Family video game night is growing in popularity

(ARA) - From soccer practice to dance lessons, busy family schedules often make it difficult for parents and children to spend quality time together. Yet, an electronic that was once seen as a barrier to family time is now bringing people of all ages together: The video game console. Nearly nine in 10 families own some type of gaming console and 88 percent of those families play video games together, according to a recent survey. Furthermore, four in five parents believe playing video games is a great way to create family "WeTime" - time spent getting together with family to enjoy each other's company, whether planned or spontaneous. "Many parents of teens and tweens grew up playing video games themselves, so the trend of family gaming is one we expect to grow with each generation," says Erica Danielski, Memorex brand manager, Imation Corp. "The concept of 'WeTime' hasn't changed, but the tools families use to bring it to life have evolved. Memorex is working to enhance 'WeTime' with gaming accessories that are helping to reinvent family game night." To ensure your family's video game night is a success, consider these tips: * Find a way for everyone to play. In anticipation of family game night, purchase four-player games that are rated E (Everyone) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (meaning the content is suitable for ages 6 and older). Racing games are great for families - they enable you to incorporate accessories that enhance and add comfort to the gaming experience. Memorex's 3-Pack Racing Wheels for Nintendo(R) Wii(TM) are the perfect game-night companion, as most popular racing games come with one wheel but allow four players to get in on the action. * Create family game night when you're on the go. If the family is on vacation or simply too busy to sit down for family game night - why not host game night on the go? Many of today's hand-held gaming consoles are interactive, allowing multiple players in the same room to game together. To make it easy to switch between titles and keep track of games while you're on the go, check out the Memorex Universal Game Selector Case for Nintendo(R) DS(TM). Players can store and switch between up to three games without removing the cartridges from the storage compartment, and the universal design ensures it's compatible with most of Nintendo's hand-held game consoles. * Keep the controllers charged for the next game night (while keeping the living room tidy). There is nothing worse than sitting down to family game night only to find your controller batteries have died. Power up your family's playtime with the Memorex Dual and Quad Controller Charging Kits for Nintendo Wii. Kits charge two or four controllers simultaneously, while keeping gaming areas organized and reducing clutter. For more information, visit the Memorex Fan Page on Facebook or Memorex.com.

Content provided courtesy of ARAcontent® with permission.

Want to 'wow' her this Mother's Day? How to find a personal gift

Every mother is one-of-a-kind in the eyes of those who love her. And while no gift could ever completely express your love and gratitude, Mother's Day is an opportunity to remind her how much she's treasured. For gifts that really "wow" and pay homage to Mom's unique qualities, it's hard to beat the appeal of something personally meaningful to her. Engraved initials or a heartfelt message are popular - and great - ways to personalize a gift, but to really put a personal stamp on a gift, consider these ideas for Mother's Day gifts from the gift-giving experts at The Bradford Exchange Online. Mother's Day is a great time to give her a piece of jewelry that will really touch her heart. It's easy to personalize jewelry with birthstones and engraving. A mother's ring, which bears the birthstones of her children, is a popular Mother's Day gift and one that's sure to remind her of her most wonderful accomplishments - her children - every time she wears it. You can also have her children's names engraved on her mother's ring, for an extra special touch. Pendants and bracelets can also be personalized with birthstones and engraving. A pendant that bears a special charm representing each of her children, or a bracelet with their names engraved on it can be a wonderful way to honor her importance in your life. You can also find other ways to choose a jewelry gift that will be especially poignant to her. Perhaps she has a favorite sports team, a beloved pet she dotes on, or religious beliefs. Choosing a jewelry gift that ties into her personal passions shows Mom you put thought into her gift. She'll also be touched if you make something with your own hands - something that has special meaning for her. Scrapbooking is a great way to create a one-of-a-kind gift that is deeply personal. Gather together a selection of favorite photographs and memorabilia from her life to make the gift really personal and engaging, decorate the cover, leave the inside pages blank, and present it to her with a commitment to help her fill the pages - it will be a great way to spend some extra quality time with her. Finally, the appeal and power of traditional gifts like flowers can always brighten a mother's big day. Flowers are also easy to personalize. Simply choose a bouquet of her favorite blooms, or one that encompasses her favorite colors. Present it with a stuffed animal that will remind her of your favorite childhood toy and your shared memories, or - you can never go wrong with a box of her favorite chocolates. Fortunately, when it comes to giving a Mother's Day gift, it really is the thought that counts the most. By choosing something personally meaningful to her, you'll be telling Mom that you think a lot of her, not just on her special day but throughout the whole year. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there.

