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Hand Sanitizers and Safety

Although gel hand sanitizers have proven in tests to reduce gastrointestinal illnesses and the spread of contagions compared to ordinary soap and water, their high alcohol content can be poisonous to children who ingest them. Photo: Living is Easy with Eyes Closed, courtesy Flickr.

ear EarthTalk: My pediatrician swears by those gel hand sanitizers for lowering the risk of my family getting sick during cold and flu season. But I've also heard that these products can be dangerous to kids if ingested. Are there any safer alternatives that work just as well?
--Jason Blalock, Oakland, CA

A 2005 study by the Children's Hospital in Boston compared illness rates across a study group of 292 families—half of them got hand sanitizers while the other half were given literature advising them of the benefits of frequent hand washing. The findings revealed that those families who used hand sanitizers experienced a 59 percent reduction in gastrointestinal illnesses and that the increased use of sanitizers correlated to a decreased spread of contagions in general.

Diary of a New Homemaker
for Friday, April 25, 2008

Happy 7th Birthday, LouLou!

Louisa Mei is seven years old today!

A Seasonal Taste:

Pack a Picnic

hat better way to welcome spring than a picnic! After months of eating at the kitchen table or around the coffee table, a change of scenery is much needed. The robins and bluebirds provide the music and in many places, the bugs are at a minimum. The kids are raring to get outside, so pick a spot -- park, backyard, or the beach -- and plan a picnic.

Ask the kids to help with the planning. What's the menu? Just snacks or a full meal? PB&J, cold fried chicken, and hero-style sandwiches are favorites that the kids can help assemble.

A Taste of the Clean and Organized Section:

Top Ten Organizing Resolutions for the New Year

ow that the New Year is here, I have been thinking about some of the things I want to accomplish this year. The more I thought about it, the more I decided that my biggest opportunity is just accomplishing more things in the year 2000. I don't want to have a list of another 10 things to do if I haven't accomplished the last list!

Here are my top ten organization resolutions.

Recent member blog entries:

• Pre-Adoption Training
  --from Anhata's blog
• Mind of a young homemaker
  --from YoungMidwestHomemaker's blog
• Call me SAHM
  --from Anhata's blog
• "Magic." 1.
  --from Josephine's blog
• MAIN CHARACTERS
  --from Josephine's blog

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Give me the children until they are seven and anyone may have them afterward. St. Francis Xavier

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