A trip to Grandmother’s house is fraught with treats, adventures and very real dangers. Grandparents love their grandchildren dearly, but often fail to prepare their homes for the exploring and destruction that children bring. If you’re on your way to Grandma’s house, be prepared to keep your children safe.

Inside

Inside your parent’s home, there are the kinds of dangers you very carefully removed from your own. Grandparents are unlikely to crawl on the floor in search of enticing wires or dropped coins. They may be completely unaware of the mothballs on the floor of a closet or the cleaning supplies casually stored under the sink.

Your parents might be unaware, but you aren’t. When you arrive with your children, make a sweep of the house. Open cabinets and peek in closets. If you see something dangerous, either shut the door and declare the room off limits or resolve the situation. Pick up and move small items and breakables. Hide cords and unplug unnecessary items. Block the stairs with a baby gate you brought specifically for that purpose.

And while you are doing your baby proofing, explain to your parents what you are doing and why. It’s been many years since they have had a baby or toddler who enjoy eating the flies off the windowsills or throwing handfuls of dirt from the potted plants. As a final resort bring a play pen or enclosure of baby gates to keep your little one away from temptation when you’re not able to watch him like a hawk.

Outside

Outside of the home can be just as dangerous as the inside. Unprotected swimming pools, flower beds, porches and unfamiliar pets present potentially serious problems. If your parents have a swimming pool without a gate, keep your children inside or allow them outside only when you are present. Don’t assume your parents can move as well as you can if there was some sort of emergency.

Help your child meet any animals, and stress that she not pet the dog or give him hugs. In fact, leaving the dog in a room away from your child is probably the safest option. Animals that live with grandparents are often spoiled and will see no harm in hopping in your toddler’s lap or jumping up for attention. They are also unfamiliar with little ones and might snap if cornered or “petted” too enthusiastically.

Educate

Be sure to educate your parents on things that have changed or they might have forgotten since their own days of child rearing. You know your child best, and your parents should respect your knowledge and preference. Spoiling is not the same as endangering. Let your child lavish in her grandparent’s attention and affection, but keep a close eye on her to be sure she does so safely.

A great deal of attention is paid to the working mom. She is given special status for working and raising children. It is the mom who gets accolades for her hard work and dedication to too many activities and commitments. But she is not the only one working and raising children in a home. It’s time to pay a little respect to the working dad.

The Working Man

As long as stereotypes have ruled our lives, men have had the important job of leaving the house everyday and bringing home a nice paycheck. According to the stereotype, he’s supposed to bring in enough paycheck to pay all the bills, keep everyone fed and comfortable and allow the mommy to be at home raising the kids without having to even think about an office or commute.

Women didn’t like the stereotype, so they changed it. Now men leave the house every day and head to work to bring home a decent paycheck and women have the option to leave, too. Sometimes women stay home, and on very rare occasions the father will stay at home with children, but this is most definitely the exception. In this country, men work. And that work and the paycheck it brings are a special kind of loving gift to a family.

Finding Balance

Some men buy into the Working Man theory so strongly they forget to balance their work with their families. After all they are working to support and show their love for their families, so they keep at it for long hours. But most children and wives will agree that while money and the security it brings are essential, they are not the means of loving expression they seek.

A family includes the dad. And if that dad is spending all of his time at work, he is missing out on the pleasure of his wife and children, and they are missing out on his company. A family is not complete and is not as fulfilling without all of the members.

Take Time…

So working dads must make a conscious effort to take time away from work. Leave the office at a certain time. Declare weekends work-free days. Turn off the laptop and phones until after the children are in bed. Take the family on a weekend getaway. Even if you just take an hour after dinner to play outside with your children and visit with your wife, not only will your life be richer, their lives will be more positively impacted as well.

Dressing up your baby for Halloween is a great deal of fun for parents and most babies are mostly tolerant of their parents’ glee. After all, it’s unlikely someone who can’t yet walk will have a strong opinion about being a ladybug versus a monkey. So enjoy Halloween and find exactly the costume you want – this may be the only year you get your way.

Safety

The most important consideration when finding a Halloween costume for your baby is to find one that is safe. Masks, capes, and even face paints might not be the best choice for little ones who can’t keep their hands away from their mouths. They might knock the mask askew blocking their airway or smear paint into their eyes or mouths. If your baby is closer to a toddler, be sure you keep the costume streamlined. Bulky fabrics and trailing material can trip up even the most surefooted little one.

Holidays present a unique challenge for most sets of new parents. The new baby is greatly admired by both sides of the family, and their vying for your time and attention that began as a married couple accelerates into overdrive as everyone tries to make you commit to their house for each respective holiday. If this is your first set of holidays as new parents, set the standard right away to save you headaches for years to come.

Alternating Houses

A popular method of celebrating to get all of the mandatory visits in is to alternate houses. You attend one side of the family’s celebration for Thanksgiving and the other side for Christmas. Every year you switch off, and this is as fair as possible. It does involve a lot of travel and planning in advance, but not as much as trying to hit both places both times.

Dual Houses

Another popular method of celebrating is to cram two of each holiday into the time frame. You eat Thanksgiving lunch at one house and truck over to another for Thanksgiving dinner. You spend Christmas Eve at one house and Christmas day at another. Some very brave souls hit both houses on both days.

While this might appease everyone for a little while, eventually squabbles will begin and feelings will get hurt if you don’t manage to share Christmas day with both sides or make a benign comment about too much turkey on Thanksgiving. The other downside is dragging your kids all over town on two of the most fun-filled holidays of the year. As your children get older, they will begin to enjoy Santa’s visit and Santa’s toys more. They will be hard-pressed to leave the goodies after only an hour or two. This leaves you with only one option.

Your House

You can celebrate holidays at your house. It is up for debate as to which is easier – dragging your family (and their mess) to your parent’s home or having everyone (and their mess) come to yours. Most parents eventually realize that certain parts of the holiday, such as present opening and Santa Clause should be done at home. Other family members are welcome to come over bright and early, but you are not leaving until close to lunchtime – if then.

Thanksgiving is easier to handle – perhaps alternate the holiday every year. Christmas, on the other hand, is most fun with children. And you’ve got the kids. If everyone wants to share in their joy and enthusiasm, they can simply come over to your house and revel in it.