I’ve never met a child that hasn’t wanted a pet of some type. There are many different pets you can chose for your child, depending on their age and what you would like in your home.

Hermit crabs are an easy pet to begin with. They aren’t messy, require little care, and still give your child a pet of their own that they can care for. You can take them out of their cage and let them crawl around, and they can change to larger shells as they grow.

Hamsters or guinea pigs require a little more care. Their cage must be cleaned every week, and they need fresh food and water every day. They can be messy, and they are a nocturnal animal, which means they want to play while you are sleeping. If you put a hamster wheel in their cage, they will get their exercise at night, which can be noisy.

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Chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese seem to be the mainstream diet for many children. Parents often struggle to get their children to eat healthy foods. Our family started on a new diet. We switched our white bread for wheat and started stocking the fridge with fruits and vegetables. The kids rebelled for a while, but now they are used to it. They fight for the last strawberry. Here are some suggestions to help you make the transition to healthy eating in your home.

Monitor how many snacks your children eat in a day. The rule at our house is a snack at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. I don’t have whiny kids wanting treats all day, because they know when they can have them. However, if they want something healthy like an apple, a bagel, or some fruit, they can have it without asking.

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Have your doctor test your family for lead. It’s a simple finger or toe prick. Lead accumulates and can cause brain damage, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, behavioral problems, stunted growth, impaired hearing, kidney damage and even death. It can be removed – but only if you know it is there. For more information visit the Centers for Disease Control lead prevention site.

Free lead screening kits are just part of the USW’s North American “Protect Our Kids – Stop Toxic Imports” campaign – one tool in our effort to draw attention to the dangers posed by an unregulated, unfair trade system.

The screening kits are just that – screenings. Consumers can use them in conjunction with recall and other information provided by manufacturers, the government and their doctors. When in doubt about a product’s safety, get it out of your home and away from your family. The screening should not be the sole basis for deciding if a product is safe. If the screening comes up positive, further laboratory testing may be necessary.

The USW is conducting Safe Home Sessions in part to use the union’s Health Safety and Environment expertise to demonstrate the proper screening procedure. The LeadCheck kits we are distributing are one of only two consumer kits easily available in the U.S. and Canada and the only one available at hardware stores across the U.S. Follow the manufacturers’ directions.

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Protect Our Kids – Stop Toxic Imports is a North American awareness campaign about the growing danger being created by toxic imports, unregulated globalization and the gutting of federal regulatory agencies.

The project will mobilize all activist entities of the United Steelworkers union, including Women of Steel; Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR); Health, Safety & the Environment; Associate Membership; Rapid Response; United Steelworkers Press Association (USPA); and Legislative.

They will help mount a series of national events in the U.S. and Canada that aim to get the lead and other dangerous products out of our homes while drawing attention to a broken regulatory system and unfair, unregulated trade policies that threaten our jobs and our families.
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