Content provided courtesy of ARAcontent® with permission.

Debunking deadly myths: The truth about residential fire sprinklers

(ARA) - Some misconceptions are merely inconvenient. And some - like the many myths that surround the use of fire sprinklers in homes - can be deadly. The federal government and more than 400 local governments - not to mention the national model building code authority, the International Code Council - have all recommended that all new homes offer this life safety system. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a business that is not protected by fire sprinklers. Yet misconceptions persist about the cost, convenience and effectiveness of home fire sprinklers, where 80 percent of all fire deaths occur. "As a volunteer firefighter, I regularly see the devastation to families and their property due to home fires," says Eric Skare of Lakeville, Minn. Skare, who works for fire-safety systems maker Uponor, is a fire safety expert. "Many of these people live right in my own community, and their losses are seared in my memory." Whether you're building a new home or renovating an existing one, it's important to know the truth behind some common fire sprinkler myths: Myth: Installing home fire sprinklers is too expensive. Reality: On average, installing a stand-alone fire sprinkler system - the kind that runs off a separate, dedicated system of water pipes - in a new construction home adds just 1 to 1.5 percent to the total building cost, according to the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition. That expense drops even lower when adding a multipurpose system, which combines the cold-water plumbing and the fire sprinklers into a single, efficient system. Installation costs for a multipurpose system, like those made by Uponor, averages 57 cents less per square foot than traditional stand-alone systems - a savings of $1,368 for a 2,400-square-foot home, according to the Fire Protection Research Foundation. What's more, the foundation reports, home insurers give an average premium discount of 7 percent to homes with fire sprinkler systems. Myth: Smoke alarms alone are enough protection against fires. Reality: Smoke alarms can alert you to the presence of smoke, but do nothing to put out a fire. Home fire sprinkler systems act quickly to reduce heat, flames and smoke from a fire, giving you valuable time to get out safely. "Sprinklers put out most home fires in seconds, before the fire department arrives and before there's major damage," says Jayson Drake of Uponor North America. Functioning smoke alarms reduce by 50 percent the risk of someone dying in a home fire. That risk decreases by 80 percent when sprinklers are present, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Myth: Fire sprinklers can cause excessive water damage to your home and belongings. Reality: Fire sprinklers actually minimize damage. Fires cause more than $8.5 billion in direct property damage every year, according to the NFPA. Fire hoses discharge up to 250 gallons of water per minute into a burning home, causing significant damage as firefighters work to control and extinguish the fire. Sprinklers, use just 15 gallons of water per minute. Fire damage is far less in homes with sprinklers; a 15-year study in Scottsdale, Ariz. put the average loss for a sprinklered home at $2,166 compared to $45,019 for a home without sprinklers. Myth: Home fire sprinkler systems look bad and will ruin the aesthetics of a house. Reality: New home fire sprinkler systems are very unobtrusive, and can be mounted flush with walls or ceilings, or concealed behind decorative covers. Myth: Fire sprinklers don't add value to a home and aren't worth the investment. Reality: Forty-five percent of homeowners prefer a home with fire sprinklers, and nearly three in four think sprinklers increase a home's value, according to research by the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition. What's more, fire sprinklers can help lower your homeowners' insurance rates; most insurance companies offer discounts for homes that have the systems. But the greatest value of fire sprinklers is their ability to help save lives and preserve a family's home. In home fires where no sprinklers are present, families lose their homes and all their possessions, even if they escape unharmed themselves. When sprinklers are present, families survive - and so do their homes and possessions. Sprinklers reduce the average property loss by 71 percent, according to the NFPA.

Content provided courtesy of ARAcontent® with permission.

