Infant and toddler product-makers must now have registration-card programs

When you buy a child car seat, there’s a little postcard attached to the product. That card is important. When you fill it out and mail it in to the company, the company can then contact you (via mail, e-mail, or phone) if that car seat is recalled. Not all infant and toddler products have these cards—putting children and families at risk of harm—but that is about to change.

Last month, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, acting on a mandate by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, approved a measure requiring manufacturers of 18 categories of durable infant or toddler products to establish and maintain a registration card program.

In a statement on the CPSC’s Web site, Commissioner Thomas Moore said, “Too many of these products are ones that children have died in. But it is especially troubling when a child dies in a product our agency has recalled because the owner of the product was unaware of the recall.”

Categories affected by this ruling include full-size cribs, high chairs, strollers, play yards and infant bouncer seats, as well as toddler beds, booster chairs, hook-on chairs, non-full-size cribs, bath seats, infant bathtubs, gates and other enclosures for confining a child, stationary activity centers, infant carriers, walkers, swings, bassinets and cradles, children’s folding chairs, changing tables, portable toddler bed rails, and infant slings.

A mother's conundrum: Fish sticks or tuna for dinner?

It’s approaching six o’clock, and I’m still standing in front of the fish counter in my grocery store. Soccer practice is in an hour, and I’ve got to get my children some dinner before that. And here I am, caught listening to a debate between the tuna steak and a fish stick that I’m trying to decide upon.

“Choose me,” says the tuna. “I have wonderful omega-3s!”

“You’re tainted with mercury,” says the fish stick.
 
“You’ve got nothing to boast about,” sniffs the tuna. “You’re nothing but a bunch of fat-laden batter.”

“I’m fast, and easy to prepare,” retorts the fish stick. “Just throw me and my mates on a pan and pop us in the oven. You, however, will need to be seasoned or sauced, while the kids give up and reach for the snack bars while they lace their soccer shoes.”

“Hot and fast doesn’t make you healthy,” snaps the tuna. “I’m a heart-healthy option that will feed their brains. “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls fresh fish a high-quality source of protein, low in saturated fat, and a contributor to heart health—and to her children’s proper growth and development."

Baby & child health and safety news roundup

How swine flu gets around. How H1N1 spreads in a sample of households and in a high school were the subjects of two recently published papers in the New England Journal of Medicine, both of which demonstrate that children have been the most susceptible to this epidemic. Children 18 or younger were twice as likely to catch swine flu from a family member as those who were 19 to 50 years old. See the full Health blog post.

Is it a cold or the flu? The most characteristic sign of flu is its abrupt onset. A cold can build over a few days, but the flu strikes hard and fast—fever, chills, severe muscle aches, a hacking cough, and general malaise. Fever is a good yardstick, because a cold rarely raises body temperature more than a degree or so. See the full article from the Consumer Reports February 2010 issue.

H1N1 vaccine now widely available. The H1N1 vaccine has become so widely available that many retailers, including pharmacies and supermarkets are offering it. The price of the dose? $10 to $18 to cover the administrative costs of providing the vaccine which the government gives to retailers for free. See the full Health blog post.

Drawstrings can strangle children. Drawstrings in the hoods or necks of kids’ clothing can and do cinch up and strangle children. Drawstrings at the waist can get caught in buses and result in a child being dragged. In 1996, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued guidelines to prevent these tragedies. But as recently as last February, a 3-year-old boy strangled when a string in the hood of a sweatshirt he was wearing became caught on a playground set. Read the full Safety blog post.

Baby gates: 5 tips for choosing and installing them

With an active baby on the loose, a gate or two can make your life a little easier and your child a lot safer by keeping him away from potential dangers, such as stairs or a bustling kitchen. You can also use a gate to keep a pet away from a child and vice versa. Child safety gates are intended for children between 6 months and 24 months. All the gates we tested (see baby safety gate Ratings) can be opened and closed by an adult but have various designs to prevent children from opening them. Child safety gates come in two basic types, based on the method of installation: Hardware-mounted, or permanent, gates and pressure-mounted gates. (Learn more about safety gate types.)

Look for JPMA certified. Whether you choose a hardware- or pressure-mounted gate, look for one that's Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association certified. Situated on the frame or packaging should be a certification sticker showing that the gate meets the ASTM International voluntary safety standard, and that its manufacturer participates in the certification program administered by the JPMA.

Know the standards and check for openings. The ASTM standard addresses issues such as the bottom spacing—the distance between the bottom of the gate and the floor—so a small torso can't pass through and there's minimal risk of head and neck entrapment, gate height (not less than 22 inches), strength of top rails, slats, and framing components, latching mechanism integrity, and upper-edge configuration—any openings more than 2/3 of an inch deep can be no wider than 1 1/2 inches.

Family safety in the New Year: Carbon monoxide (CO) detector tips

Carbon monoxide is a byproduct of fuel combustion, present whenever fuel is burned. Typical sources are gas-fired appliances, including dryers and furnaces, wood-burning furnaces or fireplaces, and motor vehicles.

