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Lifebuoy Secret Wash & Handwashing Tips Contest

It can’t be said enough that the most effective way to keep our kids healthy is to make sure that they wash their hands often with antibacterial soap. Since young, I constantly nag remind Little Edison to wash his hands before meal time, after play and after using the toilet.

The biggest reward for this top-notch nagging mom is that I have a son who will automatically washes his hands without being told. That’s how I keep my household healthier in the long run too.

So what’s new about handwashing this month, you may wonder. Handwashing can always be fun with Lifebuoy. Trust me, please read on.

This month, Lifebuoy launches its Secret Wash fun moves to encourage children to wash their hands, powered by the exciting Colour Changing Handwash. You stand a chance to win your own collectible handwashing poster customized with the face of your kids and their names (sample below) simply by sharing your handwashing tip and a photo of your child washing his/her hands.

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This is Lifebuoy Secret Wash poster featuring Edison’s face

I often believe that keeping good hygience habits doesn’t have to be dull and boring. And Lifebuoy Secret Wash proves just that. There are altogether 3 different moves to master, check out these 3 videos for some clues:

Bollywood Shaker

Hulk Power

Cricket Champ

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The Secret Wash Handwashing Tips Contest

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For one month starting from 23 Sep till 23 Oct 2013, you’re encouraged to submit your ideas on fun ways to get your children to wash their hands on Lifebuoy Facebook tab. The best 100 submissions will receive a limited edition Lifebuoy Secret Wash poster featuring your kid’s face along with a free full-sized Colour Changing Handwash.

The best 100 tips will also be shared with all mummy fans on Lifebuoy Singapore Facebook Page, in celebration of Global Handwashing Day 2013 in October.

Here’s how the posters look like (with names and faces to be customized):

Secret Wash Visual

Like it? Yes! Please act fast, and submit your ideas and picture now. As always, handwashing can be fun with Lifebuoy!

Now, I’m going to share with you my personal secret handwashing tips.

1. Use Lifebuoy’s Colour Changing Handwash and ask him to look for the ‘green’ signal. GREEN means CLEAN!

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The ‘green means clean’ concept is fun and easy for the kids. When the lather turns green, this means that 99.9% of germs have been removed and it’s time to rinse off. By doing so, they get complete germ protection, and we, mothers have visible proof that our children’s hands are completely germ free.

2. Frequent reminders since young that he must wash his hands after coming in from outdoors, prior to eating, after playing in public places, and after using the toilet. Over time, all these reminders will turn into a habit and I don’t need to remind him at all now.

3. Promote handwashing as a fun and positive family activity before mealtime and at appropriate times to teach my kid on good hygiene habit now and later in life. Let’s just do it together!

4. Keep a sturdy step stool, Lifebuoy antibacterial soap and clean towel in the bathroom that he can reach and use. It’s a good idea to keep one set in the kitchen as well.

5. Paste his own handwashing poster in the bathroom as an encouragement for him to continue with his good handwashing habits. Every time he sees his poster, he raises his clenched fists and proudly says, “Mama, see! I have hulk power smash!”

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Now, what’s your personal secret handwashing tip? Ssshhhh, please don’t share it here. Send it to Lifebuoy Secret Wash Handwashing Tips contest now. Thanks for sharing!

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Twelve Fun Things to do Indoors on Rainy Days

When it has rained for days, and you’re running out of fun things to do with your kids, what would you do?

If you have young kids at home, it’s important to have a back-up plan so that they don’t sit moaning about how bored they are and start bouncing from the barstools to the walls.

Here are some of my favourite indoor activities for the rainy days, and I hope you have fun with them too!

1. Board Games

Snake and Ladder

Board games can keep children occupied for hours, while teaching them valuable lessons like following rules, fair play, taking turns, etc.

We like Monopoly, as it teaches Edison about counting money, owing, selling and renting properties. Scrabble helps to perfect his spelling and develops vocabulary. Snakes and ladders game, on the other hand, teaches him to count spaces, and accept rewards and consequences.

2. Indoor Sports

Bowling

Even if it’s raining and you’re dying to do something physical, you can try the following indoor sports. Bowling and indoor golf are our favourites!

  • Go bowling
  • Indoor golf
  • Basketball hoop games
  • Hula Hoops
  • Jumping on a trampoline

Some of these indoor sports games may cost a little more, but sometimes it’s worth paying it to end the boredom of being stuck at home.

3. TV

TV

Sometimes, you can’t avoid it and you just have to let your kids watch TV. I can totally understand it. Instead of giving them unlimited access to cartoon channels, why not choose some educational programs for them?

Some educational programs that I always encourage Edison to watch are:

  • Leap Frog Learning DVDs
  • Word World
  • Super Why
  • Ni Hao Kai Lan

4. Hand crafts and paintings

Simply grab some papers, glue, scissors, paints or colour pencils, and set up a table. Hours can be spent making really fun crafts and paintings with our kids.

