Strollerderby : toddler

Family Dog Saves Toddler’s Life

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:02:00 GMT

Joshua Childers may only be three, but, man, does he have stories to tell. The Missouri toddler recently spent three days and two nights alone in the wilderness after he wandered off in the vast forest behind his house. As Joshua is treated in the hospital for hypothermia, bug bites, and scratches, the secrets to his survival are becoming increasingly clear.

Joshua told the family doctor that he drank water from a stream and didn’t sleep very much (poor little guy). But most importantly, he’s spoken of being with the family dog, which is a Great Pyrenees, a breed known for its loyalty and guardianship. Indeed, Joshua’s parents confirmed that the fluffy, 125-pound dog disappeared around the same time as Joshua and returned soon after he was found.

Were it not for the dog’s cozy fur and comforting companionship, Joshua may not have survived the rainy, 40-degree nights in the woods.

Photo: bestbullysticks.com

Three-Year-Old Survived Alone in Forest for Days

The Big Move

editors — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:30:00 GMT

Today on Babble:

The Big Move

By Rebecca Odes & Ceridwen Morris

How can I make my toddler okay with our new place?

Read it here.

The 10 Best Carousels in the U.S.

editors — Mon, 04 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Their horses won't gallop off for a fox hunt like Mary Poppins' did, but your kids are sure to enjoy a jolly holiday nonetheless as they glide along on antique wooden ponies, lions, and bears! And you'll get a trip down memory lane (plus some great pictures). Here are the ten best carousels country-wide, courtesy of National Geographic's The Ten Best of Everything: Families:

1. Crescent Park Carousel

700 Bullocks Point Ave., Riverside, RI 02915, 401-435-7518
www.eastprovidenceri.net/boards/CrescentParkCarousel.php

Ride the flying steeds or magical chariots and capture the brass ring. Beautiful decorative panels, beveled mirrors, faceted glass jewels, and colored sandwich glass windows make this 1895 Looff carousel a masterpiece.

2. Flying Horse Merry-Go-Round

Bay St., Westerly, RI 02891, 401-348-6007
www.visitrhodeisland.com

This Watch Hill, R.I., carousel is the oldest in the country. Only children are permitted to ride these horses, which are hand-carved from a single piece of wood and feature authentic tails, manes, leather saddles, and agate eyes. Try to grab the brass ring!

3. Trimper’s Rides

South First St. & the Boardwalk, Ocean City, MD 21842, 410-289-8617
www.beach-net.com/trimpers

This is one of the oldest operating carousels in the country. Children love to choose from its menagerie of animals, including a cat, dog, frog, rooster, deer, goat, lion, tiger, ostrich, pig, and dragon.

4. Glen Echo Park

7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, MD 20812, 301-634-2222
www.glenechopark.org/kids.htm

Located in the suburbs of the nation’s capital, this beautiful menagerie Dentzel carousel is a wonderful place to ride a tiger or giraffe. And, under the canopy of a thousand lights, within the circle of animals, a horse leads. Which one is it?

5. Midway Carousel

Cedar Point, One Cedar Point Dr., Sandusky, OH 44870, 419-627-2350
www.cedarpoint.com

Built in 1912, this park classic takes riders on a gentle ride up and down and around on a beautifully carved steed. The ride includes sixty horses and four chariots, four abreast.

6. Cedar Downs Racing Derby

Cedar Point, One Cedar Point Dr., Sandusky, OH 44870, 419-627-2350
www.cedarpoint.com

Who will cross the finish line first? Sixty-four horses race four abreast around the track, with each horse seeming to gallop independently. The momentum of the ride increases to reach a thrilling 15 mph.

7. Kiddy Kingdom Carousel

Cedar Point, One Cedar Point Dr. Sandusky, OH 44870, 419-627-2350
www.cedarpoint.com

For little ones only. This finely crafted Dentzel carousel boasts 16 standing and 36 jumping animals, two chariots, and a menagerie consisting of bears, rabbits, ostriches, a lion, a tiger, and a donkey.

