CNN reported a story about a police officer who breastfed babies who had been separated from their mothers during the recent earthquake in China. What a selfless act. Wow.
From the article: “I am breast-feeding, so I can feed babies. I didn’t think of it much,” she said. “It is a mother’s reaction and a basic duty as a police officer to help.
I’m driving a 10-year-old car that a recent Consumer Reports lists in the “Used Cars NOT to Buy. ” I didn’t CR to tell me this, the car has had more repairs than the other two cars I’ve had (a never fail Nissan and a Mazda), so we have been studying new-car guides, test driving cars and I’ve even taken to watching MotorWeek, a program Jake enjoys on the weekends when I’m doing other things. But yesterday’s episode drew me in with a segment on moms and cars. Kristin Varela, a mom-driver who needed a new car a few years ago developed this site for people like her, who need to know that basics like miles per gallon (mpg) and safety ratings, but she also wanted to find a car where she could stuff/retrieve groceries easily in the back and have a nice surface for a road-side diaper change. Mother Proof was born. She doesn’t just review soccer-mom SUVs, but smaller cars, hybrids, something for just about every driver on the road. After a road trip with the grandparents where we fit two suitcases and the baby’s Pack-n-Play in the trunk of their Prius, comfortably fit baby’s car seat and her momma in the back seat, along with a diaper bag and a few other items, I’m pretty much smitten with their hybrid. We didn’t stop for gas once and there were still 100 miles left to go after a round trip from NJ to VA, before it needed more gas.
There are also video tips on the site as well as a Seal of Approval section: Keep Me Clean, Keep Me Safe, Organize Me, and more reviews of helpful products. I was personally impressed by the story of the mom who Zip-locked puke during a ride with a car-sick kid and the review of Potty Mitts, for keeping hands clean on road trips during treks to stinky bathrooms. Check it out.
There have been a lot of recalls in the news lately - toys with lead paint on them, cold medicines, and now…chairs. Here on MyGeekBaby, we want to give parents the benefit of the doubt. I have seen first hand kids whose little heads seem like magnets for coffee tables. Toddlers getting sure on their feet often fall, all part of the learning process. But when I saw video of parents putting this chair on a kitchen table, bar area of anything other than the ground, it seems like a chair recall isn’t as necessary as the need for some parents to take (or re-take) a basic parenting class. The chair is designed to help your little one get used to sitting up, and after 28 reports of falls, including three skull fractures, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall.
There are a lot of ways to misuse the products we purchase for our children, but a chair recall isn’t going to give anyone common sense, you just can’t buy that at the store.