Owning guns is fun! Bartering is fun! Trading your two-year-old for a gun, however, is just gonna land you in jail. And if that kid ever finds out what you did, she’s gonna be pretty angry with you when she grows up. And really, lady, a toddler can cause just as much damage if you just give it time.
“Woman allegedly tries to trade 2-year-old daughter for gun”
toddlers
Don't Trade Your Toddler For A Gun
By 1.14.10
Pretty Much All Roman And Roll-Up Blinds Recalled
By 12.15.09
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Window Covering Safety Council have announced a “recall to repair” of all Roman shades and roll-up shades, after multiple reports of deaths and near strangulations in recent years. If you’ve got kids in your house and you use either type of window covering, visit www.windowcoverings.org or call 800-506-4636 to receive a free kit that will let you retrofit the shades and blinds with clips. [More]
Stroller Company Maclaren Knew About Amputation Risk 5 Years Ago
By 11.12.09
The British company Maclaren knew that its recently recalled strollers could potentially lop off a tot’s fingertips over five years ago, reports the New York Post, but it didn’t bother to alert the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
Mother And Child Kicked Off Southwest Flight Receive Apology, Free Travel
By 11.1.09
Earlier this week, a 2-year-old boy drowned out preflight announcements on a Southwest Airlines flight with his screams of “I want Daddy!” and “Go, plane, go!” So the airline kicked the child and his mother off the plane.
Skinny Toddlers Also Can't Get Insurance?
By 10.22.09
We guess we should have seen this one coming. After news broke of the uninsurable fat baby last week, MSNBC found a similar case on the other end of the spectrum. A Colorado family with a 22-pound two-year-old says that United HealthCare told them their daughter Aislin is too small to qualify for insurance under their guidelines.
Parents Sue Dunkin' Donuts After Rogue Hash Brown Burns Toddler
By 9.13.09
Continuing this weekend’s unintentional theme of “toddlers and food service,” today we bring you the sad tale of a Quincy, Mass. 23-month-old whose parents are suing Dunkin’ Donuts after he was burned by a hash brown. A hash brown that fell out of his mouth and onto his neck.
Restaurant Calls Rowdy Toddler "Little F***er" On Family's Receipt
By 9.12.09
Did you think that a restaurant using the code “bogo bitches” to refer to coupon-using customers was bad? Well, a Cactus Joe’s restaurant in England can top that. A new menu item called ‘Thankyyou littell f***er'” appeared on a family’s receipt after their child acted up during a long wait for food.
By 7.23.09
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Slate compares and ranks 5 sippy cups for toddlers. The best, they say, is the Nalgene Grip-n-Gulp Bottle—at about $8 it’s also the second cheapest of the lot. [Slate]
Babies R Us Accused Of Price Fixing
By 7.22.09
If you feel like had to pay too much for baby supplies this past decade, look to Babies R Us. Time reports that last week, “the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia granted class-action status to a complaint that Babies ‘R’ Us coerced manufacturers of high-end strollers, car seats, high chairs, strap carriers and breast pumps into preventing Internet retailers from discounting their products.”
By 10.14.08
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This $10 silicone bib for babies is stain-proof and non-porous, and it forms a scoop (you might even say a trough) underneath baby’s uncooperative mouth, so that food items end up there instead of on the baby, table, floor, dog, etc. It can even be thrown in the dishwasher. [Cool Tools]
FDA Considers Banning OTC Cough Medicines For All Children Under 6
By 10.2.08
Pediatricians are asking the FDA to recall all OTC cough medicines for children under six years old, and the FDA is holding a public hearing on the subject today. One reason this has only recently become an issue is that when the FDA originally set rules for OTC cough medicines, they were based only on studies for adults, not kids, writes the Associated Press. Although there’s a low risk of unintentional overdose—the AP says about 7,000 children are admitted to ERs each year—the other issue is that there’s very little evidence that they’re effective.
Target's Generic Meds Are Maybe Too Generic
By 9.10.08
We’re big fans of Target’s smart approach to package design for medicine. They may want to give a little more thought to their OTC generics, however—how about using more distinct labeling for the children’s line, for example? One reader explains why this would be a lot safer.
Fisher-Price Walkie-Talkie Picks Up Trucker Talk; Now Tot Wants Pot And Strippers
By 8.8.08
A mom in West Virginia says her 3-year-old’s Diego walkie-talkie, which is supposed to have a range of 20 feet, picked up some blue talk from truckers who may have been 275 miles away. “They said we should go smoke some weed, and were talking about being in a strip bar, some really explicit things,” the mother told the Asssociated Press.
10 Ways To Make Traveling With Children Tolerable
By 11.15.07
And by “tolerable” we just mean “nobody has to die this year.” Kiplinger offers 10 ways to prepare yourself for traveling with kids now that cough syrup is frowned upon. We think one of the best is “team boarding”—don’t pre-board an airplane, because all it really does is increase the time your children are stuck in their seats getting all bouncy. Instead, if you’ve got another adult with you, one of you should board early and get the luggage stowed, pillows arranged, etc., while the other stays in the airport for as long as possible trying to run the kids ragged enough that they’ll promptly fall asleep once they’re settled in.
Do Consumers Actually Participate In Recalls? (No.)
By 10.10.07
Despite all the hand-wringing on our part, we consumers don’t actually participate in recalls at a very high level. This leaves both manufacturers and the CPSC in the dark about whether their warnings are reaching the right people—which is why the House approved a bill this Tuesday that would require manufacturers of certain infant and toddler products to keep registration info on their customers.
By 10.1.07
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Maybe Television Idiot Syndrome (a term we just made up) is reversible: a new study says you can reduce the risk of having an antisocial, depressive child if you reduce his television viewing to less than two hours per day by age 5 1/2. Just make sure you don’t fill up those two hours with Baby Einstein vids. [Reuters]
AirTran Grounds Screaming Toddler And Family, Literally
By 1.25.07
AirTran is defending itself today for removing a screaming toddler and her family from a flight bound for Boston.
The Latest in Potty Styles
By 3.14.06
The modern, compact and secure approach to learning how to potty, The Potty Bench opens for toilet training and can be closed to use as a step stool or seat.
