National Park Week

Coinciding with Earth Day on April 22nd, this week is also National Park Week! To celebrate, approximately 150 National Parks will offer free admission from April 21st-29th. Visit http://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm to find parks near you! And consider giving a donation while you’re there, even if it’s less than the usual charge for admittance.

Central Park Playgrounds

Spring has sprung! If you live in NYC, you’re probably especially thrilled that the weather is warming up and you can get the kids outside for some much needed playtime! There are tons of great playgrounds in Central Park, but how to know which one is right for you! Check out this helpful guide on the Central Park website: http://www.centralpark.com/guide/activities/children-s-activities/playgrounds.html

Take a Walk in the Park Day!

Who knew that we needed a day to recognize taking a walk in the park?! Research shows that kids spend, on average, two hours less per week outside than they did 20 years ago. How about we prove that research wrong by celebrating March 30th with a lovely walk in the park? Visit www.walkscore.com where you can type in your address and explore your neighborhood to find the least and most walkable routes in your area.

Enjoy the outdoors!

Boy Scouts

At January 30, 2012
By artistbabysitting
In Creative Learning, Education, Outdoor Fun
0

If you are looking for a fun, group activity for your son, consider joining the Boy Scouts! There are outdoor activities, sports, crafts, media opportunities, and more!

For more info, visit http://www.scouting.org/

Ice Skating in NYC

At January 28, 2012
By artistbabysitting
In Artist Babysitting News, NYC Specific, Outdoor Fun, Sports
0

If you want to get your kids outside during the winter months, a fun activity here in NYC is ice skating! There are lots of great places around the city to take advantage of this fun, winter sport. Do NOT take it upon yourself to go to a lake or pond, as it’s possible the ice will be too thin. Don’t risk it!

For a list of some good places, check out this website:

http://manhattan.about.com/od/governmentandpolitics/tp/iceskatingnyc.htm

A friendly reminder: Tune in to NYC’s Local Fox News 5 this Saturday, January 28th at 1pm for a special feature about Artist Babysitting!

Tips for Your Tweens!

A continuation of our series!

Tweens are often known for “forgetting” to do things they’ve been doing for years (teeth-brushing, anyone?!) or “losing” things they have simply misplaced. It’s not surprising at the pace that most of them live in that time of their lives – busy with sports, classes, family, volunteering, chores, arts and more. Artist Babysitting offers you this weekly blog post with tips on how to deal with some of the more common issues!

The Issue: NOT Wearing a Bike Helmet

Simply put, you cannot and should not allow your child, no matter how old, to ride his bike without a bike helmet. 99% of children and adults who die in bike crashes aren’t wearing helmets.

Tips:

* Try explaining that it’s not about how your child rides his bike, but others around. It’s not that you don’t trust your child, but that you don’t trust other drivers, riders, etc. That makes it seem less like you are worried about their behavior.

* Explain the statistics behind bike crashes and head injuries. Brain injury is not something to mess around with! Even your kid has to agree that that doesn’t sound like a good thing!

Sledding!

What’s more fun in the winter than taking advantage of a good snowfall for some sledding!? The key is to be safe and dress warmly! Be sure to have multiple layers of clothes for kids – particularly gloves and socks – for when the kids get soaked from layers of snow. Also, try to have a thermos on hand with some hot tea or lemon water in it – something to warm you all up after being out in the cold.

For more sledding safety tips, visit http://www.chp.edu/CHP/Sledding+Safety+Cartoons

HAPPY HALLOWEEN from Artist Babysitting!

Greetings, friends and Happy Halloween!! Hope you’re all having a wonderful day! Halloween is always meant to be a super fun time of good scares and good candy, however, it’s also important to remember valuable trick-or-treating safety. Here are some of the basic safety tips we found to ensure you a fun Halloween!:

Always have kids trick-or-treat under the supervision of a responsible adult. This adult should accompany the kids to every home.
Acknowledge and heed any curfews in your local area and follow specified trick-or-treating hours.
Plan a safe route of trick-or-treating and have a set time to go home (and eat your candy, of course!).
Have parents examine candy before children eat any of it.

For more trick-or-treat safety visit: http://www.halloween-safety.com/halloween_safety_treats.html

And of course remember all of these safety procedures can be done while you’re out having fun! So go out and get that candy! Once again, HAPPY HALLOWEEN!