Babies & Kids Blog

Everybody is freaking out about the H1N1 virus. A lot of people are running out and waiting for 6 plus hours to get the vaccine and just as many people are refusing to get it altogether. I don’t want to debate the vaccine, but I do want to share with you some tips on how to prevent exposure over Halloween. I’m sure your kids will be attending parties, and going trick-or-treating will expose them to all kinds of new people with who knows what illnesses. You should be cautious, but don’t lock your family up in fear.

Here are the tips: There aren’t many studies investigating Halloween candy and flu virus transmission. So the following 12 tips are based on practical advice from practicing pediatricians. They tell parents how to handle Halloween trick-or-treating for candy, with the goal of minimizing the risk of contracting H1N1 swine flu and other “bugs.

Forget Grab Bags. Consider Non-Food Treats

1. Give Non-Candy Halloween Treats. There’s national concern over childhood obesity. Instead of candy, Dr. Shu* recommends “trading cards, baseball cards, tattoos, bookmarks, balls, glow sticks, or plastic spiders,” noting that these treats “don’t promote obesity and tooth decay.“ Check Oriental Trading Company and Target stores.

2. Scoop Halloween Candy, to Avoid H1N1. When giving out candy, hand it or scoop it – but avoid the grab bag. “If kids are fingering through a bag of candy it could add germs to the mix,” says Dr. Shu. Instead, hand the candy to each trick-or-treater. Or, use a cup to scoop it from a bowl. That way, many hands aren’t touching the same chocolate candy kiss.

Halloween Candy: Put Aside for Two Days

1. Let Those Germs Die. Let Halloween candy “sit” for a few days before touching or eating it. Dr. Shu says, “two days is plenty of time for any contagions” like a H1N1 virus that happens to be on the candy wrapper to die.

2. Avoid Obesity. No need to be a killjoy, but make Halloween candy last. (read more!)

image: stewystuff

October already?! It’s hard to believe it. Here in my part of the midwest we had a record breaking summer with the coolest temperatures we’ve had in years. My daughter is still asking to go to the pool! Instead of mourning our summer, I’ve decided to throw all of my enthusiasm into fall and Halloween. This year, my 2-year-old should be a little more brave when we go door to door for Trick-Or-Treating. Last year we dressed her as a witch and went door to door just to show her off. She did get candy, but don’t worry, we didn’t let her eat any. It all disappeared in a matter of days at our house! I just don’t know where it went! I’m innocent!

Here are some tips from Dr. Sears on how to Trick-or-Treat Safely:

KISMIF: Keep It Simple, Make It Fun!

Let this be your Halloween motto. Just because we try and make Halloween night safe and nutritious, doesn’t mean it can’t be fun. The costumes, the party, and your own antics help make it fun. In fact, kids like to see parents lighten up and act like kids again. As long as you weave in safety rules with fun, children both accept it and expect it. Consider these safety issues:

• Masks and hoods can obscure the view of oncoming traffic, and in the midst of all the excitement your impulsive little ghosts and goblins may not be as attentive as they should be to what’s going on around them. Insist on the pack staying together. Don’t allow children to wonder off on their own to various houses or rush on ahead.

• Be vigilant when crossing streets in neighborhoods. Children must travel with buddies, older friends, or parents. If you’re the designated adult trick-or-treater, why not dress up and have fun? Older trick-or-treaters may be more inclined to accept a chaperon who’s dressed for the occasion.

• Walk on sidewalks instead of the street.

• Stand outside the home that your child visits. If your children are invited inside the house, go with them.

• Bring a flashlight.

• Give your child a cell phone, if possible.

• Use reflective tape on costumes if they’re walking along dark streets.

• Wear comfortable shoes.

• Costumes should not be so long that children can trip on them.

• Make sure masks are easy to see and breathe through.

• Teach burn protection: tell children not to touch flaming jack-o-lanterns. If possible, use flame-retardant costumes and review the stop-drop-roll burn prevention with your child in case the costume catches fire.

