Midwives Know Birth Matters [video] is a post from: Eco Child's Play

Photo:   Some rights reserved by Karen Sheets

Co-sleeping is safe and beneficial.

I am a co-sleeping advocate!  It was the right decision for my family.  When practiced safely, it is the most natural sleep solution and nurturing thing you can do for your children.

Unfortunately, the media loves to attack co-sleeping as a risk factor for SIDS without mentioning the possibility that toxic chemicals in crib mattresses are to blame.

Today, the New York Times reported:

Deaths from SIDS, a condition that is diagnosed when an infant’s sudden death cannot be explained by other factors, dropped sharply after 1994, after the introduction of the “Back to Sleep” public health campaign that warned parents about the dangers of putting babies to sleep on their stomachs. In the 10 years after the campaign began, the rate of SIDS deaths in the United States fell by 50 percent…

Dr. Krous and colleagues analyzed all sudden deaths among infants in San Diego County from 1991 through 2008. At the start of that period, in 1991, the rate of SIDS deaths was about 1.34 deaths for every 1,000 births in San Diego County. By 2008, it had fallen to 0.64 for every 1,000 births, according to the new study, published in the journal Pediatrics.

But notably, nearly one in three of the babies who died had been placed in the prone position — face down, on their stomachs — to sleep. Bed sharing and being placed alone in an adult bed were also risk factors. Of the babies who died, 38 percent were sharing a bed at the time of death and 45 percent had been placed in an adult bed to sleep. Adult mattresses and bedding are often softer than a crib surface and can compress inward, suffocating a baby, experts warn.

Yet, there is no mention of the actual situations mentioned above.  Were the adult beds free of pillows and comforters?  Were the parents inebriated?

My son was born with a congenital heart defect, and his breathing was shallow at birth. Co-sleeping enabled me to monitor his health all night along, as well as allow his body to continue to be in sync with my breathing and heart rhythms he was used to in utero.  Co-sleeping kept him alive when he was not thriving as a newborn.

There are other suspected causes of SIDS not mentioned by the NY Times.  In fact, some doctors think the very crib mattresses children sleep on are to blame.  Healthy Child Healthy World explains:

It may seem inconceivable that over a million babies have died of this “syndrome”, and after almost half a century and many millions of dollars spent, no one in this age of science and technology can tell us why. But what parents are virtually oblivious to (through no fault of their own) is that a highly convincing explanation for this tragedy has been found, along with a simple means of eliminating it. This explanation is backed by a significant amount of evidence, but has been and continues to be completely ignored by SIDS organizations, the medical community, and the government – for a variety of reasons, including politics, financial liability, and vested interests. Publication of these findings continues to be denied and suppressed. The result is that babies continue to be at risk from deaths that may easily be prevented.

Toxic Gases in Mattresses

Dr. Jim Sprott, OBE, a New Zealand scientist and chemist, says he is certain that crib death is caused by toxic gases, which can be generated from a baby’s mattress. He says chemical compounds containing phosphorus, arsenic and antimony have been added to mattresses as fire retardants and for other purposes since the early 1950′s. A fungus that commonly grows in bedding can interact with these chemicals to create poisonous gases (Richardson 1994). These heavier-than-air gases are concentrated in a thin layer on the baby’s mattress or are diffused away and dissipated into the surrounding atmosphere. If a baby breathes or absorbs a lethal dose of the gases, the central nervous system shuts down, stopping breathing and then heart function. These gases can fatally poison a baby, without waking the sleeping baby and without any struggle by the baby. A normal autopsy would not reveal any sign that the baby was poisoned (Sprott 1996)…

The main orthodox crib death prevention recommendation is to put babies to sleep on their backs. We know that babies do still die when sleeping on their backs, although face-up sleeping does reduce the risk. The gases are denser than air and tend to settle in a thin layer directly on top of the mattress, so babies sleeping face-down are more likely to inhale a lethal dose of the gases. The gases are also absorbed through babies’ skin, and this is one of the major reasons why face-up sleeping provides only partial protection against crib death (Sprott 1996).

Proper co-sleeping does not cause SIDS. Renowned SIDS doctors and researchers know it.

It’s time the media start promoting safe sleep practices for babies without misleading parents.  Not a signal death from SIDS has occurred in New Zealand for 11 years when crib mattresses were wrapped in “specially formulated polyethylene” covers.

