If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you know that I like to pass on safety tips on occasion. Today I am sharing one that was brought to my attention by BlogHer. They have teamed up with Intelius and are having some bloggers review some of their most helpful offerings. I got the chance to review Intelius‘ Neighborhood Watch program. In short, the site monitors sex offenders in your area and alerts you when a new offender has moved into the area.

One of the most awesome things about this database is the map. After I entered our address and payment information, I was taken to my service page. There I found a map with a green arrow pointing to my house. At first I freaked out! The green arrow was all but covered by red dots. Those red dots were symbolizing the last known addresses of sex offenders. Then I realized that I was zoomed out too far. As I zoomed in, the red dots got further away from my house. I sighed an audible sigh of relief! (So, tip: zoom in! Immediately!) The best part about this map is the fact that you can mouse over those red dots and see:

That is awesome. I now know that if I am crossing the intersection of the street I drive on frequently and another street and I see a large, balding man with crazy blue eyes and a tattoo of a rose on his arm, it would behoove me not to let him in the car, alone, with my children. (Description of man is a composite of a few different offenders in our area.)

On your service page, next to your map, you can then click on “View Report.” This was somewhat discouraging but useful as well. There are 52 sex offenders in my area. (Just another reason to be moving out of the city, right? Right.) This report page also has a picture of each sex offender (in most cases) and lists all of their pertinent information like the map but also lists some other characteristics. Things included are height (since you can’t see that in the picture), weight, eye color, hair color, tattoos and scars, age and again their offense. I find this to be an added benefit because, again, you can’t always see detail in a photo. Details like these are what can help keep your family safe.

However, my most favorite offering from this site is the fact that you can add multiple addresses to the same account. I have now checked on my mother-in-law’s town. I am now considering moving in with my mother-in-law as there are no registered sex offenders in her entire town. None. I think this would be incredibly useful if you were visiting another city, leaving your children with a babysitter outside of your area or just generally traveling!

Issues I had? I couldn’t delete an address from my account while using Firefox or Internet Explorer. I accidentally added one address twice. Clicking “remove address” brought up an “error on page” in the javascript. I’m sure this is fixable once they know about the problem. Related, possibly an error and possibly not, is that you cannot have more than three addresses. This doesn’t seem to be an actual issue as long as you can delete. Also, scrolling on the page often lead to zooming in and zooming out on the map even after I had made sure to click outside of the map so it wouldn’t happen. This lead to some minor but tolerable frustration. As long as the removal option is fixed, the site is really easy to manage.

In the end, being aware of what, or really, who is around our children is our job. Some counties provide this information in easy to navigate sites. Some counties provide this information in difficult to manage sites. Some counties fall short in this way. In the end, this is a one-stop-spot to keep this information. Furthermore, as any changes are immediately emailed to the account of your choosing, you won’t ever find yourself surprised.

I encourage you to consider using this resource from Intelius. Being prepared with knowledge allows you to make appropriate decisions for you, your children and your family as a whole. To boot, Intelius also has some free “iSearch” products for you to use to your advantage. Also, check out BlogHer for a round up on what other blogger had to say about this and other available Intelius products.

[Hat tip to BlogHer and Intelius for the paid review opportunity.]

When MomCentral asked us to review NEOSPORIN products, I didn’t have to think twice. I’ve always used the product. Why? I’m an injury magnet. I run into things. I break things. I cut myself on said broken things. I fall down and get scrapes. I’m just not all that graceful, I suppose. Similarly, my two sons seem to have inherited this faulty gene system and end up with frequent scrapes and cuts. Figures, right?

They sent us some NEOSPORIN pain relief ointment, NEOSPORIN pain relief cream and that new NEOSPORIN Neo-to-Go spray that I’ve been lusting after in the commercials for quite some time. (Really, I’m that dorky.) When the stuff first arrived, we were cut and scrape free. It didn’t take long, however, until I needed to open the box of the regular ointment. And not for the kids. For myself. I cut myself twice in the same day: once opening the mail (see? accident prone) and once while cutting up cantaloupe. I ended up with no infection, no swelling and less pain than if I had let it go on its own with just soap and water.

Also, I’ve got to tell you a tip. NEOSPORIN doesn’t list this on their site but, really, it’s a great tip. If your child wakes up with goop in their eyes and your immediate fear is pink eye, put a dab of the regular ointment (not the cream) in the corner of your child’s eyes. No more goop. This works especially well if you can’t get to the doctor because it is a Sunday and, like our family, you don’t wish to waste the time of the Emergency Room doctors and nurses for something as minor as pink eye. Don’t believe me? Visit this pediatrician’s website. I didn’t make this up! I had to google it myself when the boys woke up from naps one Saturday afternoon with goopy-eye-syndrome. By Monday, I did call the doctor for opinions, but their eye goop was gone. Just saying.

