There used to be a day when households were lucky to have one television set. Now we often see TVs in every room of the house. Many kids don’t just feel lucky if they have a television in their bedrooms, they expect it.

But studies show that a TV in a child’s bedroom is detrimental to their health . Children ages one to five watch nearly five more hours of TV and videos each week if there’s a television in their room.

Of those surveyed in the study, 40 percent viewed TV in their rooms, raising their risk of being overweight by one-third. With both younger and older children, the increase in television watching also led to an increase in BMI rates .

To counteract the risk of obesity, parents are encouraged to designate the child’s bedroom for sleeping and play time only. Use their room to build their health by doing kids exercises or playing games that will improve intellect and gross motor skills.

Only allow children to watch television in the family room, where programs and time spent in front of the TV can be monitored. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children’s total media viewing time be limited to one or two hours per day.

While the television does act as a good babysitter when parents need to get things done around the house, there are many other ways to keep kids busy and entertained. Parents should not let their children become couch potatoes.

Kids activities other than the television such as kids exercise can stimulate creativity, imagination and a healthy future , all things a parent wants for their child.

By: Jeff A Wise

There are more than 700 products that are used in homes to kill bacteria. Originally formulated for use in hospitals, they are now used in many homes. Sadly, antibacterial soap use in households has the potential to actually damage our bodies’ natural bacterial resistance. So, think about these facts before you buy products that promise to kill all bacteria. Some of them will definitely surprise you!

• More and more dangerous bacteria have developed antibiotic resistance, causing what the Centers for Disease Control call a global health crisis. This may be a result of the increase in antibacterial products that have recently entered homes.

• Antibacterial products were designed to protect those with weakened immune systems from disease-causing bacteria and are thus not meant for use in healthy homes.

• Bacteria are an extremely fast reproducer and therefore a very fast evolver. Should a mutation produce a strain of bacteria that is resistant to any of the chemicals used to kill bacteria, its spread can be fast and devastating.

• Triclosan, the main chemical used in antibacterial products, is actually less effective when combined with soaps-to work, it requires much longer time than the typical 5-second hand wash that most people practice. Try singing the “Happy Birthday” song twice in a row while you wash your hands-taking a little longer will make your washing infinitely more effective.

• Increased use of Triclosan naturally selects bacteria that is also antibiotic resistant. Basically, Triclosan will kill all but the most dangerous bacteria, leaving them alone to monopolize resources and take over in general.

• There is no data that show using antibacterial cleansers in your home is beneficial to health. In their campaign to promote effective hand washing, the Mayo Clinic reminds us that there is no sign that washing your hands with antibacterial cleansers kills any more germs than regular soap.

• More and more studies show that there is a correlation between use of antibacterial cleansers in homes and childhood allergies. More infections in early childhood may actually be linked to decreased incidence of allergic reactions. Studies have revealed increased levels of asthma, eczema and allergies in homes overly protective against microorganisms. Like a brain, it is suggested that you allow your immune system to “learn” how to respond to disease-causing bacteria. The body needs to be stimulated to promote the proper balance between immune system T-cells that produce antibodies and create cellular immunity.

So, when you are selecting home cleaning products for you or your cleaning service to use, consider just plain soap or natural cleansers. You can even make your own! Regardless of what you choose, avoiding antibacterials is a no brainer. There is no real benefit to using them over other products, and they will only contribute to greater health issues in the long term. Don’t let the antibacterial soap manufacturers convince you to continue using their product-listen to real sources of information, like the CDC ( www.CDC.gov ) that tell you to avoid them. It’s a definite win/win situation. For more information on home cleaning and sanitation tips, feel free to visit our Denver cleaning services website and click through to our blog.

By: Yelena M Gertsenova

Shih Chon is a dog that is a cross between a Bichon Frise and a Shih Tzu. Shih Chon is a great companion and a perfect dog to keep around the house and are medium size dogs and usually do not get much bigger than a big cat.

Thus, they are not suitable for outside. Make sure someone from the family is with them when the dog is outside. The dog should be provided nice fenced backyard to play. This would help them to keep safe from other dogs. These dogs are perfect family dogs and mix up easily. They are excellent companion with kids, and they are very loving. Shih Chon is a lap dog and needs to be attended every time. They are keen to sit on your lap always. Generally they sit on the lap quietly however sometimes they like to jump up and sit in the head of the households lap. So you need to watch out, it is going to want to sit in your lap.

The Shih Chon usually weigh about 8 to 15 pounds, thus, the dog is small and can be easily made sit on lap and you do not have to worry about them getting too big. The dog is pretty calm and if you want to scale their calmness then on a scale from one to ten (ten being the highest), they range about a 3. Although the dog is small in size then too sometime it show wild behavior. As the Shih Chon is gentle and is not very active, it makes a great dog for the retired people. The dog if properly trained can even will sit and watch TV with you or sit next to you when you are playing video games; this is the dog for you. At times the dog will not sleep and only watch you doing things and will company you till late night.

The Shih Chon watch fast moving things eagerly and most of the time they will watches your hands, because they move fast. As the dog is medium size and has a single coat it sheds less hair or no shedding. So the Shih Chon is perfect dog for those who hates matting or are allergic to dog hairs. Let’s thanks to these designer dogs, like the Shih Chon, now you can own your own dog. One should give this a try. The dog has a well built body and has great personality. Shih Chon is not a independent dog.

The dog hates to be alone and if left for long period can be a victim of separate anxiety. However, if proper care of the dog is taken they can outlive most big dogs, but fall short of outliving the smaller dogs. Generally, the dog is healthy however; it does have some health problems like skin infections, cushing syndrome, dental disease, patellar luxation, bladder and kidney stones. The average life span of the dog is 12 years.

By: Jen Carter