Did you know there were safety guidelines regarding your children’s sleepwear? Did you know that they recently changed? The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently released their new requirements for kid’s pajamas to help give parents safe and broader choices when it comes to sleepwear.

• Infant sizes up to 9 months may be made from flame resistant or non-flame resistant fabrics
• Infant sizes above 9 months must either be flame resistant or worn snug-fitting

Children should not sleep in oversized or loose-fitting clothing like t-shirts or sweatshirts or other garments made from non-flame resistant fabrics. It’s important to keep 2 “f” words in mind when you’re buying your children’s sleepwear:  fabric and fit!

The Injury Prevention Program (TIPP), a program of the American Academy of Pediatrics, has a few ways to help parents get their kids to wear their bicycle helmets. Of course, they remind parents to be good role models and wear helmets themselves. Children are old enough to start learning to take precautions on their own. Check out the tips from TIPP below:

• Establish the helmet habit early.
• Talk to your children about why you want them to protect their heads.
• Reward your kids for wearing helmets.
• Don’t let your children ride their bikes without their helmets.
• Encourage your child’s friends to wear helmets.
• Make sure everyone in the family wears a helmet on every ride!

Is there anything you can do to prevent your child from choking? The experts say there is. Of course, accidents do happen. But just being aware of some general choking hazards could help prevent a possible tragedy.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), children under 4 years of age should not be fed round, firm food unless it is completely chopped. If infants and young kids don’t grind or chew their food well, they may try to swallow it whole. Avoid the following foods for little ones:

• hot dogs
• nuts and seeds
• chunks of meat and cheese
• whole grapes
• hard gooey or sticky candy
• popcorn
• chunks of peanut butter
• raw vegetables
• fruit chunks
• chewing gum

The following household items should be out of the reach of infants and toddlers at all times:

• balloons
• coins
• marbles
• toys with small parts
• toys that can fit entirely in a child’s mouth
• small balls
• pen or marker caps
• small button-type batteries
• medicine syringes

Source:  Choking Prevention and First Aid for Infants and Children (c)2006 AAP

American Girls and Build-A-Bear have nothing on Ridemakerz. Just ask the boys who shop there.

Ridemakerz is a toy car shop; seven of them are currently in business across the country. Of course, they’re popular with boys. But dads and moms and even sisters are finding Ridemakerz a pretty fun place to be. 

Ridemakerz market to the preteens with their “rimz” and “decalz” and “enginez” and “ridez” and prices too. Accessories for the cars and trucks start at $2.50 while the toy cars themselves start at just $15.00. Ridemakerz is targeted for the beginner who wants to make the toy car of his or her dreams out of 600 million possible combinations.

If the sound of Ridemakerz revs your child’s engine, check out their website. Your child can start picking parts and comparing cars or even planning a Ridemakerz party. Hold on tight; it’s a fun ride!

Steve McDonagh and Dan Smith deliver plenty of helpings of great fun and fabulous food on their Food Network show, “Party Line with the Hearty Boys.” They’ve also built a Chicago cooking empire that is a bright spot in the Windy City.

This week, Kelly Haramis spotlights McDonagh and Smith in the Chicago Tribune with their tips for tricking a picky eater:

1. Know when to give up–The Hearty Boys defer to their pediatrician’s wise words of wisdom on this one:  Is he drinking milk? Then he’s not going to die.
2. Don’t open with your best line–If you’re aiming for your child to eat meatloaf for dinner, offer him a few meaningless scraps first. Let him say yes or no, giving him the feeling of power and choice, and then bring out your best stuff.
3. Watch how other people feed him–It might be hard to hear, but your child may eat much better for Grandma or Uncle Bob or Nelly the Nanny. If what they’re doing works, then follow their same method to the madness. The consistency at all meals could help everyone out!

Recent research is shedding lots of light on brain development and its link to early education. But should resources and funding be focused on infants and toddlers or traditional preschools?

The Chicago Tribune recently brought this plight to light. As reported by Jeremy Manier, Studies have suggested that intervening before children start preschool improves academic outcomes for low-income kids and may reduce the risk they will end up in prison. And some experts assert that starting schooling at age 4 or 5 just might be too late.

But not everyone agrees. Manier reports the other side of the story.

Backers of universal preschool say the evidence for even earlier is not yet solid and offering conventional prekindergarten to everyone would help build popular support for early education.

It’s definitely a tough call to make. With evidence on both sides of the debate, where do you fall on the early education situation? At least I think everyone agrees that early education can only help kids and all kids deserve the help.

Hand-me-downs have never been so hot! As of April 29th, Johnson Baby has begun auctioning off the gently-used goods of celebrity parents and their children on ebay. The proceeds are going to raise money for charity. The following are just 3 of the celebrities who have offered up some of their favorite things (and who were showcased in People magazine):

1. Matt Damon-A b-kaed messenger-style tote that fits all your newborn’s needs
2. MariskaHargitay-Her son August’s barely-used Adidas running shoes with black and blue stripes
3. Elisabeth Hasselbeck-The Chicco Cortina Travel System she swears by

I must admit. I did a double take when I first saw a picture of the Vanity Fair cover with Miley Cyrus on it. I do think it’s a gorgeous picture but appropriate for a 15-year-old? I’m not sure.

The thing is, after listening to comments from her and her parents since the picture has been released, it’s obvious that they had no problems with the various poses and states of robe-and disrobe-at the time of the photo shoot. They assumed it would be done artfully. I think it was. I just don’t know if Miley is old enough to be that artful, you know?

But, I definitely believe that it doesn’t really matter what the public thinks. It matters what Miley and her parents think. Lots of people are talking about the picture; the backlash is might create remains to be seen. At least this provides yet another opportunity for parents to open up a dialogue with their children about choices.

Pregnant women who eat chocolate just might fight off the serious complication known as preclampsia.

Basically, chocolate, especially dark chocolate, is rich with a certain chemical that helps the heart. Preclampsia is a condition in which blood pressure spikes during pregnancy and has features similar to heart disease.

Researchers studied 2,291 who delivered a single baby and asked them about their chocolate consumption during pregnancy. Women who ate 5 or more servings of chocolate each week in their third trimester were 40% less likely to develop preclampsia than their peers who ate chocolate less than once a week.

Researchers believe their findings definitely raise the possibility of a link between chocolate consumption and a reduced risk of preclampsia. They have encouraged others to conduct further research. Looks like chocolate might just do the body-and the baby-good!

A new study has indicated that the number of pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes has doubled in seven years. Obviously, this poses a health risk for both mothers and newborns. If the diabetes isn’t controlled, chances of miscarriage and still birth increase as well as the risk of their babies being born with birth defects.

More than 175,000 women were included in the study between 1999 and 2005. The rate of pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes rose from 8 per 1,000 pregnancies to 18 per 1,000. The rate increased the most among 13- to 19-year old expectant mothers. According to the experts, the findings from this study reflect the overall U.S. population.

It’s important to remember that gestational diabetes-which is developed during pregnancy-is different than pre-pregnancy diabetes. And all women with pre-existing diabetes should plan their pregnancies since they’re considered high-risk pregnancies. Diabetes can be monitored and controlled and women with the condition can deliver happy and healthy babies. Seeking medical help and controlling the disease is of utmost importance.