Hello parents and consumers. This week there were 5 child-related product recalls announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and listed below. As always, if you own any of the items below discontinue use immediately and follow the link to the CPSC website for full details on returns, repairs or refunds.
Our new Klean Kanteen Sippy cup arrived today and I have to say it seems pretty slick. The Klean Kanteen Sippy is a stainless steel cup with a sippy spout for kids. It’s well-built, durable and most important of all totally BPA-free and not subject to the leaching which many plastic-based sippy cups are.
If you’ll recall, there was a report published a while back which indicated that plastic-based cups, specifically those with BPA, are prone to leeching chemicals into their contents. After that we chucked our old baby bottles (which we used twice) and got BPA-free bottles (which we also used about twice).
We went stainless steel with the sippy because as the contents become more acidic (like juices) there is an increased tendency for the plastics to degrade and be ingested. A very cool design feature is that the spouts can be switched out over time to convert the bottle from a sippy cup to a regular water bottle, so it can change with your child’s needs.
They’re a little on the expensive side (about $18), but for a durable item that is healthier for my son, I think it’s well worth the few extra bucks.
Product description and image via Amazon:
The Klean Kanteen Sippy Cup is a reusable, lightweight and risk-free 12oz stainless steel bottle designed for small hands. It comes with a sippy adapter made from safe, non-leaching polypropylene (pp#5) and 2 spouts.
Features:
- Holds 12 fluid oz (355 ml)
- Fun, safe, non-leaching, toxin-free, zero BPA
- Safe alternative to plastic sippy cups
- High-quality food grade 304 L.N. stainless steel
- Durable, lightweight, reusable and 100% recyclable
- Slim design fits most cup/bottle holders
- Non-leaching & toxin-free
- No inner lining, clean tasting
- Wide mouth fits ice cubes
- Dishwasher friendly
After a commercial break, the teens had to decide which parent would stay at home and which one would work. Alicea said that she would like to go to work because she didn’t want to deal with the kid at all because of the mom and she “doesn’t take s#!* from anyone.” Alicea, do humanity a favor and never had kids.
The father of Dayton and Morgan’s kid paid them a visit and gave them some great advice on soothing and calming a baby. He admitted that it’s difficult but that they have to relax themselves in order to help a baby relax.
The last parental visit of the night was to Kelsey and Shaun who apparently forgot they had a child to take care of and had not changed, bathed or properly fed their baby prior to bed time. When Shaun suggested they just put the baby in the other room because she was crying, the onlooking mother looked ready to snap. You can’t blame her.
That’s it for this week, folks. I need to digest this episode before I decide whether I’ll tune in next week. While I think it’s great that these kids are getting a true taste of parenthood and learning what’s really involved, it irritates me to watch the choices and attitude of some of the contestants.
The first set of parents to take delivery of a child was Jordan and Sasha. I give them the best shot at doing well as parents.
Alicea and her boyfriend were next with Shaun and Kelsey as the third couple to get their child. Shaun looked terrified. Dayton and Morgan were up next, followed by Austin and Kelly last.
The first person to really irk me due to their treatment of a child was Alicea. She gave up feeding the child because she was too frustrated and swore at the kid. The onlooking parents (via video cam) decided to step in and help her / the baby and instructed her how she should be feeding. Alicea immediately got her back up and began getting snippy and defensive with the mother. I don’t know how the mother didn’t just take her child and leave.
If you missed the post the other day, Baby Borrowers is a show about teens who think they want to have children and will live with others’ kids for a few days.
I barely made it through the intro without thinking these contestants were not going to fare well. I gave it a chance, though. Within a few minutes the first absolute mess of the show stepped up and showed her true colors. When contestant Kelley had to wear a pregnancy suit to simulate pregnant weight gain (as did every other female contestant) and boyfriend Austin giggled, she broke down crying and yelling at him. She then refused to leave the house an attend parenting classes like everyone else.
To Austin’s credit he went to the parenting class on his own. Upon his return, Kelley proceeded to act even crazier. If my kid were slated to end up with her for a few days, I would run screaming. Kelly, don’t have kids for a very, very, very long time.
I was at a lunch place in Great Barrington, MA this afternoon when a 2 year old boy approached me and my 6-month-old at our table. My teething son was gnawing on my knuckle at the time, and in amusement, the young boy smiled and raised his finger near my sons open mouth. What the young boy failed to realize is how close he was to spending the rest of his life shopping for four-fingered gloves. I moved my son out of range before he chomped down in an effort to spare the boy his finger tips.
