Playpen called small fence limiting the movement of children who have already started to crawl, and have not yet learned to walk. Like most other things, children's playpens are good if you use them sparingly.

Do I need a baby playpen

If your house are potentially dangerous for a crawling baby items buy playpen Artificial nails: expensive beauty?   worth. Some children enjoy a sense of security that they experience while in the arena - its walls form a zone of comfort, warm and not so staggeringly large as it seems the world. However, quite a few children, from whose point of view of the arena unduly restricted freedom of movement; at a very early age, the child begins to show its character, and a special way of seeing things.

If your child is a few attempts at riding and did not like, it is useless to insist, or in the future, it can have serious problems with self-confidence. But even if the child is really like an arena, he should play regularly, and move out of it - otherwise it will over time more terrible to go beyond your comfort zone.

Although riding can help a child when he learns to walk, even in this period must be a maximum limit its use. The child must learn to seek other support when taking the first steps, and not rely on the presence of a permanent support in the form of a wall of the arena.

In general, experts believe that if the parents have a choice between the use of the arena and the provision of safe baby vast space where he can freely crawl and learning to walk, you need to choose the latter.

What to look for when choosing a playpen

• If the walls of the arena made of mesh, diameter of the cells should not exceed 6 mm, or a child's fingers can get stuck in them. Pay attention to what is securely fastened to the frame grid arena.
• The height of the wall should be at least 51 cm from the bottom of the arena.
• If the arena is made of wood, the space between the slats should be no more than 5.08 cm.
• Choose baby cots upholstered upper horizontal bars (and better - and vertical) that the child did not set out the bruises every time can not keep his balance.
• Structural elements that allow you to adjust the height of the walls of the arena, must be inaccessible to children.
• Pay attention to the weight and stability of the arena - it should be such that a child can not accidentally turn over.
• If you buy a used playpen, carefully inspect the floor and walls, in time to notice any damage.

Playpen and safety

Despite the fact that most parents think playpens means to ensure the safety of the child, children are given every year because of their many injuries, sometimes leading to death. Although the number of deaths resulting from use of arenas in recent years, steadily decreasing in the US alone and in playpen cot baffle die annually from 100 to 200 children. This can be prevented if strictly observe the safety rules.

First of all, we must not forget that baby cots are not intended for children leave them unattended. Sometimes parents are distracted - it is inevitable, but most of the time a child must be in their mind, even when he plays in an arena.

• Do not leave your baby to sleep in an arena. Its walls are not as stable as that of a normal crib, and it does not meet the safety requirements that apply to furniture designed for sleeping Dreams: how to understand our dreams   little children.
• When a child is in the arena, it must be properly closed and its walls - raised at normal height (if adjustable).
• The mattress on the floor of the arena must be in good condition. There are cases where a hole in the fabric of mattresses led to the death of a child as a result of strangulation.
• Regularly check the condition of the arena, especially those parts which are made of a soft fabric. Sometimes children tear or bite off small pieces of fabric, swallow them, and begin to suffocate. The probability of this is rather small, as in the manufacture of playpens used strong fabric, but completely exclude such a risk can not be.
• Never give your child the laces, scarves or necklaces when it is in the arena. Because of the design there is a high probability that these objects cling to the crossbar barriers, which in some cases leads to suffocation.
• Do not place the playpen near a window, balcony door, or other place where a child can reach the long curtains.
• Arena should be placed as far as possible from doors, stairs, furniture and household appliances.
• Do not put in a playpen big toys - for them the baby can get out.
• Do not put too much in the arena of soft blankets, quilts or pillows. Because of them, the child will be more difficult to move, and if it falls, the blanket can limit the access of oxygen. Typically, the arena is recommended to put only mattress, which was sold with it; if the house is cold or the baby got sick, it can be given one blanket, but then for him to be especially careful to watch. Remember that riding considerably limits the freedom of movement of the child, and if lying on the big bed, he can get out from under the blanket, which prevents him from breathing, the arena will be much harder to do.
• Do not put in a playpen toys from solid materials, especially if they have sharp edges. A child can fall directly on the toy and get injured, sometimes - pretty serious.

