Is your baby’s high chair safe?

Recall alert for parents with Graco high chairs. The U.S. Consumer product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a major recall for more than a million Graco Harmony High Chairs.

So far, Graco has received 464 reports of screws falling and plastic brackets cracking causing this high chair model to tip unexpectedly. The fall hazard has resulted in bumps, and bruises to the head, hairline fractures to the arm, cuts, bumps and bruises to the body.

The recall was issued last March 18 and involves all Harmony High Chairs sold by manufacturer Graco. This particular line of high chairs was made from November 2003 through December 2009. They are no longer in production.

Here’s a picture from the CPSC website. Click the photo to enlarge and get a better look:

To check your own Graco high chair to see if it is included in this recall, check the model number found on the label that is located on the underside of the foot rest. Here are the model numbers included in this recall:

Harmony™ High Chairs Model Numbers: 3920BAN, 3920BAN2, 3920BEB, 3920BEBB, 3920COV, 3920DOH, 3920GEI, 3920GEIDSP, 3920GRN, 3920HMP, 3920IVY, 3920LAU, 3920PKR, 3930DDH, 3930DHO, 3935CAL, 3935OXB, 3935PKR, 3935PKRDSP, 3935SPM 3935SPMDSP, 3935THR, 3935THR2, 3935THR3, 3940BIA, 3940BIADSP, 3940CAP, 3940CLE , 940COT, 3940DRM, 3940HML, 3940MCH, 3940NGS, 3940SAV, 3940SLT, 3940SPT, 3940STA, 3940UNN, 3951CLO, 3951CLT, 3951COT, 3951ORC, 3951WLO, 3955WSR, 3960BGN, 3960CJG, 3960CNP, 3960GGG, 3980CNR, 3E00ABB, 3E00BAT, 3E00DCF, 3E00DCFDSP, 3E00DGP, 3E00DGPDSP, 3E00GPK, 3E01BDS, 3E01BDSCA, 3E01DNY, 3E01DNY1, 3E01ELP, 3E01ELPDSP

Note: These model numbers may begin with the letter A, B, C, or D

Additional Models: 1752404, 1755859, 1755860, 1757259, 1757412, 1760429

The high chairs were sold at the following stores: AAFES, Burlington Coat Factory, Babies “R” Us, Toys “R” Us, Sears, Target, Target.com, Walmart, WalMart.com, Shopko, USA Baby, and other retailers nationwide from December 2003 through March 2010 for between $70 and $120.

If you have the Graco Harmony high chair, stop using it immediately until you get to replace its damaged parts. Graco will issue you a free repair kit. Contact Graco toll-free at (877) 842-3206 or visit the recall section of their web site.

A US Court asserts vaccination does not lead to autism.

A special U.S. “vaccine court” recently ruled that there is no evidence supporting a causal link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism. Doctors and researchers have been telling us about this for years, but this ruling makes the no vaccine-and-autism link official according to the American justice system.

The Vaccine Injury Compensation Act of 1986 set up the special court to hear cases and compensate people who suffer adverse reactions to vaccines. 

Special masters appointed to hear three vaccine cases in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims denied the claims of the parents of children with autism that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines caused their children’s autism.

In one case, special master Patricia Campbell-Smith said the parents of a boy with autism failed to provide “a sound medical theory causally connecting” the child’s condition with vaccination and that the petitioners’ theory of vaccine-related causation is scientifically unsupportable. 
These three cases, along with three cases that failed last year, are being considered by some as test cases for thousands of other pending cases.

The Coalition for SafeMinds, an autism and mercury advocacy organization, said in a statement that it regrets the ruling against three families who argued that vaccines that contained the mercury-based preservative thimerosal contributed to their children’s autism. 

”The denial of reasonable compensation to families was based on inadequate vaccine safety science and poorly designed and highly controversial epidemiology studies supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” the statement said.

Earlier this year, the medical journal The Lancet retracted a 1998 report that suggested a link between the MMR vaccine and autism. A noted Polish study also debunked the autism-MMR vaccine connection, releasing their report last month.