I looked up to his aunt and explained my actions with a smile and “he’s drawn blood”. She laughed and immediately said that reminded her of the ‘Charlie bit my finger’ video on Youtube. I had never heard of it previous to this afternoon, but it’s had over 34 million views in the last year, so it’s relatively popular.
Without further adieu, the ‘Charlie bit my finger’ phenomenon.
A few people had mentioned the upcoming show “Baby Borrowers” in comments about a pregnancy pact at a Massachusetts high school. The show basically thrusts teens into parental and adult situations to see how they cope.
NBC’s upcoming reality series “The Baby Borrowers” is an intriguing new social experiment based on the hit British program that asks five diverse teenage couples — ages 18-20 — to fast-track to adulthood by setting up a home, getting a job and becoming caring parents first to babies, toddlers, pre-teens and their pets, teenagers and senior citizens — all over the course of three weeks.
I’m definitely interested to see this show and find it an interesting premise. You never know who will step up to the challenge of parenting well and who will get totally overwhelmed, adult or teen. The show “Baby Borrowers” premiers June 25th on NBC.
Hello parents and consumers. This week there was only one recall from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). As always, if you ever see a product that you own listed here, discontinue use immediately and follow the link below for instructions on returns, refunds or repairs.
Aside from the “early to bed, early” to rise cliche you’ve always heard, going to bed and rising early will maximize the time you have to spend with your baby or young child. This aligns you more with their sleep patterns so you are both awake during more of the same hours.
I wake up early so I can spend time with my boy before I leave for work, and I love it. I take him for walks in the morning with our dog and it’s great quality time that gets us both lots of fresh air. Not only does it increase my time with him, it de-emphasizes work by fitting in more activity in my day before I ever even arrive at the office. I find that I am no longer waking up and rushing out the door, but enjoying my home and family more before I start my professional day.
2. Utilize your lunch time better
A properly utilized lunch time is a great way to increase your time with your kids. I’ve done this in three primary ways:
a: Finish any errands or tasks during your lunch time that you would otherwise do at night. This will free up your evenings and reduce the number of things which may infringe your time together.
b: Visit your child during your lunch time or have them come to you if the other parent is able to drive them. My wife and son visit me quite often at noon and I love seeing them. I always have a good time, even if we just run errands together, and it really breaks up my day.
c: If your work schedule is flexible enough, try taking a shorter lunch period or working through lunch and get out early. I often try to get into the office early because I get up early (see #1) , take half a lunch and head on home to see my boy.
3. Feed them
Having dinner together as a family is a great bonding time. It is time well spent together and gives you the opportunity to be part of the child’s routine. Meals are a significant part of a child’s day and by being part of one, you are taking a major role in your child’s life. For me, feeding my son is a messy and time consuming endeavor, but he’s happy and interactive during the process so it’s great quality time.
Goodnight Moon is my son’s favorite book. Hovering in the third place slot is The Runaway Bunny. Both are books by Margaret Wise Brown. Many of this early 20th century author’s stories feature animals as the main characters and a definite pattern or rhythm. Her approach was to write stories the way kids wanted to hear a story, not how adults tend to tell them.
Tonight while reading GM to my son, as I flipped the last page I noted a blurb about Ms Brown which indicated that she only lived to the age of 42. Out of curiosity I looked up her up on Wikipedia and found out she was quite an interesting lady who lived a relatively full life in a short time. Born in Connecticut in 1910, she began writing children’s books at the age of 22 while working at the Bank Street Experimental School in New York City and wrote hundreds of works over the next twenty years.
Brown died unexpectedly of an embolism while on a book tour in Nice, France. According to Wikipedia, two weeks after an emergency… kicking up her leg to show the doctor how well she was feeling ironically caused a blood clot, which had formed in her leg, to dislodge and travel to her heart. A very strange ending, indeed, but the works she created have long outlived her and will be her legacy for generations to come. I can’t wait to dig into more of her tales with my son.
For anyone who loves life and the people they share it with. Find advice, information, and observations on exciting beginnings and everyday journeys of families and relationships.
cup arrived today and I have to say it seems pretty slick. The 
Features:
is my son’s favorite book. Hovering in the third place slot is 
. Both are books by Margaret Wise Brown. Many of this early 20th century author’s stories feature animals as the main characters and a definite pattern or rhythm. Her approach was to write stories the way kids wanted to hear a story, not how adults tend to tell them.
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