A new study raises concern about the safety of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Increasing in use over recent years, high fructose corn syrup is used as a sweetner in many foods from sauces to jellies. And it turns up places you wouldn't expect, like breads, cereals, lunch meats and yogurt.

The study, conducted by the Institute of Agiculture and Trade Policy, found traces of mercury in almost one third of popular foods tested that have HFC as the first or second ingredient.

Foods that tested positive for traces of mercury include:

• Quaker Oatmeal to Go Bars
• Jack Daniel's Barbecue Sauce
• Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
• Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
• Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars
• Manwich Sloppy Joe
• Market Pantry Grape Jelly
• Smucker's Strawberry Jelly
• Pop-Tarts Frosted Blueberry
• Hunt's Tomato Ketchup
• Wish-Bone Western Sweet and Smooth Dressing
• Coca-Cola Classic
• Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt
• Minute Maid Berry Punch
• Yoo-Hoo Chocolate Drink
• Nesquik Chocolate Milk
• Kemps Fat Free Chcolate Milk

We avoid HFCS in our house as much as we can. I scan ingredients and choose foods that don't include it. For example, Boboli pizza sauce has HFCS. Kroger brand does not. I buy the Kroger brand. Check your labels, even on food that you don't think will have it. We switched brands of bread that we buy because our old brand listed HFCS as one of the first ingredients. And remember, ingredents are listed in order of how much of that ingredient is in a product. So if HFCS is one of the first ingredients, that product contains HFCS as one of the main ingredients.

Consider natural products over synthetic ones. Pancake syrup is almost completely sugar, corn syrup, and high fructose corn syrup. Natural maple syrup contains only natural sugars.

This is only one study, and it certainly didn't test all products out there. It didn't even scientifically prove that HFCS is the source of the mercury. But scientists propose that the only possible source of the contamination is HFCS.

Even if HFCS is found to not be the source of the mercury, it's still not a good choice for a healthy diet and should be consumed in small quantities, if at all.

Check out this WebMD article on High Fructose Corn Syrup
And read the IATP press release

Lose your juice box - help the environment and your wallet

Do you send a juice box with your child to school or to daycare? They're easy to pack, fairly cheap, and at least in our house, fairly guaranteed to be drank.

But think about this... Say you send a juice box with your child each day of the week. Multiply those 5 juice boxes a week times 52 weeks in the year, and you end up with 260 juice boxes. 260 juice boxes that eventually end up in the landfill. 260 juice boxes that probably cost you about $130.

Instead, consider buying a reusable bottle that you can fill with water, juice, watered down juice, or whatever your child likes to drink. When deciding what bottle to buy, do some research on Bisphenol A (BPA), and come to your own conclusion on whether you trust a bottle that contains BPA.

If you're looking for bottles that are BPA free, two great options are www.sigg.com and www.kleankanteen.com.

Both Sigg and Klean Kanteen bottles come in great colors. Our son and daughter loved picking out their own bottles and now use those almost exclusively when we are out and about.

And the best part, reusable bottles don't send a fountain of juice all over the inside of your car when your toddler accidentally squeezes them too hard.

Peanut Butter Recall Expands - Check Your Pantry!

As the FDA tries to track down what foods are affected by the recent salmonella outbreak, more and more foods are being added to the list of possibly contaminated foods. I've seen recommendations that you throw away all foods that are made with peanut butter, until the FDA is able to narrow down the source of the outbreak.

Just yesterday, salmonella was confirmed in a package of Kellogg's Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter.

Since may childcare providers offer snacks for the children in their care, check your pantry and throw away any foods that have peanut butter as an ingredient. As far as I've heard, jars of peanut butter are not affected.

Whenever anyhting like this happens, I believe that the cliche of it's better to be safe than sorry holds true. I would rather throw away a perfectly good package of crackers than serve tainted food to our children.

Flu season is just getting into full swing. Make sure you know how to keep your family safe.

Drs. Carol Baker and William Schaffner eliminate conFLUsion about influenza.

What is influenza?
Although influenza can cause headache, cough, sore throat, and a stuffy/blocked nose, it's not the common cold. A cold can feel like a cake walk compared to the flu. Influenza is a serious viral infection that can spread quickly through a home, school or office and cause severe illness, like pneumonia and sometimes even death. It hits you very suddenly, usually with high fever, aches and chills. Children can also have ear aches, nausea and vomiting. It?s not pretty.

