Are you correctly using the right car seat for your child’s age and size? You may be surprised how many parents and caregivers think they are – but are not.

The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children 1 through 12 years old. Based on NHTSA crash data in 2010, on average, almost 2 children (age 12 and younger in a passenger vehicle) were killed and 325 children were injured each day. This fatality rate could be reduced by half if the correct child safety seats were always used.

New NHTSA Website

To educate parents and caregivers about NHTSA’s car seat recommendations for children from birth through age 12, today, April 10, 2012, NHTSA is launching a new Web site, safercar.gov/therightseat, along with new public service announcements in partnership with the Ad Council.

How To Videos, Recall Info, Ratings

When parents and caregivers visit the website they can find out if they have their children in the right car seats. The site also features important information on car seat use and installation such as: How-to videos, recall notifications, and NHTSA’s car seat ease-of-use ratings.

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Find Local Help With Car Seat Use

Get local help with car seat use and selection from Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians: http://1.usa.gov/RightSeatLocator

The Pregnant Woman’s Guide to Buckling Up

http://www.safercar.gov/parents/UnbornChild.htm

Connect Online

For more information on child passenger safety visit facebook.com/childpassengersafety and follow the campaign on Twitter @childseatsafety

Spread The Word

Please forward this information to any parents you may know by using the “share” buttons below this post. Help parents know for sure their child is in the right car seat – and help save lives!

Dorel Juvenile Group (DJG) an importer of Safety 1st products, who are well known for offering a variety of popular baby-proofing items have voluntarily recalled their Push ‘N Snap Cabinet Locks as of March 22, 2012. (as seen on the left)

Young Children Able to Disengage Cabinet Locks Allowing Access to Cabinet Contents, Posing Risk of Injury Due to Dangerous or Unsafe Items.

With around 900,000 of these locks on the market they have received reports that 200 of the locks did not adequately secure the cabinet, including reports of damaged locks. The firm is aware of 140 children between the ages of 9 months and 5 years who were able to disengage the locks and gain access to the cabinet’s contents. In three of the reported incidents, the children who gained access swallowed or handled dishwashing detergent, window cleaner or oven cleaner, and were treated, observed and released from emergency treatment centers.

Model Numbers Recalled

This recall includes Safety 1st Push ‘n Snap Cabinet Locks manufactured from January 2004 through February 2012 with model numbers 48391 and 48442. The model numbers are printed on the back of the product and on packaging. You can view the original CPSC release to see exactly how to locate and identify the recalled model numbers: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml12/12136.html

Remove Locks, Call For Replacements

Consumers should immediately remove the recalled locks from cabinets and contact DJG  toll-free at (866) 762-3212 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s website at www.djgusa.com for a free replacement Push ‘N Snap lock.  

Please make sure if you remove your locks that you store dangerous items out of your child’s reach immediately as we all know how fast accidents can happen.

Report Unsafe Products!

If you have a problem with a product please remember to report it. Your reports, even if you think the matter is a simple one are what encourage companies to make voluntary recalls like this one. Your report could save someone’s life.  Report any unsafe product at: http://www.saferproducts.gov/

Making an Informed Decision When It Comes To Vaccinating Your Children

When I had my first child in 2008 there were a lot of questions regarding childhood vaccinations. A lot of accusations and speculation regarding some vaccines that people thought were connected to Autism. After my niece on my in-laws side was diagnosed with Asperger’s I got caught up reading a lot of the debates and to be honest, it scared me. However, in order to make my decision for vaccines in regards to my own child I called upon my experiences and memories in life as a child with the chicken pox. I had an especially rough time with it, and actually still bear the physical scars of my outbreak to this day. I also researched and read every possible bit of information I could, and then I made an informed decision.

Debunked Research

Since that time in 2008 I’ve learned a lot. First of all, not to believe everything I read on the internet (which I already knew but let my guard down). We all know now that the man responsible for the research into the MMR/Autism connection was proven to have manipulated evidence, among other things. He was barred from practicing medicine and the research was declared fraudulent. 

