Parenting Children

Not surprising, more toys and baby recalls came down today.
Boppy Covers:
About 38,000 Boppy pillow slipcovers imported by The Boppy Company of Golden, Colo. The zipper pull on the slipcovers can break and pose a choking hazard to young children. In addition, paint on the zippers may contain excess levels of lead. The slipcovers were sold nationwide at discount department stores from July 2006 through September 2007. Call the The Boppy Company (888-713-3916) for a free replacement.
Pacifiers:
About 8,000 flashing pacifiers or 2-in-1 flashing pacifiers with whistle necklaces. The nipple of the pacifiers can detach from the base and pose a choking hazard to young children. The pacifiers were sold nationwide in June 2007 for about $5 per dozen. Consumers should throw away the pacifiers or return them to the place of purchase for a refund. For more information, contact Sailing (U.S.) at 800-643-6134.
Bracelets:
About 43,000 Sparkle City charm bracelets and tack pin sets that contain high levels of lead. The charm bracelets and tack pin sets were distributed by Buy-Rite Designs Inc. and sold at Big Lots stores nationwide from August 2005 through April 2007 for about $1. For more information, contact Buy-Rite at 888-777-7952.

There was also a Graco snugride car seat recall the other day. You can read about it here. You can see other recent toy and baby gear recalls in my archives or on www.reviewingbabygear.com.

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I have recently wrote about all the toy and baby gear recalls and how frustrating it has made me, and I am sure I am not the only Mom. When the Fisher Price recalls came out I sat and thought about all the Dora and Diego toys I had that were being recalled, hundreds of dollars worth of toys. I found out later that my toys were not effected because they were purchased before the recall dates. I was not that relieved.
I sat in my children’s playroom and looked at all the toys that could be dangerous for my children; Thomas trains, plastic food for their kitchen, superhero dolls, dress up jewelry and baby dolls.
What was I to do?

Now that Christmas is coming up I am really reevaluating what I have in my house already and what I need. I am compiling lists of websites that only sell toys made in the USA. I am suggesting clothes, books or savings bonds instead of toys for family to give them. I am trying to buy handmade items for people on my list.
With a new baby on the way I have thrown out my Avent bottles and I am researching safer bottles, bibs and baby gear.

Maybe this was my wakeup call that my kids have too much, that we all have too much. The simple toys, blocks, puzzles books, arts & crafts and games are usually the best anyway. Does my daughter really need a life size Barbie? Does my son need 1000 Thomas trains?
The answer is no.

I hope you will join me in the fight to make our children’s toys safer, you can start here.
I hope you will try to buy handmade items or make them yourself this holiday season. I hope that someday soon I can buy something for my baby or preschoolers and not have to research it for weeks first, or find out it was recalled a week later.
I hope all of our children are safe.

What are you doing to keep your kids safe this holiday season?

This post was for a Parent Bloggers Network blog blast “get the lead out”.
Check out the Consumers Union to learn more and take action!

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I am on the fence about vaccinations. I have written about them before and although I do vaccinate my children, I do it on my own schedule and I always have. I wish I lived in a state that let me pick which vaccinations to omit, but New Jersey is a all or nothing state like twenty seven others that only let you waive vaccinations if your religion dictates so.
My children get ONE vaccination at a time and I will delay some vaccinations. I finally found a pediatrician that not only supports me in doing so, but does not lecture me on the “safety” of vaccinations and hand me a piece of paper from the AMA.

I, just like any other parent, want to do what is right and healthy of my children. If you give them 4 shots in a single office visit, if that child has a reaction to the vaccines, how will you know which one gave her the reaction or which she is allergic to? That alone is enough reason to give one vaccine per visit.

I have read many books and web sites that are pro and anti-vaccine. I find some of it very important, and some just confuse me more.
The single best book, in my opinion, out there today that is about vaccines just came on the market. It is called The Vaccine Book by R. Sears. It is neither a pro or anti vaccination book. it simply tells you about each vaccine that your child gets, what is in them, what the possible side effects are and how to treat them. It allows you to make your own informed decision about these drugs we are putting into our own and your children’s bodies. It is an open minded book that I will recommend to any parent.