The new mom’s fever FAQs answered.

The first time my firstborn had his fever, I was flustered. You worry how such a tiny baby can handle such a high temperature! Well, babies are bound to get fevers at one point but don’t worry… they will survive. In fact, fevers indicate that their tiny bodies are working to fight an infection. What’s important is to figure out what’s causing the fever.

What’s the best way to take a baby’s temperature?

For babies, the most accurate temperature reading would come from a rectal thermometer. In a baby older than 3 months, taking the temperature orally is fine. Use a digital thermometer for oral readings. Avoid mercury thermometers as there’s a chance your child can end up getting mercury in her mouth — mercury is poisonous. Another option is the ear thermometer, it’s the easiest to use but may be off by about a degree.

What indicates a fever?

A normal temperature is about 98.6°F (37°C) when taken orally (in your child’s mouth) and 99.6°F (37.5°C) when taken rectally (in your child’s bottom). Many doctors define a fever as an oral temperature above 99.5°F (37.5°C) or a rectal temperature above 100.4°F (38°C).

Should I try to lower my baby’s temperature?

Fevers indicate that the body is fighting infection. If your child is between 3 months of age and 3 years of age, you may want to avoid giving him or her medicine if he or she is running a low-grade fever (up to 100.2°F [37.8°C]). If your child is achy and fussy, and his or her temperature is above 100.2°F [37.8°C], contact your pediatrician for which medicine to use.

If you have a baby who is younger than 3 months of age and has a rectal temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, call the doctor or go to the emergency room right away. A fever that high can be a sign of a serious infection in young babies.

What’s the best fever medication?

Do not give fever medicine to babies younger than 2 months. Talk to your pediatrician first before giving any medication, even if it’s available over-the-counter.

Acetaminophen (like Infants’ Tylenol) relieves pain and lowers fever. Check the package label or ask your doctor about the correct dosage for your child. The correct dosage depends on your child’s weight and age.

Ibuprofen is another medicine that can be used to lower a fever in children over 6 months of age. Talk to your doctor before giving ibuprofen (like Children’s Advil, Children’s Motrin) to your child. Your doctor will tell you the correct dose for your child.

Help your newborn settle down with swaddling.

The first few weeks outside the comfortable confines of the mother’s womb is unsettling for most newborns. Swaddling, or wrapping your baby snugly in a blanket (like a burrito) can help her transition this period. A good swaddling technique can also be crucial in letting you get a good night’s rest. When baby sleeps well, so do mommy and daddy. Many fussy babies have been calmed down by a good swaddle.

Swaddling keeps babies from being awakened by their own startle reflex. A newborn is not yet used to her own muscle movements so it often jolts her out of sleep.

Both my kids were soothed by swaddling. My daughter liked her arms inside the swaddle cocoon, my son liked his arms set free. Either way is fine, take your baby’s cues. I had used a swaddle blanket for them — the kind with velcro enclosures. There are many swaddle blankets to choose from these days so shop around and read reviews on which ones work best.

However, I did observe that a simple flannel blanket worked very well when my babies were swaddled in the hospital. The plain flannel blanket is still an option for you. You may want to take a swaddling lesson from the nurses who do it so well in the hospital. My friend’s husband became a swaddling pro by doing that. You Tube is also worth visiting to see if there’s a good instructional clip worth bookmarking.

Here we found a good, step-by-step guide to an effective swaddling method:

1. Lay the baby blanket flat on a bed or other safe, flat surface in a diamond shape. Fold the top corner down about 6 inches.
2. Place the baby on her back, so her head is above the fold.
3. Holding your baby’s right arm to her side, pull the left corner across her body and then tuck it under the right side of her back.
4. Pull the bottom corner up over her feet and tuck into the fabric stretched across her chest.
5. Holding your baby’s left arm to her side, bring the last corner across your baby’s body and tuck under the left side.