8. 1909 Looff Carousel

Riverfront Park, 507 N. Howard St. Spokane, WA 99201, 509-625-6600
www.spokaneriverfrontpark.com

A 1909 Looff, this beautiful and well-preserved hand-carved wooden carousel is on the National Register of Historic Places. It features 54 horses, a giraffe, a tiger, and 2 Chinese dragon chairs. A favorite horse, Miss Liberty, is adorned in red, white, and blue and has a lunging, outstretched neck, giving her the look of speed.

9. Santa Monica Pier Carousel

1600 Ocean Front Walk, Santa Monica, CA 9029 301-458-8900
www.santamonicapier.org

Located on the Santa Monica Pier and housed in a historic Moorish-style shelter overlooking the ocean, this beautiful 1920s-era indoor carousel is gaily painted, with prancing horses, ponies, and chariots. Gleaming brass poles, festive lights, and mirrored panels evoke an earlier time. One hundred years old in September 2009, the Pier is a classic “SoCal” destination.

10. 1911 Looff Carousel

Santa Cruz Beach, 400 Beach St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060, 831-423-5590
www.beachboardwalk.com

Designated a National Historic Landmark, this 1911 Looff carousel features a working ring dispenser and boasts 73 uniquely hand-carved wooden horses. Interestingly, some smile and show their teeth, while others are more serious. Some are flower-draped; all have real horsehair tails. Located in Santa Cruz’s Beach Boardwalk. The distinctive carousel music is produced by antique band organs, including the Boardwalk’s original (and recently restored) 1894 organ.

Photo: Kim Baker

Terrible Twos... or Terrific Twos?

editors — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:04:00 GMT

Today on Babble:

"Terrific Twos"

by Ondine Galsworth.

I was dreading this age. But my toddler is the opposite of "terrible."

Read it here.

Toddler Becomes Youngest Member of Mensa

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:02:00 GMT

Toddlers have a lot to teach us about life—you just don’t usually expect the lessons to be the phonetic alphabet, or the difference between an isosceles and a scalene triangle.

These are only a few of the mind feats of which two-year-old Elise Tan Roberts is capable. The British toddler spoke her first word when she was just five months-old, started walking at eight months, and now, at two, can spell her name, read the words “mummy” and “daddy,” and count to 10 in Spanish. And naturally, she has the regular alphabet down pat—you can imagine that the ABCs were a piece of cake after memorizing weird words from “Alfa” to “Zulu.”

After her IQ was found to be 156, Mensa welcomed the toddler into its society of people with an IQ in the top two percent of the population. Mensa normally only tests children aged 10 and older, but Elise’s parents were so impressed by her unusual abilities that they had a child psychiatrist asses her. Using the Stanford-Binet Intelligence scale, the psychiatrist found that Elise is in the top 0.2 percent of children her age in the country.

Normally, I would never be in favor of giving a toddler an IQ test, which are widely recognized as imperfect measures of intelligence and could unhealthily predetermine the way a child is treated. But Elise is clearly an unusual case. Would you have your toddler's intelligence tested if she displayed such unusually advanced thinking?

Photo: momsquawk.com

Is Your Toddler a Psychopath?

KeriF — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:07:00 GMT

I know that the point of this article over at MSNBC.com wasn't to scare me into thinking my 3-year-old is a burgeoning psychopath, but unfortunately, that's all I got out of it.

Here's a few highlights:

"...some now believe they can tell if preschoolers are showing risk factors for becoming a psychopath, someone potentially capable of committing bone-chilling crimes without an ounce of guilt or remorse."

"Some mental health professionals say they can recognize early markers in kids as young as toddlers for what may later develop into psychopathy..."

"...even 2-year-olds can exhibit signs that they are lacking 'early empathy'..."

Example: "...a typical toddler may hit another child, watch that child cry and then cry himself in response because he feels bad. But a toddler who lacks empathy will be unfazed by the other child's reaction or efforts at parental discipline."

So, for instance, if a 3-year-old adorable red-headed boy hits his cousin on the head, then smiles and does a little dance while his cousin cries hysterically, is that cause for concern?

