Halo Innovations, the maker of the best selling Halo® SleepSack™ wearable blanket, announced today a new partnership with Safe Kids USA. Halo will be recognized as a Gold Level Member of the Safe Kids USA’s 2010 Business Champions Program.

Minnetonka, MN March 24, 2010 — Halo Innovations, the maker of the best selling Halo® SleepSack™ wearable blanket, announced today a new partnership with Safe Kids USA. Halo will be recognized as a Gold Level Member of the Safe Kids USA’s 2010 Business Champions Program.

“As a company whose mission is to help babies sleep safely, we wanted to support an organization that works everyday to keep kids safe,” says Halo’s founder, Bill Schmid. “We are always seeking new ways to communicate safe sleep practices to parents and becoming a member of Safe Kids USA’s Business Champions Program will give us the opportunity to reach their network of coalitions throughout the country.”

Bill Schmid founded Halo in 1994 after spending three years researching safe sleep environments when he lost his infant daughter to SIDS in 1991. Halo is dedicated to developing products that set new standards for the safety and improved health of sleeping infants and to bring peace of mind to parents and caregivers.

“We are excited to welcome Halo as our newest Business Champion,” says Mitch Stoller, president and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide. “It’s because of their generous support that we are able to continue our work educating parents and caregivers in communities across the country on ways to keep the sleeping environments of their children safe.”

For more information about safe sleep practices, please visit www.halosleep.com.

Safe Kids USA works to prevent unintentional childhood injury, the leading cause of death and disability to children ages 1 to 14. More than 600 coalitions in the United States and nineteen member countries worldwide bring together health and safety experts, educators, corporations, foundations, governments and volunteers to educate and protect families. Safe Kids USA is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing unintentional injury. Safe Kids USA was founded in 1987 by Children’s National Medical Center.

The pride of sitting in a “big boy” or “big girl” chair accompanies this cushy, bright and portable booster seat with a raised back for secure seating and lap belt for safety. The POD attaches to a chair with safety straps that clip both under the chair seat and behind the chair back. A wide, non-skid bottom keeps the POD solidly in its place; six color combinations make a decorative statement. One tester claims that her son likes his boosterPOD so much that now he won’t go near his former, hard plastic booster seat!

“This is great for visiting grandma or a friend’s house who wouldn’t have a high chair.”
– Mom Tester
“I like this product better than others because it has a rubberized seat, a safety belt and a solid, hard plastic bottom.”
– Mom Tester

“It’s a nice soft seat, lightweight, portable and comes in great colors.”
– Mom Tester

“It’s reasonably priced for a great quality product.”
– Mom Tester

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 24, 2010
Release #10-177

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada (HC), in cooperation with Infantino LLC, of San Diego, Calif. are announcing a free replacement program for the Infantino “SlingRider” and “Wendy Bellissimo” infant slings. One million of these infant slings are being recalled in the United States and 15,000 are being recalled in Canada. CPSC advises consumers to immediately stop using these slings for infants younger than four months of age due to a risk of suffocation and contact Infantino for a free replacement product.

CPSC is aware of three reports of deaths that occurred in these slings in 2009; a 7-week-old infant in Philadelphia, Pa.; a 6-day-old infant in Salem, Ore.; and a 3-month-old infant in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Infantino “SlingRider,” is a soft fabric baby carrier with a padded shoulder strap that is worn by parents and caregivers to carry an infant weighing up to 20 lbs. “Infantino” is printed on the plastic slider located on the strap. “Infantino,” “SlingRider” and the item number are printed on the instruction/warning label inside the baby sling carrier. “Wendy Bellissimo” branded sling carriers were sold exclusively at Babies “R” Us and have a sewn-in label on the inside of the sling strap that says in part “Wendy Bellissimo Media, Inc.” and lists Item numbers 3937500H7 and 3937501H7.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2010
Release #10-171

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following product. Consumers should stop using product immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Graco Harmony™ High Chairs

Units: About 1.2 million

Manufacturer: Graco Children’s Products Inc., of Atlanta, Ga.

Hazard: The screws holding the front legs of the high chair can loosen and fall out and/or the plastic bracket on the rear legs can crack causing the high chair to become unstable and tip over unexpectedly. This poses a fall hazard to children.

Incidents/Injuries: Graco has received 464 reports of screws loosening/falling out and/or plastic brackets cracking causing the high chair to tip over unexpectedly. These tip-over’s resulted in 24 reports of injuries including bumps and bruises to the head, a hairline fracture to the arm, and cuts, bumps, bruises and scratches to the body.

Description: This recall involves all Harmony™ High Chairs. The Harmony™ high chair was manufactured from November 2003 through December 2009 and is no longer in production. The model number can be found on the label that is located on the underside of the foot rest.

