MEETS NOCSAE STANDARDS, what does that mean? If your child plays football, or you know a child who plays football, or you care about child safety here is a must read article about helmet safety.

A bad diet may lead to bad health for many inner-city kids. And it may also lead to bad behavior.

That’s the conclusion of some public health experts who are advocating for vitamins and other nutritional supplements to curb youth violence and to increase learning. The controversial idea is getting a fresh hearing in Baltimore, where advocates for the disadvantaged are considering testing it on city kids.

If it’s proven that a tablet a day can tick up test scores and dial down violence, it could be a cheaper and easier means of improving a lot of young lives than costly and labor-intensive treatments, according to the Abell Foundation, which wants to determine whether a Baltimore study would be worthwhile.

You can read the full report here at Vitamins and Violence

The Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health now provides an online tool for researchers, policymakers, health officials, and others to collect and compare national, regional, and state-level measures of health status and data on a variety of topics relating to child health and well-being.  With access to data from the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health, users may also create custom profiles of children’s health and system performance.  The profile in full is available at:
http://nschdata.org/indicators/Indicator_Report.aspx?rid=4&gid=0

Preventing Childhood Obesity in Early Care and Education Programs,  the new set of national standards describing evidence-based and expert consensus on best practices in nutrition, physical activity, and screen time for early care and education programs are now AVAILABLE. Access them at http://nrckids.org/CFOC3/PDFVersion/preventing_obesity.pdf. These updated standards will be a part of the comprehensive Caring for Our
Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards; Guidelines for Early Care and Education Pro­grams, Third Edition (CFOC, 3rd Ed.) to be released in 2011. The standards are for all types of early care and education settings – centers and family child care homes.
 
Preventing Childhood Obesity in Early Care and Education Programs contains practical intervention strategies to prevent excessive weight gain in young children. The standards detail opportunities for facilities and caregivers/teachers  to work with families beginning on day one of an infant’s enrollment to prevent childhood obesity by promoting a healthy and active lifestyle.
Areas of coverage:
·         General Nutrition Requirements
·         Meal and Snack Patterns
·         Requirements for Infants and Support Breastfeeding of Infants
·         Requirements for Toddlers and Preschoolers
·         Meal Service and Supervision
·         Food Brought from Home
·         Nutrition Education
·         Active Opportunities for Physical Activity
·         Outdoor and Indoor Play Time
·         Caregivers/Teachers’ Encouragement of Physical Activity
·         Screen Time Limits
·         Policies on  Infant Feeding, Food and Nutrition Services, and
Physical Activity

Caring for Our Children standards are developed through a public-private partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). Funding for the pre-released selected standards was provided by the Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Bureau.
 
Preventing Childhood Obesity is available at http://nrckids.org/CFOC3/PDFVersion/preventing_obesity.pdf.
Additional Caring for Our Children and related health and safety resources can be found at http://nrckids.org.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26, 2010
Release #10-309

Firm’s Recall Hotline: (888) 240-4282
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908
 
Baby Matters Recalls Nap Nanny(r) Recliners Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards; One Infant Death Reported

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Baby Matters LLC, of Berwyn, Pa., is announcing the voluntary recall of 30,000 Nap Nanny(r) portable baby recliners. CPSC is investigating a report of a 4-month-old girl from Royal Oak, Mich. who died in a Nap Nanny(r) that was being used in a crib. According to preliminary reports, the infant was in her harness and found hanging over the side of the product, caught between the Nap Nanny(r) and the crib bumper.

CPSC and Baby Matters are aware of one other incident in which an infant became entrapped when the Nap Nanny was used in a crib, contrary to the product instructions. In that incident, the infant fell over the side of the Nap Nanny(r), despite being harnessed in, and was caught between the baby recliner and the side of the crib. The infant sustained a cut to the forehead.

CPSC and the firm have received 22 reports of infants, primarily younger than 5-months-old, hanging or falling out over the side of the Nap
Nanny(r) despite most of the infants being placed in the harness. One infant received a bruise as a result of hanging over the side of the product.

Infants can partially fall or hang over the side of the Nap Nanny(r) even while the harness is in use. This situation can be worse if the Velcro(tm) straps, located inside the Nap Nanny(r) cover are not properly attached to the “D”-rings located on the foam, or if consumers are using the first generation model Nap Nanny(r) that was sold without “D”-rings.

In addition, if the Nap Nanny(r) is placed inside a crib, play yard or other confined area, which is not a recommended use, the infant can fall or hang over of the side of the Nap Nanny(r) and become entrapped between the crib side and the Nap Nanny(r) and suffocate.

Likewise, if the Nap Nanny(r) is placed on a table, countertop, or other elevated surface and a child falls over the side, it poses a risk of serious head injury. Consumers should always use the Nap Nanny(r) on the floor away from any other products.

The Nap Nanny(r) is a portable recliner designed for sleeping, resting and playing. The recliner includes a foam base with an inclined indentation for the infant to sit in and a fitted fabric cover and a three point harness. The first generation model of the Nap Nanny(r) can be identified by the absence of “D”-rings in the foam base. In second generation models, the harness system has “D”-rings in the foam base and Velcro(tm) straps inside the fitted fabric cover.

The recalled Nap Nannys(r) were sold at toy and children’s retail stores nationwide and online, including at www.napnanny.com, from January 2009 through July 2010 for about $130.

The recalled product was manufactured in the United States and China.

Consumers with a first generation Nap Nanny(r) models, without “D”-rings, should stop using the recalled baby recliners immediately and contact the firm to receive an $80 coupon towards the purchase of a new Nap Nanny(r) with free shipping. Consumers with a second generation Nap Nanny(r) model, with “D”-rings, should immediately stop using the product until they are able to visit the firm’s website to obtain new product instructions and warnings. Consumers will also view an important instructional video to help consumers ensure the harness is properly fastened. Consumers who are unable to view the video or new instructions online, should contact the firm to receive free copies by mail. For more information, contact Baby Matters toll-free at (888) 240-4282 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s website at www.napnanny.com/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/prhtml10/10309.html

The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity has submitted its report to the President.  The report proposes the strategies that must be instigated immediately to solve this problem within a generation.  You can read the report at childhood obesity_fullreport_