Product Review: Flashcard Time: Brain Quest for Kids

I'm always looking for ways to challenge my preschooler. Like many kids, he gets bored easily. I received Brain Quest for 3 and 4 year olds from my mother. Thank goodness she found these, otherwise I would have just kept going past them in the store.

What's nice about these flashcards there is hinge to flip through the cards easily without getting the individual cards all over the place. There were definitely questions in the set that I had never thought of asking my son. He really had a great time and would ask me constantly to go through the cards. Eventually he knew all the questions, so I bought him the Pre-K stack. From what I can tell, each set of Brain Quest cards really matches up well with where their skill levels should be. I like that my son doesn't know all the answers, but that he knows enough not to get discouraged.

I will definitely continue to buy these cards and think any parent would like them as well.

Brain Quest for Threes

Brain Quest Preschool

Product Recall: Mclaren Strollers due to fingertip amputations!

Maclaren USA Recalls to Repair Strollers Following Fingertip Amputations

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Maclaren Strollers

Units: About one million

Distributor: Maclaren USA, Inc., of South Norwalk, Conn.

Hazard: The stroller's hinge mechanism poses a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard to the child when the consumer is unfolding/opening the stroller.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received 15 reports of children placing their finger in the stroller's hinge mechanism, resulting in 12 reports of fingertip amputations in the United States.

Description: This recall involves all Maclaren single and double umbrella strollers. The word "Maclaren" is printed on the stroller. The affected models included Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller.

Sold at: Babies"R"Us, Target and other juvenile product and mass merchandise retailers nationwide from 1999 through November 2009 for between $100 and $360.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using these recalled strollers and contact Maclaren USA to receive a free repair kit.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Maclaren USA toll-free at (877) 688-2326 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm's Web site at www.maclaren.us/recall

To see this recall on CPSC's web site, including pictures of the recalled product, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10033.html

Product Recall: Halloween Flashlights

Halloween Flashlights Sold Exclusively at Target Recalled Due to Burn Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Halloween Flashlights

Units: About 610,000

Importer: Target, of Minneapolis, Minn.

Manufacturer: DGI LLC, of Warren, N.J. and Tien Hsing, of Wanchai, Hong Kong

Hazard: The flashlights can overheat and melt, posing a burn hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received eight reports of flashlights overheating and melting, including one report of burns to the hand.

Description: This recall involves two types of Halloween-themed flashlights: the mini flashlights and flashlights sold with stencils.

Mini Flashlights - The mini flashlights have a key ring extending from the bottom and were sold in a pack of three colors: orange, green and black. The orange and purple packaging has “Mini Flashlights (3 Pack)” printed on the front and “DGI”, “Made in China” and “DPCI# 234-02-1813” printed on the back.

Standard Size Flashlights - Also included in the recall are standard sized flashlights with a black handle and an orange top. The flashlights were sold with six stencils in various colors and images: a pumpkin, ghost, spider, cat, witch and skull & cross-bones. “Flashlight with Stencil” is printed on the front and “Tien Hsing,” “Made in China” and ”234 02 1838” is printed on the back of the packaging.

Sold exclusively at: Target stores nationwide from August 2009 through September 2009 for $1 for the mini flashlights and $2.50 for the flashlights with stencils.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumer should immediately stop using the flashlights and return the product to any Target store for a full refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Target at (800) 440-0680 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.target.com

Hot Christmas Toys of 2009

Is it ever too early to start thinking of the holidays? Shopping for that perfect gift, planning festivities, writing out your Christmas cards... yikes... there's a lot to do!!

Every year, people starting buzzing about what the hot christmas toy will be. And that's a great question. Many moms, like myself, want to get a head start and perhaps beat the crowds and get that hot christmas toy. So: what ARE the hot Christmas toys of 2009? I've put together a list that I hope will help all you early shoppers!

Fisher Price Elmo Live Encore : What would a hot Christmas toy list be without some mention of an elmo doll. It looks like this toy is currently in stock at most major retailers, but who knows for how long. Black Friday (biggest shopping day of the year - isn't far off.

Zhu Zhu Pets : Wow is all I can say about this toy. Again, there always has to be a toy on the list that makes all adults scratch their heads. I guess you get a hamster without having to feed it and clean up after it. It moves and kids can buy all sorts of accessories for this faux hamster - including a car. Right now, Walmart, Target, and Toys R Us are out of stock - the only place to get it is Amazon - which is fine by me...it's where I do most of my christmas shopping anyway.

