• The teaching moment I'm speaking about is teaching your child how to manage their own temperament and reactions. When you stop reacting and start responding you're better able to capture the moment and teach some things that will really help your child as she grows.  Let me show you what I mean.

• When faced with situations like that most parents focus on getting the crying to STOP. They yell, punish, back down, feel sympathy or plead for it to stop. All parents know that it's practically impossible to stop a child from expressing their emotions once they've begun. Allowing your child to express his/her feelings is key in parenting. If parents insist crying stops now, or they don't teach how you're supposed to manage feelings, a child may make crying a larger part of how they interact with others.
  
• The child who falls on the floor crying as if her heart is broken not only needs to learn how to accept being told "no" but she also needs to know how to deal with and express her beautiful sensitive nature.
  
• The child who cries loudly while looking for attention needs to know that creating drama is not the way to get what you want. She needs to know that so she can get along with friends, teachers, and family. She also needs to know how to embrace and work with her intensity and power. She could end up being president and will need to be powerful.
  
• The child who"s bored and cries so his parents will redirect him toward something more interesting needs to learn what he likes to do so he can manage boredom for himself. He needs know this or he"ll constantly be relying on his parents and others for his entertainment.

• What are my child's strengths?
• What are my child's opportunities for growth and development?

• Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
• Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
• Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

• Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
• Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

• Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
• If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
• Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.

• If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away.
  
•  Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
• You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
• If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.

• Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
• Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
• Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.

• The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming.
• Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

• Never use a vacuum cleaner to clean up mercury.
• The vacuum will put mercury into the air and increase exposure.
• Never use a broom to clean up mercury. It will break the mercury into smaller droplets and spread them.
• Never pour mercury down a drain. It may lodge in the plumbing and cause future problems during plumbing repairs. If discharged, it can cause pollution of the septic tank or sewage treatment plant.
• Never wash clothing or other items that have come in direct contact with mercury in a washing machine, because mercury may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage. Clothing that has come into direct contact with mercury should be discarded. By "direct contact," we mean that mercury was (or has been) spilled directly on the clothing. For example: if you broke a mercury thermometer and some of elemental mercury beads came in contact with your clothing, or if you broke a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) so that broken glass and other material from the bulb, including mercury-containing powder, came into contact with your clothing.
• You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, like the clothing you happened to be wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
• Never walk around if your shoes might be contaminated with mercury. Contaminated clothing can also spread mercury around.

See you next month!

Sharon