Fisher-Price has a shoddy track record when it comes to reporting defects and “injuries from defects” to the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
someone think of the children
Cereal Makers Target Kids, Evade Junk Food Advertising Ban
By 7.22.07
Crafty cereal makers may weasel out of their promise to stop advertising junk food to audiences under 12 by fudging serving size information. Eleven cereal makers last week set the threshold for products advertised to children at 12 grams of sugar per serving. According to the New York Times’ original coverage, many cereal makers are already “trying to reformulate the foods to meet nutritional guidelines.” Why reformulate when you can change the labels?
Should We Unilaterally Ban Junk Food Advertising Targetting Children?
By 7.18.07
The New York Times reports that eleven huge food companies, in the face of regulatory intervention, lawsuits, and a forthcoming government study on childhood obesity, agreed to voluntarily withdraw junk food advertising from children’s TV shows targeted at an under-12 audience.
Serious Magnet Toy Injury Prompts Another Recall
By 7.6.07
Poorly constructed toys with strong magnets are the cause of another serious injury to a child. The 8 year-old swallowed two small magnets that had broken off of “Mag Stix” a magnetic toy manufactured in China. The magnets attracted inside her body, perforating her intestines and requiring surgery.
Disney Will Stop Making Painfully Embarrassing, Awful Direct To DVD Sequels, And You Can Stop Buying Them
By 6.26.07
Disney will discontinue their line of painfully embarrassing and awful direct to DVD sequels on the recommendation of Steve Jobs, according to MacWorld. We consider this a coup for parents, because no one older than 8 likes these steaming hunks of crap, yet they are extremely commercially successful.
T-Mobile Sells New Phone Loaded With Porn
By 6.24.07
Taking a page from Comcast, T-Mobile sold Shelby Hinds a phone containing 60 images from an online porn gallery associated with another user’s account. Shelby purchased the phone from a T-Mobile kiosk at Walmart, where she “watched the salesman take the wrapping off two new phones and program them. ” T-Mobile said the porn was Shelby’s fault:
…the representative on the phone told her the only way the phone could have those images was if she took the photos herself or if the pictures were sent to her in a text message.
Shelby brought the smut phone to a T-Mobile store, where the employees said they had “never seen a problem like this before.” T-Mobile is now attributing the porn to a “technical glitch,” and will replace the phone free of charge and waive Shelby’s activation fees. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
"New" Comcast DVR Is, Predictably, Full Of Porn
By 6.22.07
If you have kids in your house, and Comcast or Time Warner Cable or whichever cable company you have sends you a DVR, here are is the first thing you’ll need to do:
Thomas The Poisonous Tank Engine Recall Fallout Continues
By 6.20.07
Today’s New York Times has an interesting article about the process of assigning blame in the recent Thomas the Tank Engine recall debacle. Whose fault is it? The company that outsourced the manufacturing to China, RC2? The company that holds the rights to Thomas the Tank Engine, HIT Entertainment? Both? Neither?
Recall Round-Up: The Toy Is Full Of Kerosene And Other Adventures
By 6.15.07
The jewel decorations on the shoes can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children. Units: About 1,800 Manufactured in: China
1.5 Million Thomas & Friends Toys Recalled Due To Lead Paint From China
By 6.13.07
Way to go, China! You’ve turned our “Chinese Poison Train” into something literal. Good job!
Roller Shoes Send 1600 Uncoordinated People To The Emergency Room
By 6.7.07
Here’s a shocking update, putting little wheels on the bottom of your shoes is dangerous. No! Yes! 1600 emergency room visits last year were blamed on roller shoes or “heelys.” For those of you not familiar with “heelys” they’re the wheeled shoe that sends children floating past you like the nun in Blues Brothers as you walk around Target shopping for paper towels and Diet Coke.
Recall Round-Up: Your Toddler Could Be Drowning Right Now
By 5.24.07
Let’s all do the safety dance, it’s time for the CPSC Recall Round-Up:
Get Ready To Show ID When Buying Cough Syrup
By 5.17.07
In a move that we still haven’t processed the logic behind, Stop and Shop will now require young people to prove they are 18 by showing ID before buying cough medicines that contain Dextromethorphan. Cough syrups, for example Robitussin, will produce a hallucinogenic experience if, say, one was to drink the entire bottle. Also, you might die.
Lead Poisoning/Choking Hazard Recall Round Up
By 5.3.07
There have been quite a few lead poisoning and choking hazard related recalls lately, so we thought we’d just round them up for you. Here they are:
