A global problem: Where have the scissors gone?

By Marla Jo Fisher, The Orange County Register

The other day, I was thinking about the famous parental admonition, “Don’t run with scissors,” and wishing I could do it.

Yes, I would like to run with my scissors for a simple reason: That would mean I could actually find a pair.

My house is not bereft of scissors. I know this because I personally purchased 825 pairs in the past year alone.

One notable day, when there was a good “back to school” sale, I bought an entire packing crate of scissors, thinking this would take care of my scissatory needs at least until we’re all under water from global warming.

But, you see, I have children.

You parents out there know what’s coming...

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Too young for makeup, tweens should toss the mascara

By Aisha Sultan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

I figured my daughter was either exaggerating or confused when she reported that her classmates were bringing lip gloss to school. She’s in the second grade. She must have confused ChapStick for gloss, I thought.

As it turned out, I was the confused one. I was oblivious to the notion that an 8-year-old could want or need to enhance her face with cosmetic products. And, I couldn’t fathom parents who would allow it.

Apparently, there is a booming tween makeup market that brings in more than $24 million a year.

Peggy Orenstein, author of “Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture,” writes that nearly half of 6-year-old girls regularly use...

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Mom gear: Breastfeeding pillow a great help to moms and newborns

By Emilie Lucchesi, McClatchy-Tribune

In January, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a call to action about breastfeeding. Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin said breastfeeding helps protect infants from infections and illnesses. Benjamin cited a study in the journal Pediatrics that estimates the U.S. could save $13 billion a year if babies were protected from such illness and infection.

Most American women begin breastfeeding after childbirth, but only 13 percent of babies are exclusively breastfed by six months of age, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Many feeding aids are available to help mothers increase feeding ease and comfort. The Natural Boost from Leachco is a feeding pillow placed on the mother’s lap. The pillow has...

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Project Do-It: Teaching kids to be self-sufficient

By Sandra A. Miller, Disney FamilyFun magazine

One Saturday afternoon, I was trying to meet a work deadline when my daughter, Addie, age 8, barged into my home office asking me to make her a sandwich. “In a minute,” I answered distractedly. But as I headed toward the kitchen, I had a modern-day Confucius moment.

“Give a child a sandwich,” I thought, “and she’ll eat for a day. Teach her to make a sandwich, and she’ll eat for a lifetime.”

That’s when Project Do-It was born. I thought about all the tasks that Addie and her 11-year-old brother, Phinny, were perfectly capable of accomplishing on their own but still expected me or my husband, Mark, to do for them.

These ranged from simple household chores to...

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The Children’s Book-A-Day Almanac is Anita Silvey’s daily love letter to a book

By Genevieve Hinson, MotherOfConfusion.com

Choosing books to read with your kids has just gotten easier. In January, Children’s Book-A-Day Almanac (http://childrensbookalmanac.com) launched with daily recommendations by children’s book expert, Anita Silvey.

Now, it may feel like you’ve read a thousand kids’ books but Silvey’s actually read 130,000 more. It’s obvious from her daily posts that she has love and respect for great literature. Her recommendations are intriguing, thought-provoking and brilliant.

Included with each day’s selection is the story behind the book or author. Make sure to read the daily facts — like the recently noted Susan B. Anthony’s birthday with the suggestion for “Fighter for...

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More Japanese dads using workplace child care

The Yomiuri Shimbun

TOKYO — The number of working fathers who use in-house childcare centers at their companies is gradually increasing, possibly indicating that more men are committed to sharing the responsibilities of child care.

IBM Japan, Ltd. opened IBM Japan Kogamo childcare center at its Hakozaki head office in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, this month. The facility is used by 18 employees, nine of whom are men.

One of them is Hisataka Furukawa, 37, who works in the firm’s marketing department. He decided to take advantage of the facility when his wife, 41, an airline company employee, returned to work after a leave of absence. The couple needed to place their 19-month-old son in childcare during work hours.

Although his wife’s airline...

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Book review: ‘Just Being Audrey’

McClatchy-Tribune

“Just Being Audrey”
By Margaret Cardillo
Illustrated by Julia Denos
From Balzer + Bray Children’s Books ($16.99)
For ages 4-8

Like Audrey Hepburn herself, the children’s picture book “Just Being Audrey,” is charming, beautiful and inspiring.

The book, with its lovely soft pastel illustrations, starts with young Audrey’s dreams of becoming a ballerina in Belgium. It touches briefly on the family fleeing to Holland during World War II, before her discovery by the famous French author Colette, who picked her for the title role in her play “Gigi” on Broadway.

This is the point in the story were the movie-watching public falls in love with her....

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Respect cemented long marriage through changing times

By Aisha Sultan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

One of my favorite love stories begins in the most unromantic way.

My maternal grandmother, Sardar Begum, was 16 or 17 when she was told to prepare for some guests coming to visit. When they arrived, her grandmother told her the event was her engagement ceremony and this man, a stranger to her, her fiance. It was India in the mid-1930s, so, of course, she married Khawaja Hafeez ur Rehman Wyne.

He was a soft-spoken man, religious and socially active. She was a simple woman, with black hair so long and beautiful, two female servants would come to help her take it down and wash it. Nine months after they wed, she gave birth to a daughter.

More children quickly followed: another daughter, four sons. One baby boy...

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IKEA recalling 20,000 cribs sold it in its stores

IKEA is recalling about 20,000 SNIGLAR cribs sold in the U.S. because the four bolts provided with some of the cribs to secure the mattress support are not long enough and can cause the mattress support to detach and collapse, creating a risk of entrapment and suffocation to a child in the crib.
No injuries have been reported.
The cribs were full-sized, non-drop-side cribs with the model number 60091931. SNIGLAR, IKEA and the model number are printed on a label attached to the mattress support. The crib frame and mattress support are made of natural/light-colored wood.
They were sold at IKEA stores nationwide from October 2005 through June 2010 for about $80.
Consumers should stop using the crib immediately and check the crib. If the mattress support bolts...

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Nearly 10,000 babies suffer crib injuries yearly

By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer

CHICAGO — Almost 10,000 infants and toddlers are hurt in crib and playpen accidents each year, according to the first nationwide analysis of emergency room treatment for these injuries.

Most injuries were from falls in toddlers between ages 1 and 2 — generally old enough to attempt climbing out of a crib or playpen.
Researchers who studied 19 years of ER data say better prevention efforts are needed, but that recent safety measures including a ban on drop-side cribs likely will reduce those numbers.

The study found a gradual decrease in the injury rate between 1990 and 2008. But overall, even in the most recent years examined, an average of 26 infants daily were injured in crib-related accidents, said lead...

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