Fourth stroller recalled because hinges pose amputation hazard. Britax has recalled 15,000 "Blink" umbrella strollers because the hinge mechanism poses a fingertip amputation hazard when the stroller is being opened or closed. This is the fourth in a series of stroller recalls because of hinge hazards. Learn more in the full Safety blog post.

CPSC chair takes hard line on defective cribs. Inez Tenenbaum, the chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, had some harsh words for manufacturers who blame the victim when their products are recalled. In her recent keynote address to the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization, Tenenbaum said her agency is cracking down on the makers of defective products, especially children's products. She pledged that the CPSC would issue a new, safer crib standard sometime this year and "not let special interests hijack the process," according to the Washington Post. Learn more in the full Safety blog post.

Should hot dogs be redesigned? In a policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics said that food manufacturers should design new foods and redesign existing foods to avoid shapes, sizes, textures, and other characteristics that increase choking risk to children, to the extent possible. "If you were to take the best engineers in the world and try to design the perfect plug for a child's airway, it would be a hot dog," says statement author Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. "I'm a pediatric emergency doctor, and to try to get them out once they're wedged in, it's almost impossible." Lean more in the full Safety blog post.

After fires, Discovery Kids recalls 360,000 lamps. The problem with the marine- and safari-themed lamps is that a defect in the printed circuit board can cause an electrical short, posing a fire and burn hazard. They were sold at mass merchandisers and department, drug, and hardware stores nationwide—online and through direct sales—from July 2009 through January 2010 for about $10. They were made in China and imported by a California company, Innovage. Learn more in the full Safety blog post.

Push-button ignition: Is it safe? Vehicle technology has come a long way in the past decade and many new features have helped reduce the number of crashes and fatalities. However, sometimes a new feature can add more complexities and confusion, and create safety concerns. And now, in light of the recent Toyota recalls, there are questions about the safety of vehicles with push-button ignition. One issue that has come to light lately is how to stop a car with push button ignition if you are faced with sudden acceleration. Right now there is no government standard for start-stop buttons, but federal regulators and industry groups are researching the option of adopting standard procedures. In the meantime, it’s important to be familiar with how your vehicle’s start-stop button works. Check your owner’s manual for details. Learn more in the full Cars blog post.

You may not go through as many batteries as diapers during your baby’s first couple of years, but it will seem pretty close. Batteries aren’t usually included when you buy toys and baby gear with music, lights, vibration, or sound effects, and some toys or baby products may require more than one size battery. Not every battery is right for every job, either.

Here’s a rundown of what to consider before your next visit to the battery section of the store, based on our recent tests of AA batteries—the most common type used in toys.

Buy rechargeables for high-use items. For often-used toys, digital cameras, and other devices drawing bursts of power, make the greener choice: rechargeables. Another option is a single-use lithium battery. The downside of rechargeables? They discharge when they’re not in use, so they’re not the best choice for battery-powered toys that sit idle. You also may have to charge the battery before the first use. Don’t mix rechargeable and disposable batteries, however. And use a suitable recharger. For flashlights, remote controls, and other devices drawing little power, consider single-use alkaline batteries, which should have a shelf life of several years.

Keep disposable batteries around as a backup, even if you plan to use rechargeables. Among disposables, lithium batteries, which are expensive, are the best for getting the most shots from your digital camera.

Follow manufacturer recommendations. No disposable battery is a deal if the toy or baby product’s manufacturer recommends another type. Be wary of knockoff brands that seem like a great value. Some have been defective.

Store and dispose of batteries properly. You should store batteries separate from one another and from other metal objects in a cool, dry place (no need to store in the refrigerator). Don't mix battery types, sizes, or ages. Rechargeable batteries should be recycled to keep their heavy metals out of landfills. To find out where to recycle, go to the Web site of the nonprofit Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corp.

Learn more in the full AA batteries Ratings report in the December 2009 issue of Consumer Reports.

The puck stops here: Keeping hockey injuries in check. Hockey has been on display at the Winter Olympics since the moment Wayne Gretzky lit the Olympic cauldron in Vancouver. That attention is sure to ignite interest in youngsters to head to the local rink and lace up. But the rough culture of the sport has some sports physicians concerned. A recent study of U.S. youth hockey players 9 to 15 years old found that head and neck injuries accounted for 23 percent of the total number of injuries and that body checking accounted for 86 percent of all injuries that occurred during games. Learn more in the full Safety blog post.

Helmets and figure skaters. One thing you'll rarely see a figure skater wearing is a helmet. Some sports physicians and trainers think that's a mistake. A recent study concludes that helmet use would prevent a large number of head injuries, especially in children. The study, conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, concluded that the proportion of head injuries among ice-skaters was greater than that observed for participants in other types of skating (skateboarders, roller skaters and in-line skaters)—for whom helmet use is recommended and often required. Learn more in the full Safety blog post.

