Fire Prevention Month

There have been a lot of frill drills in our area lately and this is actually something good. I love that our community thinks of these kinds of things. Our homes are our safe havens. They hold the people most precious to our hearts. That’s why it’s important to always be on top of the situation when it comes to keeping our homes safe and secure. Since March is Fire Prevention Month, it’s the perfect time to check our homes for any possible fire hazards.

Here are some basic tips that can help you attain the peace of mind of having a fire hazard-free home:

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  1. Prepare a family go-bag in case of fire/emergencies, including essentials like medicines, snacks and clothes. Of course bottled water is important. To be sure it’s clean and safe, go for distilled water like Wilkins. For emergencies, it’s best to go with trusted brands
  2. Remind kids about dangers of fire. – Keep matches and lighters stored and away from their prying hands and curious eyes. Help kids understand that if they play with fire, they might end up hurting themselves, other people, and destroy things and even homes besides.
  3. Keep your kitchen safe. – Talking about eyes, keep an eye on the grill or when cooking or frying anything using an open flame.
  4. Remove fire hazards. – Curtains, towels, and any furniture that can catch fire should ideally be 3 feet from heat sources.
  5. Invest in a fire extinguisher. – Especially if a significant part of your home is made up of wood. You can buy one at your friendly neighborhood home depot but do ask for assistance when buying one. You have to consider the type of fire extinguisher to buy, and you also have to know how to use it.
  6. Create a fire escape plan. – Let’s hope that it never happens, but if a fire does occur, everyone must know the fastest and easiest way to escape. This is important especially since, according to the American Red Cross, you may only have two minutes to escape should a fire break out.

 

Do you have any other fire prevention tips? Sharing these tips and talking about it will go a long way in keeping people safe and free from harm. We’d love to hear them at the Wilkins Facebook Page. Please don’t forget to use #WilkinsCircleofTrust so that we all can follow your amazing tips!

 

Wilkins Circle of Trust Intimate Get Together

I think when I became part of  the Wilkins Circle of Trust, I feel like I became a more “intentional” mom. When I became a mom, I was so careful with every thing. I would see to it that she only uses clean “everything’. I exclusively breastfed her. I saw to it that she she slept, crawled and walked was clean and safe.

Then the time came when I got used to bumps here and there, insect bites here and there. I thought to myself, this isn’t so bad. Then I sort of just let go. Being in this circle of trust made me realize that there can be balance between being so paranoid and being so lax. We can actually keep our children safe while still enjoying motherhood. During the Wilkins Circle of Trust brunch that we had a few weeks back, the ladies and I got to talk about some mommy hacks that we can do to keep our children safe.

Wilkins COT

Wilkins Safety Hacks for Moms

It helps to know some Safety Hacks!

Let me share with you some of my personal favorites from the Mommy Safety Hack tips that were shared. Some of these hacks are things that I really do:

  • Toddlers love running around already and sometimes, they won’t take off their socks. What I do is that if she wants to keep it on, she needs to wear her “special socks”. Her special pair has her initials written below it using fabric paint that feels like rubber when it dries up.
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    Zeeka's Special Sock
  • We bought those soft cushion edges for sharp corners. They sell it in hardware stores. What I learned from the brunch from other moms is that you can us foam pipe insulation also.
  •  Our curtains are the ones with those long cords. I noticed that my daughter loves pulling it, and so what I did is that I tie it into a knot so that she isn’t able to reach it.
  • We also bought those plastic covers for the outlets. Ours came with plastic keys also so that you get to take it out of the outlet — and it’s the only way to take it out. If you have duct tape at home, this would be an alternative too.
Moms sharing their hacks at the Wilkins Circle of Trust Brunch

Moms sharing their hacks at the Wilkins Circle of Trust Brunch

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  • She loves opening the refrigerator so I always check the refrigerator and keep the things that I don’t want her to reach out for. What is accessible to her are the bottle of Wilkins that she can reach out for and food like bread and fruits. Also, all breakable things in the kitchen are kept from her.
  • I post a list of emergency numbers on the fridge, so that everyone in the house will have access to it. Part of the list are also people whom I trust (my own Circle of Trust) which includes her grandparents, her titas and titos, yaya, pediatricians, OB/GYNS and teachers.
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Yours truly with my friend Lourdes, who is part of my own Circle of Trust 🙂 She makes great looking bento boxes!

 

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Yours truly with Mommy Gerilen, who is one of my blog readers! 🙂 She has her own blog too!

I had fun sharing tips and learning new things from my fellow mommies and safety advocates! hihi!