5. Put together a puzzle

Puzzles have long been a favourite learning toy for children. Puzzles improve a child’s problem solving and reasoning skills, colours and shapes recognition, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination. It’s also a great tool for fostering cooperative play.

6. Indoor toys like Lego and PlayDoh

You might be surprised at how these simple toys can bring joy to our children when we really sit down and play together with them.

7. Play dress-up

Let’s play some dress-up games at home, while we’ll be the photographer and let our children pose. Be ready to capture their natural smiles that best reflect the blissfulness of their childhood.

8. Read a story book

Rainy days are made for curling up in a good book. Read a story book and enjoy a cup of hot drink with our children, it’s relaxing and promotes good family bonding.

9. Organize a family album

Many happy hours can be spent going through old family pictures with our kids and re-organize them.

10. Hide and go seek

Never under-estimate the power of this old-fashioned game. They may not hide well, but they just love doing it.

11. Pull out an old toy from the store

If your kids are like Edison, they probably have boxes of old toys archived in the store that are no longer being played with. It can be great fun to pull out some old toys or let them rummage through them. There is something in these old toys that will surely delight them.

11. Electronics games

Living in the technology era, computer games are inevitable. Choose the educational games that are suitable for your kid’s age.

12. Cooking together at home

From baking cookies to cooking a meal, there are so many fun kitchen projects that will bring family members together. Start out slowly by having them to wash the vegetables or peel the potatoes. You can also ask them to taste the food and what they think the “recipe” is lacking, and then let them pick the spices or sauces that they think would make the dish even better.

It will bring the growing excitement about preparing a meal together on a rainy day!

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I hope these few ideas will help you and your kids on one of those boring rainy days. Spending time with our children at home, and finding activities where everyone enjoys doing it together can bring a family closer together, and promises a healthy and happy family for now and the future.

Lastly, don’t forget to keep our family germ-free and stay one-step ahead of infections by using Lifebuoy antibacterial body wash and hand wash!

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Refreshing Showers with Different Body Wash Scents

Let’s face it; the only time a mom gets ten peaceful minutes to herself is usually when she is in the shower. So, why not we make the most of it and indulge in a refreshing shower with different body wash scents and anti-bacterial protection.

When you’re done, you’ll feel like you’ve just stepped out from the spa! A refreshing good shower instils calm and peacefulness within us, awakens our senses, and makes us ready to tackle the next motherhood duties with confidence and care. You get the picture!

LB Body Washes

Our family have been using Lifebuoy anti-bacterial body wash for more than a year. It provides not just the basic cleaning, but most importantly, the anti-bacterial protection that is vital for the prevention of infections caused by nasty germs.

When visitors stepped into my bathroom, they were often puzzled to see the different variants of body washes that I have. The most common comment that I get was: “Why do you buy so many different types of body washes from the same brand?”

As I’ve mentioned earlier, shower time is very important to me. Everyone in the family has their own preferences and needs, and no one should be compromised. I like Lifebuoy because it has a variety of body washes. There is always one for everyone in the family!

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Let’s start off with mine. I have dry skin, so I need a body wash that balances between protection and care. Lifebuoy Mild Care Body Wash works wonders on my skin. I was amazed at how smooth and soft my skin was after using it. It lathers nicely and smells great too! It doesn’t dry my skin out.

The special formula of Lifebuoy Mild Care Body Wash contains goodness of milk cream and oats that leaves skin feeling soft and smooth. It also contains advanced germ protection ingredients, Active 5, to fight against problem causing germs.

I use Lifebuoy Cool Fresh Body Wash occasionally in the evening when I get home from work. It has the yummiest of scents among all because it contains organic menthol crystals from nourishing peppermint leaf oil. The shower gel’s menthol fragrance keeps me cool and fresh after a long day at work.

Lifebuoy Lemon Fresh Body Wash works best for V, who is often outdoor and thus, prone to perspiration and body odour. It is infused with fresh zesty lemon notes to keep him feeling fresh, deeply cleansed and protected all day. It also reaches deep into the pores, while the advanced germ protection ingredients, Active 5, fight against problem causing germs.

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As for Little Edison, his favourite body wash is the Lifebuoy Total 10 Body Wash. The rich and creamy foam reaches deep into his pores, deeply cleanses and removes problem causing germs, keeping him squeaky clean and refreshed. It’s also suitable for everyone in the family!

Shower time is an indulgence for him, as he gets to choose from the different Lifebuoy body washes. And he goes, “Red is for me, blue is for Mama and yellow is for Papa. I can use the yellow and blue too!” He is happy as can be after every shower.

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No matter which variant that he chooses, I’m assured that he’s protected with Lifebuoy anti-bacterial body wash and stay one-step ahead of infections.