I know I'm grossly reducing an entire body of research to my own feeble insecurities as a parent of a toddler, but I can't help it. I've got a strong-willed child. Sometimes I think that's a good thing. And sometimes, like after reading this article, I don't.

Obviously it's not as simplistic as tagging a 2-year-old as a psychopath. Scientists stress that while you may be able to spot certain early signs, like lack of empathy, in toddlers, it's still very possible that these toddlers will outgrow these behaviors. The hope is that if danger signs are spotted early enough, doctors can help kids overcome the unhealthy tendencies.

Of course, the difficulty lies in identifying which behaviors are "callous-emotional" and which are "typical toddler." As almost everyone I told about this article replied: "Aren't all toddlers psychopaths?"

Photo and source: MSNBC.com

When are Kids Old Enough to Watch Star Wars?

Get Their Pee Away from Me

JeanneSager — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:30:00 GMT

I'm one of those parents who extols the virtues of "eau de kid." So I was all excited to read Peter Hartlaub's ode to the odors of kids in the Poop this week.

Until I got to section two. Cheerios and pee.

Really Peter, you had to lay that one out there for the child-free by choice folks to throw back at us? Maybe it's the mark of a mom who was beaten down by potty training, but where I agree with everything else on Hartlaub's list, his assertion that "the faint scent of toddler pee can actually be kind of pleasant." just made me want to retch.

Yes, I know he was kidding (sort of), but let me lay out my own list of reasons the Cheerios and pee smell has apparently been WAY overrated:

1. My daughter insists on sleeping with at least five to six books in her bed every night so she can "read" herself to sleep. As a sign of her love of literature, I couldn't be happier. As a sign of what's to be thrown out at 2 a.m. in case of that (rare, but still) bedwetting incident . . . ick. Nothing says read me like Goodnight Moon with urine dripping off of it.

2. Although perfectly able to use the "big" potty, the lure of the small potty is big in my house. Like most potties for kids, it lacks a flushing function. It makes up for it with a lid . . . which is usually left open. The only other thing you need to know? We have a dog. Nuff said.

3. Accidents happen (and if you watched Elmo's Potty Time as much as we did, you are now singing the song), but wet undies can always be whisked away to sit in the middle of a pile of laundry that needs to be done . . . right in the center of the pile, where heat and urine meet. Yum.

4. Ever been peed on by a potty training toddler? I don't think I need to say anymore!

But Hartlaub has good news for all of us. They graduate to the suntan lotion/peanut butter/Play-Doh/bananas smell . . . and it smells gooood!

Image: Green Baby Guide

Nursery University: An Exclusive Clip from the Preschool Film!

editors — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:25:00 GMT

Marc Simon’s

How far would you go to get your child into a good school? Nursery University, Marc Simon and Matthew Makar's documentary about the hyper-competitive admissions process in New York City, follows five families as they go through the cut-throat process of — wait for it — preschool admissions. Watch the drama unfold in this exclusive teaser from the film. And lest you think this only happens in NYC, check out Babble's essay about preschool hysteria in the 'burbs.

Toddler Thriving After Living Alone for Four Days

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:50:00 GMT

And here we have your daily dose of perspective: a toddler who was left alone for four days after his mother unexpectedly died has grown into an outgoing, jubilant four-year-old who displays almost no signs of his childhood trauma.

Noah Gonzalez was two years-old when his mother died in their house, leaving him to fend for himself for four days. The toddler found food and water on his own and amazingly managed to maintain some sense of calm. On the fourth day, a case worker with Child Protective Services—assigned to check in on the Gonzalez’s due to the mother’s health problems—rescued little Noah.

Two years later, Noah is a talkative young boy who lives with his grandparents and is found of reading and riding a stick horse named Blackie. According to his grandmother, Noah got his “spunkiness and determination” from his mother.

Nearly every child I know has gone through something very difficult at a young age (though certainly not as difficult as being left alone for four days). It helps immensely to think that such experiences, rather than simply causing emotional scarring, also imprint the knowledge that difficulty passes in a child’s subconscious.

Photo: ABC (Noah with his grandfather)

Bedtime: Does Your Kid Have One?

Kate Tuttle — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:01:00 GMT

Do your kids have a regular bedtime, like Sasha and Malia Obama? (The first kids, aged seven and ten, are in bed by eight p.m., according to reports.) Or do they just keep going and going, exhausted little energizer bunnies, till late into the night? Growing up in the freewheeling 70s, I remember being smug about my family's lack of set bedtimes -- and I remember falling asleep in school all the time. In fact, my bedtime-free childhood seemed less and less fun as I got older, leading to mornings of scrambling out of bed, late as usual, and arriving at high school (college, work) with wacky hair and bleary eyes.

Most research now indicates that kids -- even tweens and teens -- need far more sleep than they get, and that their sleep needs don't change much as they grow up. Most adults, too, are chronically sleep-deprived, getting far less than the eight recommended hours (the number for school-aged kids is ten hours, for young teenagers at least nine).

As one pediatric sleep expert said in a recent column in the New York Times by Dr. Perri Klass, the problem comes when people underestimate their own sleep needs, and those of their kids:

“It’s a bell-shaped curve,” she said, with just 2.5 percent of the population needing significantly less sleep than average. “The problem,” she went on, “is that 95 percent of us think we’re in that 2.5 percent. You should assume until proven otherwise that your kid needs that much sleep.”

It's these night owls who end up nodding off during circle time, first period math class, and, later, morning meetings. So how to fix the problem? Set bedtimes, such as in the Obama household, are a good idea, according to researchers. And we all know, or should, to keep the TV out of the bedroom (for kids especially, but it's good for parents as well). Beyond that, simply understanding and trying to account for a child's changing sleep needs and routines can be extremely helpful. Teenagers' sleep needs scarcely change, but their circadian rhythms undergo a shift that pushes them -- biologically, not just through their lifestyle demands of homework, facebook, etc. -- toward later and later bedtimes. Some researchers are now calling for later high school start times to allow these weary teens to at least get some decent sleep -- but it seems unlikely to happen, especially in an era when many are pushing for more and more schooling, period.

Having grown up in a household bereft of healthy sleep habits, I'm trying to instill a slightly more organized routine for my kids -- the toddler's asleep by eight, the teen by eleven (still not enough sleep, but better than she would do on her own). What do you do in your house to ensure that everyone gets enough rest?

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10 Craziest Reasons for Toddler Meltdowns

Miriam Axel-Lute — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 15:30:00 GMT

Before I became the parent of a toddler, I harbored what I figure is a pretty common belief: That toddler tantrums are generally caused by being told "no." Particularly things like "No I won't buy you that shiny/sugary thing on the shelf," "No you can't stay up any longer," or "No it's not your turn."

Those things cause their share of fits, to be sure, but the dirty little secret is that it's rarely so predictable. One of the major problems with toddler tantrums is that it's often hard to keep from giggling at what causes them, even though your darling child is in the middle of heartfelt distress.

Here's a sampling of 100% true meltdown triggers I've collected. Can you top them?

"There was the 'I want to eat your eyeball' tantrum. I am not kidding. You probably think I made this up, but I cross my heart and hope to die—one of mine went into all out hysterics that I would not let him eat my eyeball."
"My daughter had a bit of apple peel stuck in her teeth and asked to floss. When I got out the floss and broke off a piece, she said she didn't want it after all. I laid it on the sink and 10 minutes later she wanted it, but it had been knocked on the floor or under something and it couldn't be found. Instant and sustained panic. A new piece wouldn't do. It was like that one previously spurned five-inch piece of floss was a beloved puppy gone missing."
"Mine actually scared herself while telling her own scary story and freaked out tremendously."
"We went into the bedroom at bedtime in the wrong order (not that we knew that there was an established order)."
"My daughter has been known to lose it if I start to sing 'Sugar Mountain.' She told me later that only daddy can sing that because he knows all the words and I only know a little bit of the words. At least it's not because I can't carry a tune."
"We got new silverware for Christmas, and my daughter FREAKED out when my husband walked out the door with the old stuff to give to a guy moving into an apartment. She was inconsolable."
"I gave my 3-year-old a sippy cup of juice and when he didn't say thank you I said, 'What do you say?' And he mumbled, 'Thank you.' Then I turned around and he started wailing. I thought he stepped on a nail or something. I asked him what was wrong and he said, 'I don't want to say thank you!'"
"Smile for the camera! Oh, OK, you don't want to smile ... that's fine, no big deal ... wait, why are you crying ... it's OK! You don't have to look at the camera ... no, you don't have to be in the ... wait, sweetie, please stop screaming ... please stand up ... too loud, too loud ... fuck it, honey, put the camera away."
"My four-year-old cries over the irrationality of pi. Can't blame her. Infinity's harsh."
"I'm remembering the one thrown over the Spiderman attached to the toothbrush (it was part of the toothbrush design, a spider-man climbing a building). 'He wants to get off the building!' followed by screaming fits and toppled furniture. Then, after he was successfully removed by a sucker adult (not me folks, I knew better): 'My toothbrush is broken! Spiderman's broken!'"

