meta-dad

The ‘Great Recession’ – food stamps & the family

Everyone from the auto industry to the porn industry is looking for bailouts from a young motivated presidency still being tested in their first 100 days. The stock market is still heading south. Jobs are still wilting away with no promise of returning. This sour economy has affected many parents & families in profound ways and there is no looking back.

Regardless of whether you are an individual or an entire family in need, you need to find out the facts, the facts about what resources and services are available to you. If an individual or family is currently earning less than 130% of the Federal poverty level [FPL] and their current household assets are below $2,000 you may be eligible for More »

Tags: Add new tag, better living, educational

Simplicity play yard recalled

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has received at least five reports of one or more rails on the Simplicity Travel Tender Play Yards can collapse unexpectedly, posing a fall or entrapment hazard to young children. These were sold at the Burlington Coat Factory stores nationwide and online at Babiesrus.com, Target.com and Kohls.com from March 2005 through January 2009. The recalled play yards are portable and were sold with a bassinet, changing table and mobile features.

In the past year there have been a number of recalls for the now defunct Simplicity brand. In August 2008, a five month old Kansas child was strangled to death More »

Tags: 0-1 year, kids health, recall

OKK Trading pacifiers recalled

I don’t have a lot of faith in products coming from LA-based OKK Trading. I have been following toy and baby product recalls for a couple of years now and their name pops up a couple times a year. This time there is a voluntary recall of there “Baby Necessities” 4-pack of pacifiers, they have a blue heart-shaped mouth guard .

If you are interested in tracking their sorted history look what comes up when you do a search for their name at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website. I think there must be some type of federal law stating that companies must post recall information for up to one full year from recall date because their website seems to be suffering from short term memory. In the future, if you find youself giving in to the bargain bin and find yourself with something from OKK Trading, toss it back – you’ll thank me later.

Sited and Related Articles:
USCPSC | Pacifiers Recalled by OKK Trading Due to Choking Hazard
OKK Trading | List of Recalled Items [*PDF]
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission | Search Query for OKK Trading
meta-DAD | Millions of Cheap Toys Recently Recalled

Tags: 0-1 year, 2-4 years, health alert, kids health, recall

Fisher Price 3-in-1 high chairs recalled

There has been one report of a seat back detaching and child falling out, resulting in a skull fracture with the Fisher Price 3-in-1 High Chair to Booster™ Seat. A recall does not get more dire than this, additionally, the seat back can detach if not fully snapped in place, posing a fall hazard and risk of serious injury to young children.

It seems if the size of the recall is big enough (this recall is for 24,000 units) it is deemed press worthy while other seemingly smaller ones fall under the news industry radar, except for some of the smaller newspapers and news outlets. This means that word-of-mouth becomes vital to getting the word out to people who may have recalled products in their possession, tell a neighbor, bring it up at the park or mommy and me class – you may prevent an accident from happening.

These highchairs were sold at Target from 2008-2009 for about a $100 bucks. Look for product number (P5369) on the side of the seat.

Sited & Related Articles:
USCPSC | Fisher-Price Recalls 3-in-1 High Chairs Due to Fall Hazard
Mattel Consumer Relations | Recall Information

Tags: 0-1 year, 2-4 years, health alert, recall

Child Poison Prevention Week

They say, education is the best prevention. I think you’ll be surprised to find some of the real hazards in you cupboard and closets, even over-the-counter products, household plants and crafting supplies. There are hidden dangers in some of the most common household items such as baby oils and sunscreens are listed as oily hydrocarbon products which can suffocate children if drawn into the lungs when ingested, who knew? Now you know.

• Each year, poison control centers receive more than 1.1 million calls about accidental poisonings among children ages 5 and under.
• Only 30 percent of caregivers are able to accurately measure a correct dosage of over-the-counter medications to their children.
• More than 90 percent of poisonings in children occur in the home.
• In children, approximately 60 percent of poisonings involve products other than medicines such as plants, cleaning products, cosmetics, pesticides, paints, and solvents; 40 percent of poisonings involve medications. [*MUSC Children’s Hospital, Common Childhood Injuries and Poisonings]

A chilling fact, between 4 and 10 p.m. is known as the “arsenic hour” at most poison control centers because that is when call volume peaks. They attribute it to the fact that the parents tend to be distracted by dinner and other end-of-day tasks that leave their young ones unsupervised more than any other time of the day.

Sited & Related Links:
MUSC | Tips to Help Reduce Unintentional Poisonings in the Home
CPSC | 9 Out of 10 Unintentional Child Poisonings Occur in the Home
Poison Prevention [dot] Org | Resources and Materials [*fantastic resources here]
American Association of Poison Control Centers | Kids Tips

Tags: better living, educational, health, kids health

Non-toxic bath toys for the tots

Times are changing but I have found it is still hard to find non-toxic toys that are free of phthalates, BPA and PVC which are the standard for most soft plastic or rubber toys on the market. Of course there are standard wood toys and a few classics, but few true gems.

One of the rising stars is the Boon line which is surprisingly accessible, meaning, I have found their stuff at Target, as well as Amazon. Specifically, the Boon Scrubble toy is a playful lil’ set that will encourage the kids to scrub and squirt there way through their bath-time routine.

I will introduce you to additional non-toxic bath toys as I stumble upon them. Feel free to drop me a line or comment if you know of some great affordable products out there. In the meantime, you may want to consider dropping $8 bucks and replacing that classically toxic rubber duck in you bathroom.

Boon Scrubble $10 bucks [+shipping] at Amazon.Com
All Natural Rubber Ducks at Amazon.Com

Additional Articles:
The ebb and flow of toxic toys
5 cool & affordable eco-friendly kids gifts
All-natural teether for the tots

Tags: 0-1 year, 2-4 years, 3-5 years, classic toy, design, green, mod, non-toxic, toys