How bad can it really be?
You've heard the phrase 'hits you like a ton of bricks.' People use the word 'flu' loosely, often to describe a terrible cold or a stomach virus. But flu is more than an inconvenience; it can wipe you out and it can lead to some pretty severe complications. When a person has the flu, he/she will probably spend at least a few miserable days in bed, miss work and not be able to perform other normal day-to-day activities. You really don't feel well for about 2 weeks when you get influenza, and longer if you develop complications. Flu in children can be especially severe young kids are hospitalized as often, or more often, than any other group, including the elderly.

But nobody in my family has gotten the flu before. Why should I be worried?
If nobody in your family has gotten flu before, you've been very lucky and we are very jealous! But unless you plan on hibernating at home during flu season with your flu-free family, you're at risk like the rest of us. Some people mistakenly think that hand washing completely prevents influenza, but this virus travels not only on hands but in the air. The absolute best protection is annual vaccination.

Isn't it too late to be vaccinated?
Influenza is just rearing its ugly head in the U.S., so if you haven't already been vaccinated you can still do so. The flu typically peaks in February and cases can continue for many months after. Make some phone calls to see if your health care provider or other health centers in your area have flu vaccine, or use the flu clinic locator or flu shot finder. Note that children younger than 9 years of age who haven't been vaccinated before will need two vaccine doses at least one month apart for full protection.

Who should be vaccinated?
Basically anyone who doesn't want to get the flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specifically recommends influenza vaccination for all children 6 months through 18 years of age. Everyone around a baby who is less than 6 months of age should get influenza vaccine to prevent what can be a deadly infection in the very young. Get vaccinated for the baby and get the benefit of protection for yourself. There's a great tool available on the Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition's Web site called the Flu Risk Calculator, where you can input information about yourself and your family to find out who is recommended for vaccination.

Can I just chance getting sick?
Sure, but why? Influenza can really knock you for a loop. And many people, including children younger than five and anyone with chronic medical conditions, like asthma or diabetes, are at increased risk for complications. Chances are there's no reason you shouldn't get yourself and your family vaccinated, so ask about the flu vaccine.

But my family was vaccinated last year!
That's great but as with taxes, it's something you have to do every year. The influenza virus likes to reinvent itself each year, so the vaccine changes too to provide the best protection. Even if you are vaccinated early, protection lasts throughout the entire yearly influenza season.

What should I do if I get the flu?
If you suspect you or someone in your family has the flu, check with a doctor right away there are medications available that may be able to help you feel better faster if they are given in the first 2 days of illness.

For more information, check out National Foundation for Infectious Diseases - Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition

Keep Your Childcare Safe In A Tech World

We're surrounded by technology. Some of it is fantastic and makes our lives easier, like seriously, when is the last time you flipped through the yellow pages? But the constant access to mountains of information also presents some security concerns, especially for childcare providers.

Childcare providers need a way to get in contact with parents who are looking for childcare. Most providers use their home phone as their business phone. Did you know that if you type a phone number into most search engines, it will give you the complete address associated with that number, photos, and even directions to the location? Keep this in mind when you are giving out your phone number, and consider using a cell phone instead.

Do you have a website for your childcare? Websites are a great way to let current parents and potential parents know about your childcare, but they can also pose a risk. You can use a whois lookup to find who own a domain name. It often includes your first and last name, your address, and sometimes your phone number. You can prevent this information from being public by choosing a private domain registration.

Use caution with pictures too. If you use pictures in advertising, in flyers, or on your website, do not show the children's faces. Show the children from the back, or just post pictures of your facility and your supplies.

I love seeing groups of children out on field trips, and love seeing the colorful matching shirts they are often wearing. Believe me, I have a hard time keeping track of our two, and I can't imagine keeping track of 12. But be careful what you put on those shirts. Don't put the children's names or the phone number of your childcare. Both can lead right back to your address. Instead, put the child's name and information somewhere easily accessed, but not visible to strangers, like on a tag inside the shirt.