Now here are a few other tips to take note of:

1. Lightweight flannel baby blankets are great to use because the fibers stick together well.
2. Swaddling is only effective for a few weeks after birth. After two months, swaddling — which inhibits movement — can restrict motor development.
3. Do not swaddle a baby in a room that’s too warm. Adjust room temperature to consider the extra warmth that comes from the swaddle blanket. Overheating a baby is a risk factor for SIDS or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
4. Some babies do not like being swaddled at all. If the swaddling makes her even more fussier, then it’s not for her. Again, be sensitive to your baby’s cues.

Keep your baby away from nursery hazards.

It’s exciting to plan a nursery — just imagine all the cuteness in one room! Don’t forget though, you should also plan around safety measures. Experts remind us of basic safety issues to make sure your baby won’t fall prey to nursery hazards. Safe Kids Worldwide reports, home accidents send almost two million children to emergency rooms every year. Don’t let your baby be part of that statistic.

Crib Notes

Choose a crib that adheres to government safety standards. Slats should not be more than 2 and 3/8 inches apart — so your child can’t get her head stuck between them. Avoid cribs with cutout designs on some panels. Consider going the chic, minimalist look. Simple cribs without decorative knobs are safer. Those decorated corner posts can snag clothing and lead to injuries — including strangulation.

There should only be two things in your baby’s crib: a firm, tight-fitting mattress and a crib sheet. It’s tempting to make it look cute and cozy with lots of blankets, stuffed animals, and pillows, but these are all suffocation hazards for kids under 1 year old. Nix bumper pads too. The Journal of Pediatrics found that suffocation risks outweigh a bumper pad’s benefits.

Safe Decor

Art work is great for sprucing up a room and adding punches of color. If you want to hang some in the nursery, stick to lightweight canvases. At all cost, avoid heavy picture frames or mirrors that can injure your baby in case they fall. Another option is to paint on the nursery walls themselves. A wall-painted mural can definitely add some character to the room, with no fear of it falling on to your baby. Just make sure the paint used is lead-free and contains no volatile organic compounds or VOC.

No Furniture Tip-Overs

Install braces or anchors to secure tall or heavy pieces of furniture to the wall. No matter how stable a piece of furniture can be, a young child wandering around near it can pose serious danger. Young curious explorers can use dresser drawers as “ladders” to climb up and if it does topple over your child can be seriously injured. So consider installing safety latches on low drawers to prevent this.

Be Cord-and-Outlet-Cautious

Arrange the nursery so that the crib, playpen, and other low-standing pieces of furniture are away from the windows. If they’re too close, your baby could reach the window cords — a major strangulation hazard. He could also climb up to the window and fall through the screen.

As for electrical outlets, use plug protectors so your child can’t poke things into them. Use the kind that covers the entire outlet plate. My determined toddler was once able to wiggle out those individual protectors. Keep electrical cords out of your little one’s reach by tucking them behind furniture or investing in cord shorteners.

Make sure your dog is baby-friendly.

Young children are especially vulnerable to dog attacks. We love dogs, but some of them can pose serious danger to a baby — even dogs that you’re familiar with. A pediatric surgeon who has had to treat children from dog attack injuries says take extra care with Pit bulls and Rottweilers.

Dr. Mark Wulkan of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta explains that in his experience, dogs that attacked children often belonged to the family or the neighbors. Dr. Wulkan says, “people get this false sense of security” because they know the dog and think it won’t hurt anyone.”

Last year, 29 seriously injured children were admitted to Wulkan’s hospital for injuries caused by dogs. Dozens of other children were treated in his emergency room for bites. 
One child’s scalp and ears had been torn off and other children suffered skull injuries, damaged tracheas and face wounds.

Several children died, including a 5-day-old baby mauled by the family’s pit bull, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. 

Pit bulls and Rottweilers caused the most serious injuries among the children treated at Children’s Healthcare, Wulkan notes. 

”With German shepherds, they bite you and then that’s it,” Wulkan said. “Pit bulls and Rottweilers, once they go, they’re going for the kill.”