The things I didn’t know about NEOSPORIN were that it’s good for ages two and up and that it can help with the pain of, trumpet sounds, hangnails! That’s what I get all the time. You know, other than my paper cuts and knife wounds. (Why do we let me out of this bubble I’m supposed to live in? Honestly.)

I haven’t yet had a chance to use the Neo-to-Go but I’m sure it won’t be long before someone needs a spray on the playground. And I’m sure it will be me. Sigh.

NEOSPORIN products are available in drugstores and department stores everywhere, ranging from $4.77-$9.00+. Grab some today. In case the mail attacks .

At Stop, Drop & Blog, we really try to pass on safety tips. They’re often tips for your everyday home life. However, today’s tip is a safety tip that brings the virtual, online world and the real world together. If you have tweens or teens, you need to have them navigate to NS Teens (NS = NetSmartz).

Basically the site teaches your children about safe internet usage and the consequences of improperly using the internet. The site features some fictional, cartoonized teens. Reading their bios, they sound like kids that you and I know (and some of you might be parenting).

More interesting is the comic created entitled How Much is Too Much. When my adult brain is able to get past the speech geared specifically for tweens and teens, I was able to see what a brilliant way this comic portrayed the issue of cyberbullying. I’ll be honest: I’m glad I went to school before the era of cyberbullying. I don’t think I could have handled someone taking pictures of my horrdendous clothing choices and posting them on a blog with intent to make fun of me. The comic itself teaches kids how to deal with the situation in a proactive manner instead of lashing out or being just as mean in the reverse direction. Kudos!

The videos are equally interesting, bringing important points to a group of people (those same tweens and teens) who aren’t always forward thinking enough to recognize consequences. One important one being that online profiles are viewable by people like employers and college admissions advisors. Again, I’m probably lucky in that way: I was already through college when MySpace hit its popularity peak. I didn’t create a profile on either MySpace or Facebook until after college but I did know enough, being older, to make my profiles private and viewable to only those I chose. (Then again, I write in widely popular blogs so it’s six one way and a half dozen the other, you know?)

While the site does have some teaching materials, I think the site itself does a great job at imparting the advice that parents might not know how to address. In fact, some might not even know to address it. Quite honestly, when my kids reach internet usage age, I hope to be able to use a site like this to reinforce the rules that we will have set up in our home. I hope that this site is still around when it comes time for our family to deal with these very important issues.

I encourage all parents of tweens and teens to check out NS Teens. Today. Because safety really can’t wait.

[Hat tip to Mom Central for passing on this important site.]

I was sent a SeatSnug for review. I was excited to review something that would keep my older son safe and secure in his new highback booster seat. While I do love the idea of the item and others had some great things to say about it, the FireFamily has had some issues.

I had a rough time installing the SeatSnug. I’ll be honest. It frustrated me. It angered me. I might have cussed. And I eventually had to employ my husband to finish/fix it for me. Turns out that I was trying to put it on backward. The problem with that problem? The SeatSnug is made so it is NOT removable. So I couldn’t fix my error once we figured it out. Well, we did, but we had to get out pliers and work really hard with it. And, so, more time was wasted and more cussing may or may not have occured. Blame FireDad for the latter on that round of the installation.

Once installed, it was easy to learn how to use. Button out means it is off and you can maneuver the seatbelt to get your child buckled in properly. Button in means it is on. You shouldn’t turn the button on until the seatbelt is properly secured around your child and is as snug as possible. Once on, the seatbelt does not move anymore! Seat and, as such, child stay securely in one spot. Win!

But… I always have a but, don’t I?

I do like the idea of the SeatSnug. I want my son’s new booster seat to sit still in the truck. The problem is that we own a full-extended cab truck. I am short enough as it is and reaching the buckle to latch the seat belt is hard enough as it is for me. To effectively make the SeatSnug work (meaning reaching the button to turn it off and on) I have to throw myself across BigBrother’s lap while halfway climbing into the truck. To be fair, I have to do that anyway just to buckle him but I just have to bother him for longer (and climb!) in order to use the SeatSnug. To be fair, safety is always a higher priority than the child’s comfort and so he can deal with Mommy flinging herself across his lap for ten seconds a car ride. Right?

Due to my height restrictions, the vehicle we use and the “this can never be removed” feature of the SeatSnug, I won’t say that it is my favorite item on the planet. I do, however, think it is a pretty nifty addition to your safety regimine in your vehicle, especailly those who are now using booster seats in the cars and/or with seats that are not LATCH compatible. Keeping the seat snug and in one place is a great, great idea. Maybe I just need a pair of high heels. (But I prefer flats… so…)