Instant access to information is great. But take some small steps to make sure the information is going into the right hands.

Join Daycarematch On Facebook

We're always looking for ways to let others know about our site and to help parents connect with the childcare providers we have listed on our site. So we did it....we joined Facebook!

People who use Facebook can also use our Daycarematch application to search for childcare.

Make sure they find your childcare's listing!

To be included in our Facebook application you must:

• Have a paid enhanced listing
  or


• Have a profile rating of 'excellent'

If you have any questions about your completeness rating, please ask us. We are also always happy to help you post pictures to your profile.

If you aren't already a member of Daycarematch, sign up now! Creating a profile is free. Thousands of parents use our site each month to find childcare. Make sure they find you!

Join Daycarematch! And look for us on Facebook!

The Inauguration - What Did You Share With Your Children

Today was a monumental day in history. It doesn't matter what side of the political coin you fall on, todays swearing in of Barack Obama was an important moment in history.

I watched most of the inauguration and following ceremonies with our son. Our daughter was much more content empying our toy box, although the police on motorcycles did get a squeal out of her. Our son asked some questions about who the president is, what he does, why we chose a new one, and what happens to the old one. I explained as best I could so that he would understand.

How did you mark the day with your children? Did you do anything special with your daycare children?

It seems that today's festivities would be a great way to launch into a discussion about how our government runs, how laws are made, and how the president is chosen.

Our children are our future. They should understand how history is made.

Fighting Chapped Skin and Lips

If you're in a colder climate, then you're probably dealing with dry skin and chapped lips right now. And if your kids are anything like ours, then they aren't huge fans of anything designed to help them feel better.

Our son licks chapstick off his lips faster then we can apply it. And that constant licking, followed up with some rubbing of his drippy nose, leaves him with badly chapped lips and skin. I tried everything I could think of, and nothing seemed to work. Chapstick didn't stick around long enough to work, because he licked it off. He complained that lotion got into his mouth and tasted bad.

But finally I found something that works. And I mean really works. Lanolin. I had some left over from when our daughter was an infant and figured if it was safe enough for infants to be in contact with when hey nursed, that it would be safe for a 4 year old. I slathered some on him at bedtime and pleaded with him to try not to wipe his face all over the sheets.

And the next morning, his chaped lips and skin were almost completely healed.

I don't use it during the day, because if it rubs off on something else, like clothes or the couch, it leaves a greasy stain that is almost impossible to get out. But at bedtime, a coating of Lanolin seems to be a quick easy cure for chapped skin.

Childcares and Unions - Good idea or not?

This is a topic that I'll have to turn over to the experts, the childcare providers, to see what they think. But recently I am hearing more and more about childcare providers joining unions. I remember a couple years ago, I spoke with several providers who were completely against the concept. But now I wonder if that is still the case.

I understand that the state of Maine is currently making the switch to unionizing the childcare providers. After doing a quick online search, it appears that California and Pennsylvania are also unionizing.

So providers, what do you think? Is your state trying to form a union? If so, are you planning on joining? Why, or why not?

Just curious.....

Starting Your Baby in Daycare - That First Week

I remember that day as if it was yesterday. And it wasn't. It was almost 5 years ago. It was our son's first day at daycare. I was almost to the end of my maternity leave so we were going to start him on half days at the daycare, just to get him used to it. I'm not sure if it was more for his benefit, or mine, but our thought was that easing into full days would make the process easier.

Those first couple days are bound to be hard, both on the parents and the baby. You're all getting used to a new routine, and that takes time. Give everybody a chance to adjust and realize that there are going to be some bumps.

Keep your goodbyes short and sweet. I love a lingering kiss on a baby's cheek as much as the next person, but drawn out goodbyes are harder on you both. It's similar to ripping off a bandaid; it hurts more if you do it fast, but the recovery is quicker. By the time you are getting back in your car, your baby is probably snuggled in the provider's arms or exploring a new toy.

Ask your provider if they mind if you call during the day. It will help you fell connected to hear that your baby is doing great, or that he had peas and crackers for lunch. As you get more comfortable, you'll probable feel the need to call less.

And realize that you are going to miss your baby and your baby is going to miss you. That's natural, and that's part of the love you share.

