A few years ago my parents, husband, brother and I were playing a game called Worst-Case Scenarios. In it, players pit their wits against situations like bear attacks, deadly flora, 
armed assailants and the like – things we wouldn’t usually experience in our day-to-day vanilla lives.
If you’d asked me to predict the winner, I’d have gone with my brother, a trained mountaineer. Or my husband, an Air Force veteran. Or my father, a lifelong hunter. Who won?
My mom, a high school Spanish teacher. Apparently all those years of imaging the worst that could happen paid off – she knew what to do in pretty much every scenario.
That knowledge makes me comfortable leaving my kids in her care this summer, but it also points out my own mental laziness when it comes to the unexpected. The Red Cross estimates that two-thirds of Americans will be involved a summertime emergency in their lives, and I can easily imagine all the horrible things that could happen to my kids: fireworks accidents, pool injuries, playground falls, heatstroke … I’m less easily able to imagine what I’d do. In that, I’m pretty much in line with most Americans, according to the Red Cross.
And when it comes to natural disasters, I admit to spending more time in REI’s freeze-dried food aisles than checking out emergency radios. The terrible tragedy in the Arkansas campground has me rethinking that.
The Red Cross’ St. Louis Chapter offers classes from babysitting to CPR to a new one this year, Wilderness and Remote First Aid. To sign up for one, visit www.redcrossstl.org and click on Take a Class.
Find out how you too can be as well prepared as your average high school Spanish teacher.
By Amy De La Hunt, Health Blogger for SmartParenting
Festival of Nations is St. Louis' biggest multicultural celebration, and is back in Tower Grove Park again this year. Enjoy a wide variety of live music, international fare, and gift booths featuring fair trade gifts and hand-made crafts. Guests can also enjoy children's activities.
Kids can work on existing gym skills, learn new skills or just play around during Open Gym at Miss Kelly's Gym in Creve Coeur.
See the Zoo's California sea lions perform acrobatic and athletic feats, including Olympic-style dives on a high-diving platform, flipper walks, frisbee tosses and plenty of surprises. While on stage with the sea lions, the Zoo's trainers explain sea lion behavior and positive-reinforcement training, in addition to the need for conserving the sea lion's ocean habitat.
Kids Night Out at Olympia Gymnastics is an evening filled with fun! Parents get a babysitter for the night and kids will enjoy gymnastics/ninja-themed activities, group games, crafts, and more! Members and non-members are welcome.
LEGO Club at the St. Louis County Library is a free opportunity for kids to gather and have fun building with LEGO bricks. LEGOs are provided.
