Friday July 10, 2009

One million Kolcraft, Jeep, Contours, Sesame Street, Eric Carle, Carter's and Care Bears play yards are recalled because the side rail can unlatch when a child leans against it, posing a fall hazard. Nearly 350 incidents of the side rail unlatching and more than 20 injuries have been reported. Some of the play yards had accessories such as parent organizers, electronics, bassinets, changing tables or mobiles. See the links below for specific model numbers. If you have one of these play yards, stop using it now and call 866-594-4208 for a repair kit.
Radian Car Seat Rear-Facing Weight Limits Increased To 40 Lbs.
Thursday July 9, 2009
Good news for owners of Sunshine Kids Radian car seats - you may not need to buy a new seat if you'd like to keep your child rear-facing a little bit longer. According to Russ Berger at Sunshine Kids, the company recently did some additional crash testing and they're now increasing the Radian's rear-facing weight limit to 40 lbs. That makes the Radian the third car seat in the U.S. to have a 40 lb. rear-facing limit (the Graco My Ride 65 and the brand new Safety 1st Complete Air are the others).
Even better, Sunshine Kids is making the change retroactive on all U.S. models made in or after September 2008, so if you already own a Radian 65 (16500), Radian 80 (18500) or Radian XT (19500) car seat made after that time, you can go ahead and use it rear-facing to 40 lbs., according to Berger. The change will start to show up on new U.S. Radian car seat labels and in manuals by late summer or early fall.
A recent study showed that toddlers were more than 5 times safer on the road if they stayed rear-facing to age two. The increase in car seats with higher rear-facing weight limits and taller shells makes extended rear-facing well into the toddler years possible for most children.
Cute Baby Shoes: Heelarious
Monday July 6, 2009

Infants don't actually need shoes for walking, but isn't half the fun of shoes just the decorative quality? Now even the littlest member of the family can have fashionable footwear thanks to
Heelarious baby shoes. These soft crib shoes are made of satin and look like a miniature pair of high heels. They're only for babies 0-6 months, though the heel would flatten down if a baby tried to walk on it, and they're made just for looks and laughs. Five current styles will go with almost any frilly, girly outfit your little one owns. My favorite is a light pink peep-toe version with a toile-like print on the inside. Heelarious baby shoes would be a great baby shower gift for a shoe-loving friend!
Friday July 3, 2009

About 4 million Aqua Leisure inflatable baby floats are recalled because the straps in the seat portion of the float can tear, allowing a child to fall into the water. These floats came in many different styles, and were sold in many discount and department stores, including Toys R Us, Target, Dollar General and Wal-Mart. They were sold from Dec. 2002 through June 2009. Recalled floats have a date code between 08/02 and 07/08 molded onto the valve. Floats with "NP" molded onto the valve are not recalled. The list of styles and model numbers is extensive, so if you have a pool float for your baby, take a look at
CPSC's Aqua Leisure Inflatable Baby Float recall page to see photos and check to see if you have one of the recalled pool floats.
No injuries have been reported due to the straps tearing on these floats, though 31 incidents of tearing have been reported. This is likely because parents have been vigilant about staying close to baby while using the pool floats. A recall like this highlights the danger of allowing an inflatable pool float of any kind to give you a false sense of security when your baby or toddler is in the water. Always assume that the float could deflate or that the straps could tear, and stay close enough that you can reach your baby if the float does malfunction.