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Celebrating Moms
Mother’s Day History
In more recent history, mothers were celebrated in the United Kingdom on Mothering Sunday. While the roots of this tradition are hard to trace, a likely origin is connected to the Christian Lenten season. Mothering Sunday was the fourth Sunday of Lent and the day that people would go visit the Mother Church of their region. As the years went by, this also was the day that children who had left home to go into domestic service would be allowed to return to their own families for a visit. They would often bring simple gifts to their mothers at the same time. The tradition faded during the 19thcentury, but was revived around World War II when U.S. service men reintroduced the idea. While the British holiday, like the American version, now turns the focus firmly on mothers instead of the church, it is still celebrated based on the Lenten calendar. This means that the English are often celebrating on a different Sunday than the American holiday. This can be quite confusing for anyone with family on both sides of the pond! In the United States, Anna Jarvis is credited with getting our current Mother’s Day on the calendar. Her mother, Anna Reeves Jarvis, had been a proponent of a day celebrating mothers and worked at getting a special day recognized. With the death of her mother in 1905, the younger Anna decided to honor her by taking on the goal of establishing a national day for mothers. In 1912, after many years of writing everyone from clergymen to politicians, she saw her first major success with her home state of West Virginia establishing an official holiday just for mothers. Two years later Anna’s dream was fully realized when Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday of May as a national day honoring mothers. The U.S. has celebrated it on that day ever since. We think that honoring mothers is a great tradition to continue, but some people feel that the holiday has become too commercial over the years. If you are in that group, look at starting some new traditions that celebrate the spirit of the holiday. You might suggest that your family donate money or necessary items to organizations helping mothers and children in need. Dads can help by encouraging homemade cards and then offering to take the kids for the day so that mom can spend the day doing something special for herself. For a more eco-twist, use the day to celebrate both mom and mother earth by planting a tree or a vegetable garden in her honor. Whatever you decide to do on this Mother’s Day, be sure to take the time to thank the mothers in your life. After all, without them we wouldn’t be here!Summer Safety Tips
If your family spends time on an outside deck, be sure to install a gate at the top of the stairs as well as a railnet along the sides to prevent falls. Sanding down rough patches on wood banisters and boards will help keep little hands splinter free. If you have metal on your deck, be sure to clean off any rusted areas. Keep your child away from the grill when barbecuing and be sure to stow barbecue utensils out of children’s reach when they are not being used. If you have a pool, make sure there is a locked fence surrounding it to prevent your child from accessing the pool unsupervised. Drain all kiddy pools when not in use. Also, if there is a hot tub in your home, make it off-limits to children. Drain the water when not in use or keep the cover or door locked. Remember, no list of safety tips can be comprehensive and your own yard and situation will be unique. As you would inside your home, get down to your child’s level to discover what sorts of things may be hazards in your own yard and make sure you take care of them or block access. Then get outside and enjoy the fresh air! For further tips on childproofing other areas of your home, be sure to check out our Virtual Childproofed Home tool. We also have a Childproofing Your Home video that contains additional helpful tips. Spring into New Products!Acella™ Sport Travel System
The Acella Sport Travel System is perfect for the parent on-the-move! It features a Designer® Infant Car Seat with Side Impact Protection that transitions easily from car to stroller. The stroller includes a parent assist tray with three drink holders which are great for water, a cell phone or any of the other small gadgets you’d like to take along. The easy-access basket under the stroller holds the larger items you need for the journey. This feature rich stroller includes a lightweight frame, rear foot brakes and an easy-to-maneuver front swivel wheel so that you’ll love taking your baby out for a walk through the park or anywhere else you need to go! Click here for more information. Clip’n Go Health & Grooming Ring 
Stop digging in the bottom of the bag when looking for essential items. The Safety 1st Clip n’ Go Health & Grooming Ring gives you speedy access to the items every parent wants to keep close at hand. The clip attaches to a diaper bag, and the individual items are easily removed from the clip when you need to use them. Afterwards, just slip them back onto the clip and never dig again! The set includes nail clippers, comb, brush and 3 reusable forehead thermometer strips. Click here for more information. PlaySafe™ Swing Tray Booster Seat 
