October 2009 Archives

Halloween is just around the corner! Texas AgriLife Extension Service urges parents and family service providers to take precaution with children's safety, both indoor and outdoor, while enjoying the fun and excitment. Here are a few resources of tips to help keep children safe and sound on Halloween:

The American Red Cross, http://american.redcross.org/site/DocServer/RC_HalloweenSafety08.pdf?docID=677

The American Academy of Pediatrics, http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/octhalloween.cfm

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, http://www.cdc.gov/family/Halloween/

The US Consumer Prodcut Safety Commission, http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/hallow.html

Happy Halloween!

Texas AgriLife Extension Service - Dallas County offers a child care provider conference on November 14, 2009, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This conference is low-cost and will provide an interactive, hands-on learning environment. Topics include Emergency Planning for Child Care Facilities and Healthy Eating with MyPyramid.

This conference will be held at 10056 Marsh Lane, Suite B-101, Dallas, TX 75229. Participants who attend the entire conference will earn three clock hours for professional development.

Registration fee is $5 per person. Registration form and payment should be received no later than Friday, November 6, 2009. Click Child Care Provider Conference flyer.pdf to download registration form.

For questions regarding the Child Care Provider Conference contact Wenhsing Cheng at 214-904-3050 or wcheng@ag.tamu.edu.

Once again Texas Department of Transportation is conducting a seat belt demo project in the five Texas counties with the highest rate of unbuckled teen deaths. Dallas County is one of them!

The campain will be conducted throughout the month of October with extra enforcement October 19-25. The Click It or Ticket Teen campaign last May was extremely successful. The effort increased both driver and passenger safety belt use by 4.5 percentage points.

Teens, go to http://seatbeltsrock.com/. Take the "Are you smarter than your seatbelt?" quiz and win stuff!

Did you know?

• Crashes are the #1 killer of teens.
• A teen dies in a traffic crash an average of once every hour on weekends and nearly once every two hours during the week.
• The majority of teens killed in traffic crashes are not buckled up.

Remember:

• Texas law now requires that everyone in the vehicle -- in front and back seats -- wear a safety belt!
• Wear your seat belt. It can be the most important thing you plan for--your future!

For information about passenger safety programs contact Bev Kellner, Program Manager of Passenger Safety, Texas AgriLife Extension Service at 979-862-1782 (phone) or bkellner@ag.tamu.edu (email). 

KERA, Public Television and Radio for North Texas, received the Best Practices in Parent/Family Education for their Ready for Life Project. Ready for Life transforms research into a curriculum for parents of children aged birth to five years that is both useful and enjoyable. Ready for Life is based on the work of internationally recognized researchers. Visit Ready for Life website at http://www.readyforlife.org/.

Join Danny Henley, Director of Education for KERA, Public Television and Radio to learn more about Ready for Life in the Texas Association of Parent Educators (TAPE) Online Workshop on October 23, 2009, noon to 1:00 pm Central time.

There is no fee to participate, but registration is required. Participants will receive a certificate documenting one clock hour of professional development. Click  Registration Form Ready For Life.doc for registration info.