On the one hand, I agree with the author of this ParentDish post: What was Apple thinking when it approved a game based on violently shaking a crying baby?
On the other hand, there’s a certain thing I like to call The First Amendment, which says companies have the right to try to make money off a bad idea and let it wither and die from unpopularity.
If a mother won’t breast-feed because of the benefits to their child (and studies show barely more than ten percent of American mothers do), maybe they’ll do it for themselves.
A study by the University of Pittsburgh found the longer mothers breast-fed, the lower their risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol by 10- to 23-percent.
Researchers say women had to breastfeed at least 6 months for the health benefits to be stastistically significant. (By then, the benefits to their baby have been quite significant, too.)
Mega Brands America, formerly Rose Art, has agreed to pay more than one million dollars to settle allegations it failed to report serious complaints about its Magnetix building sets.
You know, those magnetic toys that have a tendency to make headlines when a child swallows them and they tear up their intestinal tract.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Rose Art filed a not-very-detailed report in December 2005 of a 22-month-old child dying after swallowing multiple magnets. The company said the magnets fell out due to unusually abusive play. What they failed to mention were 1,100 other complaints of magnets falling out of dozens of varieties of Magnetix sets — including one injury report before the other child died.
Three months later, Rose Art recalled nearly four million Magnetix sets.
The White House Easter egg roll was a true family affair. President Obama joined in by reading a story, “Where the Wild Things Are.” He declares it one of his favorite books.
In true Daddy style, he doesn’t just read the words on the page but discusses with kids what’s happening in the drawings, too.
Here’s a great news item about a New Mexico judge sentencing a six-year-old boy to traffic school to learn about the importance of seat belts.
The boy’s mother found herself in front of the judge because the boy refused to wear his seat belt. She would even stop the car to restrain her son but he would take the belt off - and then he did it in front of a police officer.
The mom argued she wasn’t the problem, it was her son. And the judge listened.
There have been rules for drawstrings in children’s clothing for going on 13 years now, and they’ve been considered a “defect” for three. Yet I’ve still posted a number of recalls for drawstrings — including several recalls announced in one day.
So it’s with disappointment and no surprise to learn 14 companies — 14! — were accused of knowingly failing to report drawstring violations immediately, and the result was 25 recalls involving tens of thousands of pieces of clothing. In reaching a settlement, the companies deny the allegation.
I keep hearing people say how children are our most valuable asset.
As long as we don’t have to pay taxes to educate them or lose any sleep to keep them safe, apparently.
When Dodge County, Wisconsin, used its automated emergency phone dialing system to ask a community to help find a missing 8-year-old boy, the sheriff’s department received complaints.
This makes sense. It helps if you’re afraid of “accidentally” having another one, and in the long run it’s cheaper than condoms (which may be another factor in that Trojans plant closing).
Tom Hanks seems like one of those Hollywood stars who studios would write a blank check to. Tom Hanks wants to make a movie about a toy line from the 1960s, so Hollywood is helping that happen.
Major Matt Mason was a G.I. Joe for the Space Age. The toy line didn’t last as long, once public interest in the space program waned.
Check out a TV commercial for the Major Matt Mason line:
A movie based on another boy-toy line is coming out in August, but “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” is using little more than the names of characters from the 1980s cartoon, which was essentially a “reboot” of the iconic war toy. I doubt you’ll see a single dog tag in the movie but lots of leather and latex.
Shockwave.com has an online version of Milton-Bradley’s The Game of Life that some Christian groups are claiming promotes gay marriage.
Whether you select either a male or female playing piece, when you reach a point in the game to choose your spouse you can still select either a male or female. In other words, the programmers didn’t bother to make two selections — pink spouses for blue game pieces, blue spouses for pink game pieces. Lazy programming or a pro-gay agenda?
Even if you choose a same-sex passenger, you can still add babies to fill up your station wagon.
Since the controversy, The Game of Life has jumped into the top of Shockwave’s downloads.
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Apr 26, 2009 
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Apple iPhone app, baby shaker, shaken baby syndrome
If a mother won’t breast-feed because of the benefits to their child (and studies show barely more than ten percent of American mothers do), maybe they’ll do it for themselves.
Mega Brands America, formerly Rose Art, has agreed to pay more than one million dollars to settle allegations it failed to report serious complaints about its Magnetix building sets.
The White House Easter egg roll was a true family affair. President Obama joined in by reading a story, “Where the Wild Things Are.” He declares it one of his favorite books.
Here’s a great news item about a New Mexico judge sentencing a six-year-old boy to traffic school to learn about the importance of seat belts.