Have you read this book, if so waht do you think about it? Do you read about the vaccines that are given to your children or do you trust your doctor enough to go on their schedule?

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I am really about to take all of my children’s toys away and give them cardboard boxes to play with, after all of these toy/baby gear and clothing recalls. Cardboard boxes are probably toxic anyway!
Now, a Chinese-made toy was ordered off store shelves in Australia after tests showed that had a chemical that converts into the “date rape” drug, gamma hydroxy butyrate (GHB) when ingested.

Over the past two weeks, three children in Australia had to be hospitalized after they swallowed beads from Bindeez. Bindeez are a very popular toy in Australia and they are beads that can be arranged into designs and then fused together by spraying water on them. However, scientists found that the beads contain a chemical that humans metabolize into GHB, which can cause drowsiness, unconsciousness, seizures, coma and death!
Now aquadots a popular toy here in North America, is also being recalled. This was a toy my daughter was asking for Christmas! This is the same toy just manufactured under a different name in Australia.
What are you doing about all of these recalls?

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I never realized how much keeping my children safe would be on my mind when I became a parent. It is the number one thing on any parents mind, but it seems like every news show I put on, or every magazine has something dedicated to a abducted child. According to www.kidsave.com seventy five percent of all abductions are committed by a family member or friend of the family. So maybe we should be talking to our kids about stranger abductions as well as if a acquaintance tried to take them.
Here are some tips to keep your kids safe:

The Buddy System- never be alone or in a position that anyone could take them without anyone seeing. Walk home with a friend, go to the park in a group etc.
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If you are a parent then by now I am sure you heard of the dangers of plastics in baby bottles, sippy cups and everything else. What parents don’t want their children exposed to is bisphenol-A, a plastic softener used in the production of polycarbonate plastic very commonly used in baby bottles and cups. I am also trying to purge my drawers of plastic food containers and replace them with glass ones since I am not aware of any bisphenol-A free ones yet.
You can find out why this chemical is so terrible for you, or your unborn baby or your children here.
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I have some tips and tricks for Halloween with your kids this year. We also want to keep kids safe this time of year especially those that are old enough to trick or treat alone so we will also talk about safety.

Don’t want to give out candy for Halloween? How about giving out juice boxes or kid sized waters? Try stickers or other craft items and if you have any leftovers put them into your child’s craft box for a rainy day. The other thing I have seen lately, which I love, is the mini playdoh containers. Although the older kids may rather have candy!
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Last week I wrote about how medicines for children under 2 may not only not be helpful but can be deadly. Although the makers of these medicines insist they are not harmful if used as directed they are voluntarily withdrawing products sold for infants, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association said Thursday.

If you pick up any over the counter medicine, on the product under recommended doses it will say “for children under 2 consult a doctor”. In some cases parents are not doing so and children have been affected.
Instead of giving children medicine you can use a vaporizer, saline nasal drops, and make sure your child is well hydrated.

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When I was very young my mother worked part time in retail. One night she came home and warned us to be very careful on escalators. That night she had seen a boy get his sneaker caught in the teeth of the escalator and it took a long time to free him and his poor toes. I am still aware of that story as I teach my children how to use the escalator.

Apparently if you wear the popular shoe Crocs, your chance of getting your shoe caught in the escalator is elevated. In the past couple of years “shoe entrapments” have happened all over the world. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said escalator accidents caused more than 10,000 injuries last year, but there is very few records of specific shoe problems. Now subways and some stores are warning to be careful on escalators if you are wearing soft sole shoes.

Have you heard of these escalator/shoe problems before? My daughter loves them so I will still let her wear them wherever we go, but I will take the escalator!

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Yesterday the Food and Drug Administration said it plans to meet in October to go over the safety of over the counter cold and cough products for children.
They are going to review safety data for the ingredients of these products.

