ONLINERecall Resources
A year ago, 17-month-old Daniel Keysar was strangled when, say his parents, a portable crib collapsed. His parents, shocked to learn that the crib had been on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s recall list since 1993, founded Kids In Danger to warn other families. “In 1998 alone, there were 200 recalls of children’s products. Did you hear of 200 recalls?” says Boaz Keysar, Daniel’s father. “There’s no systematic way of informing people.” Their Web site, www.KidsInDanger.org, has links to–among others–the CPSC’s site, searchable by product category or name.
COOKINGBon Appetit
Getting kids to eat healthy foods can be a challenge, especially if your toddler is the finicky type. For help from an expert, try “First Meals” (DK Books. $16.95), a beautifully illustrated, easy-to-follow guide to cooking for kids up to the age of 5. Author Annabel Karmel, a mother of three who trained at the Cordon Bleu cooking school, begins with the basics: nutrition guidelines, equipment, safety procedures. In addition to the recipes, there are tips on how to make mealtime an enjoyable family activity, what to do when children lose their appetite during an illness and how to encourage youngsters to enjoy cooking. Although some of the recipes tend to be cutesy (“mini pizzas” with veggie faces), they’ll please kids.
ALERTStop Bouncing
Trampolines are popular in backyards when kids outgrow the swing set and jungle gym. But emergency-room doctors say they’ve seen a huge jump in trampoline-related injuries in the past few years. In 1996 alone, more than 83,000 people received treatment, about 75 percent of them children under 15. A third had broken bones, while others suffered neck, head and spinal injuries. As a result, the American Academy of Pediatrics this month formally called for a ban on home trampolines and recommended that schools not use them as part of their physical-education classes or as outdoor-play equipment.