To Vaccinate or Not To Vaccinate – It’s Your Choice

Even since those findings you will still find a large number of parents that don’t want to vaccinate their children. I’m not one of those people. I firmly believe in vaccinations. As much as it hurts to see your child receive that first shot (I cry too you know!) it hurts much more when they come down with a deadly communicable disease that could have been prevented. That’s not a risk I’m willing to take with my children but I fully support a parents decision to make the choice for their children themselves. However, I will still always highly encourage vaccines. That’s why I want to present some very important information to you today.

Protect Infants Now! Ask CDC to Recommend Infant Meningococcal Vaccines

As a parent that believes in vaccinations & as someone who watched unwittingly in my early 20’s  a former roommate suffer from this horrible infection, never knowing it was anything more than flu, I wanted to take a moment to introduce you the dangers of Meningitis and to a petition for a Meningitis vaccine that I’d love you to consider signing after you have informed yourself. I’m going to provide you with some basic information and then links where you can educate yourself on this deadly disease for the safety of your loved ones.

What is Meningococcal Disease?

• Meningococcal Disease is a leading cause of Meningitis (an infection of the membrane around the brain & spinal cord) and sepsis (a life-threatening bloodstream infection).
• There are five groups of meningococcal bacteria that are responsible for causing most of the disease. They are: C, A, Y, B and W135. Four of these groups are vaccine preventable. (C, A, Y & W135)
• Each year approximately 1 in 7 people who contract meningococcal disease will die from it.
• The disease starts with non-specific flu-like symptoms, progresses rapidly and aggressively and can kill in as few as four hours, making it a very difficult disease to diagnose and treat.
• Of those who survive, 1 in 6 will suffer limb amputations, paralysis, seizures, strokes, hearing loss, blindness, organ damage, severe scarring, brain damage, and more.

There is an FDA Approved Vaccine Right Now

The CDC has already taken huge steps in preventing this disease in teens and young adults. Now they have an opportunity to prevent the same meningococcal disease in infants.

“Recently a vaccine was approved by the FDA to prevent meningococcal disease in infants as  young as 9 months. Pending FDA review and approval there are more vaccines for infants as young as 2 months on the horizon. In order for infants to receive these vaccines the CDC must make a recommendation for their use in infants. This vaccine and recommendation bring us one step closer to eliminating this fast moving deadly disease that kills and maims children.”

“Right now, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is traveling around the country seeking public input on whether infants two years and younger should be immunized against meningitis.” “The CDC is in the process of gathering public opinion on this issue and in the near months ahead making the important decision of whether to recommend that all infants receive this life-saving vaccine, and others, as they become available.”

Educate Yourself!

You can find out more information  at protectinfantsnow.org & tons of information at http://www.meningitis-angels.org/. You can read testimonials from real people like you and I who’s children contracted this deadly disease, some whom did not survive. You can also read up on the symptoms and educate yourself for the sake of your children. 

Sign The Petition

After you’ve made an informed decision if you would like, I encourage you to sign the following petition to let the CDC know you’d like them to recommend meningococcal vaccines for infants:      http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/protectinfantsnow

If you do nothing else today to inform yourself, please at least watch the following video! Thank you!

Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central and Meningitis Angels. This campaign was made possible in part through support provided by Novartis Vaccines. A small donation to a charity of my choice was made in my name from Mom Central as a thank-you for participating. All opinions in this posting are 100% my own.

So, I’m sure most of us have heard that potty training boys is harder than it is girls. Well I’ve decided to challenge that old wives tale (or is it?).  Why should it be harder or take longer? And why should it take up until 3 yrs of age to do it?  About 2 months ago (at 12 months) when changing my sons diapers I started to say “pee pee diaper. We throw it in the garbage.” and he would follow me and watch. When he had a poopy I would show him that it goes in the diaper pail.  Not long after that he caught on and he decided he would throw away his own diapers.  Of course I applauded him, called him a big boy and made a big deal out of it because I wanted to encourage his behavior.