(Thanks to everyone who shared a story!)

Photo by hyperscholar.

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Toddler Calls 911 Sixty Times in a Week

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:00:00 GMT

The emergency responders in a small Ohio town are at their wit’s end with a toddler who has called 911 repeatedly this week, giggling into the phone and then hanging up.

The calls are coming from a deactivated cell phone, implying that parents gave the child an old phone as a plaything. So far, officials in Middletown, Ohio have been loath to donate the time and resources to seeking out the miscreant caller (or, more accurately, the caller’s miscreant parents), but if the calls continue, they will have no choice but to track the calls and perhaps charge the parents with telecommunication harassment.

As long as there is any battery power left at all in an old cell phone, the phone can still call 911. While this is certainly of no use to a two-year-old, old phones are in great demand at domestic violence shelters, senior centers, and amongst soldiers. A quick Google search can tell you where to donate phones in your area.

It's rather disconcerting that the parents of this phone-happy tot not only did not think to remove the battery from the phone, but also have failed to notice that their child has been tying up the town's emergency resources for an entire week.

Photo: Tech Buzz

4 Year Old Calls 911, Saves Mom

Father of Tot "Adolf Hitler" Pleads to Get His Children Back

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:30:00 GMT

Heath Campbell, the now infamous father of three children with Nazi-themed names, has violated a gag order to speak out about his children’s care in protective custody. Campbell recently visited his children--Adolf Hitler, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation, and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie--who have been removed from their parents' care for undisclosed reasons, and he was not happy with what he saw. He said that his daughter’s hair was all knotted and her diaper was leaking.

That does seem concerning, but I don’t think that violating a judge-ordered gag rule by speaking to Fox News is going to help Heath and Deborah Campbell’s case much. “I don’t care if I go to jail,” the father said. “These are my kids.” Seems to be a bit of faulty reasoning going on here. Because if you’re in jail….

Anyway, with all the secrecy around the case, it’s impossible to determine whether authorities were right to place the Campbell’s young children in protective custody. It’s clear that these parents are crazy, but that doesn’t necessarily make them unfit to parent. Unfortunately, many parents who love their children and keep them safe also teach them bigotry. We have to hope that these kids will be stable enough adults to reconsider some of the beliefs imparted to them by their parents.

Here's Heath Campbell speaking to Fox:

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Photo: Huffington Post

Caylee Anthony Doll, the Worst Toy Idea Ever

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Can you imagine buying a doll of a slain toddler you’ve never met for your child? Well, a Florida company whose humanity has clearly been entirely eclipsed by dollar signs hopes the blond-haired Caylee Sunshine doll (only $29.99!) will be a great addition to your child’s American Girl dolls and teddy bears.

One can only imagine the pain Caylee’s grandparents have been in over the last year, due not only to the horrific tragedy of Caylee’s death, but to the ubiquitous sensationalist news coverage of it. It’s terrible enough to know that perfect strangers are getting some morbid enjoyment out of reading about the greatest tragedy of your life, but then to find out that perfect strangers are seeking to make a cheap buck out of it? I can’t even fathom the outrage Caylee’s grandparents must be experiencing.