•  Use non-toxic face paints. (read more)

There are some really cute and creative Halloween recipes on HowStuffWorks.com that you can make with the kids.  Choose one recipe to make per day until Halloween, or choose your favorite dishes to make for your big Halloween party this year!  Here is my fave healthy dish:

Pumpkin Pot Pies:

Ingredients:

6 sugar pumpkins or acorn squash (1 to 2 pounds each)
Salt and ground black pepper
6 tablespoon butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups canned chicken broth
8 ounces frozen mixed vegetables
8 ounces frozen pearl onions or chopped onions
4 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried leaf sage
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1 refrigerated pie crust
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk for egg wash

Preparation:

1.    Preheat oven to 375°F. Slice tops off pumpkins. Remove seeds and pulp. Sprinkle insides of pumpkins with salt and pepper. Place pumpkins cut side up on a baking sheet. Cover pumpkins tightly with foil. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or just until skin is easily pierced with knife. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
2.    Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly until well blended, about 1 minute. Add broth and stir constantly until mixture is thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Add vegetables, onions, chicken and herbs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and divide mixture evenly among cooled pumpkin shells (approximately 1-1/2 cups per pumpkin).
3.    Unwrap pie dough and place on lightly floured work surface. With a sharp paring knife, cut (12) 6-inch-long, 1/2-inch-wide strips, and roll dough to resemble tendrils. Cut small leaf shapes, and with back of knife, gently press lines into leaf to resemble veins.
4.    Use egg wash as glue to attach dough strips, twisting gently to form coils. Attach leaves. Brush all decorations with egg wash. Return pumpkins to oven and bake about 30 minutes, or until pie dough is golden and filling is hot and bubbly.

…and for dessert.

Spider Cakes:

Ingredients:

18 to 20 chocolate cupcakes
1 box (4-serving size) white chocolate pudding mix, prepared according to package directions and dyed green
1 container (16 ounces) fudge frosting
Halloween cupcake liners
Black licorice, cut in half for spider legs
Red cinnamon candies for eyes
2 black licorice strings, cut into 1/4-inch pieces for eyelashes (optional)

Preparation:

1.    Poke small hole in the bottom of each cupcake with toothpick. Snip off a corner of a freezer bag with scissors, making a hole just large enough for a small, round piping tip to fit through. Place tip through bag and into hole. Spoon green pudding into bag.
2.    Insert piping tip into bottom of cupcake. Pipe some pudding gently and slowly into upcake. Repeat with remaining cupcakes.
3.    Frost tops and sides of cupcakes with frosting. Place each cupcake unfrosted-side down in a slightly flattened cupcake liner.
4.    Place 4 cut licorice sticks on each side of cupcake to form legs. Press in cinnamon candies for eyes. Press licorice strings about cinnamon candies to create eyelashes, if desired. Serve immediately.

Check out more Halloween recipes here. 

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for baking supplies.
                                        Discounts on bakeware.
                                        Buy Halloween party supplies.

The Budget Bambino gives reasons why your children should Trick or Treat for UNICEF.  Every penny helps. 

Inventor Spot discusses a recent study that shows Kids Should Stop Watching TV.  Do you agree?

Parent Dish discusses a ridiculous incident in south-east London in Kids Arranged By Skin Color for School Photo. 

FAME Baby discusses rumors of Christina Aguilera expecting TWINS!                                                                                                                                       

This week on Smarter Babies & Kids Blog we covered:

Violet Anne’s Look for Less:  Jennifer Garner & Ben Affleck’s baby girl looks adorable in her corduroy overalls outfit.  Get this look for your child.

I display some of my favorite Modern Style Baby Bibs around the web.

Check out these Last Minute Halloween Deals.  It might not be too late!

Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats Recalled along with seven other toys yesterday.

Get your kids into the Halloween spirit early.  Here are some cute & funny Halloween themed baby onesies from CafePress.com:

                                    Price:  $14.99                                                                         Price: $13.99

                                     Price: $13.99                                                                        Price: $13.99

All of these onesies also come in baby bibs, toddler/infant t-shirts & kids baseball t-shirts.  Our sister site, CouponMountain.com has some great coupons for CafePress.com:

Buy 3 T-Shirts, Get One FREE - On going promotion

$5 off $50 or more:  Enter Code - FALL2007

Every October I LOVE to check out the latest babies’ & kids’ costumes online. The costume designers are so creative and really make it easy on parents to choose an adorable costume for their little ones. My absolute favorite costumes I’ve come accross this year online are the following:

                                     Bunting Costume: $20                      Infant Walker Costume: $24.99

This “Red Hot Chili” costume is very unique and the costume designer kept in mind the age range of children this would work for because they can’t walk just yet. On the right, is a style for a tab bit older babies who are able to walk, but it doesn’t look quite as cute as the one on the left. It isn’t clear exactly what the costume is. It could pass for a strawberry, tomato, etc.

Tootsie Roll Costume: $24.95

This “Tootsie Roll” costume is funny & cute. I want to pinch this baby’ fat little cheeks!

Humpty Dumpty Costume: $29.99

This “Humpy Dumpty” costume is hillarious, but seems like it would be uncomfortable for a child to wear for a long period of time:

Princess Leia Costume: $26.99

This “Princess Leia” costume is great for all you Star Wars fanatics who want to pass down your obsession to your children:

Go Fish Costume: $14.99

This “Go Fish” costume is adorable. Well, I don’t know what is more adorable. The baby model who knew to pose with a fish face or the costume itself.