The PlaySafe Swing Tray Booster Seat by Safety 1st brings convenience to meal times. The swing tray opens with just one hand, making it simple to get your little one in and out of the booster seat. There are also three different height levels to choose from so that you can have your child at the height that’s right. Featuring an easy wipe seat and a dishwasher-safe tray, cleanup is a snap! Click here for more information. Perfect Fit Gate 
The gate that adjusts to fit base moldings and uneven walls! The innovative design of the Perfect Fit Gate by Safety 1st ensures a secure fit in most entryways. A unique auto-fit extension on one end of the gate allows it to conform to irregular entryways and baseboards. For easy operation, the gate also features a complete-control top handle that lets you lock, release, and adjust as needed. Click here for more information. Apex™ 65 Booster Car Seat 
Your child will sink right in to the Safety 1st Apex 65 Booster Car Seat. Featuring extra deep sides and padded armrests for superior support and comfort, your child will feel like the king of the road. As a parent, you’ll appreciate that the 5-point harness adjusts easily with up-front adjustment. As a bonus, the harness on this booster car seat can be used up to 65 pounds, keeping toddlers in harnesses longer! Click here for more information. Congratulations to Our Winners!Each winner will receive one of our fantastic Safety 1st® Nature Next™ Bamboo Gates! Click here to check them out and buy one! Rebecca Kurin Brenda Keller Amber Beer Each winner will receive one of our fantastic Safety 1st® Nature Next™ Bio-Plastic Infant-to-Toddler Bathtubs! Click here to check them out and buy one! Jennifer Flanary Lasonya Johnson Rachel Andrews Megan Varao Jessica Angulo Dulce Avila Susan Magiera Regina Jumah Elizabeth Picarazzi Kate Schaumberg Spotlight on Jenny
We asked Jenny how her daughter and son were reacting to news of the new sibling. She told us that Emmett, who is just about to turn 3, is very excited with the whole idea. This past weekend while on a family walk, he put a stuffed animal under his shirt and declared that he was pregnant himself...patting his belly and talking to his own bump, just as he does each morning with his mom’s. Evie, age 4, is also excited. She is old enough to be aware of the fact that both she and her brother have names beginning with the letter “E” and brings a new suggestion home from preschool each day. Her recent ideas include Elephant, Egg and Ear. As for Emmett, he has decided that the new baby will be a boy and that his name should be Rosie Snowdrop. Rosie Snowdrop is probably out of the running since Jenny and her husband Matt do plan on continuing the E naming convention. That said, they have also decided that this time they will wait until the actual birth to see if they are having a boy or a girl. They are not quite as definitive as their children about a name and often refer to the upcoming addition simply as e-Baby. Jenny laughingly told us that, “Right now, I’m thinking this baby will come home from the hospital without a name.“ Asked if she had any new products that needed to be bought, Jenny mentioned an infant car seat as a top priority. “I’ve already decided that the Safety 1st onBoard™ 35 is the best seat for us. I have an RH problem due to iso-immunization, so the baby will likely be a preemie. Emmett was five weeks early and just 5 pounds when he was born.” (The onBoard™ 35 is ideal for preemies with a special infant insert to keep them snug and then grows with the child so that they can stay in a rear-facing position all the way from 4-35 pounds.) We rounded things up by asking Jenny about her special plans for Mother’s Day. “My Mother’s Day present is combined with my 10th wedding anniversary. My mother will be coming with my aunt to watch the kids so that Matt and I can take a vacation to Stockholm and Copenhagen. As a soon-to-be mother of three, I’m looking forward to the chance to relax…and sleep…for a week!” We wish Jenny and all mothers reading this, whether expecting for the first time or experienced with several little ones at home already, a very happy Mother’s Day! TopIf you have any questions regarding Safety 1st products please contact Dorel Juvenile Group Consumer Relations at consumer@djgusa.com. Top |
May 2009
May is the month for mothers, and Safety 1st is happy to have this opportunity to celebrate all the mothers reading this right now. In this issue of our e-Newsletter, we will let you know a few fun facts about the history of Mother’s Day and include suggestions for new traditions you can start in your family. Since summer is less than a month away, we also want to make sure you’re up to date on safety tips for the season. We’ll showcase several products for you and then turn the spotlight on a Safety 1st mom who’s expecting her third child in just a few months.
This month we talked to Safety 1st Senior Product Manager, Jenny Lockwood Mullaney. If you’re a long-time reader of the Safety 1stE-Newsletter, you may remember that we interviewed Jenny about her two children