The puck stops here: Keeping hockey injuries in check. Hockey has been on display at the Winter Olympics since the moment Wayne Gretzky lit the Olympic cauldron in Vancouver. That attention is sure to ignite interest in youngsters to head to the local rink and lace up. But the rough culture of the sport has some sports physicians concerned. A recent study of U.S. youth hockey players 9 to 15 years old found that head and neck injuries accounted for 23 percent of the total number of injuries and that body checking accounted for 86 percent of all injuries that occurred during games. Learn more in the full Safety blog post.

Helmets and figure skaters. One thing you'll rarely see a figure skater wearing is a helmet. Some sports physicians and trainers think that's a mistake. A recent study concludes that helmet use would prevent a large number of head injuries, especially in children. The study, conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, concluded that the proportion of head injuries among ice-skaters was greater than that observed for participants in other types of skating (skateboarders, roller skaters and in-line skaters)—for whom helmet use is recommended and often required. Learn more in the full Safety blog post.

Today's babies & kids deals, courtesy of The Consumerist:

Clothing
Converse: [Clothing & Accessories] Converse Five-Day Winter Sale: Up to 70% off + extra 30% off
Crocs.com: [Shoes] Crocs outlet: Up to 50% off select shoes + free shipping
llbean: [Clothing & Accessories] L.L.Bean Sale: 50% to 70% off outerwear + free shipping

Entertainment
goHastings: [Video Games] goHastings.com Used Game Clearance: From $1 + $3 s&h
Best Buy: [Video Games] Best Buy printable coupons: $5 to $20 off select console games for members
Toys R Us: [Toys & Hobbies] LEGO Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser for $77 + $6 s&h
History Channel: [TV Show DVD] MonsterQuest Season 2 + Season 3 FREE (6 Discs total) $19.99
Meijer: [Video Games] New Release – Nintendo Wii Sports Resort Game w/ Wii Motion Plus $41.58 Free Shipping

Food
Wendys: [Restaurant] $1 off Wendys Fish Fillet Combo Meal w/ Printable Coupon

Freebies
Start Sampling: [Food] Free South Beach Living S'Mores Bar

Neither Consumer Reports nor The Consumerist receive anything in exchange for featuring these deals; the posts are intended to be purely informational. These deals are often fleeting, with prices changing or products becoming unavailable as the day progresses.

These posts are not an endorsement of the featured products or the Web sites that sell them. Price shouldn't be your only criterion. Be wary of lower-priced deals that seem too good to be true, and check return policies and other gotchas.

For general buying advice for children's products, check out our free Babies & Kids Buying Guides.

See more daily deals.

No, you aren’t seeing things! A third egg was spotted in the nest this
morning and it was determined it was laid around 6:45 p.m. last night. The
second egg appeared on Thursday around 4:35 p.m, right after I turned off my
computer and left the office. Sometimes I really think Liberty knows I’m
watching. According to our biologist, if the clutch is complete, we can
expect the eggs to hatch around March 25-28.

Here’s some eagle facts that might be of interest to our eagle cam viewers:

The nest is 100 feet up the tree and the camera sits another six feet
above that.
Bald eagles generally weigh around 10 lbs. Of course we have no idea
how much our two friends weigh in at.
The other birds seen around the nest are crows, turkey vultures and
ravens.
There are times when both parents will leave the nest and cover the eggs
with duff. This is usually when the sun is not shining.
The female eagle is larger, has a bigger beak and the white feathers on
her neck have a “notch” in front. The male’s white feathers form a more
perfect circle where they meet the brown feathers.

Visit the Eagle’s Nest website at http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist2/eagles.htm  

Thanks to Denise Yergenson from the Department of Transportation for her weekly updates! 

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It began with the puttanesca sauce. 

Once my kids read volume one of A Series of Unfortunate Events, they were enthralled. In it, the plucky orphans, forced to make dinner on a seriously restricted budget, create a batch of pasta puttanesca, the creation of which is lovingly described.

“Can we make that?” my son asked, with awe in his voice.

I jumped at the chance to get him, and my daughter, to try something new. Besides tomatoes, this tasty sauce commonly includes olives, anchovies, and capers—not typical fare for my kids! My son helped with everything from the internet recipe search, to food shopping for the ingredients, to peeling garlic, simmering the sauce, and finally dishing it up with a glow of pride for everyone to try.

Did he like the sauce? Not so much, though he’s tried it a couple times since then, and I think it’s growing on him. More importantly though, the experience gave me an idea: I saw all the media saturating my children’s lives as an opportunity to expand their culinary horizons.