Getting married? Why you should discuss your finances now

(ARA) - Couples heading to the altar have a lot to think about. Planning a wedding is no small feat, but, as many people will tell you, planning for your life together beyond the big day is even more important. While thinking about the future is definitely exciting, you should also be sure to have a discussion with each other about topics like buying a home, merging your finances and managing debt. If both of you have relatively low debt - or better yet, no debt - you should talk about the steps that you need to take to keep your finances in good order. Living debt-free is a great goal to have as a couple, and doing so will eliminate one of the major stressors of any marriage. Having a frank conversation about your finances now can help prevent future marital conflicts about money. Consider these points for discussion with your fiance. Keep the tone of your conversation kind and understanding - it's easy to get aggravated, but that won't help anything in the long run. * Should we combine our finances after getting married or keep them separate? * What kinds of purchases do you think it's appropriate to make with credit cards? * How will we budget for major expenditures, like cars, vacations or home repairs? * Who will be responsible for paying bills? * Are you open to seeing a financial advisor or having an outside party prepare our taxes? * What is the total debt load between the two of us and how will we address it? When it comes to debt, make the conversation realistic, but optimistic as well. It's important to ask tough questions like why you got into debt and what could happen if you don't deal with the situation. Those answers can help paint a clearer picture of how you're going to start paying down your debt. But to give yourselves something positive to work toward, ask what living debt free would mean to each of you - or to you both, as a couple. Maybe it means you'd be able to afford the home of your dreams or take yearly vacations - those answers can be the inspiration that keeps you working toward being debt free. Using a tool like Debt Wise, from credit reporting agency Equifax, can make the process easier to manage and enable you to get out of debt faster. Using the information that the agency already has from your credit card companies and other lenders, Debt Wise automatically prioritizes your debts into a plan designed specifically for you and updates as you make progress. Not only can it help you tackle your debt faster, it can also help you save on interest charges - giving you even more financial room to achieve your goals. For more information, go to www.debtwise.com.

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Effective ways to manage stress in the workplace

(ARA) - From paltry paychecks to annoying coworkers, more than three quarters of Americans are stressing out about something related to their job, according to a new study. The vast majority of Americans (77 percent) are stressed by at least one thing at work, finds the Harris Interactive-Everest College Work Stress Survey. The most common issues are: low pay, commuting, unreasonable workload and concern over being fired or laid off. But these are not the only issues American workers are facing - annoying coworkers also made the list, followed by difficulty with a boss, poor work-life balance and lack of opportunity for advancement. "We've seen numerous surveys that confirm workplace stress has increased during the last several years," says Wendy Cullen, vice president of employer development for Everest College. Concerns over low pay and job security are consistently one of the top stressors for Americans. In most regions of the U.S., 16 percent of Americans listed low pay as their top stressor, and concerns over job security were a close second. For example, 13 percent of college graduates ranked losing their job as the biggest stressor, which is in line with Americans without college degrees. "One change we are seeing is that more and more Americans are pursuing careers in industries like health care, which offers more long-term stability." Switching careers or going back to school to gain access to a more secure or better paying career is one technique that many individuals use to deal with insecurity in the workplace. How to deal with stress "The impact of stress cannot be overstated," says Davis Brimberg, a Los Angeles-based psychologist who focuses on workplace issues. "Almost all psychological problems are worsened by stress. People of all occupations and income levels are greatly affected," he says. Workplace stress can have negative consequences on your performance at work, and your life. There are a number of techniques for dealing with workplace stress. First, learn to recognize the symptoms - you may feel a constant sense of nervousness, which can often lead to feeling withdrawn, irritable or apathetic. Stress is also associated with physical problems, such as fatigue and muscle tension. Physical exercise is also shown to help with stress management. Aerobic exercises have been shown to release mood-raising endorphins, so getting 30 minutes of exercise a day can actually help decrease your stress levels. It is also important to get enough sleep, which can help your body deal with the effects of stress throughout the day, and makes you better able to manage emotional swings. There are also important strategies in your workplace that can help you deal with stress. Do not over-commit to non-essential tasks. Prioritize important tasks, and learn to delegate non-essential ones. Also, you can schedule regular breaks into your daily routine to allow yourself to get away from your workstation or office. Additionally, Brimsburg suggests that getting help can be effective. "Counseling can be very helpful in relieving signs and symptoms of stress-related issues."

Content provided courtesy of ARAcontent® with permission.