Soo… here we are at 14 months and he loves to flush the toilet, he can say pee pee and he will now call out “pee pee, pee pee” when I change his diaper.  He also knows that pee pee goes in the toilet. I always announce to him when I have to go pee pee and I say “Now we flush it all gone.” and he flushes it for me.  Usually two or three times since it’s so much fun.  Just last week or so I decided I would start putting him on the big toilet (haven’t bought a potty yet) and see what he thought of it. Well he finds it extremely amusing but usually only for about 1 minute and then he wants down. That’s ok though because just these past few days he has been trying to remove his own diaper and looking down at his ‘peepee’ right before he has an accident on the floor.  In my head I figure that he is now associating his ‘peepee’ with going pee.

When he’s on the toilet I have told him to go “ugh” sort of like a grunt and then I push on his belly and I say “go pee pee”.  Well it seems like that is working because he acts like he understands. However, no pee pee has made it in the toilet yet.  But heck I’ve only just started introducing him to it and not actually trying to train him yet. I figured this would make it easier for him.  Just tonight he tried pulling off his diaper and then he ran in the bathroom and say ‘that” and I go “what do you want? Do you have to go pee pee?” and he said “yep yep” and he tried to climb up onto the toilet.  No pee pee but hey it’s a start!

I have also noticed that he has started to hide when he is pooping. I don’t think he’s ashamed or anything but more like he just wants the privacy. Probably because every time I see him pooping I ask him if he’s pooping. I suppose it could be pretty annoying. Lol.  But he’s also started to try telling me immediately that he needs a clean diaper, which is great because that means he doesn’t want to be in a dirty diaper.  Of course when I actually try to change it he runs the other direction.

Anyway, my biggest reason for starting this early is because he is such a big boy and we are already in size 5 diapers and really need to move to size 6, I figure we only have 1 size left after that and it’s on to pull-ups. Since I still haven’t seen a real slow in growth from him (He grew 11 in. the 1st yr) it’s making me a little nervous.  Diapers are getting a bit expensive and as you know when you move up a size you get less diapers in the pack.

So… if anyone has potty trained a boy and a girl before what were the differences you noticed?  Was it harder to train a boy?  I’d love some advice. The more the better.

I recently received a BabyGanics Healthy Home Essentials Kit which included:

* The Grime Fighter™ All Purpose Cleaner
* The Dish Dazzler™ Foaming Dish and Bottle Soap
* Breathin’ Easy™ Air Freshener
* The Germinator Foaming Hand Sanitizer On-the-Go™

BabyGanics products were founded by two dads who just happen to be self professed clean freaks. They’ve made their products safe for use around babies and people in general. They are not tested on animals, and as well as being simplistic yet stylish their packaging is also recyclable. Of course as the mom of a 1 yr old and being obsessed with recycling these products are right up my alley.  All of the products I tested out were fragrance free with the exception of the air freshener.

The Grime Fighter – All Purpose Cleaner

This was the first thing I was eager to try out. I noticed right away there was absolutely no scent. Even though all these years I’ve been complaining about the awful smells I’ve had to endure while cleaning I almost sort of missed the fact that there wasn’t one. But as with my last review of green cleaning products I have to say that what has happened is that I’ve basically been brainwashed to believe that if it smells strong, it works. Obviously that is not always true. Thankfully the All purpose cleaner did work. It passed every test I put it through, even the stove-top. This cleaner would most certainly be a life-saver for anyone who is super sensitive to smells or has small children who like to touch everything. Although it’s not anti-bacterial it would be perfect for every day use or in-between really thorough cleanings. It’s also the perfect thing to clean your child’s high-chair with!

