Concerned about chemicals in Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, consumer activists are calling for a boycott of the product. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which claims to encompass 3.5 million people in 25 groups around the world, says the formaldehyde-releasing preservative quaternium and suspected carcinogen dioxane, which are found in the shampoo, could pose a danger to children. The group says some versions of the product in other countries don’t contain quaternium, and that there’s no reason those in the United States need to have the chemical. [More]
kids
Pediatricians: Crib Bumpers Of Any Sort Pose A Risk To Your Baby
By 10.18.11
In its latest effort to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that parents just completely skip the whole idea of putting any sort of crib bumper — regardless of thickness — in their kids’ cribs. [More]
Cost Of Raising A Kid Rose 40 Percent In Last Decade
By 9.22.11
Kids are expensive, hitting you up for 18 years or more of food, clothing and healthcare, to say nothing of potential college expenses. As the years go by, they’re only getting more costly. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, each youngster you raise will sap $226,920 out of you by age 18. The figure is up $60,000 from 10 years ago — a 40 percent increase. [More]
FTC Proposes Changes To Law Protecting Kids' Privacy Online
By 9.16.11
The Federal Trade Commission announced yesterday that it is seeking public comment on proposed changes to the Children’s Online Privacy Act, which would strengthen the law’s ability to protect children under the age of 13. [More]
Study: Fast-Paced Cartoons Mess With Kids' Minds
By 9.13.11
SpongeBob SquarePants and other silly, rapid-fire cartoons have come under the cross hairs of the research community, with a study finding that 4-year-olds who watch a cartoon fitting the description of SpongeBob SquarePants had more trouble immediately performing cognitive tasks and maintaining self-control than those in two other groups, one of which watched a slower-paced cartoon while the other spent time drawing. [More]
Daycare Owner Doped Kids To Make Them Go To Sleep
By 9.9.11
A daycare owner in Texas was arrested by police for mixing antihistamines into the kids’ milk to make them fall asleep. [More]
10 Carry-On Essentials For Flying With Babies & Toddlers
By 9.7.11
Traveling anywhere with a very young child can be taxing, and it becomes even more complicated when you’re hampered by the limits of air travel. You can only bring so much on to the plane with you, so it helps to know just the essentials. [More]
Options To Save Money For Your Kids To Blow In College
By 8.26.11
Once you spawn younglings, your mind starts to drift toward their future. Because it’s tough to make the circus and the New York Jets only employ so many placekickers, your thoughts will inevitably drift to college, and how much it will cost to help your kids pay to sleep through classes in the year 20XX. [More]
FBI Releases App That Helps Parents Find Missing Kids
By 8.9.11
Parents can use a new iPhone app from the FBI to store photos and important information about their children and alert the authorities in case they go missing. [More]
Police Continue Battle Against Kiddie Lemonade Stand Menace
By 8.3.11
Every year, the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) pedals through towns across Iowa. Some children in Coralville, one of the ride’s host towns, wanted to participate in the event by selling lemonade in front of their houses for a quarter per cup. Police celebrated their entrepreneurial spirit by promptly shutting down at least three lemonade stands for not obtaining $400 vendors’ licenses and a health inspection. [More]
Govt. Rips Up $535 Ticket Mom Got After Daughter Saved Woodpecker
By 8.2.11
The US Fish and Wildlife Service says that the mother who got mailed a $535 fine after her daughter saved a woodpecker and transported it, a potential violation of federal law meant to protect migratory birds, wasn’t supposed to have gotten ticketed. Here is their statement they mailed to us this afternoon: [More]
Mom Fined $535 After Daughter Saves Woodpecker
By 8.2.11
A mother faces a $535 fine and possible jail time because her 11-year old daughter saved a baby woodpecker from the family cat. [More]
Banzai Slide 'N Splash Whale Pool Box Vs. Reality
By 7.27.11
Three years after we first started pointing it out, Banzai continues to make kiddie pools that are disproportionately smaller than they appear on the box. The latest to enrage the internet is their “Slip ‘N Splash Whale Pool.” On the box it shows four children frolicking. In real life, those would have to be tiny munchkin children. [More]
Restaurant Just Says No To Children Under 6
By 7.11.11
Less than a year after a North Carolina restaurant made headlines by saying it would eject “crying, screaming, whining” kids, a Pennsylvania eatery has gone one step further and banned anyone under the age of 6 from eating there. [More]
Teen Pregnancy Down, Drug Use Up
By 7.7.11
Kids today are seemingly becoming more interested in drugs than sex. Statistics from the government report dubbed America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2011 say the adolescent birth rate dropped from 21.7 per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 17 in 2008 to 20.1 per 1,000 in 2009. On the downside, the number of 8th graders who said they’d taken drugs in the last 30 days rose from 8 percent in 2009 to 10 percent in 2010. [More]
9 Out Of 10 Parents Installing Car Seats Are Doing It Wrong
By 6.7.11
According to the New York City Department of Transportation, 9 out of 10 parents install their child’s car seat incorrectly. This could lead to your child getting hurt or killed in the event of an accident. Why risk it? Find an expert who can inspect your car seat and make sure you’ve put it in correctly. NHTSA has an online searchable database to find a certified technician near you. [More]
California School Wants To Know If Your Child Was Born Vaginally
By 6.6.11
There are many questions a school should ask parents of new students during the enrollment process — age, previous schools, proof of identity and residency, vaginal delivery or C-section — wait… what was that last one again? [More]
How To Pick A Preschool: Hang Out In It For A Few Hours
By 5.23.11
Just because it says “Montessori” on the front door doesn’t mean it’s a good preschool. Over at the Science-Based Parenting blog they learned that the hard way after putting their kid in a place that called itself a Montessori school and he was miserable. It was only after going there and watching for a few hours that they saw diapers weren’t changed frequently, there was a layer of grime on everything, and the teachers spoke to the children in admonishments. So now they’ve learned their lesson: [More]
