News Moms Need

Many of us are looking for toys that say “Made in America” this year. Personally, I think that’s a great idea, but regardless of where your tot’s toys come from there are several things you’ll want to take into consideration when it comes to safety and putting those toys together. The American Academy of Pediatrics has some good tips on toy safety that I thought I’d share before you’re all shopped out:

• Select toys to suit the age, abilities, skills and interest level of the intended child.  Toys too advanced may pose safety hazards for younger children.        
• Before buying a toy or allowing your child to play with a toy that he has received as a gift, read the instructions carefully. Boring and sometimes confusing, yes perhaps, but important.
• Watch for pull toys with strings that are more than 12 inches in length. They could be a strangulation hazard for babies.
• Children under age three can choke on small parts contained in toys or games. Government regulations specify that toys for children under age three cannot have parts less than 1 1/4 inches in diameter and 2 1/4 inches long.
• Children under age 8 can choke or suffocate on uninflated or broken balloons. Remove strings and ribbons from toys before giving them to young children. 
• To prevent both burns and electrical shocks, don’t give young children (under age ten) a toy that must be plugged into an electrical outlet.  Instead, buy toys that are battery-operated. BUT
• Children can have serious stomach and intestinal problems – including death — after swallowing button batteries and magnets.  Keep them away from young children and call your health care provider immediately if your child swallows one.        
• Parents should store toys in a designated location, such as on a shelf or in a toy chest, and keep older kids’ toys away from young children.

Happy shopping and good luck with those assembly instructions!

The holiday season is winding down and the kiddies have new things to play with.  If you’re like me, you might not have read every inch of the instructions before assembling that toddler-sized tricycle or push toy. But they do serve a purpose when it comes to ensuring the safety of our children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has some good tips on toy safety that I thought I’d share:
• Select toys to suit the age, abilities, skills and interest level of the intended child.  Toys too advanced may pose safety hazards for younger children.        
• Before buying a toy or allowing your child to play with a toy that he has received as a gift, read the instructions carefully. 
• To prevent both burns and electrical shocks, don’t give young children (under age ten) a toy that must be plugged into an electrical outlet.  Instead, buy toys that are battery-operated.
• Children under age three can choke on small parts contained in toys or games. Government regulations specify that toys for children under age three cannot have parts less than 1 1/4 inches in diameter and 2 1/4 inches long.
• Children can have serious stomach and intestinal problems – including death — after swallowing button batteries and magnets.  Keep them away from young children and call your health care provider immediately if your child swallows one.       
• Children under age 8 can choke or suffocate on uninflated or broken balloons. Remove strings and ribbons from toys before giving them to young children. 
• Watch for pull toys with strings that are more than 12 inches in length. They could be a strangulation hazard for babies.
• Parents should store toys in a designated location, such as on a shelf or in a toy chest, and keep older kids’ toys away from young children.

It’s holiday time and many folks are out shopping for toys.  I can’t believe the number of electronic gadgets there are.  There are toys that walk, talk, convert from a robot to a car, buzz, fly, have sirens and beepers and flashing lights… Seems like these offer a lot of sensory overload with not much left to a child’s imagination. And some toys are actually too loud to be safe on children’s ears. (Read this interesting article.)

I remember when my kids were really small, the best present they got wasn’t the present, it was the box it came in.  Their little minds turned that box into a drum (wooden spoons are a must), a hat, a garage for toy cars, a suitcase for doll clothes, or a carrier for dolls, a bed for baby, a push cart for the cat… One of the best gifts my children received was the big box that contained our new stove.  It was huge, a house to them.  We actually converted it into a playhouse by cutting windows and a door in the sides.

I wonder if you drove to your local appliance store if they would have any discarded boxes you could pick up.  With a little paint or some markers, just think of the things you could make for your little ones – a house, a car, a space ship… In these tough times, it wouldn’t cost much and probably would make a fabulous gift.

Toy manufacturer Fisher-Price announced Thursday that it has recalled about 10 million toys because they were dangerous to children.

Approximately 2.8 million of various baby play areas with inflatable balls were recalled in the U.S. due to problems with choking. (It also recalled 125,000 of the toys in Canada.)  The company found that a valve from the inflatable ball can come off and become a choking hazard.

Fisher-Price, which is part of Mattel Inc., also decided to recall more than 7 million tricycles due to a protruding part that had cut some children.  The company also said it recalled about 120,000 small car toys because of at least two reported cases where the wheels came off and caused a choking hazard.

Along with the toys, the company also recalled close to a million of several types of high chairs because of 14 reports of children being cut by the chair legs.  In seven of the cases, the injured children needed stitches, the company said.

You can read details of the recalled items on the Mattel website.   Customers can call the Fisher-Price hot line at 800-432-5437 for more information.

It may be tempting to put your infant or toddler in front of the television, especially to watch shows created just for children under age two. But the American Academy of Pediatrics says: Don’t do it! These early years are crucial in a child’s development. The Academy is concerned about the impact of television programming intended for children younger than age two and how it could affect your child’s development. Pediatricians strongly oppose targeted programming, especially when it’s used to market toys, games, dolls, unhealthy food and other products to toddlers. Any positive effect of television on infants and toddlers is still open to question, but the benefits of parent-child interactions are proven. Under age two, talking, singing, reading, listening to music or playing are far more important to a child’s development than any TV show. For more information on your child’s health, visit www.aap.org.

You may have seen some news reports about the possible risk of plastics for babies. This is one of those frustrating times when we wished we had more information! This post may help you decide what you want to do. 

Plastics are made from certain chemicals. Two of those chemicals are phthalates (THA-laytz) and bisphenol A (BIZ-fee-nawl ay).

• Phthalates make plastic soft and flexible. They are used in toys, rattles, teethers, and medical devices such as tubing.
• Bisphenol A, also called BPA, makes plastics clear, strong, and hard to break. It is used in baby bottles, food containers and water bottles.

Scientists are debating whether these chemicals pose a risk to children’s health. Various scientific groups have reviewed the research and have come to different conclusions about these chemicals. The research is unclear. More studies are needed to find answers.

What We Know About BPA
On April 14, the National Toxicology Program issued a draft report expressing some concern about the possible risk of bispheonl A to fetuses, infants and children. In animal studies, this chemical has caused changes in behavior, the brain, the prostate gland, the mammary gland, and the age at which females attain puberty.  

Remember, these were animal studies, and sometimes humans react differently than animals. We need more research to see if these changes also occur in humans. Meanwhile, the government of Canada is being cautious and has taken the first steps to ban baby bottles made with BPA.

What We Know about Phthalates
The European Union has banned phthalates from toys. But the U.S. government has not done so. In the United States and Canada, companies no longer use phthalates in the nipples of baby bottles, teethers, and toys intended to go in the baby’s mouth.

The National Toxicology Program has concluded that one type of phthalate used in plastic medical tubing and equipment could post a risk to baby’s boy’s reproductive systems. Some hospitals have begun to remove such products from newborn nurseries.

What Some Parents Are Doing
Since research is still being done on phthalates and bisphenol A, some parents have chosen to be cautious. Here are some of the things they are doing: 

• Breastfeeding their babies so they don’t have to use baby bottles
• Giving their babies toys made of fabric or unpainted wood
• Using baby bottles made of glass, polypropylene, or polyethylene
• Using baby products with labels that say they don’t contain BPA or phthalates