Breathin’ Easy Air Freshener

I have to admit that I was a little confused when I first tried to figure out how to work the bottle but after I did I was amazed. It’s really cool and simple to use. There are no propellants so you have to pump the bottle before you spray it. It made me wonder why all air fresheners don’t come like that. The smell was great even though I’m extremely picky about scents. This one was not overwhelming at all. I also think the simple fact that the stuff is not flying through the air at warp speed helped me grow fond of it pretty quickly. I’m sure you know what I mean.. when you spray your air freshener and if you’re not careful you end up inhaling half of it? Ugh. That won’t happen with this bottle. I’ve been using it for my son’s diaper pail for the most part but it’s definitely an air freshener I don’t mind spraying around the whole house.

The Germinator – Foaming Hand Sanitizer On-the-Go

Before I brought my son home one of the first things I did was go and buy a bunch of miniature bottles of hand sanitizer. One in every scent. I left one at my mom’s, one in the diaper bag, one in the car and one in our house. I directed anyone who would be touching my son to use it. Especially those people who smoke! Unfortunately after a few months I realized that some people were not doing as instructed because of the seriously strong smell of some of the sanitizers. That and the fact that if you over-use them your hands get really really dry.

This particular sanitizer isn’t anything like that. It kills 99.9% of germs according to the bottle, including E. Coli in just 15 seconds. It is foaming, so a little bit goes a very long way. Fragrance and alcohol free so no overwhelming scents and no dry hands. The only problem I have with it is the fact that the smell of smoke will stay on your hands even after using it… and if you’re anything like me you don’t even want the scent anywhere around your baby. However, you must know that when you use a scented hand sanitizer you’re just masking the smell, so I think the best bet is to always have those that smoke wash their hands and if you want to be extra careful they can then use the sanitizer. This sanitizer is also so gentle it’s something that I know in the near future I won’t mind letting my son use.

The Dish Dazzler – Foaming Dish and Bottle Soap

This was by far my favorite thing about the essentials package. I can’t tell you enough how great this dish soap works. The fact that its foaming means you really have to use very very little. It’s absolutely perfect for baby bottles. There is no using the sprayer to make it lather or shaking the bottle up or anything like that. You simply squirt a tiny bit onto your bottle washer and it makes it through the whole cleaning process. There was no residue left on the bottles or sippy cups and they came out sparkling clean. It’s perfect for when you need to just wash a few items and don’t want to waste tons of water.

This is something I plan on having in my house as long as I have children. Since just a little goes a long way it’s a far more economical choice than regular dish soap, but most importantly the fact that it’s non-toxic and fragrance free makes me feel better about using it on my babies dishes. Think about it… does the babies bottle (which they’ll be putting in their mouth) really need to smell like grapefruit, oranges or anything else?

I encourage you (especially new moms) to head over to the BabyGanics site and check out all the products they have to offer.  The essentials kit itself is a great buy at only $19.99

Provided for review by Southard Communications on behalf of BabyGanics.

Approximately 12,000 units of MYLICON® GAS RELIEF DYE FREE drops non-staining 1 oz. bottles have been recalled as of November 10, 2008.

The company is implementing this recall to the consumer level as a precaution after determining that some bottles could include metal fragments that were generated during the manufacturing process.

Consumers who purchased Infants’ MYLICON® GAS RELIEF DYE FREE drops non-staining included in this recall should immediately stop using the product and contact the company at 1-800-222-9435 (Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. EST) or via the internet at www.mylicon.com for instructions regarding how to dispose of the product and request a replacement or refund.

Here is a link to the original press release on their site: Mylicon.com

One thing I have found that is very difficult is installing a car seat. Ok, maybe you think you had an easy time of it, but do you know if you installed it correctly? You may think you have but statistics show that’s not always the case. Something as simple as a harness thats too loose could cost you your child. I’m not trying to scare you, but I am trying to make you aware. If you’ve read the instructions carefully and you still can’t quite figure out how to install the seat there may be people that can help you. Firstly, go here to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Website and read up. They have a lot of useful information. Secondly, go HERE, also on their website, put in your zip code and see if there is an inspection site where you can have someone make sure your seat is installed correctly. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

Btw, I realize that this will probably be read by people from places other than the U.S., however I’m only familiar with this in my own country. I apologize.