 If the NY Times really wants to prevent more tragic infant deaths, perhaps an expose on chemicals in crib mattresses would be more effective, in addition to educating parents on safe co-sleeping practices, rather than posting statistics without explanation.

NY Times Blames Co-Sleeping for SIDS with NO Mention of Flame Retardants in Crib Mattresses is a post from: Eco Child's Play

I have to say, sometimes I get tired of writing product reviews, especially when a product is not truly green.  I accept product samples from companies, and I do think it important to let families know about new products, but often I think maybe I should start another blog for reviews.  That’s how I’m feeling this morning…

We were sent a Zazoo Photo Clock. The premise behind the clock is that an image will signal your child when it is time to be awake and when it is time to be asleep.

Kids and Parents get more sleep! The Zazoo Photo Clock is an innovative sleep solution for children who wake too early or do not stay in bed all night. This contemporary accessory teaches children the concept of “sleep” and “awake” in a fun, educational way. When a child sees a sun, they know it is time to wake (moon: stay in bed until the alarm picture changes). The Zazoo Photo Clock even features a convenient nap-time setting. Parents can use the pre-programmed image set to an alarm time or can easily personalize the awake and asleep photo alarm images using the included USB, flash drive or SD card slot. Ensuring years of use, the Zazoo Photo Clock grows with your child with fun features including a rotating photo frame, music, audio book, alarm clock and video features. The Photo Clock includes music featuring children’s artists from coast to coast. This amazing 11-song compilation of music is built right into the memory of the photo clock. Listen to your own music or play and dance to the built-in tunes. 2011 Award Winner from both the National Parenting Center and the Parent Tested Parent Approved Organization.

Getting enough sleep is a challenge for many parents. Children go to bed earlier than adults, and thus they wake earlier too. I value my time when my children are snoozing, and I chose to get up earlier than my kids to practice yoga without interruption.

Since we coslept with our babies and preschoolers, our children learned to sleep accordingly. Our family would have no need for this photo clock. I can see that it might be useful for some families, but I also think the real sun and moon may provide the same experience. If you are expecting your children to sleep in past the sun rising, well, that is not really how the human body is designed.

There isn’t anything eco-friendly about this photo clock, except that it does grow with your child to be a multimedia gadget. We do have a digital photo frame in our son’s room, as he loves to look at pictures.  We do not leave it on all the time. I worry EMF.  I wouldn’t want my child sleeping near a device that might emit it.

It’s not that I dislike this product, it is that I am not sure of its necessity. Then again, the only time I have had problems with my children’s sleep patterns was when they were newborns, and you really can’t blame them, and after I have stayed up too late, which is my fault.

That being said, my kids think this clock is cool. So there you have it.

Disclosure: I was sent free samples of these products to review. No prior assurances were given as to whether the review would be positive or negative.

Zazoo Kids Photo Clock: Not so Eco-Friendly but Grows with Your Child is a post from: Eco Child's Play

Oh, I don’t know where to begin on this one…

“The idea with the fan dance is that you cover your body with the fans so you give the illusion that you are nude underneath the fans.”

So the illusion does not promote pedophiles or oversexualize young girls? I would not even want my daughter to see this show, let alone partipate!

“I think people are just going to watch the feathers, the fans. I really do.”

Um, that is not what I am watching. I’m looking for those tans bras to make sure those little bodies are covered, and I am not a pedophile.

“Everyone in the industry knows the girls are completely covered and everything’s harmless.”

Tell that to the young victims of molestation.

“These mothers need to stop questioning me.”

Then stop going on TV.

“I’m hot; I’m mean; You can’t have me; You can’t afford me; It’s crotch, boobs!”

OMG! Seriously, harmless with those statements. What does “you can’t afford me” mean? Are you training little prostitutes?

Even the little girls feel “a little naked”.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with the naked body. I encourage my children to skinny dip when we are in nature and go backpacking. There is a big difference between being comfortable with your body and swimming in nature than going on national television and acting like you work in a strip club.  My little girl doesn’t even know what a strip club is.

You can tell the audience is uncomfortable watching the performance.