Sold at: AAFES, Burlington Coat Factory, Babies “R” Us, Toys “R” Us, Sears, Target, Target.com, Walmart, WalMart.com, Shopko, USA Baby, and other retailers nationwide from December 2003 through March 2010 for between $70 and $120.

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REVISED RELEASE
Contact:          Linda Woody
lwoody@ahint.com
856-642-4420

JPMA Provides Additional Guidance Regarding CPSC Warning on Slings Issued March 12, 2010

JPMA provides safety tips for parents and caregivers when using slings.

MOUNT LAUREL, NJ March 17, 2010—The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA), a non-profit association dedicated to promoting the industry and the safe use of juvenile products, is providing important safety information to parents and caregivers on the proper use of infant slings. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning for infant slings on March 12, 2010 advising parents and caregivers to be cautious when using infant slings for babies younger than four months of age.

The CPSC warning does not include soft infant carriers, for which there is an ASTM standard and which JPMA certifies. It is important to note that JPMA does not certify slings and currently there is no ASTM standard covering slings. The ASTM subcommittee on infant slings met on March 16, 2010 to review a draft standard for sling carriers and work to develop a voluntary standard is ongoing.

“The JPMA is committed to providing the latest safety information to parents in the prenatal to preschool market,” said Michael Dwyer, CAE, Executive Director of the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association. “Parents and caregivers are looking for answers to tough questions regarding baby gear, and the JPMA can provide those helpful reminders that an important first step toward raising a happy, healthy baby is to create the safest environment possible.”

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For Immediate Release

Santa Maria, CA – Prince Lionheart’s award-winning feeding, nursery, play and travel lines have expanded, introducing beautiful, yet functional products for 2010 – keeping true to its core values.

Feeding: The space-saving Compact Drying Station , the multi-purpose Universal Drawer Organizer and the sleek Deluxe Drying Station , are perfect additions to any parents’ kitchen. Not only do they look fantastic, they are also durable and do an excellent job fitting baby bottles, utensils and food. What’s best? They were also carefully designed for style, quality and longevity – allowing for use long after baby has grown.

The Silicone Bottle Upgrade Kit also joins the Feeding Line, created especially to convert the award-winning Silicone Bottles into sippy cups. As some parents may discover, switching from a bottle to a sippy cup may be difficult as baby has become accustomed to his/her bottle. The Silicone Bottle Upgrade Kit comes with 3 spill-proof silicone spouts and 3 handles, allowing for baby to continue using the familiar bottle which leads to an easier transition to a sippy cup.

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WASHINGTON, D.C.- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is advising parents and caregivers to be cautious when using infant slings for babies younger than four months of age. In researching incident reports from the past 20 years, CPSC identified and is investigating at least 14 deaths associated with sling-style infant carriers, including three in 2009. Twelve of the deaths involved babies younger than four months of age.

Slings can pose two different types of suffocation hazards to babies. In the first few months of life, babies cannot control their heads because of weak neck muscles. The sling’s fabric can press against an infant’s nose and mouth, blocking the baby’s breathing and rapidly suffocating a baby within a minute or two. Additionally, where a sling keeps the infant in a curled position bending the chin toward the chest, the airways can be restricted, limiting the oxygen supply. The baby will not be able to cry for help and can slowly suffocate.

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Being a mom is no easy task and trying to find resources and providers in regards to your children can also be challenging; but 9 Months Later Baby News Store in Twin Falls, Idaho held an event that hopes to help ease the worries that mothers may have. This mixer was a chance for Mothers to get together with OBGYN’s, Pediatricians, Lactation Consultants, Doulas, Midwifes, Mom’s Clubs, and qualified babysitters to help make life’s biggest decisions. For more information watch the video. http://www.kmvt.com/home/video/87403237.html?video=YHI&t=a

Child passenger restraint requirements vary based on age, weight and height. Often, this happens in three stages: infants use rear-facing infant seats; toddlers use forward facing child safety seats; and older children use booster seats.

Many laws require all children to ride in the rear seat whenever possible, and most states permit children over a particular age, height or weight to use an adult safety belt. First offense fines for not complying with a state’s child passenger safety laws vary from $10 to $500. Some states also use driver’s license points as an additional penalty for noncompliance.

All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Virgin Islands require child safety seats for infants and children fitting specific criteria.

47 states and the District of Columbia require booster seats or other appropriate devices for children who have outgrown their child safety seats but are still too small to use an adult seat belt safely. The only states lacking booster seat laws are Arizona, Florida and South Dakota.

5 states (California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey and New York) have seat belt requirements for school buses. Texas will require them on buses purchased after September 2010.

To view the full list of state requirements here at the Governer’s Highway Safety Association.

Sources: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and State Highway Safety Offices.