The FDA has not established a dose that is effective for kids 2 years old and under that is why on all those tylenol bottles for kids under two it says to call your doctor. They are recommending that you never give any child under the age of 2 cold and cough medicine without consulting your doctor for dosing.
Also make sure you always give your children, kids doses or “pediatric” medicines.
In 2004 and 2005, more than 1,500 children younger than 2 years old were treated in emergency rooms for adverse events from cough and cold medicines.

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Fisher Price is recalling millions of their most popular toys because of too much lead in the products, including Sesame Street, Dora and Diego. If you have purchased any of these toys from May 2007 until August 2007, contact Fisher Price at (800) 916-4498 anytime or visit the web site at www.service.mattel.com.

For a complete list of the toys, check out the press release.

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It seems like you can’t get away from these stories in the summer time, a four year old boy drowned in a pool at Great America in Santa Clara California on Thursday.

He had come to the park with his mother and his sister but nobody knew if they were supervising him in the pool. There are always lifeguards on duty but with so many people in a pool at a given time and how quickly it takes and accident to happen I could never count on the lifeguards to save anyone.

The problem with water parks is that there are many people who go there who are not good swimmers or are mediocre swimmers but think the lifeguards will be there to save them when things go wrong. I would never let my children go in a pool unsupervised at someone’s home, never mind a water park.

This is one of many deaths and injuries at Great America. There have been a number of notable injuries and accidents at Great America, some of which are listed below. Please see Incidents at Cedar Fair parks for additional information on these and other incidents.

In 1980, a 14-year-old boy was killed and several others injured on the (now defunct) Willard’s Whizzer roller coaster.
In 1989, two boys intentionally jumped out of the Loggers’ Run ride. One was killed and the other fell safely onto a platform.[citation needed]
In 1998, after riding Top Gun, a man disregarded the warning signs and entered a locked, gated area underneath the ride to retrieve a hat. He was hit and killed by the foot of a passenger on the Top Gun train. The passenger suffered a broken leg.
In 1999, a 12-year-old boy fell out of the Drop Zone Stunt Tower and died
On July 12, 2007, a 4 year old boy drowned in the Boomerang Bay’s Great Barrier Reef wave pool.*

How safe do you think amusement or water parks are? Do you let your children go to these places in the summer time?

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Pottery Barn is recalling 31,000 Matelassé crib bumpers because thedecorative edge can come loose and pose a choking hazard.
The bumber was sold online and at Pottery Barn Kids stores nationwide from February 2003 through June 2007 for about $90.

If you think you have this bumper discontinue use and call Pottery Barn at 877-800-9720.

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About 1.5 million Thomas & Friends railroad sets, trains and buildings are being recalled the Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Wednesday.

The wooden railway toys, made in China, are being voluntarily recalled because some may contain lead paint. Lead is very dangerous to adults and children but young children under the age of six are especially vulnerable to lead’s harmful health effects, because their brains and central nervous system are still being formed. For them, even very low levels of exposure can result in reduced IQ, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, behavioral problems, stunted growth, impaired hearing, and kidney damage.

You can find out more information on the recall here.

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I have already told my husband that we both better get two jobs because I am already planning on not really letting the kids out all the time, I would rather them and all of their friends be at our house.

Call me over protective but I doubt I would let me children at other people’s homes without me unless I knew the family very well. One of the things I worry about is guns in the home, especially with little boys who are curious and adventurous all at once.

A new study I just read about guns in the home stated “Almost one-fourth of 3,754 parents with young children — surveyed at 96 pediatric practices in 45 states, Puerto Rico and Canada — keep a gun at home. Yet in 70 percent of those homes with guns, parents said they hadn’t taken adequate precautions to safely store the weapons, researchers report.”

We do not have guns in our home, but we do have family members that do and I know they are stored away in a very safe place where kids could not get them.
I wonder for the future though, should I always ask if there are guns in the home of my kid’s friends? Would I trust their answers anyway?

I want to know what you do as parents, do you ask about guns and where they are stored? Do you have guns in your home and how do you make sure they are safely away from all little hands?

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