“Having been a member of Baby News for 23 years, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to succeed in the baby business for the long haul. The group is willing to open up their operations to others and share what makes them successful, or even share their failures. There are a variety of store sizes, so we get differing perspectives from all types of demographics. Merchandise is also available from a shared warehouse, but not restricted to purchasing from the warehouse like some franchise operations.”

- Richard Woo, Citikids Baby News Store, San Francisco, CA

Stanford Distributing Corporation, the main business arm of Baby News, an association of independently owned children’s retailers, celebrates 50 years of business this year. “There are many difficult issues confronting retailing today,” says president Roger O’Callaghan. “However, if you have good people who recognize the value of ‘we’, you can adjust to the bad times. The Baby News family has always been willing to take some chances and change with the times, but the communality of the business and the willingness to work together remains constant.” Roger tells us more about this unique association and its benefits for retailers.

What’s the greatest way an association like Baby News helps a retailer in this economy?

We believe that specialty stores now need to work together to find exclusive products, get better pricing and develop an expertise on juvenile products that will separate them from the mass merchants. Although Baby News stores pay fees to be part of the association, they all benefit from the partnership they have formed together. All independent stores should consider joining one of the major retail groups in our industry.

What one membership advantage do you find is universal among all Baby News stores?

The secret of the growth of the business has been the interaction of the Baby News store owners. Stanford Distributing was created by the stores to service the association of stores. BNO Inc. was created by the stores to answer the need for an online registry and fulfillment. The registry has over 30,000 items with pictures and descriptions due to the stores’ involvement in helping to create the registry program from scratch.

Baby News considers itself a family of stores, which shares many things, from ideas, store volumes and merchandise. The Baby News catalog is a creation of the individual stores in bringing the best products to customers. Yes, nearly all of the growth of Baby News has been from personal contact with existing Baby News store owners.

How do potential retailers find out about Baby News?

Retailers can find out more about our association by visiting BabyNews.com, our informational website. Meetings are held at trade shows and independently. Stores communicate collectively through online services and the corporation sends out newsletters about business promotions and changes.

Congratulations, Roger and everyone in the Baby News family!

Mobi Technologies, Inc. (getmobi.com), a leader in family-oriented portable electronics, has garnered four prestigious national awards for four separate products. The National Parenting Center has awarded two of its Seals of Approval to Mobi, one for the MobiCam Digital DL Wireless Monitor and one for the tempTalk Digital Oral Thermometer. The Mom’s Choice Awards have honored Mobi for its Digital DXR Wireless Monitor and its DualScan Ear/Forehead Digital Thermometer.

The National Parenting Center’s testing division is run by independent testers, including parents, educators and panelists. Mom’s Choice judging panels include education and media experts as well as parents, children, medical professionals, authors and scientists. As such, being acknowledged by both organizations holds great significance within the parenting community.

“We are excited to be receiving these four major awards”, says David Naghi, president. “We strive to maintain a leadership position in family-oriented consumer electronics and these four recognitions from National Parenting Center and Mom’s Choice serve to motivate us even further. Our soon-to-be-unveiled new products will continue our tradition of providing safe, high-quality products with great value ­­– a combination upon which our loyal customers have come to depend.”

With an abundance of new and updated features including live video monitoring, infra-red night vision and pan, tilt, zoom functions, Motorola’s ‘next-gen’ baby monitors have been designed to offer a simple yet effective way of assisting parents with child supervision.

The Motorola MBP33 and the MBP36 help parents keep a watchful ‘real-time’ eye on sleeping baby. The high-quality video and infrared night vision capabilities of these monitors enable parents to check on baby’s sleeping position, watch for smothering or choking hazards, or see if baby is in distress. The monitors also provide high-quality, secure, interference-free audio thanks to their advanced multi-channel digital technology. They come complete with sound-level indicators, so that parents can tell whether baby is just making a little noise, or crying.

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Table-Top Clip-on Chair Recalled by phil&teds USA Due to Fall and Amputation Hazards

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 consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: “metoo” Clip-on Chair

Units: 54,000 (these were the subject of a product safety alert issued May 6, 2011)

Importer: phil&teds USA Inc, of Fort Collins, Co.

Hazard: Missing or worn clamp pads allow the chairs to detach from a variety of different table surfaces, posing a fall hazard. In addition, when the chair detaches, children’s fingers can be caught between the bar and clamping mechanism, posing an amputation hazard. Also, user instructions for the chairs are inadequate, increasing the likelihood of consumer misuse.

Incidents/Injuries: phil&teds and CPSC have received 19 reports of the chairs falling from different table surfaces, including five reports with injuries. Two reports of injuries involved children’s fingers being severely pinched, lacerated, crushed or amputated. The three other reports of injury involved bruising after a chair detached suddenly and a child struck the table or floor.

Description: The product is an infant/toddler chair with a nylon fabric seat and a metal frame that clamps onto tables using two metal vise clamps. The upper part of each clamp rests on the table top and has either a rubber pad on its underside or a rubber boot covering the clamp. The chair is sold in three fabric colors – red, black and navy. Chairs subject to this recall do not have black plastic spacers between the cross bar and the clamps.

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Here is a video on The Safety 1st Air Protect featuring the true story submitted by a couple who was in a car accident with their baby in the car.

http://airprotect.safety1st.com/stories.php

When we see stories like this it makes us proud to sell such quality products.

