About 41,000 children’s activity books from Advantage Publishing have been recalled by the CPSC because they contain plastic containers full of beads that could pose a choking hazard. The publisher received at least one report of a child getting the plastic container open, allowing access to the beads.

The books recalled were the Amazing Baby Look and Play and Amazing Baby Touch and Play activity books, and the Rattle, Rattle board book. These children’s books were sold nationwide from May 2003 through November 2005 for about $16 for the activity books and about $6 for the board book. If you own one of these books contact Advantage Publishers Group at (866) 748-3731 for a replacement.

I was torn between making this an "over-the-top" gift or a wish list gift. But then I decided that if I were about 10 -years old and I heard about these cool personal DVD players from Disney, I would be begging my parents for one. And, as electronics go, this one is not so pricey, retailing for about $139. These gadgets have a 3.5" screen and can be used to watch DVDs or listen to CDs. There four different themed players: princess, flowers, Mickey Mouse and Mickey Mouse comics.

There are lots of other portable DVD players out there, not to mention the video iPod, but this product seems to be aimed at the elementary-school crowd. I can only hope that they've built these personal DVD players as durable as possible (and hopefully scratch-, water-, and crayon-resistant!).

The other day while checking out some of the sippy cup offerings at Babies "R" Us, I came across the Gerber SippySnacker. It's a sippy cup and snack holder that snaps together to create one handy accessory. I thought I'd give it a try, because my evening commutes now involve taking a toddler on the bus, and anything that can make the trip easier would be fine by me. I have been using the Snack-Trap, which works great, but can be a little messy (thanks to my son).

We gave the SippySnacker a try today during my many various errands. It was handy to have the snack and drink in one place, so I could just throw it in the stroller and go. My son also seemed to think it was a pretty neat contraption. I have a few issues with the SippySnacker, however. One is, as I've mentioned before, Gerber sippy cups tend to be a little leakier than the rest. Not a big deal, as long as it's upright. The other is that it's not super easy to get the two pieces apart and then back together again. Especially if you only have one hand free. The biggest complaint I have though is that the snack portion opening is too small for my son to reach in to get the snack, so I either have to help him pour the food out or he just shakes it all over the place and makes a mess. The small opening also makes it impossible to put bigger snacks inside (we're fans of the Veggie Booty).

We'll keep using the SippySnacker, but I'll probably always reach for the Snack-Trap first. My son can work the Snack-Trap himself, and that is really handy when you're doing things like grocery shopping.

I should have called this post "I paid 20 bucks for a picture of my son crying." I took my 18-month-old son to see Santa today at a local mall. We were one of the first in line, and I made sure my son could see the two little girls in front of us sitting on Santa's lap so that he would see it wasn't scary. Unfortunately one of the little girls (I'd guess she was about my son's age) cried through the whole thing. My son still seemed to think this was all very interesting and enjoyed watching the little animatronics toy the photographer had to make kids smile. 

Well. Then it was our turn. We went up to Santa, said hi for a few moments and then I put my son down on Santa's lap. Instant waterworks. My son was Not Happy At All with this situation. I was literally two feet away but he continued to cry. The photographer, the assistant, Santa, the animatronics toy and I all tried to get him to smile (or at least, stop crying). But I gave up after they took a few photos. Even if he had eventually started smiling, it would have still been a photo of tears streaming down his cheeks.

About 12,000 Little Tree Mini Learning Cubes have been recalled by the CPSC because of small wooden pegs on the toy that can come loose and pose a choking hazard. Target, the company who sold this toy, received reports of incidents involving children who put the wooden pegs in their mouths, and one child had to be taken to the hospital after swallowing a peg. The learning cubes were sold through Target stores nationwide from June 2005 through November 2005 for about $15. If you have one of these toys, you can take it back to Target for a refund.

Earlier this year we brought you the story of Milagros Cerron, a baby from Peru who was born with a rare condition called sirenomelia, or "mermaid syndrome." In June, doctors operated on the little girl, in an attempt to separate her fused legs. Six months later, doctors are optimistic about Milagros's recovery. Milagros is now nineteen months old and making good progress, though doctors say it will probably be another few years before she's walking and she will need more surgeries and rehabilitation into her teen years at least. 

The CPSC announced the recall of about 14,000 Bounce Bounce Baby! Door Jumpers because the clamp that holds the jumper to the door frame could break and cause a baby to fall. Kids II Inc., the distributor of the jumpers, received nine reports of the jumper clamp breaking. The jumpers included in this recall have the model number 6753. The jumpers were sold nationwide from January 2005 through November 2005 for about $20.

If you own one of these doorway jumpers, contact Kids II at (877) 325-7056 for a free replacement.

Police in Kentucky were tracking down a van after a hit-and-run accident, only to find that there was a 7-year-old behind the wheel. The boy was actually sitting on his dad's lap, steering the wheel, while his "semiconscious" father worked the pedals. Police finally caught up with them on a highway. According to the report on CNN, the father told the police that they were on their way to Florida and that his son was going to get them there. The man's other son, age three, was also in the van.

The dad now faces charges of resisting arrest, carrying a concealed weapon, leaving the scene of an accident and driving under the influence. The boys were taken into custody by social services.

Two months ago an Arkansas woman doing her 10th skydiving jump experienced every sky diver's worst nightmare: her parachute wouldn't open. 21-year-old Shayna Richardson said she didn't know what to do when her parachute failed and was sure that she was about to die. Her reserve parachute eventually opened, but not entirely. Richardson hit the ground face, face first. Amazingly, she survived. Even more amazing is the fact that when she got to the hospital emergency room doctors told her she was in her first month of pregnancy.

Richardson suffered from a broken leg, a broken pelvis, and many broken bones in her face, and spent more than two weeks in the hospital. She's now 12 weeks pregnant, and her baby is apparently doing just fine.

Holidays can be stressful for kids of divorced parents. The Today Show's Dr. Ruth Peters offers tips to divorced parents on how to keep the holidays focused on family and make them as smooth as possible for kids. Many of the tips seem obvious, like staying civil if you are on bad terms with your ex-spouse and trying to keep the tension out of family gatherings. She also reminds parents to respect the other's religious beliefs.

Peters recommends planning holiday activities well in advance, and sticking to prearranged plans, especially when it involves kids spending time with one side of the family and then the other. Coordinating gifts is also a good idea so that there is a balance, and not a competition, between each parent's gifts to the children. With newly divorced families, she suggests starting new holiday traditions to make it different, yet still fun. Most of all, parents—divorced or married—should remember that kids most appreciate attention and time shared during the holidays.