Long Island Fun 4 Kids

Be aware of this silent killer when you travel

LIFun4Kids — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:43:00 GMT

Carbon monoxide is a deadly, colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. Approximately 170 people in the United States die every year due to carbon monoxide poisoning caused by malfunctioning fuel-burning appliances.

But this can be avoided. Carbon monoxide detectors saves lives. You make sure you have one in your home, why not take one along when you travel? Just pack a battery-operated carbon monoxide detector in your luggage, but remember to remove the batteries first!!

P.S. Wrap it in bubble wrap to prevent damage during transit. Place it on the end table in your hotel room...lower to the floor is better!!

For more great travel tips, please take a look at LIFun4Kids.com's Helpful Tips.

You may be using one of these recalled products

LIFun4Kids — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:40:00 GMT

Keeping your children safe is your number one priority. It's hard to believe that the products you purchase for your kids have been tested thousands of times for safety, and yet there's still a possibility of a potential danger. That's why you should know about these recent recalls announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:

For updated recalls, please take a look at LIFun4Kids.com's Recalls page.

Your child should still be using a booster seat at this age

LIFun4Kids — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:38:00 GMT

Let's face it...all kids are different in many ways, especially when it comes to their size. Do you know when your child is ready to graduate from their booster seat? You should!!

All children must be restrained in an appropriate child restraint system while riding in a motor vehicle, until they reach their 8th birthday. (7th birthday prior to 11/24/09) More information can be found here: Child Safety Seats

For more great travel tips, please take a look at LIFun4Kids.com's Helpful Tips.

If you're traveling out of the country with your kids, remember this

LIFun4Kids — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:37:00 GMT

Traveling out of the country but don't have a passport? It will cost you a pretty penny if you wait till the last minute!!

Apply for a passport at your local post office at least two months before your travel date. If you don't have that much time left, you have no choice but to expedite your application for an additional $60 fee plus overnight delivery costs!!

If you're really in a pinch and need the passport within 2 weeks, make an appointment immediately at your regional passport agency here: Passport Agency.
You'll have to apply in person, but don't expect to receive your passport that day. Most likely, you will have to pick it up the following business day.

Remember: If your children are applying for their passports, BOTH parents MUST be present!!

For more great travel tips, please take a look at LIFun4Kids.com's Helpful Tips.

Try these simple steps to find out what websites your kids are visiting

LIFun4Kids — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:34:00 GMT

Keeping tabs on what your children are viewing online is a must. But do you know how?
Here are a few simple ways:

In Internet Explorer, click on the Favorites button and look at the History tab, then choose a day...you will see all the websites your child has recently visited
In Mozilla Firefox or Safari, click on the History button and choose Show All History and you will see a complete list of all the websites recently visited

Another great way to keep an eye on what your kids are viewing online is to check their emails. You should know their passwords and if they refuse to provide them to you, it's time to reconsider their online privileges. It's for their safety!!

For more helpful tips, please visit LIFun4Kids.com.

Guard Rail for the Wantagh Parkway Bike Path

LIFun4Kids — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:48:00 GMT

This is what the power of belief, passion and persistence did for us....

Helping the residents of Long Island find activities quickly and easily is our goal. But the safety of them is our number one concern and whenever their safety may be at risk, we feel it is our responsibility to bring their attention to it.

Back in February of this year, we started a facebook group called "Guard Rail for Wantagh Parkway Bike Path" after taking the kids to a very popular bike path that runs along the northbound lanes of the Wantagh State Parkway between the Jones Beach Theatre and Merrick Road on Long Island, New York. It's hard to believe how dangerously close the bike path was to the parkway. It was inconceivable to us there was no safety barrier between a parkway with a 55mph speed limit and a recreational bike path. In some places, the separation between the road and the path was merely a narrow patch of grass.

Our facebook group’s description states: “The path is so close to the Wantagh Parkway...it's an accident waiting to happen.” Our group started with only 60 members and became stagnant…until an accident did happen…

On July 20th, 19 year old Matthew Scarpati of Dix Hills was repairing his flat tire on the bike path and was killed when a drunken motorcyclist struck him.

Days after the accident, our group grew by the hundreds every day. We started a petition to install a guard rail along the bike path, and hit the pavement to collect signatures. We asked local bike shops to help collect signatures, spoke at several local PTA meetings, contacted the local media and contacted local officials. With the help of Matthew’s family and friends and with the help of some group members, we were able to collect @ 3300 signatures by August 19th. The signatures were presented to Senator Fuschillo at this time when the family met with him to discuss the proposals that the NYSDOT prepared to help improve safety on the bike path. The signatures were forwarded to Governor Paterson.

Within 2 weeks of the meeting with the Senator, the NYSDOT started work by closing the right lane on the parkway, creating a buffer lane and installing a rumble strip. It was completed by Labor Day. Then they planned on installing flexible vertical delineators to separate the bike path from the parkway to provide an additional visual warning to motorists about the edge of the roadway. Well in our opinion, safety and flexible do NOT belong in the same sentence in this case. Something stronger needed to be installed!! On August 28^th, they released a press release that stated: “We will be reaching out to the community for input.” Instead of waiting for them to reach out to us, we called them and asked exactly what were they planning on doing to obtain community input…was there a public meeting that we should be aware of? Weeks went by, and we called again several times. Finally in October we was asked to meet with the NYSDOT at their regional office to discuss my opinions, as well as the group’s opinions of their so-called proposal. They agreed that the flexible barrier was not an option and proposed a steel cable guard rail system instead.