We may know our canine friend really well, but we should understand that animals can be unpredictable at times. The nicest dogs can be riled by a overly playful toddler or bothered by an unfamiliar baby and we can only guess how they’ll react. Realize that certain breeds of dogs are better around children.

Check your home for lead dangers!

Recent news on how lead can trigger ADHD made me revisit some child-and-home safety sites for tips on how to lessen exposure to this neurotoxin. The use of lead has been greatly reduced since the 1960s, but it still lurks silently in some unexpected places.

I’m going to be more vigilant for my kids’ sake — starting at home. Read more to see what I’ve gathered from the experts on how to protect our children from lead in everyday objects.

Consumer Reports was a great resource for lead safety measures. Here are some valuable advice from them that I organized into do’s and don’ts:

Do’s

• Store toys in a clean place off the floor and wash them frequently to remove any accumulated dust or dirt that may contain lead.
• Sort through the toy box periodically to discard items with chipped paint, deteriorated plastic, or other broken or damaged parts.
• Make sure arts and crafts items you buy for your children are nontoxic. Lead has been banned from paint, including children’s paints, but artist’s paints and ceramic glazes for adult use are exempt from the ban and can contain lead and other toxic heavy metals.

Don’ts

• Avoid vintage toys and antique furniture that may have been painted with older lead-based paint. If an item is a keepsake or collectible, put it away until your child is older.
• Do not buy jewelry for young children. Not only have millions of pieces been recalled for excessive lead content, but such jewelry can also pose a choking hazard.
• Don’t allow babies to play with or chew on your keys because metal keys have been identified as potential sources of lead exposure.

Doctors also say, kids who take in adequate amounts of iron and calcium absorb less lead. Looking out for lead exposure also means checking recall lists regularly. Products found to have high lead content are usually included in these lists. Take heed so you don’t unknowingly bring them into your own lead-free home!

Teach your preschooler what she can do in case she gets lost.

Records show that a child goes missing every 40 seconds. That’s a scary thought, but the U.S Office of Juvenile Justice reports that on average, only 115 children are kidnapped by strangers every year. Regardless of statistics, losing your child is probably any parent’s worst nightmare.

Getting lost in the mall, the supermarket or giant amusement park are typical scary incidents — both for the young child and the parent. A little “disaster preparedness” can go a long way in preventing the incident from turning scarier than it ought to be. All you have to do is give your child an In Case You Get Lost Plan.

As soon as your preschooler can talk and take simple directions, you can have a talk about what to do in case they get lost. Don’t wait until they are middle schoolers, which is the usual time such safety talks are given. True, most preschoolers don’t play outside or walk around alone, but they should know what to do in the event they are separated from you in public. This can happen. Here’s what to tell them to do, just in case:

Stay put. As soon as they realize they are lost, tell them not to venture further to look for you. Assure them that you will be the one to get back to them. Explain that it will be harder for you to look for them if they go too far.

Don’t call out mommy or daddy. Yup, you read right. Instead of screaming mommy and daddy, tell your child to scream out your real name. Shouting mommy will be harder to distinguish than shouting Susan Smith!

Talk to strangers. Yup, you read right again. Samantha Wilson, former police officer and founder of kidproofusa.com says, “don’t talk to strangers is actually the biggest mistake parents make. Instead, we have to teach kids never to go anywhere with anyone — without asking their parents’ permission first.”

Look for another mommy and ask her for help. If they have called out your name and they still don’t get your attention, tell them to approach another mommy with kids. Older children can be taught to ask a police officer or store clerk for help, but preschoolers may have difficulty distinguishing uniformed personnel. They will have an easier time recognizing another mommy if you tell them to look for a woman with kids in tow. Wilson explains, “statistically, a mother with children is the safest bet for your kid, and women will generally commit more time to helping your child, because men are afraid that if they help they’ll be targeted as a predator.”

One final piece of advice is to give these instructions without scaring your child. Talk to your child calmly, no need to be alarmist. You can even role play and make a game out of it. Have fun with it! Stay safe!

Another infant death leads to the crib recall’s re-issue.

