Parenting Sites 411

Our week is a bit busy here in Chattanooga. Our neighborhood is getting ready to build a long awaited playground and it is just steps from my back door. We are very excited. I actually have put off putting any slides or climbing things in our backyard because of this project.

Playground safety is very important. Even though our playground will be brand new and following all kinds of safety regulations, it is still important to be aware of how to keep our kids safe.

Supervision
Last week our local news was buzzing over the near abduction of a little boy from the local playground. Supervision of your kids is a must at the playground. It seems like a no-brainer, but it is at the top of my personal list for safety. It isn’t just because of the possibility of missing kids, but adults can often see the dangers that kids can’t.

The National Program for Playground Safety has an excellent section on supervision:

NPPS recommends that supervisors follow the ABC’s™ of Supervision. Supervisors need to Anticipate preventable problems and hazardous situations. Behavior means being alert and attentive. Despite the type or Context of the play area, whenever children are on the playground, adults should be present.

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I decided that last week I accidentally moved into the Crumley House of Spew and Poo. I wish I could figure out how to move out, but I think my only hope of improvement is to change the tenants of our location. I mean really, how many diapers can one person deal with before going a bit nutty? I almost cried on Friday when Fuller threw up first thing that morning. He really seemed like he was getting better on Thursday evening.

Today the boy is asking and signing “eat” rather intensely, so I am hoping he really is feeling better.

When the news broke last week about the Peanut Butter recall, many helpful relatives sent us news links to the articles, wondering if that was the cause of our recent misfortune. Well, in our house choosy moms choose JIF, which was not on the recall list. I figured that we were just dealing with the stomach bug that many of the families in our church have been dealing with.

If you check that link up there, you will notice that I linked straight to the FDA website with the official recall notice. I did not link to a news story or other blog entry. That is because when it comes to recalls, food or otherwise, I really prefer to get it from the horse’s mouth and I consider the government agencies the final word on those issues.

There are several areas of a parents life that recalls can affect- food, household supplies, furniture, and of course toys.
I am not planning a total review of these sites, but I do want pass a long these websites as potential bookmarks for you. Just as every parent should have band aids and Popsicles, you should probably be familiar where to find these websites.

Recalls.gov is an excellent starting point and maybe the only site you want to actually bookmark. It offers the following topics of recalls at the top of the site: Consumer Products, Motor Vehicles, Boats, Food, Medicine, Cosmetics, and Environmental Products. When you click on a topic, you then get to a list of relevant links to the actual agencies that deal with those subjects.

I went through each section and only two did not offer links to sign up for alert emails. Personally I would prefer if the agencies all used RSS feeds for their articles, and some of them do, but it is important to note that I did not find email signups under Motor Vehicles and Boats.

Here are some quick links for you:

Infant/ Child product recalls- this does not include toys
Toy recalls
Food recalls- not including meat, eggs, and poultry
Meat, eggs, and poultry

I often wonder how my parents made it to adulthood without cabinet latches, outlet covers, and car seats (gasp!), but I am really glad that society has progressed to the point where a finding a car seat with a five point harness is very easy. Hope these links help you and your family like they help mine.