’re an open invitation to poke something in the holes.
Outlet caps will prevent this accident from occurring. Enjoy
your grandchildren knowing they are safe from harm. Source: Leviton Institute, Vol. 4What
Can You Learn From Grandchildren?
There’s an overused adage that you can’t
teach an old dog new tricks.
However, you can teach a new, modern way to do an old
trick. I know this to
be true as in the case of my mother. She had been a bookkeeper years before having four
children and eight grandchildren.
She knew manual bookkeeping from A to Z and wondered about
these new contraptions called PC’s (personal computers).
Everyone was using them and talking about all the things
they could do with them. She
was tempted to try one out. When my brother “upgraded,” he gave Mom
his old slow one and promised to show her how to use it.
“You know how that goes,” Mom would say when she would
call me. “Your
brother is too busy. He
doesn’t have time for an old fool like me.
I don’t even know how to turn the thing on.” One day my ten-year-old nephew, Stephen told
his grandma that he could show her the basics.
”Computers are easy Grandma, especially since you already
know how to type. You’ll
do better than me since I have to hunt for all the letters.”
What a nice gesture from a grandson (someone from the
younger, electronic generation).
My mother felt so special that she called me right away to
let me know. What
Stephen offered was not just his technical skills but also his
love that showed through his sharing.
He didn’t know how special those times were but I knew,
because Mom told me about them on several occasions. Let a grandchild teach you something and then you will know how it can warm the heart. Have a joyful holiday season. Source: Jo
Ann Clark, 4-H Youth Education Assistant
Poinsettias
are a native plant of Mexico.
Joel Poinsett was America’s first ambassador to Mexico
and he brought them to America in 1828.
The Poinsettia became associated with the Christmas season
since Mexicans of the eighteenth century thought the plants were
symbolic of the Star of Bethlehem.
Did you know that the bright red parts of the plant are not
petals but actually leaves? The flowers are the yellow buds in the center of the
red leaves. Don’t over water a poinsettia. When the soil becomes dry to the touch, water with lukewarm water until some runs out of the drainage hole then discard the drainage water. Keep the temperature 65-75 degrees. A
Tradition of the Season In 16th century Germany it was common for the people to decorate fir trees. They would use colored paper, apples and roses to decorate trees both indoors and outdoors. In the 1820’s the
Pennsylvania Germans brought the tradition to America.
Now, just think of all the decorated trees we have during
the holiday season -- anything from artificial to natural Douglas
fir. You can buy a
tree to put together and take apart or you can go to a tree farm
and cut one. You can
even select a potted one and plant it outdoors after the holiday. 1] Which popular Christmas
song was actually written for Thanksgiving?
A) “Joy to the World,” B )”Frosty the Snowman,” C)
“Away in a Manger,” or D) “Jingle Bells” 2] When were electric tree
lights first used? A)
1976, B) 1944, C) 1895, or D) 1492
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