When you start to look for food references in books, movies, and TV shows, it’s amazing how many you suddenly notice. Bella Swan of the Twilight films gets credit for my daughter’s voluntarily trying mushroom ravioli. Robert Downey, Jr.’s teatime chats in Sherlock Holmes inspired my kids to request a proper English “tea,” complete with scones and jam. Harry Potter…well, we haven’t discovered a purveyor of pumpkin juice yet, but we have experimented with bangers and mash (an English favorite of mashed potatoes and sausages), a berry trifle, and our own version of “porridge” (a combination of oatmeal, spices, dried fruit, and nuts). 

Not everything has been a hit, but I have noticed that my kids are starting to become more adventuresome in their eating habits, maybe taking a chance or two with a non-committal bite. Maybe there’s something about seeing or reading about someone else eating and enjoying a strange food that primes them for taking that first bite, like a positive form of media peer pressure. Whatever it is, I’m taking full advantage of it to get them to experiment more with food.

As an extra benefit, I’ve been using the search for media food finds as a way to help me break out of the “same old, same old” rut of foods I know they’ll always eat, in order to jazz up our weekday menus.

I can’t wait until they watch Julie and Julia with me—then maybe they’ll learn an even deeper love for food and cooking!

—Erin Gudeux, senior project leader, sensory department

Here are some recent baby-and-child related stories from The Consumerist:

Baby Bracelets, Pacifier Clips Recalled Because Lead Is Apparently Not Good For Your Infant
A cute little baby bracelet made by Allreds Design (also known as Hidden Hollow Beads) of Utah may be the perfect little trinket to bling up your toddler—and give her lead poisoning. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of baby bracelets and pacifier clips produced by Allreds. It's not a mammoth recall-only about 900 units—but it's been discovered that the metal used in the bracelets and in the clasps for the pacifier clips contains a high level of lead. Allreds has already received one report of a 10-month-old child who received treatment for elevated lead levels due to their products. The bracelets being recalled were sold in the following sizes: 0-6 months, 1-4 years, and 4-8 years of age. Read the full post.

TSA Makes Disabled Child Remove Leg Braces, Walk Through Metal Detector
The TSA forced a disabled 4-year old to get out of his stroller and remove his leg braces and walk unassisted through the metal director. After the humiliating and frightening incident, the boy's father, a cop, told the supervisor, "This is overkill. He's 4 years old. I don't think he's a terrorist." The supervisor then said, "You know why we're doing this," and walked away, according to the father. It turns out that this didn't even follow TSA policy, which would have allowed for the boy to be privately screened and swabbed for explosive material traces, without having to remove his braces. Read the full post.

When: Fri Mar 12, 2010 2pm

Where: 1344 Market Street,Redding,California,96001,United States

MORE INFORMATION:

Event Description: All Ages are welcome! It’s a benefit show for Kids! Set up by Redding Chapter SDmf, this event is being thrown in order to give kids, of all ages, instruments. This will give them an opportunity in music that they might never have had. Let’s get those children Shreddin!!! A donation box will be set up at The Downtown Eatery, plus more drop box locations TBA. A free lunch will be set up for the kids. $4 for adults to eat. All profits from such will go directly to the bands.

Please contact the Downtown Eatery for questions or to ensure event details haven’t changed!

Lies, autism, and fear of the MMR vaccine. This month the Lancet retracted a twelve-year-old study proposing a link between autism and the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, following an official repudiation of its ethical and scientific standards by the British General Medical Council, which found that the researchers behind the study had brought “the medical profession into disrepute.” Harsh words that come a little late in the day given the staggering public health consequences the study helped foment. Learn more in the full Health blog post.

Does your child need the ER? Mild infections are common during childhood. But parents often face a difficult decision if they suspect a more serious illness, about whether they need to get medical help. Researchers have come up with a checklist of “red flag” symptoms, and they’re the factors most likely to indicate a dangerous infection. Learn more in the full Health blog post.

3 household habits can offset childhood obesity. A new study has found that a trio of basic household routines—having dinner as a family, limiting TV time, and making sure kids get enough sleep—may substantially lower the risk of obesity for young children. The researchers found that kids were much less likely to be obese if they watched less than two hours of TV on weekdays, slept at least 10.5 hours a night, and ate family meals more than five times a week. Learn more in the full Health blog post.

Is packaged salad clean? You might think that "pre­washed" and "triple-washed" salad greens sold in plastic clamshells or bags are squeaky clean. But our recent tests found room for improvement. In our samples, we did find bacteria that are common indicators of poor sanitation and fecal contamination—in some cases, at rather high levels. Whether the greens came in a clamshell or bag, included "baby" greens, or were organic made no difference. Learn more in the full article from the March 2010 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.