Install carbon monoxide detectors. Carbon monoxide poisoning often occurs when people are asleep. Because of the colorless and odorless nature of the gas, many people don’t realize they are being poisoned. That makes it critical to install carbon monoxide detectors outside bedroom areas and on each level of your home. The detectors should be able to detect both low and high concentrations of carbon monoxide, because low concentrations over a long period of time are just as dangerous as high exposures over a short period. Proper placement is essential for these detectors to work, so be sure to read the owner’s manual before you install them. (See more smoke and CO detector installation advice.)

Maintain your carbon monoxide detectors. When you change the batteries on your smoke detectors (see smoke detector tips), change them on your carbon monoxide detectors, as well. Carbon monoxide detectors should last five years, so check the label on the bottom of detectors and replace any that are older than that. (See our carbon monoxide alarm video.)

Family safety in the New Year: Smoke detector tips

Taking simple measures this New Year to install and maintain smoke detectors in your home can be a matter of life and death for yourself and your family. Here are some tips:

Install multiple smoke detectors in your home. If you have multiple levels, install a smoke detector up high on each level and outside sleeping areas. Mount each alarm at least 4 inches from a corner and 4 inches from walls, but well away from windows and heating vents. It’s best to install one inside each bedroom, as well, especially because you and your children should sleep with bedroom doors closed. (Learn more about where to install smoke detectors.)

Test your smoke detectors and replace the batteries. Test them every month and replace the batteries at least once a year. (A chirping sound means your battery needs to be replaced. Pick the same dates every year to help you remember to change the batteries, such as the New Year, or when you adjust the clocks for daylight saving time. (Learn about smoke alarms for kids.)

Organize your child's play area

When you have kids, it might feel like every room in your house has turned into a playroom. Toys seem to magically multiply and take over your home. The best way to reclaim your house is to make one room or small area into the playroom or play area. Even more important than helping you stay organized, you'll be creating a special environment that's safe and kid-friendly.

Organize the room. When you're having a tough day, just getting the toys put away seems like a major accomplishment. Organization is the key to making it easier. As a first step in organizing the playroom, get on your hands and knees and try to see the room from your child's perspective. This will help you determine how best to store his toys as well as identify the potential dangers in the playroom. Organize the room so your child can easily reach his toys, thus eliminating the temptation to climb to get something he wants, and allowing him to safely explore his space. (Learn more about furniture straps.) Lots of handy storage makes it easy to put toys away where no one can trip over them.

Dorel recalls Safety 1st and Eddie Bauer play yards due to suffocation hazard

It hasn’t been a good month for Dorel. Following a recall two weeks ago of 447,000 infant car seat/carriers, the company is now recalling 213,000 play yards with bassinets because they pose a suffocation hazard.
 
The recalled play yards are labeled Safety 1st Disney Care Center and Eddie Bauer Complete Care. The one piece metal bars supporting the floorboard of the bassinet attachment can come out of the fabric sleeves and create an uneven sleeping surface, posing a risk of suffocation or positional asphyxiation. No injuries have been reported.
 
The portable play yards were sold with a bassinet attachment and a built-in changing station. Models included in this recall are 05025, 05026, 05037, 05088, and 05350. The model number is printed on a sticker on one of the support legs underneath the play yard. “Safety 1st” or “Eddie Bauer” are printed near the bottom of the fabric sides of the play yards.
 
Babies “R” Us, Kmart, Sears, Target and Walmart sold the play yards from January 2007 through October 2009 for between $100 and $130.
 
Consumers should immediately stop using the bassinet attachment to the play yard and contact Dorel Juvenile Group for a free repair kit including replacement bassinet fabric, bassinet bars and installation instructions.
 
For additional information, contact Dorel Juvenile Group at (866) 762-2166 or log on to www.djgusa.com.

Childproof your home office, part II

Since your home office is filled with stuff that could be dangerous to kids, it might be helpful to be able to lock the door to it when you are not there. If you need to have the kids with you while you are working there, be sure to childproof the room with anti-tip devices, outlet covers, and other means. (See Childproofing your home office, part I.)

You might also keep a stash of items in your office that will occupy your child so you can work. This can be as simple as a box of crayons and a coloring book, some stickers and a sticker book, or a special toy. This entertainment box will keep him busy and away from sharp items on or in your desk. Here are other tips for a safe home office:

• Your desk should be off limits. Teach your child to stay away from your desk, and keep staplers and other sharp objects such as pushpins, pencils, paperclips, scissors, and letter openers well out of his reach. Lock up such dangerous items when you are not using them.

• Teach your child never to touch equipment. Keep his hands away from printers, DVD players, shredders, and anything else he could get his hand caught in. He may not know how to work this equipment, but he will copy the way you use it and could get hurt.

• Unplug your shredder after each use. Don’t use it if your child is in the room. He should also never be left unsupervised around a paper shredder.