Find more Babies’ & Kids’ Costumes here.

Halloween is on a Wednesday this year which is kind of a bummer. The sun usually sets this time of year at about 6:30PM so why not gather up your friends & family after the kids get out of school for a Pre-Trick-Or-Treat Party!

Here are some necessities:

One festively decorated front yard. Find Halloween yard decorations here.

This drink was always a hit at the Halloween parties I attended as a kid:

Witches Brew

Ingredients:
4 cups cranberry juice cocktail
1 cup candied ginger root, chopped
3 medium oranges
12 ounces apple juice, frozen concentrate, thawed
6 ounces limeade, frozen concentrate, thawed
2 cups seedless grapes
4 cups water
64 ounces ginger ale, (1/2 gal)
1 pound dry ice, up to 2 pounds

Directions:

1. In a 1 to 2 quart pan, bring 1 cup of cranberry juice and candied ginger to a boil over high heat. Boil,  uncovered, about 2 minutes, set aside.
2. With a vegetable peeler, pare peel (colored part only) from oranges; cut peel into thin 2-inch-long worms; or use an Oriental shredder to make long shreds. Add orange peel to cranberry mixture. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or as long as overnight.
3. Juice oranges; put juice in a 6 to 8 quart pan or heavy bowl. Stir in cranberry-ginger mixture, the 3 cups cranberry juice, apple concentrate, limeade, grapes and water. If made ahead, cover and chill up to 2 hours. Add ginger ale and about a 1 pound piece of dry ice (DO NOT put small pieces in punch or cups); ice should smolder at least 30 minutes. Ladle into cups. Add any remaining ice when bubbling ceases.

A SERIOUS CAUTION: never touch dry ice; use tongs to handle. Makes 5 quarts; allow about 1-1/2 cups for a serving.

Source: Flora’s Drink Hideout

Target.com has a Boiling Cauldron with Stand that is perfect for this drink.

Lastly, I found a Halloween dish recipe that actually looks edible. All of them are edible, but some of the recipes look too gross for me and their names are kind of too much for kids (I’m sure you know what I mean).

This recipe found on CooksRecipes.com looks cute & delicious:

Halloween Mummy Dogs

Ingredients:

2 tubes refrigerator pizza dough rolls
1 cup grated part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Freshly grated Parmesan (part-skim) cheese
Non-stick spray
4 tablespoons pizza sauce or pasta sauce
8 hot dogs
Optional pizza toppings: onions, green peppers, olives, etc.
1 tablespoon Italian herb seasoning mix (or your own mix of oregano, thyme, parsley, etc.)
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Open package of pizza dough, gather ingredients, grate cheese, and dice vegetables.
3. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray.
4. Place pizza dough on sheet and cut into 8 squares; press dough thin with fingers.
5. Add pizza sauce to each square.
6. Add hot dogs and other pizza toppings and pizza herbs to taste.
7. “Mummify” the hot dogs by wrapping them completely in the dough and pinching the ends.
8. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until crust begins to brown.
9. Serve with warm pizza sauce for dip

Makes 6 servings.

For books with Halloween recipe & party ideas click here.

Babies are cute as a button, but even more so on Halloween. Below are some costumes, although funny, just do not look nearly as cute as the baby version. Like I said in a previous post, babies can pull these off because the designer utilized the fact that infants cannot walk just yet and mostly are carried around or pushed in a stroller on Halloween.

This “Pink Flamingo” baby costume is pretty unique. I’ve never seen another baby wearing it.  Also, I love how the baby’s cheeks are proturding out of the custume.  The adult version, on the left, is not nearly as cute and does not look comfortable at all.  How can you sit down?

                              Price: $49.99                                                                       Price:  $59.99

This infant bunting “Hot Dog” costume is hilarious!  The adult version looks like the man is making a phallic or perverted statement.

                                 Price: $19.99                                                                       Price: $39.99

This infant bunting “Whoopie Cushion” costume for babies on the right is funny & cute because whoopie cushions are normally small.  Also, you can’t see the babies little legs.  The adult version; not so much.

                                  Price: $19.95                                                               Price:  $34.95

I think they may have photo shopped the baby into this “Ice Cream Cone” infant bunting costume.  Doesn’t the baby kind of look fake?  Regardless, on a REAL baby this costume would be CUTE.  The adult version is just…..unflattering. 

                                   Price: $19.99                                                                    Price: $39.99

Click here to find more Babies’ & Kids’ Halloween costumes.