Almost Home Childcare

Stay safe! We are playing inside today.

AIR QUALITY ALERT: CODE RED IN EFFECT TOMORROW

Smoke from wildfires burning across Canada and the northern United States is being carried into Maryland by prevailing northwesterly winds, pushing air quality to Code Red (Unhealthy) levels Friday throughout most of the state and Code Purple (Very Unhealthy) in Western Maryland. Wildfire smoke can travel hundreds of miles, and current weather patterns are bringing it into our region. At this level, air pollution can affect everyone, not just sensitive groups.

Who is most at risk: People with asthma, COPD, or heart disease; older adults; pregnant women; young children; and anyone who works or exercises outdoors.

What everyone should do:

Limit time outdoors and avoid strenuous outdoor activity.

Keep windows and doors closed; run air conditioning on recirculate if you have it.

If you have a portable air purifier, use it in the room where you spend the most time.

Reschedule outdoor exercise, youth sports, and other physical activity for a cleaner-air day.

If you must be outside: Keep it brief, take it easy, and consider a well-fitting N95 or KN95 mask, which reduces smoke particle exposure (cloth and surgical masks do not).

Watch for symptoms: Coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, or unusual fatigue. If symptoms are severe or don't improve, seek medical care. Call 911 for difficulty breathing or chest pain.

Check current conditions before heading out at AirNow.gov or Maryland's air quality page. We will update the public as conditions change.

I wanted to share just incase it can help someone.

If one of my kids goes missing for 30 seconds, I don't check the toy room. Here's what I actually do 👇

1️⃣ I go straight to the danger zones first. Pool. Bathroom. Garage. Street. Closets can wait. Water can't.

2️⃣ We have a family whistle. Everyone knows it. One whistle means "where are you?" and they whistle back. No idea where someone went? One whistle and they come find me. It sounds simple and it has saved my sanity more times than I can count.

3️⃣ If we're in public and I can't find one of them, I don't just scream their name. I scream their description. "Little girl, 3 years old, yellow dress, pink sneakers." More people can actually look for the right kid.

4️⃣ And I don't tell my kids to scream MOM if they get lost. I teach them to scream my full name. Because in any park or mall there are a hundred moms. There's only one me.

5️⃣ I stopped buying blue or teal swimwear. Neon yellow, hot pink, bright red only. Blue disappears in water and drowning is silent. A cute matching set is not worth it.

6️⃣ I told my kids if they ever get lost to find a mom with kids. Not a uniform, not a random adult. A mom already in protect mode will stop for you faster than anyone.

7️⃣ We practice the emergency scream at home. Full volume. Make everyone look. My neighbors have heard it. I don't care.

I don't teach them any of this to scare them. I do it so they have tools.

A scared kid with no plan is just scared. A scared kid who knows what to do? That's a kid who finds their way back to me.

Save this for the day you need it 🙏

❤️ Tap if this was helpful

👉 Send this to your partner so you're both on the same page, because it only works if everyone knows the plan.

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