All parents should be updated on products recalls. A tragic story becomes another reminder for us. July this year, the Simplicity crib was recalled. And yet, a 7-month-old baby recently died from using the recalled crib. The infant was entrapped when part of the crib broke, resulting in death. This is even more tragic considering that ten infant deaths had already been caused by the faulty crib before the issuance of it’s recall last July. The recent death happened this September in Kentucky.

The last child to die before the initial July recall was an 8-month-old from Houston. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that the child was entrapped and suffocated between the dropside and crib mattress when a plastic connector on the drop side broke.

We can only guess why the latest victim was using the crib – despite the recall. Perhaps they didn’t know about it? Whatever the case, their tragedy is a wake-up call to all parents to pay attention to the CPSC announcements. Be updated, stay informed!

This Simplicity Crib recall has now been expanded to ALL Simplicity drop side cribs, including those with the Graco logo and those with a Winnie the Pooh motif. The CPSC has already recalled over 2 million cribs because the plastic hardware can break or deform, causing the drop side to detach and creating a space between the drop side and the crib mattress. Kids getting stuck in that space risk entrapment and suffocation.

In case you have this crib at home, Simplicity has recall information on their website. They will replace the defective crib part for you.

A few posts back we also featured a recall issued for Stork Craft and Fisher Price cribs. Take note of that too, if you are in the market for a crib. Or check if your crib at home falls into that recall.

Remember that your child spends the longest amount of unsupervised time in the crib – you have to make sure you get one that is safe, sturdy and not part of any product recall.

Drop by the CPSC website regularly. If you have kids in the house, be aware that other dangers lurk in toys, sports equipment, other types of kids’ furniture and household products. Before making any major purchases, make it a point to look at their recall lists.

Does your baby really need so much stuff?

For most of human history, babies were raised without all that fancy furniture and baby care contraptions out in the market today. The choices are many, almost dizzying. Different parents will tell you, you have to get this or that product. It can be confusing.

If you are setting up a nursery and buying gear for a coming baby, we’ve listed the bare essentials you will really need. Most parents these days are on a budget, so put these essentials on top of your list, before spending on anything else.

1. Carseat. First off, putting baby in a carseat every time you take her for a ride is the law. Carseats are critical for your child’s safety and you will need it soon as you get on the car to take her home. You can opt for a rear-facing infant car seat, which often comes with a useful carrying handle that allows you to move baby from car to indoors conveniently. When your child is bigger, you will have to get a front-facing toddler seat. To save money, you can choose a convertible car seat which can be used from birth until your child is about 40 pounds. Convertibles can be installed rear-facing for infants, then forward-facing for toddlers.

2. Baby Crib. A crib is essential baby furniture for most parents since this is where you will be putting your child to sleep. Make sure it is up to safety standards, as this is where you will be leaving your baby unattended for the longest period of time.

3. Rocking Chair or Glider. This was an essential for both my children, as it has been for many other parents. Babies love the gentle rocking motion and the rocker (or glider) makes nursing much more relaxing and comfortable. That counts for both baby and mommy. When my babies were sick, I would have to hold them the whole night – and the only comfortable piece of furniture would be our glider. When they’re out of sorts, the glider and extra nursing saved us!

4. Baby Sling. The sling is not just an attachment parenting essential, it is downright practical. You can hold your infant close and keep your hands free to work, play, cook, clean, write, shop or eat… practically anything else. Babies in slings are much calmer – being near mom all the time. Plus, mom can actually get things done!

As your baby gets older, a stroller and high chair will also become essentials. The high chair provides a safe place for your baby to eat once she’s started on solids. The stroller comes in handy when your child becomes to heavy to carry on a sling. The stroller makes baby more “portable”. When you’re out in the park it can be great for getting your child to sleep. My son used to take his afternoon naps on his stroller everyday. After our regular afternoon walk… Zzzzz.

Changing tables, bassinets, baby dressers and playpens are other baby furniture to consider – depending on your budget and specific needs. But start off with what we listed above and you should be ready for baby. Determine what else you need as you go along. There’s really no reason to buy the entire baby store yet!