What's in your first aid kit?

Several years ago my husband and I were at an event for Children’s Hospital and as a token of thanks each patron received a first aid kit. Over the years we have used that kit many times, and have restocked several items.

Being that we are going into the winter months and what I call “hibernation” from a lot of playing at the playground. I usually take this time to go through my medicine cabinets and make sure the medications are all in date, over the counter medicines especially; we don’t go through Tylenol quite like we used to. But I also pull out the first aid kit and look at everything inside of it too, since it does get its fair share of use during the spring, summer and fall.

Everybody should have a first aid kit of one kind or another. You don’t need to go out and buy a prepackaged one. You can make one yourself. Just gather an old lunch box or spare big makeup bag. (We seem to have a lot of them around our house)

What you put in your families first aid kit can be as extensive as you like. I have put together a sample list of items which would be helpful.

Supplies
• disposable gloves (at least 2 pairs)
• disposable instant cold packs
• adhesive bandages, several sizes
• adhesive tape
• elastic bandage(s)
• sterile gauze pads
• alcohol wipes or other antiseptic wipes
• hand sanitizer

Medication
• acetaminophen and/or ibuprofen
• 1% hydrocortisone cream
• antibiotic ointment
• calamine lotion
• epinephrine auto-injector if a family member is at risk for anaphylaxis
• ipecac
• burn ointment

Equipment
• small scissors
• tweezers
• needle
• safety pins
• thermometer
• bulb syringe

Information
• first aid manual
• emergency phone numbers and contact information (which I also post on the inside of a kitchen cabinet)
• important medical information for all family members, including health problems and medications
• health card or health insurance information

I hope this helps you make up your own families first aid kit. Let me know if you add anything extra to yours!

“a tree of thanks…”

Fall is a beautiful time to take a walk with your children. Playgrounds are often in some type of “park like” setting. After having a few hours of running and jumping it is sometimes fun to take a short stroll and look at the beautiful colored leaves. My girls loved picking up the most colorful and bringing them home to make some type of arrangement or an “indoor” tree, usually on our wall.

Over time, I thought I became a bit more creative and we preserved our “leaves” by pressing them between book pages, and then taking a piece of clear sticky sheets and sealing them so to speak and adhering them to the wall with a 3-m product that was easy to remove when the time came.

One day one of my friends came over and commented on our “annual tree” at how beautiful the leaves were and what a great seasonal display it was. She then shared an idea, “why not use the leaves, and write something on them about the year, what was the best memory of that year? Or perhaps there was a milestone and a date.” This was a great idea, now the beautiful leaves had a “purpose."



My oldest daughter loved the book “the giving tree” by Shel Silverstein. She loved the story of the tree who gave so much to his “friend” the boy. And she dubbed this “our giving tree.”

Now every year we add to our “giving tree” and look back as we assemble it at all the wonderful things we have to be “thankful” for…