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I super love these ladies! 🙂 With Mommy Louise of MommyPracticality.com and Mommy Jackie of GoJackieGo.com 🙂

For more info on how to keep your family safe, visit the Wilkins Facebook page at facebook.com/WilkinsDistilledDrinkingWater today.

5 Ways to Teach Your Kids about Proper Nutrition

Sometimes, kids can be picky and moody especially when it comes to eating. Oftentimes, I get frustrated with my daughter when she doesn’t want to eat. I know a lot of moms feel the same way. I was brought up in a family that ate healthy, so when I was pregnant, I vowed to myself that I would teach my kid to eat healthy, too. I never imagined that it could be this hard! Haha!

As parents, we do know how important eating healthy food is in stabilizing children’s energy, sharpening their minds and managing their moods. Some TV commercials and peer pressure can make getting our kids to eat well seem unimaginable because of all those delicious and tempting treats. Don’t worry! There are steps parents can take into account to impart healthy eating habits without turning mealtimes into warzones!

For tips on proper nutrition, I have turned to the women whom I trust the most for advice. These are the ladies who form my own circle of trust. I trust these women because we have a common belief that we should always choose brands that we trust and those that keep our family healthy and safe.

Eat vegetables!

Eat vegetables!

Make nutritious snacks and safe water available always. Always keep a lot of whole grain snacks, fruits, vegetables and a bottle of Wilkins Distilled Drinking Water around, so whenever they are hungry or thirsty, your kids can just reach for it. Let your kids have easy access to these foods so they’d become used to reaching for healthy snacks instead of empty calorie snacks like cookies, chips and junk food. Also, I choose to have Wilkins Distilled Drinking Water around to prevent dehydration, especially for kids who love moving around. I trust this brand of water because it is safe and clean.  Getting sick, nowadays, is very costly so choosing to go with a brand that you know won’t harm your family is very important.

Have Regular Family meals!

Have Regular Family meals!

Always have regular family meals. For children, there is comfort in knowing that dinner is served at just about the same time every night. I have heard from mom friends that children who undergo the same ‘meal time’ routine are more relaxed while eating and they get to eat a whole lot more. We would try to have a little game where all of us scoop and chew at the same time! Another great time for a family meal is breakfast. I have observed and have read that kids who eat breakfast tend to perform better in school activities. My daughter seems more “in the mood” when she eats before going to school.

Cook more meals and encourage them to always eat at home. Eating home cooked meals is way healthier for the entire family as you know what goes into the food that you eat. Most restaurant meals (I’m not saying all) tend to have more sugar, salt and fat. I am so happy though that there are specialty food stores now that serve amazing salads and healthy stuff.

Always get your kids involved. We can’t deny the fact that kids enjoy helping adults in shopping for groceries, selecting what goes inside their lunchbox and preparing meals. It is also a chance for parents to teach them about the nutritional content of different kinds of foods and to teach them how to properly read food labels.

Always limit portion sizes. Never insist on letting your child finish the food that’s on their plate. Sometimes, we, as parents, think that we know the perfect amount of food that they need. If they say that they are full, try to ask them again if they are done eating. If they say that they’re done, remove the plate. We have trained our daughter to do this so we know when she’s full because she says I’m done. We also know when she’s hungry because she says so.  Also, do not use food as a bribe or reward. Let them eat the needed amount of food they need for each particular meal.

Children can be picky eaters at some point in their lives. Hence, it is a challenge for parents to look for creative and subtle ways on how to encourage their kids to eat healthy. Sometimes making mealtimes playful can mean healthier eating for your kids. Just be patient! Relax and be happy — this will help your kids grow healthier and happier!

For more of my personal tips, please do join me in a conversation over at the Wilkins Distilled Drinking Water Facebook Page. If you have more tips on how to keep your sanity when it comes to making your children eat healthy, let alone eat (period), let me know! I’m sure the whole #WilkinsCircleofTrust community will want to know your tricks, too! Feel free to leave a comment below. Hugs to you all, patient mommas!

Teach your Kids to Eat Safe and Nutritious Cafeteria Food

It’s June and in the Philippines, this means that children are back to school. It also means that we’ll be encountering more traffic! Haha! But kidding aside, I am excited as this is the first time my daughter will be attending school. They had us pack nutritious meals for them for their “snack time”. They gave the parents a list of healthy food that we can pack and a list of food that we should avoid. This is great since we need not worry or think about the other kids bringing unhealthy and junk food. The school seems strict on implementing these “food” rules, and they seem really adamant on wanting to help parents instill healthy eating habits.