Fisher Price Smart Fit: This commercial makes my son go CRAZY. He really wants this and I think for under $45 (@ Amazon), that's not a bad price. It would be great to get him to wear some of his energy off when we're stuck inside all winter!

Fisher-Price Kid Tough Digital Cameras : I'm quite intrigued by this one. It seems like it's about as close to the real thing as you can get, without paying a ton of money. Durability is key as is it's realism. My son received a camera last year as he love taking pictures, but it didn't have the screen on the back to preview the picture. This camera from Fisher-Price does.

Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Learning Farm : I love this one. It's the newest version of their Laugh & Learn Home, which entertained my son for a LONG time. If I already didn't have that one, I would so get this. It's a REALLY great toy and I would highly recommend putting this on your hot toys list this year.

Another use of infant probiotics

My son's reflux seemed to have been helped by the use of Udo's Choice Infant's Blend Probiotic as I've outlined in some previous posts. After I was done pumping, we used the Good Start formula, also with probiotics because the benefits were so great.

On October 6, 2009, an article was published by Medpagetoday stating that

a milk protein supplement, taken alone or in combination with a probiotic, seemed to reduce the incidence of sepsis among the smallest of premature infants

Mayo News also published an article just yesterday (Oct 12, 2009) outlining that eczema could also be helped by both probiotics and prebiotics taken daily.

What I've come to realize is that probiotics can also be used to treat chronic constipation. My eldest son was always constipated. We had tried so many things and just continued to get frustrated. We ate a lot of fruits and vegetables and whole grains. I started giving him wheat bran mixed with applesauce or yogurt and that helped but didn't solve it. I started eating Activia yogurt and he would have his own...eventually his intestines seemed to improve. He was no longer constipated. He has a yogurt every day. When he goes awhile without Activia, he starts getting problems again.

My youngest now, is showing signs of the same chronic constipation. I reached for my Udo's Infant probiotics and started giving him some 2x a day and eventually, his stools became much softer. I'm hoping that I can prevent 2 years of constipation, like my oldest had to endure by being proactive with my probiotics.

Keeping Kids entertained...and keeping yourself sane.

As the weather goes from sunny blue skies and gray, snowy ones, the kids go from playing outside to staying indoors. Indoors means kids running through the house like there is something on fire, all members of household are deaf, and the mountains of toys that fill every corner of your house now seem invisible.

Sigh.

How to keep the kids busy when the weather isn't too friendly for the kids to go outdoors?

I tend to lean toward arts and crafts. My kids tend to LOVE doing all sorts of different things like painting, cutting out paper and glueing... here's a list of some of the arts and crafts we've tried out.

1.
Assorted Animals Puppet Kit By Martha Stewart Create

2.
Zoo Animal Puppet Kit by Martha Stewart Create

3.
The Usborne Book of Art Ideas (Usborne Art Ideas)

4.
Elmer's Fantastic Finger Paint Pack of 32, with Paper, Smock & Table Mat Included

5.
Melissa & Doug Dinosaur Stamp Set

6. Spider-Man 3: Coloring and Activity Book and Sticky Spider


So the last two might be a little boy-centric - but that's what I got. Most of the time, I've seen that if the kids are occupied with something constructive, they tend to not act so much like maniacs. And non-maniacal kids means a happy afternoon for momma.

Another case of bunk bed hazards: Recall on Bunk Beds

Big Lots Stores, Inc. Recalls to Repair Bunk Beds Due to Collapse and Fall Hazards

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Wooden Bunk Beds

Units: About 20,000

Importer: Big Lots Stores, Inc., of Columbus, Ohio

Hazard: The bunk beds mattress support slats and side support railings can break, posing a risk of the bunk bed collapsing and a fall hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Big Lots has received 14 reports of the recalled bunk beds support slats cracking or breaking, including four reports of minor injuries.

Description: This recall includes wooden bunk beds with a three step ladder. Model numbers WP-9108-1 and WP-9108-2 are included in this recall. The model number is located on a sticker on the bunk bed's interior panel of the headboard or the footboard.

Sold exclusively at: Big Lots stores nationwide from May 2008 through February 2009 for about $300.

Manufactured in: Vietnam

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using recalled bunk beds and contact Big Lots to return the defective parts and to receive a free repair kit.

Consumer Contact: For more information, contact Big Lots toll-free at (866) 244-5687 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's Web site at www.biglots.com