DC Metro Mom

Whether you are bringing home a newborn or transitioning a preschooler into a larger car or booster seat, you undoubtedly have questions about safety standards and product options. What is the best car seat brand? When can I put my child into a booster seat? What are the latest car seat safety laws?

When I grew up in Philadelphia, Penn State was an institution.  Penn State was a respected college with an incredible football team that young and old loved.  The idyllic backdrop of Happy Valley and the storied career of Joe Paterno all played into the mystique of the school.  Many of my friends clamored to get into Penn State.  Today college admission to Penn State is highly competitive and more and more high school students, both in and out of the State of Pennsylvania, strive to get accepted to this prestigious state school.

To say I was disturbed and disappointed to hear about the recent child sex abuse scandal is an understatement!  FIND THE FULL STORY HERE.

A new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advised parents to keep their toddlers in rear-facing car seats until age 2.  Previous recommendations cited age 12 months and 20 pounds as a minimum threshold for switching to a forward-facing seat.  This new advice is based in part on a University of Virginia study that found children under 2 are 75% less likely to suffer severe or fatal injuries in a crash if they are facing backwards.   "A rear-facing child safety seat does a better job of supporting the head, neck and spin of infants and toddlers in a crash, because it distributes the force of the collision over the entire body," explained Dennis Durbin, MD, FAAP, lead author of the policy statement and accompanying technical report.   The policy also contains updated advice for children transitioning into and out of booster seats.

In summary, the updated recommendations are:

A few months back I did a post about the Bisphenol A (BPA) in water bottles and the potential for side effects. BPA is an estrogen-like chemical that can leach into your drink. It may be linked to health problems, including breast cancer and early puberty. Canada is considering banning the use of it altogether.

My own water bottles were not the only issue though. I realized that most of my kid's sippy cups also contain BPA! Why on earth do they manufacture children's cups with toxic chemicals?!

Thankfully, I was able to find the Safe Sippy Cup. It is a non-leaching stainless steel cup with a hard plastic, angled spout, removable plastic handles, and a cool rubber-like plastic sheath.

According to the website:

The debate regarding the true detriment of the industrial chemical BPA (Bisphenol A) used in bottles, pacifiers and sippy cups, appears to be a moot point.  Mothers have spoken and industry leaders such as Avent, Dr. Browns, Nuby and Playtex have given in to the mounting pressure by parents and major suppliers like Babies R Us and Toys R Us.

As of today, almost all of the major players in the baby business have converted to a BPA FREE product assortment for consumers.   This comes as welcome news to parents who had the fear of God thrust on them in recent months over the BPA debate.  Again, the jury is still out as to the true negative effects of BPA products.  But it seems the mere thought of tainted product had folks adopting a mantra of "Better safe then sorry".

Of course, when the story first broke many folks had to take out a loan (slight exaggeration) to purchase the few BPA Free products that were on store shelves.  The bottle make Born Free definitely had a great run.  Seriously...$20.00 for 2 Born Free bottles!!!

The Mommy Docs, local doctors offering pediatric information and reassurance.

Here are 4 tips for sun safety:

1. Learn the lingo and shop for sunscreen: SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. Everyone needs a sunscreen with a SPF level of 15 or higher and broad spectrum coverage (both UVA and UVB rays). Look for ingredients such as zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, oxybenzone, avobenzone, sulisobenzone, and mexoryl.

2. Wear sun protection clothing and gear: Even kids should wear sunglasses that provide 99-100% UVA and UVB protection and a wide brim hat. For sun-protective clothing, look for an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) of 30 or greater.

3. Establish a routine: Make applying sunscreen part of your children's daily routine. Apply it 30 minutes before going out and use enough to cover exposed areas. Don't forget to reapply every two hours or sooner if swimming, sweating, or toweling off.

4. Pack and use sunscreen: Give sunscreen (with application instructions) to your children's camp counselors, babysitters, daycare providers, etc. to ensure reapplication throughout the day.

Visit Mommy Docs at http://www.mommydocs.com/

Cross posted on  http://capitolmoms.blogspot.com/.

Are your child's toys safe?  Since the alarm bell sounded on toxic toys, I have been concerned about what lurks in my home.  I have been diligent about pitching items that crop up on national news reports, but I think I still need to do a full audit of my little's ones collection of creatures, gizmos and gadgets.

I just heard about a site that makes the process easier for parents.  A one-stop resource for parents who want some fast answers.  While it may seem like a laborious task, it is worth it to make a list of items and check in with this website.  Even easier, pick that laptop up, circle your playroom and punch in the toys that inhabit your house.  Since 80% of all toys come from China, chances are there are toys that you have been given or have purchased that might fall into the category of "unsafe".  I would also recommend asking daycare providers, gym childcare centers and any other place that your child plays...if they have gone through a similar exercise to weed out any problem toys.

The site is  http://www.healthytoys.org/home.php