Lifetime has removed the episode, but the damage has been done to the participants. Gawker explains:

Lifetime, the TV network that “celebrates, entertains, and supports women,” has finally pushed its schadenfreude reality programming too far. After airing an extraordinarily child-sexualizing of Dance Moms once, the network pulled the episode from rotation and scrubbed it from the internet. The episode in question? “Topless Showgirls,” in which a troop of 8- to 13-year-old girls simulate toplessness and perform a burlesque.

The episode aired once two weeks ago. A Lifetime spokesperson confirms that, after airing the episode, the network decided never to air again in reruns and never to make it available on iTunes, Amazon, or MyLifetime.com. In “Topless Showgirls,” Pittsburgh dance instructor Abby Lee Miller teaches her students a “classic” burlesque fan dance, which they are to perform in flesh-toned bras to create the “illusion of nudity.” The dance must convey that the children are “hot,” “mean,” and that men “can’t afford” them.

How this episode ever made it on the air is beyond me.

If you want to watch the dance, you can on Gawker. I don’t want to post it here. I don’t want to attract pedophiles.

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Via:  Huffington Post

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Have your children succumbed to the Silly Bandz craze over the last couple of years?

Silly Bandz are little silicone bracelets that retain their shapes. I know, I know, they aren’t exactly breaking news as far as kid fads go, but things take awhile to reach our mountain hovel. Almost two years ago, the BBC explained:

They’re small, rubber and hoping to conquer the world.

Silly Bandz are colourful, elasticised, silicone wristbands that come in a variety of shapes and are worn like a regular bracelet. They can be stretched to go on to the wrist but always revert back to their original shape.

They come in themed packs, like zoo animals or the alphabet and, most recently, even ones shaped like Canadian singer Justin Bieber.

I will not waste money on Silly Bandz.  They are indicative of the trends involving cheap products marketed to children that do nothing for our environment or our kids. I went to their website to see if there was any redeeming environmental qualities, but no, there is not.

3. Are Silly Bandz made out of recycled junk, like latex?

No. Our bandz are made out of 100% medical grade silicone.

4. Does a kitten cry when someone breaks a band?

We can not confirm or deny this.

We were sent a movie called  Bands on the Run: The Rubber Band Movie.

After accidentally falling off a truck, five rubber bands – Roxie (rock star), Daisy (flower), Edison (light bulb), Ray (TV) and Amelia (airplane) join together to make their way to the toy store and onto the wrists of three happy children!

My daughter was really excited when we opened it, as it had free bands inside (knock off versions). I put it away not in the mood to review it. This weekend, she begged me again. I told her she would have to watch the movie if she opened it and let me know how it was.

She didn’t finish the movie. She said it was stupid. I don’t have the time to confirm this. I can tell by looking at it. It is why I have put off writing this review for so long.

It is just an attempt to jump on the Silly Bandz bandwagon, and I want nothing to do with it.

Disclosure: I was sent free samples of these products to review. No prior assurances were given as to whether the review be positive or negative.

Why I Don’t Silly Like Bandz: Kitties Cry When They Break is a post from: Eco Child's Play

Between birthdays, holidays and everydays, us moms are constantly sifting through piles of products, gadgets and gear for our kids.  But sometimes it’s hard to take stock of what we bring in and every day recalls on products that touch our children’s lives come out.  But no longer must we wait for the news to push out messages of a product’s recall, now we can proactively monitor product recalls with, a just-launched app for iPhone and iPod touch, Recalls Plus, which enables busy parents with young children to proactively protect their children from dangerous products, allowing them to quickly take action to prevent a potential threat.

Not only do I love it, but this app was also featured on Apple’s “What’s Hot” list within the first days of launching and can now be found in the “Great Free Apps” section.  It’s simple to use, easy to navigate, and really helps calm my nerves that I’m doing all I can to monitor the products that touch my kids’ lives.

Features of the Recalls Plus App include:

• Proactively delivers timely recall alerts for the items on your Personal Watch List (a personalized list of the brands and products that you wish to monitor)
• Hand curates every product and food recall directly from government agencies (CPSC, NHTSA, FDA, USDA) for relevance to children and consolidates them in one place
• Provides a simple, easy-to-use solution to track recall information and instantly share it with family and friends

Because sorting through the large volume of typical recalls, many with low personal relevance, can be overwhelming, this app gives parents like me peace of mind that I’m not missing any relevant recalls. The Recalls Plus App is available for FREE from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/recalls-plus/id499200328.  It’s also available on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/recallsplus.

Check it out and populate your personal watch list!

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