Back to School with Wilkins

For moms, like me, a question that often comes up is how do you teach kids to eat safe and nutritious food in school? We can’t be with them 24/7, so how do you make sure that they don’t spend money on unhealthy food or splurge on sweets and candy? I thought about this and here are some of the things that I came up with and heard from my mommy friends:

1. Instill the habit of eating healthy – In our home, we cook healthy food so that our daughter will get used to eating these kinds of food. We try to go for boiled, broiled or grilled food. We avoid fried and fatty food. We also see to it that we have vegetables and fruits. The most accessible food in the house should be healthy! By getting them used to eating healthy food, they will look for the same kind of food in the cafeteria.

2. Teach them proper portioning – They need not bring measuring cups to school. What we do at home to easily remember portioning is by using or hands. Open your hand. Keep your fingers together. This is how much vegetables you should eat. Then for the meat or protein intake, it should be the size of your palm. For rice or any carbohydrate, keep it to half a cup to one cup.

Wilkins Circle of Trust

One whole fist is a cup of rice. For spreads or butter, keep it to just a “finger-tip” portion. Make it a fun lesson for your kids by using your hand to explain proper portioning.3. Don’t deprive them of sweets, but limit intake – We avoid junk food, candies and sweets at home, but at least once a week, our daughter gets to try some of these. This is so that she’s aware also of how these stuff look like. I know that I may not be there with her 24/7, so better that she tries them in an environment where I can limit her intake rather than she learns and always eats these things in a place where I don’t get to monitor her and properly explain why she should avoid these unhealthy snacks and drinks.

4. Lead by example – My husband and I try to limit eating junk food in front of our daughter. The best way you can actually teach them is by leading through example.

5. Have them bring clean and safe water for drinking – It’s really best when food and water come from the house. I, personally include a bottle of Wilkins Distilled Drinking water in my daughter’s lunchbox, together with healthy snacks and fruits. But, of course, if you don’t have time to prepare, just tell your children to see to it that the food that they buy is warm and heated enough. Also, it’s best to advise them to look for Wilkins Distilled Drinking water instead of drinking from any place else in school. It’s important to drink safe and clean drinking water to avoid diseases like diarrhea and cholera.

You can trust Mommy Ginger to know the best when it comes to health and education. She wishes to share with all of the…

Posted by Wilkins Distilled Drinking Water on Friday, May 15, 2015



These are the things that you can do to teach your kids to choose safe and nutritious cafeteria food. Do follow the Wilkins Distilled Drinking Water fanpage where we will share more tips for moms! Join us and join in on the conversation of the Wilkins Circle of Trust. The Wilkins Circle of Trust was built so that moms can have a safe haven where they can share their thoughts and concerns about raising their children, and even get answers from experts. If you want to join in on the conversation, use #WilkinsCircleofTrust.

Wilkins Circle of Trust

I went to the gym this morning. When I run, I listen to podcasts and today, I loved what I heard from Amy Porterfield. She discussed the Core Beliefs of Truly Successful Entrepreneurs. She mentioned three things that we should believe in. One was believing that you truly know who your market is. The second one is believing that you have a good product and you have clear systems that you have set in place that would generate revenue for you daily. The last one is what I love the most, and it’s believing that you need people who will support you along the way. She was not saying that you need to completely rely on others for the decisions that you make, but she just said that sometimes, you need to realize that you need those people you can trust for solid advice on what to do with your business.

On being a mom, it’s the same thing. When it comes to raising our children, we need the help or our loved ones and those people whom we look up to — our own parents, our best friend who already had a baby, mom bloggers whose blogs we read, pediatricians, OB/GYNs, even brands that have great products that can help us. All of these make up our Circle of Trust.

Wilkins Cirlce of Trust Moms

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As women, we really love sharing our experiences with our friends. And mind you, experiences are valuable. Experience builds credibility. Being credible builds trust. (Hey, tweetable!). Anyway, with all the noise though out there, we need to be reminded that we should listen to only a few — a few people, brands, messages, etc. that have proven to be worthy of our trust. That is why I am proud to be a part of Wilkins Distilled Water’s new campaign which is Mom’s Circle of Trust. This trusted water brand came up with Circle of Trust campaign to remind moms that we should be discerning, especially if it involves our children’s health and safety.

Wilkins Distilled Water has always made children’s health and safety its top priority. Owned by The Coca-Cola Company, it follows an international quality control system and uses only state-of-the-art equipment in packing and sealing its product to ensure clean and safe quality water. It’s the water brand that is most trusted by moms and prescribed by pediatricians today.


I can’t wait to share with you what we, the Wilkins Circle of Trust Moms, have in store for you. To gain a trusted ally to guide you during your moments of doubt regarding your child’s safety, like the Wilkins Distilled Water Facebook page today.