As the world’s first anti-bacterial soap brand, and with over 100 years of history in saving lives, Lifebuoy is the World’s number 1 germ protection soap. It has proven itself to be a worldwide leader in bringing better health and hygiene to billions.

Lifebuoy is my choice! Have you chosen Lifebuoy anti-bacterial body wash to protect your loved ones from germs and infections?

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‘Green Means Clean’ with Lifebuoy Colour Changing Handwash

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How many of you observe the amount of time your kids take to wash their hands? Two seconds, six seconds or more than ten seconds? Have you ever wonder if they have cleaned their hands thoroughly and removed all the germs?

I’m not a monitor lizard. I mean, Edison is already six years old, he’s independent enough to do certain tasks like washing his hands on his own. As long as he washes his hands with Lifebuoy handwash, I’m assured that he’s protected.

As the world’s first anti-bacterial soap brand, and with over 100 years of history in saving lives, Lifebuoy is the World’s No. 1 Germ Protection soap. I trust Lifebuoy as it has proven itself to be a worldwide leader in bringing better health and hygiene to billions of users.

Believe it or not, most children see handwashing as an unnecessary bore. Only adults know how essential handwashing is to staying healthy. Therefore, I constantly explain to Little Edison that washing his hands will keep him healthy, which means he will be able to participate in more activities and have more fun.

So, a little nagging doesn’t hurt when the pay-off is a happy and healthy kid! I’m sure you’ll agree too.

Nonetheless, kids are usually in a hurry to wash their hands and they may think that they only need 2 or 3 seconds to do the job. Before I can finish my reminder of “You need to wash your hands for at least 10 seconds”, he already dashed out of the toilet and proudly declared that he has washed his hands.

Now, you’ll probably ask, “How can we make them wash their hands for 10 seconds?”

In the past, I asked him to sing the A-B-C song or count from one to ten slowly. I reckon these methods are too boring and ineffective. Thanks to Lifebuoy, I can now ditch these boring methods.

Lifebuoy 2013

Lifebuoy has launched a new ‘colour changing’ handwash that turns green within 10 seconds to signal that all the germs have been killed. Interesting, isn’t it? And the association with Marvel’s famous comic character “The Hulk” makes the brand’s communication even more compelling to the kids.

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Lifebuoy’s Colour Changing Handwash has a special formulation that protects the user by removing 99.9% germs within 10 seconds, and it turns from white to green to signal this! It contains tiny bead particles that release green colour when squished. When we’ve scrubbed our hands for about 10 seconds, the unique formula of the handwash changes its colour to green, signalling that it is okay to rinse.

GREEN means CLEAN!

Now, that’s a SMART way to ensure that our kids have washed their hands thoroughly. Instead of asking them to count to ten, we can now ask them to look for the ‘green’ signal. And GREEN means CLEAN!

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The ‘green means clean’ concept is fun and easy for the kids too. When the lather turns green, this means that 99.9% of germs have been removed and it’s time to rinse off. The exciting green lather will encourage them to keep washing until the colour changes. By doing so, they get complete germ protection, and we, mothers have visible proof that our children’s hands are completely germ free.

Fortunately with Lifebuoy’s Colour Changing Handwash, we can easily remove the number of germs in our lives and stay one-step ahead of infections. And no more headache to get your kids to wash their hands a little longer!

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Here’s the Lifebuoy Singapore ‘Hulk’ Colour Changing Handwash TV commercial. It’s really cool. If you haven’t seen it, click here to view it.

In short, I really like Lifebuoy’s Colour Changing Handwash because 1) it makes handwashing fun for the kids, 2) it ensures that they have washed their hands thoroughly for 10 seconds, and 3) it kills 99.9% of the germs effectively. It’s a really fantastic product, and I highly recommend it to you.

Now, my family is protected with Lifebuoy Germ Protection soap. What about you?

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10 Ideas for School Holiday Family Bonding Activities

Family Bonding Activities

Being a parent, we hear so much about family bonding these days. When I was a kid, I don’t remember any formal bonding experiences with my parents. We weren’t well-to-do, but my parents always provided clean clothes, shelter, plenty of food, attention and love to us.

However, they couldn’t afford expensive lessons, clothes or holidays. Still, we had a closer relationship than most kids and parents have today. I think it is simply because my parents spent time with us whenever they could, and now that I’m a parent, I also realize that family bonding doesn’t have to be fancy or pricey. It just has to be fun and consistent!

With the December school holiday fast approaching, it is a wonderful time for families to take time out from their busy schedules and spend quality time together. We can organize a variety of activities that can help to strengthen our family bonding, as well as provide some relaxation from the hectic schedule of our lives.

I’m listing some family bonding activities and places that I intend to go with my family during the school holiday. If you’re looking for some ideas, I hope that my list will give you a little inspiration. So here goes!

