.jpg)
Warming Trend
Indulge your child's inner superhero. Credit: Oeuf
Kids are always losing mittens and discarding scarves, leaving them exposed to the elements on the coldest days of the year. But Oeuf's ingenious superhero-esque Bat Boy or Bat Girl hat (with eye holes!) is one piece of outerwear they'll never want to take off. You might even see it at the dinner table.
Available at oeufnyc.com for $48.
Recall: Children's Hooded Sweatshirts and Jackets With Various Logos
Girl's and boy's sweatshirts from Century 21 Promotions have been voluntarily recalled. Credit: CPSC
The sweatshirts have a drawstring through the hood, which can pose a strangulation hazard to children. In February 1996, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued guidelines to help prevent children from strangling or getting entangled on the neck and waist drawstrings in upper garments, such as jackets or sweatshirts.
This voluntary recall includes sweatshirts and jackets sold in sizes XS through XXL in colors navy blue, black, brown, pink, red, white, green, gray, blue, yellow and orange. Each of the recalled garments contains the following embroidered logos: Montauk, Avalon, Stone Harbor, Cape May, Sea Isle, Ocean City, Alaska, Nantucket, Maine, Long Beach Island, Lavallette, Seaside Park, Newport, Monterey, Carmel, Skaneateles, 1000 Islands, Block Island and Seattle.
The clothing was sold at various gift shops. Consumers should immediately remove the drawstrings from the sweatshirts to eliminate the hazard, or return the garment to the place of purchase for a full refund.
Related: More on Alerts & Recalls
Recall: Yayita Baby Hammocks from Three Sisters Toys
Three Sisters Toys Inc. recalled baby hammocks with model number YABN-1. Credit: CPSC
The Yayita baby hammock, made by Three Sisters Toys Inc., has the risk of flipping over and poses a serious fall and strangulation hazard to infants who become entrapped in the seat's restraint straps while upside down.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the firm has contacted all known purchasers of the product. The model number-YABN-1-is printed on a white tag sewn into the hammock's side seam.
Consumers should immediately stop using the baby hammock and return it to Three Sisters Toys to receive a full refund.
Related: More on Alerts & Recalls.
Recall: Stork Craft Drop-Side Cribs
Stork Craft is recalling its drop-side cribs. Credit: CPSC
In the largest crib recall in United States history, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc. announced the voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs.
The concerns are over the drop-side panel -- created to make lifting children in and out easier for parents -- which can break or deform. In some cases, where the panel is installed upside-down, it can result in broken parts and detached corners. When the drop-side detaches, it creates space between the side and the crib mattress, an entrapment and suffocation hazard. Complete detachment of drop-sides can lead to falls from the crib.
The recall only includes Stork Craft drop-side cribs with manufacturing and distribution dates between January 1993 and October 2009, and Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo with manufacturing dates between October 1997 and December 2004.
The recall does not include any cribs with metal rod drop-side hardware; only those with plastic trigger and one-hand-system, drop-side hardware.
Parents should stop using the recalled cribs immediately and wait for the repair kit. Do not attempt to fix the cribs without one. To order a free kit, call Stork Craft toll-free at 877-274-0277, or visit the website www.storkcraft.com.
Related: More Alerts and Recalls
I Love the Name, but Hate the Nickname
Dear Name Lady:
We love the name Edmund for lots of reasons. We strongly dislike Eddie/Ned (I still don't understand where people get Ned from Edmund). We can bear people once in a while asking "how's little Eddie," but it is not our intention for him to be called anything other than Edmund on a regular basis, unless we develop a cool nickname between his first and middle name. At this point, the middle name will either be Phillip or Charles. Any suggestions on things to help avoid Eddie/develop a cool nickname?
Signed,
Edwhat
We love the name Edmund for lots of reasons. We strongly dislike Eddie/Ned (I still don't understand where people get Ned from Edmund). We can bear people once in a while asking "how's little Eddie," but it is not our intention for him to be called anything other than Edmund on a regular basis, unless we develop a cool nickname between his first and middle name. At this point, the middle name will either be Phillip or Charles. Any suggestions on things to help avoid Eddie/develop a cool nickname?
Signed,
Edwhat
Best Toys of 2009: Grade-Schoolers
Totally stumped over what to get your grade-schooler? Not to worry -- ParentDish, along with our friends at Funfare Magazine, scoured the virtual toy aisles for the best playthings of the season.
for $34.45.
for $44.99.
for $29.99.
for $59.99.
for $19.97.
for $17 (price is for individual dolls; accessories also available).
for $24.88
for $26.97.
for $34.99.
for $39.87.Expect Santa To Write From Newark, Not North Pole
Toddlers, Holidays, Health & Safety, In The News, Weird But True
Santa Claus, also known as Patrick Farmer, in North Pole, Alaska, holds letters from children sent this year that the U.S. Postal Service says it will no longer deliver. Credit: Sam Harrel, AP
Santa doesn't always know who is naughty and nice. He had a registered sex offender opening his mail for him last year.
Because of the trouble screening elves and other helpers, the United States Postal Service officials are imposing restrictions on their Operation Santa program. This hits the town of North Pole, Alaska, like a blizzard. Volunteers there will not receive children's letters this year to open and answer.Ball Finally Makes The National Toy Hall of Fame
The Big Wheel and the ball have made it to the big time. Credit: Getty Images
The ball (yes, the ball) finally made the National Toy Hall of Fame.
Hard to believe it took this long. Barbie, G.I. Joe and Raggedy Ann already made the Hall of Fame at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, N.Y. Even the stick made it in a year earlier.
Opinion: Are Helicopter Parents Coming in for a Landing?
It's crunch time in the world of high-school seniors, and I'm seeing some very jittery clients as those once distant college application deadlines are now just around the corner.
Loss of sleep, appetite and sanity are rampant, as essays get reworked and revamped and no extra-curricular activity is accidentally neglected.
I'm talking about the parents.
Much has been said about the merit of focusing on which college a child attends, and whether it does or doesn't affect their future success and happiness. While I have strong opinions about this, what interests me even more is the near-maniacal anxiety levels I see as parents come face-to-face with the harsh reality that their days of being able to control their child's destiny come to an end.
Some moms are still notoriously known to call their sons in the dorm to wake them up for class in the morning, or to micromanage their daughter's choices of classes during registration via text messages.
But help -- in the form of sanity -- is on the way.
Loss of sleep, appetite and sanity are rampant, as essays get reworked and revamped and no extra-curricular activity is accidentally neglected.
I'm talking about the parents.
Much has been said about the merit of focusing on which college a child attends, and whether it does or doesn't affect their future success and happiness. While I have strong opinions about this, what interests me even more is the near-maniacal anxiety levels I see as parents come face-to-face with the harsh reality that their days of being able to control their child's destiny come to an end.
Some moms are still notoriously known to call their sons in the dorm to wake them up for class in the morning, or to micromanage their daughter's choices of classes during registration via text messages.
But help -- in the form of sanity -- is on the way.
Gay Parents Do Not Warp Their Kids, Research Shows
Adoption, In The News, Amazing Parents
In her new book, "Lesbian and Gay Parents and Their Children," Abbie Goldberg argues that homosexual parents do not adversely affect their children. Credit: Amazon
Abbie Goldberg, an assistant professor of psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., looked at gay parenting from the 1970s to the present in her book, "Lesbian and Gay Parents and Their Children: Research on the Family Life Cycle."
"The sexual orientation of a parent has really little to do with their parenting," Goldberg tells USA Today.
