Mommy Ginger
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5 Things You Should Teach Your Kids about Fireworks Safety

We live in a condo unit and where we live is on one of the highest floors. My daughter loves it, especially during times when she sees fireworks in the sky. Living here made me realize how much Filipinos love fireworks. You know why? We see fireworks set off at least once a month. Obviously, during the months of December to February, we see a whole lot more because of Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year. I personally enjoy watching firework displays, too, but being a mom just made me extra careful though since I always want my daughter to be safe during this season or any day for that matter. For example, nowadays, you can’t be too sure about the water that you drink. In our home, having safe and clean water is essential that this why we only drink and serve our guests Wilkins Distilled Drinking Water.

Keeping Safe at Home with Wilkins - fireworks safety

It’s one thing to always keep our family safe on a daily basis by giving them Wilkins, thoroughly cooked meals (check out my post on food safety) and having them live in a clean and safe home, but it’s another thing to teach them about keeping safe during once a year occasions like these where fireworks (things that they are not used to) are present.

Fireworks can cause burns, eye injuries, etc. if not handled properly. I remember that my dad and uncles used to just lay fireworks anywhere around the house, but now, I make sure that my husband and family keeps fireworks out of reach. It is very important to make sure that everyone in your family, especially the kids (yes, they will understand), know about fireworks safety. Here are some safety tips that you can teach and tell them:

1. Tell your kids to never play with fireworks. I know you may say, “Of course, Ginger, who would do that?” but the sad truth is that there are still a lot of accidents during New Year, because children and even adults played with fireworks inside (yes, inside!) the house. The best way to protect your family is not use any fireworks inside your home. Firecrackers, sparklers and rockets are just too dangerous for your kids. If you think it’s okay for them to play with sparklers, just please make sure that they use it outside and guide them by keeping it away from their faces, hair and clothing.

2. Tell your kids (and even ‘adult’ friends and family) to never make their own fireworks. This is a definite no-no. Letting them play with the gunpowder or “pulbura” is very detrimental to their health and to their safety. Oh, please keep them away from the likes of watusi also. If they don’t wash their hands and accidentally, put their hands in their mouth, this will be harmful. Please buy legal fireworks which should include a label with the manufacturer’s name and clear instructions on how to use them. Do not forget to place them in a cool and dry place.

3. Tell your kids to use fireworks safely. Remind your children to always light one firework at a time – never in metal or glass containers. They should never relight a dud. Do not allow your kids to pick up pieces of fireworks after an event for some may still be ignited and can explode at any time.

Furthermore, do not let them hold fireworks using their hands or have any part of their bodies while lighting. Let them wear some sort of eye protection. Then, prepare a bucket of water and a hose nearby in case of accidents. Lastly, soak all fireworks in a bucket of water before throwing them in the trash bin.

4. Tell your kids to be very responsible in using fireworks. Remind them that they should never point or throw fireworks at someone even in jest. You can never be sure when it comes to Fireworks; some can be faulty. Always tell them to point fireworks away from homes, brush, leaves and flammable substances. Lastly, they should avoid carrying fireworks in their pockets.

5. Tell your kids to think about their pets’ safety. Animals are a little more sensitive than us. They can be extremely frightened or stressed whenever they hear the sounds of the firecrackers. Hence, keep the pets indoors to reduce the risk that they’ll get injured or run loose.

If (knock on wood) your child gets injured by fireworks, remove the clothing from the burnt area and run cool water over the burn. If it’s an eye injury, never allow you kid to touch or rub it as it may exacerbate it or cause even more damage. Also, do not attempt to flush the eye out with water or self-medicate and put any ointment. Please go to the doctor or hospital immediately.

Fireworks are meant to be enjoyed and you will enjoy them more knowing your family is safe. Hence, always take extra precautions to enjoy your holidays! For more fireworks safety tips, check the Wilkins Distilled Water facebook page and check out the tips shared by the Wilkins Circle of Trust. If you have tips to share, please do join in the conversation! Stay safe!

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

Wilkins Photo Release (1)

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.