1. Having a family picnic

In Singapore, we’re blessed with clean and beautiful parks that we can always enjoy a picnic together. Parents and children can pack some healthy food and drink choices that everyone likes, sit back and relax together on a picnic mat.

A leisurely day-out in the sun can be very enjoyable. We have time to talk with and listen to one another, as well as be able to relieve some stress from the hurried pace of life.

Recommendations: Marine Barrage, Singapore Botanic Gardens

2. Visiting a new attraction

This year-end, we don’t intend to go for overseas holiday – that’s because V is at reservist for the entire month! But the good news is – there are some new and exciting attractions coming-up in Singapore and Malaysia. Even a day trip to these new attractions can be as exciting as going overseas!

Marine Life Park at Resorts World Sentosa, the world’s largest oceanarium, will open its gate TODAY! Puteri Harbour Family Theme Park (in Johor, Malaysia) which houses the Sanrio Hello Kitty Town and The Little Big Club was also opened recently.

If you don’t mind the blazing hot sun, Legoland Malaysia is another fantastic place to visit this school holiday!

3. Going on a farm visit

When I was a kid, I lived in a village where chickens, ducks, geese, birds, goats and cows were common sights. I don’t find them particularly fascinating because I see them every day since young. But for a city-boy like Edison, he finds farm visit very exciting and enjoyable.

So, we intend to organize another farm visit for him this December. He’ll get to try longkang fishing again (our first attempt wasn’t so successful though). He enjoys interacting with animals and feeding them too.

Recommendations: Kid’s Kampong, Mainland Tropical Fish Farm

4. Going for an exercise together

One of my biggest challenges this year is fitness! I confess that I don’t have much time and determination to go for an exercise until recently, when I discovered that it is fun doing it with my little boy.

I’ll bring him to the playground that is usually equipped with exercise equipments and jogging track. He will play at the playground with other kids, or go cycling while I jog on the jogging track.

Recommendations: Any neighbourhood playground

5. Exploring an indoor playground

With the rainy weather nowadays, indoor playground is a ‘weather-proof’ option that is always fun and exciting for the kids. It offers a healthy amount of play time, exercise time, as well as interaction time with other children.

Whenever he hears indoor playground, visions of exciting playtime will start dancing in his head. So, this is a ‘sure-win’ and ‘weather-proof’ option for us. Before you head there, remember to bring your socks!

Recommendations: Hokey Pokey, The Polliwogs

6. Playing board or card games

Another wonderful indoor activity that families can do together is playing board or card games. With a wide variety of games options available, we can always choose games that best fit the ages and abilities of our family members.

Skip the gadgets, and try playing a few old-fashioned board games or putting a puzzle together. You might be surprised at how these simple games can bring joy to our children, when we really sit down and play together with them.

Some of my recommendations include Monopoly, Chinese Checkers, Uno and puzzles.

7. Cooking together at home

From baking cookies to cooking dinner, there are so many fun kitchen projects that will bring family members together. The next time you’re in the kitchen preparing the family meal, try to get your kids to participate too.

Start out slowly by having them to wash the vegetables or peel the potatoes. You can also ask them to taste the food and what they think the “recipe” is lacking, and then let them pick the spices or sauces that they think would make the dish even better. It will bring the growing excitement about preparing the dinner together!

8. Having an impromptu family photo shoot

Let’s play some dress-up games at home, while we’ll be the photographer and let our children pose. Or try it outdoor, it’ll be fun too. Allow them to play and when they are close together; be ready to capture their natural smiles that best reflect the blissfulness of their childhood.

If you have some budget, you can also consider a studio or outdoor photo shoot with a professional photographer.

9. Going to the beach

Kite-flying, sandcastle building, Frisbee or simply muck around on the sand – they are great family bonding activities! Beach outing is a perfect combination of sun, sea and sand, which offers something for everyone in the family.

Recommendations: Sentosa Beach, Port of Lost Wonder

10. Revise all important subjects in Year 2012

After so much fun during the school holiday, I think it’s important to schedule an overall revision on all important subjects before the school re-opens. This helps to prepare the children so that they can adjust easily to the next school year.

Home education is important for fostering both good education and a strong parental bond. Helping our children with their study not only allows us to spend time with them, but also allows us to see what they’re learning and how they’re performing academically.

Importance of family bonding

Spending time with our children, finding activities where everyone enjoys doing it together and maintaining a good connection with our children will bring a family closer together, and promises a healthy family unit for now and the future.

Bonding moments with them is very important because when we do this they feel loved, secure and given importance. So this school holiday, let’s take a break from the wild race of life and enjoy some family bonding.

Lastly, don’t forget to keep our family germ-free by using Lifebuoy antibacterial body wash and hand wash! Lifebuoy understands the importance of family bonding.

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