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Steven Levitt on child car seats

Friday, June 27th, 2008

You might recall how much we love TED. If not, you might want to check out my post about cool musical stuff for kids.

Anyway, each morning while I am feeding G, BM and I watch a TED presentation. They usually last about 20 minutes which run perfect with G’s feeding. The TED we watched today was a presentation that Steven Levitt did (Mr. Freakanomics). Being a stats head, I love his fresh approach and ways of thinking that help break down preconceived notions in our society.

Steven did just that in today’s TED video. He appears to have made a very compelling case that child seats for children over the age of two are at best as good as standard issue seat-belts but at worse they are worse for the health and well-being of our kids.

I know, is contrary to how we think in this country, but if you ponder how public policy is made in this country (think special interests and there are no major special interests in support of no child seats), you can probably understand why we have an overwhelming belief that child seats are good. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not criticizing our policy process as it is the best anyone has come up with this far in human history. In fact, our entire system was build primarily to keep the power of the special interests in check as much as is possible - but again I digress.

If you are interested, you can watch the TED video below or watch it on the TED website. Have a good weekend!

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Posted in Cool, safety, video | No Comments »

SIDS and Bacteria?

Friday, May 30th, 2008

Some new research done in the UK shows a possible relationship between bacterial infections in infants and SIDS. The bacteria in question are Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Staphylococcus Aureus is the most common cause of staph infection. Escherichia coli (aka E. coli) is one nasty beast that I cannot imagine what it would be like for an infant to have to deal with.

While the research doesn’t show causation, it does appear to show a possible relationship between the bacteria and SIDS. Of course, as always, many more studies will have to be done before this becomes part of the common SIDS theory. In the meantime, it certainly will keep BM and I on our toes as it relates to possible sources of those bacteria for Baby G.

FDA Warning

Saturday, May 24th, 2008

According to a warning issues by the FDA, mothers should not use Mommy’s Bliss Nipple Cream which is marketed by MOM Enterprises of San Rafael, CA. Apparently, the company has stopped selling the cream. The potentially harmful ingredients are chlorphenesin and phenoxyethanol. Believe me, we will be checking our other products around the house to see if these ingredients exist in any of them.

This follows on the heals of a September 2007 warning from the FDA against MOM Enterprises about Baby’s Bliss Gripe Water.

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