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Pamper Your Little Princess: Choose Purple For Finery Or For Fun

Purple baby bedding has been steadily gaining in popularity in recent years with parents who don't want to settle for the standard pink or blue. For many who are starting to plan a daughter's nursery, it is the ultimate symbol of luxury and royalty. They want their new infant to have a bedchamber worthy of a princess, and they know that royals, both in real life and in storybooks, have always been cloaked in this rich, vibrant color.

Some mix and match a purple ensemble with one that has a white background sprinkled with violets, lilacs, or lavender. Others combine this regal hue with one of the vintage botanical patterns featuring lush bunches of grapes and ripe eggplants. Still others go so far as to buy their little one a miniature throne, place velvet and satin throw pillows around the room, and use gold leaf liberally, on moldings, picture frames, and mirror edgings.

On the other hand, lots of moms and dads are more interested in the notion of a funny, lively room filled with images that will draw giggles from baby and visitors alike. They want linens that are brightly printed with goofy-looking purple cows or with graphics of Barney, every child's favorite purple dinosaur. These pieces also mix and match wonderfully when they are bought together with a set of solid purple baby girl bedding.

Of course, coming up with such ideas is the easy part of the process; the mind-boggling part comes when you're wading through all of the many different styles on the websites you visit to make your shopping simpler. Oh well, let's hope this will be the hardest decision you have to make on behalf of your precious little girl -- it will certainly be one of the most enjoyable.

While you are checking out all the design possibilities though, make absolutely sure that you are also checking everything to be certain that each item meets the various accepted infant safety standards. Stick with packaged groupings that contain tightly fitting crib sheets and non-bulky covers and bumpers, ones that have "hypoallergenic" clearly printed on the wrapper or labels.

One more thing to think about: there may be another major reason to consider a very specific shade of purple for your new daughter's crib bedding. If she is a February baby, like actress Jennifer Aniston, former supermodel Christie Brinkley, or violet-eyed movie legend Elizabeth Taylor, then amethyst will be her official color for the rest of her life, since that will be the beautiful color of her very own birthstone.

Nursery bedding is normally sold in matching sets, and people love them. Smaller collections usually include a blanket and a crib sheet matching with that along with bumpers and an adjusting dust wrinkles. Bigger sets come with coordinating accessories such as curtain swags or diaper containers, and these will easily fit into most budgets and let you create a beautiful nursery.

If you decide ahead of time to purchase your infant's nursery items in sets, you can focus entirely on creating a haven for him in dramatic purple. A zebra-striped bedding motif is perfect for your little hero, but a cozy checkerboard quilt will also send him off to the land of Nod just as nicely. Purple bedding set is however just an entry into the world of wide variety of fascinating bedding sets that are available.

About the Author

Fenella McPherson is a writer for Baby Bedding Zone, an online retailer of baby bedding, including a wide selection of purple baby bedding and baby girl bedding.

Boomers or Bust

The Outlook

Over the next 7 years, baby boomer will begin retiring in large numbers. Millions of highly skilled, experienced workers will be lost. The number of workers leaving the workforce will greatly exceed the number of younger replacement workers. While jobs are expected to increase, labor force growth is expected to fall. Of course, the outlook would be improved if older workers would consider working longer.

There’s Gold In Them Gray Hairs

Call on the gold mine of gray-haired workers who either want to continue working, or retirees who want to return to work. Sara Rix, a senior policy adviser for AARP, the nation's largest advocacy group for seniors, said that in one recent poll for the organization, 70 percent of those between ages 45 and 75 said they expected to work beyond their traditional retirement years.

Here are some points of interest from research conducted by Barbara McIntoch, Ph.D, for her report, Supervisor's Guide: Managing Aging Workers:

• Employers consistently find older workers to be experienced, dependable, responsible, and productive.

• Corporations, including Grumman Aerospace, Walt Disney World, The Travelers Corporation, A&P, Honeywell Corporations, and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., have already recognized the value of older workers as a resource.

• The customer base is aging along with the labor force. Older employees are needed to help redesign products and services for this segment of the market.

• Older workers are a resource pool that, up to this point, has been largely untapped, and savvy management could benefit both employer and employee.

She further states, "Retention tomorrow is dependent upon management practices TODAY. Studies have repeatedly shown they are interested in part-time work, and they want interesting, challenging opportunities. They see themselves as having experiences that they would like to share with younger workers."

Additionally, Social Security laws have changed to allow retirees to earn more money, without being penalized. Older workers often retire, and later find they have too much time on their hands. Why not tap this gold mine of talent, knowledge, and mentoring capabilities? Since many retirees are only interested in part-time employment, and some don't even care about the benefits (a good number of this workforce segment has Medicare and other retirement benefits from previous employment). The part-time older worker might actually save your organization benefit costs associated with younger workers.

Quality Workers

Information from leading sources, American Business and Older Employees, AARP, and Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows the "Top Qualities of Older Employees include:

• Loyalty and dedication to the company

• Commitment to doing quality work

• Someone you can count on in a crisis

• Solid experience in job/or industry

• Get along with coworkers

• Total sick days per year of older workers is lower than other age groups

• Older workers take few risks in accident prone situations, therefore they have few accidents

And if you think older workers are adverse to technology, think again. The fastest growing group of internet users is people over 50.

Make Staying Attractive

Inducing older workers to work longer would be more feasible if phased retirement programs were a routine employee benefit. Such programs would permit workers to make a gradual— rather than an abrupt—transition from work to retirement, and provide them with an opportunity to work longer while working less.

Phased retirement programs are frequently available to state and local government workers and tenured faculty in higher education. But they are rare today in the private sector. Many employers express interest in phased retirement but only a small minority try to implement it. There are many aspects of phased retirement that must be considered before it is a viable solution for both employers and retirees. The IRS and Medicare regulations are two important aspects. Until proposed reforms are implemented, both employees and employers will need to carefully consider the ways in which they continue to employ or rehire previously retired workers.

To expand the reach of phased retirement programs will require a 180 degree shift in traditional benefits thinking. Traditionally, benefits packages have been designed to ease older workers out of the workforce. However, phased retirement programs facilitate a gradual transition to full retirement through adjusted work hours and responsibilities. To address the impending workforce void, the necessary shift in benefits thinking must begin now.

About the Author

Kennette Reed is the principal consultant with Kennette Reed & Associates. Her firm provides nationwide customer and staff retention, performance improvement, and executive coaching solutions. She is also a nationally know speaker and the author of several books. Her firm has offices in San Leandro, CA and Snellville, GA. For more info, visit the company website www.kennettereed.com, mailto:kreed@kennettereed.com or phone 510-352-2121.

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