Daily babies & kids deals

Today's babies & kids deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

Entertainment
Guitar Hero Store: [Console Accessory] Band Hero & Guitar Hero III Games + Les Paul Guitar (PS3) for $54.99 w/ Coupon TENOFF w/ Free Shipping
Walmart: [Entertainment] Microsoft Xbox 360 Arcade Gaming Console w/ $50 Walmart Gift Card $199.99

Children under age 10 need two H1N1 shots

“Just because a lot of people are taking off for the holidays does not mean that this flu virus will.” So says Anne Schuchat, M.D., director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

Just before Christmas, Schuchat had some cheerful and some cautionary news about the H1N1 bug. The “disease is at a better state around the country than it had been,” she said in a press conference. What’s more, about 111 million doses of vaccine had been made available around the country and an estimated 60 million people had been vaccinated.

But all the flu the CDC is seeing is the H1N1 virus, “so its not gone at all,” Schuchat noted. Since “none of us know what the weeks and months ahead will bring,” she added, “it’s very important not to be complacent right now about the ongoing risk.” 

Of particular concern to Schuchat are children under 10. The CDC continues to recommend two doses, about one month apart, for this age group but her data shows that as of early December only about 2 million had gotten a second dose. “It’s really important to finish the series,” she said, even if the second dose is five to six weeks after the first. “You do need to get that second dose in.” (Learn more about the importantce of hand-washing.)

Childproofing your home office

Kids love to explore every nook and cranny of your home—including the home office. Here are some handy childproofing measures you can take:

Anchor any furniture that’s on wheels. If furniture can move, your toddler will push against it and the next thing you know his legs will be out from under him. One good choice is to use those rubber coasters sold to protect floors from furniture feet. They capture the wheels to prevent them from moving. Just be sure they’re large enough not to be a choking hazard, and check periodically to be sure that they are securely fastened to the wheels and that no small pieces are loose.

Keep wires out of reach. In a home office, your computer, monitor, printer, and other devices may have resulted in a nest of wires beneath or behind your desk. You’ll want to keep those wires organized so you can tell which ones go where, but also so you can keep them out of your youngster’s reach to prevent her from trying to use them as a jump rope, or worse. (Learn more about the increase of computer-related injuries.) Also, use a covered power strip to keep your child away from the plugs and outlets.

Keep little hands out of your electronics. Make sure your children can’t get their hands inside any of those high-tech devices. Either keep your electronics in an enclosed cabinet or buy a guard that will prevent little hands from exploring them.

Install sliding outlet covers. Some caps designed to keep fingers out of outlets are small enough to be a choking hazard. A better idea is to replace your outlet covers with ones that incorporate a panel that automatically slides closed when you remove a plug. To use the outlet, you have to use the plug to align the holes in the sliding panel with the outlet holes. Another option is to use a device that fully covers the outlets, even when they are in use.

Daily babies & kids deals

Today's babies & kids deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

Entertainment
Amazon: [Gaming] Save $21: Xbox 360 Arcade Console $179 Shipped
Game Stop: [Console Accessory] EA Sports Active Wii Bundle for $29.99 w/ Coupon SAVER w/ Free Shipping
Best Buy: [Gaming] Motorstorm: Pacific Rift Game (PS3) $19.99

Toys
LEGO Shop at Home: [Toys & Hobbies] LEGO Shop: Up to 50% off over 80 items + $5 off $35, Volkswagen Beetle for $90, more

Neither Consumer Reports nor The Consumerist receive anything in exchange for featuring these deals; the posts are intended to be purely informational. These deals are often fleeting, with prices changing or products becoming unavailable as the day progresses.

These posts are not an endorsement of the featured products or the Web sites that sell them. Price shouldn't be your only criterion. Be wary of lower-priced deals that seem too good to be true, and check return policies and other gotchas.

For general buying advice for children's products, check out our free Babies & Kids Buying Guides.

4 tips for returning baby products

Now that the holidays are over, if your baby ended up with duplicate gifts, a malfunctioning or unsafe product, or something you’re sure they won’t use, don’t hesitate to return or exchange it. Here’s how to get that refund or store credit with less hassle.

1. In-store return policies should be clearly spelled out on the gift receipt. Any reputable Web site should also have a section that explains return procedures. You’ll need to return the item before the retailer’s return period runs out (usually 30 to 45 days from the date of purchase but sometimes longer). But if the return clock has run out, don’t feel defeated. Persistence and politeness will often get you into overtime.

2. Save your gift receipt, or packing slip, and the original packaging. Some retailers won’t let you return an item or make an exchange without a receipt. Online retailers may let you return an item at their retail stores, unless the packing slip or the Web site terms state: “Not returnable in stores.” When returning a product through the mail, send it back in its original package by certified mail so the item can be tracked if it gets lost.

Wrapping paper safety

While enjoying the gift-giving, keep your baby safe this holiday season with these easy tips:

Throw away wrapping paper. After opening gifts, toss all wrapping paper, strings, ribbon, and bows. A toddler can easily put a ribbon around her neck, a plastic bag over her head, or paper in her mouth while you are momentarily distracted.

Never throw wrapping paper into the fire. Don’t let your children throw wrapping paper into the fire (and don’t do it yourself). Fires started with wrapping paper burn rapidly and intensely, and they can create a flash fire. In addition, the inks used in wrapping paper may contain heavy-metal compounds and metallic materials, and even a small amount can pose risks when released into the air when the paper is burned.

Learn more about childproofing and safety tips while staying at Grandma's house.