Santa Claus - it's probably the most famous character in ancient Slavic mythology. He rides a trio of horses with a bag of gifts, that presents to good children on the New Year's holidays, he is accompanied by the charming granddaughter, his long white beard, red nose and his staff, and he was welcome in every home. Today, he is as an essential attribute of the New Year as a tree and fireworks, and it seems that it has always been. In fact, Santa Claus, as we know it today, is relatively recent, although his whole story began long before in Russia there were the first Christians.

Early references

According to the earliest known sources of the Eastern Slavs Santa Claus was the epitome of strength, potentially dangerous to humans; Historians compare him with winter road and some other deities, which are identified with the cold and strong winds, able to deprive people of the crop and, therefore, the means of subsistence. Slavs is not considered a good Santa Claus - they believed he could, for example, to steal the baby, and then demand a ransom from his parents. It was agreed on certain days of leave for Santa Claus food on the porch or on the window sill - it was thought that the offerings to placate him, and in the summer it will not destroy the crop.

Gradually, however, his image has changed considerably, and over time the character of Santa Claus looked like a St. Nicholas, which is a prototype of Santa Claus. Later, the character has suffered a series of transformations - is due to the literature rather than the national myth-making, and by the end of the nineteenth century, Santa Claus finally turned into a kind grandfather who gives gifts to children at Christmas and New Year.

After the revolution

Immediately after the October Revolution, the people who celebrate the Christmas holidays began to blame for excessive religiosity, which in the new state was not to be the place .  In 1928, Santa Claus began to consider other kulaks, priests, and other unwanted elements .  However, in 1935, the tradition of celebrating the winter holidays began to revive, but now the main holiday of the New Year began, not Christmas .  In 1937, New Year's Eve, in the House of Unions, first appeared Ded Moroz .  Historians point out that he was wearing a blue and white dress on the orders of senior management of the country - so that his appearance was as little resemblance to the "bourgeois" Santa Claus .  Around the same time the granddaughter of Santa Claus - The Snow Maiden, also became mandatory guest at the New Year's holidays .  By the way, the ancient Slavs a character like Snow Maiden, it was not; It found no mention of the granddaughter of Santa Claus, and any other of his relatives .  Her image appeared in Russian folklore only in the nineteenth century, and it became Santa Claus in the Soviet Union has to accompany the .

Gradually, Santa Claus became popular in other regions of the Soviet Union - Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia, the Baltic states, and so on. These characters - Santa Claus or one - appeared in many Soviet films and cartoons, which had an impact on the further formation of their images.

Our days

Today, Father Christmas holds a special place in the hearts of people in Russia and in the entire post-Soviet space. He, along with the Snow Maiden, comes to visit the millions of children each year, gives gifts and a holiday atmosphere. On the streets of Russian - and not only - the city on the eve of Christmas and New Year, you can see hundreds of Santa Clauses: a tradition for many people to invite to the celebrations bearded grandfather with gift bag is a temporary source of income.

In 1999, the city of Veliky Ustyug on the initiative of former Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov declared the birthplace of Santa Claus. There was a wooden tower of Santa Claus in the style of old Russian architecture, which is currently one of the main attractions of the city. The number of tourists who annually visit the Great Ustyug, 1998 increased several times, which is important for a small town. From 2003 to 2010, the official postal address of Santa Claus has come about two million letters from children not only from Russia but also from many other countries. Since 2005, began the tradition every November to celebrate the eighteenth birthday of Santa Claus - usually about this time in the town of Veliky Ustyug begins significant cooling - Santa Claus comes into its own.

Outward appearance

The ancient Slavs were Santa Claus tall, slender man with a long white beard, but he was dressed in traditional Slavic clothes worn by ordinary people - belted shirt, pants and sandals. As soon as his image has changed, approaching the contemporary, he had the long robe of red cloth, trimmed with fur and embroidered with gold, red cap and the staff. Vehicles Santa Claus sleigh and started three horses.

In Soviet times, Santa Claus began to dress in blue or blue clothes, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union it is possible to see both the red and blue suit. However, the canonical Santa Claus still wears red clothes, unlike her granddaughter, which traditionally appears in a pale blue sundresses or coats. Maiden also dressed in bright high boots, hat or kokoshnik. Her age has changed over time: in the first years after the Maiden became the assistant of Santa Claus, she was a little girl (no older than 10-11 years), but now it is usually presented in the form of a young girl.