At this time, we had another 2500 signatures to send to the Governor. But what we didn’t know was Governor Paterson was meeting with the family to approve the guard rail that same week!! So almost 6000 signatures and only 94 days after Matthew Scarpati’s death, a guard rail was approved!!

But we’re still not done!...The family has set up a scholarship fund in Matthew’s name. We are helping the family plan a charity event in memory of Matthew to take place ON the northbound lanes of the Wantagh Parkway adjacent to the bike path. All bicyclists, pedestrians, rollerbladers, joggers, etc. are invited to participate. We are applying for the permits needed to close the parkway for the event to take place some time in May 2010. We are only in the beginning stages and have so much more to do.

Many people have told us they won’t use the bike path until the guard rail is installed….neither will we. The NYSDOT plans on starting the guard rail in early April and finish by Memorial Day. Much more info to come!!

Try these money saving ideas the next time you travel by plane

LIFun4Kids — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:48:00 GMT

Now that the thermometer is taking a nosedive and school will be closed for the upcoming holidays, here are some great airport travel tips that should make your vacation go smoothly.

Buy an inexpensive luggage scale and pack accordingly...There's nothing worse than paying an extra $50 per bag when you're checking in!
Attach identification tags on the handle of your luggage as well as somewhere on the inside (in case the tag on the handle is torn off by those luggage movers!) And DO NOT supply your address on the ID tag, just your name and cell phone number. You never know who may have access to your luggage and if they see your address, your house is a prime target while you're away!

Make your luggage stand out! The most popular color for luggage at the airport is black. Don't let anyone grab your belongings from the baggage carousel by mistake and claim them as their own. Tie a colored ribbon to the handle of your bag or better yet, buy a bright-colored luggage strap and reinforce your luggage. After all, those zippers can only put up with so much! (for more insurance, place a quick tie on the strap and attach it to the luggage too so you'll never lose the strap.)

For more great travel tips, please take a look at LIFun4Kids.com's Helpful Tips.

Traveling with kids this holiday season is easier than you think

LIFun4Kids — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:41:00 GMT

The holidays will soon be upon us and the travel season is just around the corner! Whether you are taking a train, plane or automobile, getting there should be fun. No one said traveling with children is easy, but here are some ways to lessen your fears.

First start with the usual suspects: Nintendo DS, respective games, DVD player, DVD movies and AC car adapters. Then bring along some travel games such as magnetic travel Tangoes. Also, start a scavenger hunt and create a list of items for kids to watch out for during the trip. Bring along some Mad Libs and get those brain cells working. These are fun and educational alternatives to those ubiquitous Mario games.

All of this amusement will make the kids hungry, so keep a well-stocked cooler of drinks and snacks. Sooner or later, you’ll have to stop at a rest area. Any public restroom whether at the airport, on the airplane, or at any restaurant is just full of germs. Buy toilet cover seats at Babies 'R Us or Buy Buy Baby (they're much thicker than those that some bathrooms supply for free...if there's any left when you need one) and keep them in your carry-on or pocketbook.

Being prepared will certainly make time pass and hopefully keep your children from asking that dreaded question…"Are we there yet?"

For more great travel tips, please take a look at LIFun4Kids.com's Helpful Tips.

Want to join our cause, but don't belong to facebook?

LIFun4Kids — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:02:00 GMT

For those people that don't have a facebook account, or don't want to start one, you can join our cause here.

Please click on the sign up link above, create a username and password and just leave a comment here and we'll keep you updated.

Guest book to leave condolences for Matthew Scarpati's family

LIFun4Kids — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:35:00 GMT

Legacy.com

Video of news story about accident on Wantagh Parkway Bike Path

LIFun4Kids — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:32:00 GMT

Here is a video:
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/video?id=6926029

Accident on Wantagh Parkway Bike Path 7/20/09

LIFun4Kids — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:29:00 GMT

Accident happened just north of Goose Neck Bridge on Wantagh Parkway...
take a look at how close the path is and where the bridge's guard rail stops...
map

Here's a zoomed in view:

map

Please join our facebook group: Guard Rail for Wantagh Parkway Bike Path

LIFun4Kids — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:27:00 GMT

Here's a link to an email newsletter that I just sent out to all my contacts:
http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs070/1101838211096/archive/1102650494205.html
Please forward it to everyone...thanks....

Matthew Scarpati's facebook page

LIFun4Kids — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:23:00 GMT

Here's a little info about Matthew Scarpati

Tragedy on the Wantagh Parkway Bike Path

LIFun4Kids — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:42:00 GMT

Please read this article about the recent accident on the bike path:

Matthew Scarpati

A guard rail would have saved Matthew's life. It is time to take action and prevent future tragedies.

Here is a link to approximately where it happened...look how close the path is to the parkway:

just north of Goose Neck bridge