First came the lead painted toy recalls, millions of them. Then the crib recalls, millions of them. Now come the high chairs. You know what? It’s probably best if you just let your kid sit on the floor in a completely empty room, playing with his toes. Sigh.
OK, today’s message of doom comes from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety folks and Graco, who are recalling 1.2 million Harmony High Chairs (pictured). The inharmonious truth is they’re worried about the screws that hold the front chair legs together spontaneously exiting, which can cause the chair to tip. Graco has received 464 reports of screws loosening and/or plastic brackets cracking, which caused the high chair to tip over unexpectedly. 24 reports included bumps and bruises to the head, a hairline arm fracture, and gashes, scratches, bumps and bruises to various other body parts. If you bought one of these between November 2003 and December 2009, you’ve got a problem. Look under the foot rest for the label, then compare the model number with the recall list here. Stop using the high chair and go here for details on how to get a free repair kit.
OK, back to the birthday cakes! We loved that birthday cake countdown so much, we’re doing it again, one per week, starting right … now. May we present, a purple squid cake? Read the rest of this entry »
Make Noise: Explore the physics of noisy toys at this hands-on workshop (pictured) at San Francisco’s Exploratorium from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 20. Make toys that squawk, boom, buzz, and roar, then take them home to torment, er, delight your family. Free with museum admission.
When it comes to teens and technology, how much is too much? Join Childhood Matters’ Rona Renner, Student Organizational Services director Beth Samuelson, Positive Technology Relationships founder Jason Brand, teachers and teens as they discuss multitasking, cell phones, Facebook and homework at “Helping Teens Learn in an Era of Digital Overload,” a panel discussion and Q&A this Saturday, March 20 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Orinda Academy.
Do you haunt the virtual halls of Facebook? Post your every thought? Or just poke your friends occasionally? The Skinny Scoop, a blog by a pair of Stanford business school grads, surveys moms on all sorts of funny little things, from “What does the Tooth Fairy pay at your house?” to in-law relations. Not sure how scientific anything is, but the Facebook mom stats are particularly entertaining. Moms may fret endlessly about their kids online exposure, but 91% post pics of their little darlings on Facebook. Also, 75% have un-friended someone, and 64% have been unfriended – and 67% think Facebooking a birth announcement, instead of sending out cards, is just fine. And 88% have looked up an old crush. Have you?
Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd… oh, those were the good old days all right. And this week’s we’re giving away a blast to the nostalgic past with “Bugs Bunny’s Easter Funnies,” a new DVD that recaptures the fun with Sylvester, Pepe Le Pew, Foghorn Leghorn and yep, that other duck. Big fun. And it can be yours!
Click “comments” and tell us, what was your favorite childhood cartoon or animated series? Roadrunner? Bullwinkle? Gumby? We’ll draw a winner’s name on Monday, March 22.
P.S. Congrats, by the way, to Roxy who won last week’s “Yo Gabba Gabba” DVD!
Pleasanton Summer Camp Showcase
March 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Harvest Park Middle School gym, Pleasanton. Sample Pleasanton Parks and Rec summer classes and camps, watch demos, do hands-on activities and meet instructors at this free summer camp showcase. Details: 925-931-5340.
Discipline Through the Lens of Temperament
March 21 from 7 to 8 a.m. on 98.1 KISS-FM and streamed live on Childhoodmatters.org.
Behavioral temperament and discipline strategies are the topics for this session by Nurse Rona and guests Mary Kurcinka, author of “Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles,” and Stephanie Agnew, a parent education coordinator at San Mateo County’s Parent’s Place.
Talking with Teens
March 28 from 7 to 8 a.m. on 98.1 KISS-FM and streamed live on Childhoodmatters.org.
The final episode in the “Your Teen Matters” series features Nurse Rona and Beth Samuelson, MA, of Student Organizational Services, discussing practical and effective communication techniques for parents of teens. Read the rest of this entry »
Eemax and Zurno: Acrobats, puppets and contortionists cavort at Oakland’s Kinetic Arts Center stage when Eemax and Zurno’s Amazing Circus Humans take the stage for evening and matinee performances March 13-28. Tickets $10-$15.
UPDATE: There’s good news for Mt. Diablo and Pinole high schools – not so good for a couple of middle schools though. In a last-minute revision of its failing schools list, the state removed both high schools from the list and replaced them with Concord’s Glenbrook Middle School and San Pablo’s Helms Middle School. Read the latest news on this topic here.
Pinole Valley High, Mt. Diablo High (pictured), Oak Grove Middle School, and 17 other East Bay institutions are on the state’s list of failed schools and may be facing draconian penalties, including the firing of principals and staff, outright closure, or closure and then a re-opening as a charter school. “This is an opportunity to make dramatic changes at chronically underperforming schools,” says state schools chief Jack O’Connell.
Doubtless there is much wringing of hands at the 188 schools statewide that are affected, but here’s what I don’t get. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone – these schools’ dismal test scores, the bar they had to reach, and the sanctions have been in the public eye for a decade. The only question to my mind, as a former education reporter who covered the Mt. Diablo school district, among others, was always whether the state would have the gumption to actually impose those sanctions. And frankly, they haven’t yet. They’re just threatening. It’s like those parents who give their kids till the count of 3 – “OK, 1, 2, 2 1/2 … I really mean it this time: 1, 2, 2 1/2, 2 3/4… We’ll try that again, 1, 2…” Hello?
Meanwhile out in Rhode Island, where half the students at Central Falls High were failing every subject, the school board just fired its entire school staff, including 74 teachers and the principal, after the teachers union refused to follow state-mandated restructuring plans that called for longer school days and tutoring. The union said they wanted to be paid for the extra work and that their students had made great strides in recent years.
I have my own thoughts about those arguments, but I’m considerably more interested in hearing yours. Click comments and share your thoughts, or punch a button on the poll… (P.S. Answers are in random order and you can select as many as you wish.)
You know those trendy baby slings, the soft fabric hammock/sash that lets you wear your little one across your chest? Apparently babies have died in them, when their body positions constricted their airways and they suffocated. Now the federal government is preparing to issue an official warning to parents, probably later this week. Consumer Reports began raising concerns about the slings in 2008, first because of serious injuries suffered by two dozen babies who fell out of them. Then, about the suffocation risk, which has been linked to the deaths of at least seven babies. The brand Consumer Reports named was the “SlingRider” by Infantino.
I know a lot of you have used these baby slings or know someone who has. What was your experience?
First came the lead painted toy recalls, millions of them. Then the crib recalls, millions of them. Now come the high chairs. You know what? It’s probably best if you just let your kid sit on the floor in a completely empty room, playing with his toes. Sigh.