It took me about 2 weeks to really adjust to having our son at childcare.

But that first day was hard. As soon as the door closed, I cried. I sobbed. I bawled. And that's ok too.

Where Do Sex Offenders Live And Work? Find Out!

Who lives next door to your childcare provider? Who lives next door to your parents? To your babysitter? To you?

Parents do everything they can to keep their children safe. Here's one more step you can take. Check to see where registered sex offenders live in relation to addresses where your children spend time - their school, their daycare, your home. We recently bought a new house and we used this site to check our neighborhood before we made an offer on the house.

It should be noted that these online directories only include individuals who are registered sex offenders. An individual may have committed a lesser crime and not be required to register as a sex offender, so they would not be included on these sites.

http://www.familywatchdog.us

I believe that information like this should not be used to frighten, but to educate. There are threats all over our lives and you cannot possibly avoid them all. What you can do is educate yourself and your children on how to stay as safe as possible.

My Dad is a retired police officer. When I was little, he gave me pointers on how to stay safe. He didn't scare me, but he was honest. He empowered me by teaching me how to grow up with a strong sense of self and how to look at my surroundings to keep myself safe. They are lessons I plan to pass on to our children.

So, check out who lives near you. And make sure you keep talking to your children. Help them learn how to make choices to keep themselves safe.

Preschool Registration Time

The beginning of next shool year is month away, right? Not even on your radar? Something you'll think about in a couple months. Well, if you're planning on enrolling your child in preschool, it's something to think about right now. And right now might be too late.

Our son's preschool sent home information on registering for next year. I still have Christmas cards that are waiting for addresses before I can mail them. It doesn't seem like the two should happen at the same time. But they do.

Many preschools are now enrolling for next year. Some are so popular that they enroll in stages, giving priority to current families before openings enrollment to first time attendees.

And then there are the ones that are so poular it's like trying to get tickets to a rock concert. Last year my friend was looking around for preschools. She finally found one she liked. When she asked about registration, she was told that it was very competitive. Competitive to me means that maybe you turn in your application paperwork and some kids are enrolled and some aren't. Competitive at this preschool means that parents started lining up in the registration line at 4am. And this was in the bitter cold of winter in Wisconsin, so we're talking some hard core souls here. They camped out, tailgated, and guarded their spot in line until the preschool office opened and it was first come first served.

Now, I love our children. They are our life, our loves, and my husband and I do everything we can to give them the best upbringing possible. But I draw the line. And sitting outside in 5 degree weather is where I draw the line.

We found a preschool that we love. And I didn't even have to stand outside.

Also, consider in-home childcare providers who offer preschool curriculum. Your child will get similar programming to a preschool, but in a smaller environment.

Good luck!

Childcare Forms - Contracts, Policies, Activity Sheets,and more

Not everybody is a huge fan of paperwork, but sometimes it's necessary. When you're a childcare provider, forms can establish a relationship between you and the parents, serve as a means of communication, and help ensure that everybody is on the same page.

The childcare contract is what parents sign when they decide to enroll their child in your daycare. This is a legally binding contract. Make sure you cover all the basics, like cost, when you are open, when you take vacation, how the parents give notice, how you give notice, and procedures for picking up late. The conact should be thorough enough that is covers all the main points and leaves you and the parents with few questions, but it doesn't need to be so long and detailed that it spells out how many grapes the child gets for snack. Some providers choose to have a lawyer review their contracts.

There are other forms that help a childcare run smoothly. Emergency contact cards; releases for field trips, medications, photos, and more; daly activity logs; and applications for enrollmentcan all help your childcare run smoothly.

You can find samples on Daycarematch.

January - National Give Blood Month

January is National Give Blood Month. What a great new year's resolution to vow to donate blood at least once, or twice, or as often as you are able.

According to the Red Cross, when you give blood just once, you can save the lives of three people. Three people! That's amazing.

The Red Cross website has easy ways to find locations to give blood.
www.givelife.org

If there are other childcare providers in your area, you can host a blood drive. What a great way to teach your children about giving to others. Encourage your daycare parents to sign up, have them recruit friends, even have a little friendly competition between daycare providers to see who can get the most donations.

And hey.....you get free cookies for donating!