BRITAX BABY CARRIER with CarryLong System addresses back and shoulder strain associated with extended babywearing in the most popular carrying positions

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — BRITAX, the leader in child safety, is pleased to announce their entry into a new product category by introducing a soft-structured baby carrier that offers optimal comfort for both parent and child. The new BRITAX BABY CARRIER line features the CarryLong System, which reduces the risk of back and shoulder strain during extended wear by distributing weight across the shoulders, back and hips.

Through extensive research, BRITAX learned that parent or caregiver comfort was one of the top five concerns for parents when choosing a baby carrier. “We discovered a recurring theme of back and shoulder strain when users wore the leading baby carriers for extended periods of time,” said Claudia Prager, product manager for BRITAX. “As a mother of two young children, I experienced the same issues with my carrier and was determined to find a solution so more parents could carry their infants and young toddlers longer and more comfortably.”

Research also indicated that 86% of parents prefer the front carry position with the option of facing inward or outward. BRITAX answered with an ergonomically engineered carrier that accommodates infants through toddlers from 8 pounds (3.5 kilograms) up to 32 pounds (14.5 kilograms) in these most popular carrying positions.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 21, 2011 Britax Child Safety, Inc., among the world’s largest manufacturers of car seats, today supported the American Academy of Pediatrics updated guidelines for children riding in car seats.

“We endorse today’s American Academy of Pediatrics’ guidelines that children riding in cars should remain in rear-facing car seats until at least age two — or until they reach the maximum height and weight allowed by those seats,” said Sarah Tilton, Britax child passenger safety advocate.

“Britax crash-tests and studies of crash force management prove that rear-facing car seats better support the spine, neck and head and more completely distribute the crash-forces over the child’s body and car seat. This is especially true in frontal impacts, the most common type of vehicle crash.

“We also urge children to remain with a forward-facing five-point harness until they exceed the height and weight limitations of the seat. At that point, they should transfer to a booster seat that’s secured by the car’s seat belt,” she said.

For more information about BRITAX, visit www.britaxusa.com, or find BRITAX on Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.

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New advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) will change the way many parents buckle up their children for a drive.

In a new policy published in the April 2011 issue of Pediatrics (published online March 21), the AAP advises parents to keep their toddlers in rear-facing car seats until age 2, or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat. It also advises that most children will need to ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until they have reached 4 feet 9 inches tall and are between 8 and 12 years of age.

The previous policy, from 2002, advised that it is safest for infants and toddlers to ride rear-facing up to the limits of the car seat, but it also cited age 12 months and 20 pounds as a minimum. As a result, many parents turned the seat to face the front of the car when their child celebrated his or her first birthday.

“Parents often look forward to transitioning from one stage to the next, but these transitions should generally be delayed until they’re necessary, when the child fully outgrows the limits for his or her current stage,” said Dennis Durbin, MD, FAAP, lead author of the policy statement and accompanying technical report.

“A rear-facing child safety seat does a better job of supporting the head, neck and spine of infants and toddlers in a crash, because it distributes the force of the collision over the entire body,” Dr. Durbin said. “For larger children, a forward-facing seat with a harness is safer than a booster, and a belt-positioning booster seat provides better protection than a seat belt alone until the seat belt fits correctly.”

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Modular stroller gets a colorful makeover

CHARLOTTE, N.C., March 10, 2011 — Parents will now find BRITAX’s B-READY stroller — a versatile and stylish modular stroller equipped to meet the growing family’s needs — in three new colors: Twilight, Pink and Mediterranean Blue*.  The new colors will complement the existing line of Black, Green, Red and Silver B-READY strollers.

Beyond its new colors, the B-READY has another key feature: It can be converted from a single child stroller to a double stroller (or twin stroller) using a combination of seats, bassinets and infant car seats in 14 configurations.

The B-READY offers a number of features that make it a practical and easy travel system. It comes equipped with a removable seat that can be positioned forward or rear facing (for children 6 months or older, or weighing up to 55 pounds) as well as an adjustable, no re-thread five-point harness system and multi-position recline. The stroller offers a large canopy to shield children from harmful UV rays and full suspension ensuring a smooth ride.

Parents also will experience comfort and convenience with the B-READY’s adjustable top handle with a molded grip, large storage basket and removable parent pouch. The stroller comes with an automatic chassis lock that secures the frame in a folded position, and the stroller can be folded with the second seat. A one-foot anti-scuff linked rear brake helps determine when brakes are locked or unlocked by red and green indicators.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: B.O.B.® single and double strollers

Units: About 337,000 in the United States and 20,000 in Canada

Importer: B.O.B. Trailers Inc., of Boise, Idaho

Hazard: A drawstring on the stroller can get wrapped around a child’s neck, posing a strangulation hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received one report of an 11-month-old girl who got entangled at the neck by the stroller’s drawstring. The child was freed by her mother.

Description: This recall involves the following 11 models of B.O.B.® single and double strollers. The name “B.O.B” appears on the cargo basket under the stroller and on the front of the stroller. All of the recalled strollers have a yellow/orange drawstring at the rear of the canopy which is used to gather loose fabric when the canopy is pulled back. Strollers have the serial number either stamped in the frame or on a white label located on the stroller’s rear right leg.

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