According to their lawyer, the company never sought approval from Caylee’s family before going on a media blitz about the new doll. Fortunately, an outraged public has sufficiently spoken out against the shockingly ill-conceived Caylee doll that the manufacturer, Showbiz Productions, had no choice but to listen. They have decided to hold off putting the doll on the market.

In the meantime, they are sure to come up with other shockingly ill-conceived merchandise.

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VIDEO: I Kissed a Pig (And I Liked It)

Brett Singer — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:00:00 GMT

This kid really likes that pig. That's some kiss.

I feel a song coming on…

I kissed a pig / And I liked it! / Tasted just like / a B L T
I kissed a pig / And I liked it! / Hope my friends don't / make fun of me…

UPDATE:

Actually, here's the song, along with a video:

I think it's gonna be a big, big hit.

The follow-up shows what might happen if they grow up, get married, and have children of their own.

I think that’s still illegal in most states, however. But now that a Democrat will be President, it'll be Sodom and Gomorrah before we know it. So perhaps there is hope for the happy couple.

On a semi-serious note, this is kind of gross but I think all kids do it. Not quite to this extent, however. I can't imagine either of my children getting to first base with a barnyard animal, even when they were babies. Then again, we're Jewish, and while we're not Kosher, we do tend to avoid pork. Then again, a little bacon never hurt anyone…

Source: Buzzfeed

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Zimbabwe Releases Jailed Toddler

JeanneSager — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 15:02:00 GMT

Ever heard of a toddler who doesn't "dissent" once in awhile?

In a crackdown on dissenters against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, a two-year-old landed in the pokey for weeks where members of the opposition party say he was tortured along with his parents and other dissenters.

It isn't clear how long Nigel Mutemagau and his parents, Collen Mutemagau and Violet Mupfuranhehwe, have been in jail. Along with other activists, they went missing, reportedly being taken as a family from their home. They were finally brought into a courtroom on Christmas Eve, when the government admitted they were in custody - including two-year-old Nigel.

They continued to keep him in jail until Tuesday, when a judge finally determined there was no reason to keep him and ordered his release. His parents are still in jail for allegedly attempting to overthrow Mugabe's regime.

I know I shouldn't bother trying to make sense of a dictatorship. But come on, a two-year-old jailed for politcal dissent? Are cries of "Mommy, have to go potty" going to take down the presidency? Maybe he can lie on the floor in front of the presidential home and have a good old-fashioned tantrum, kick his way through the doors. Or he could launch Cheerios at the president's guards.

This is nothing short of ridiculous.

Image: AP

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Fire Starts While Toddler has Mom Locked in the Basement

JeanneSager — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:12:00 GMT

For every parent whose child has locked them somewhere (anywhere) and they can't get out, I have news for you: it could be worse.

A New Hampshire mother went into her basement to do a load of laundry, and her two-year-old son somehow managed to lock the door with her still in the basement. Then she smelled smoke.

Jodi McKenzie told reporters she grabbed a sledgehammer in the basement and literally smashed her way through the door to get to her son and get the two of them out of the house (which, sadly, burned to the ground).

Somehow, people who have never had kids (or at least babysat for kids) don't seem to understand how they can lock you somewhere - note the first comment here, an automatic attack on the mother for not watching her son every second the day. News flash: you can be WATCHING your child as they lock you out of your own house. I was standing on my front porch, phone in my hand, when my then-two-year-old decided to close the front door on me as a joke. Then she turned the lock.

I had been looking straight at her through the screen door, but I didn't think she could spin the lock in the knob yet, and by the time I realized it, it was too late. By a fluke, our spare key had been borrowed by my parents and wasn't where I keep it, but fortunately I had the phone - so I spent twenty minutes standing at the door, talking to my daughter to keep her standing there, while I waited for my husband to drive home from work with his own set of keys.

It made me set up extra precautions, including an extra key for the neighbor. This story, however, makes me wonder if I missed the bigger risks - the doors that lock INSIDE the house.

Image: NECN.com

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Toddler Injured in Xmas Tree Fight Between Mom and Grandma

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:15:00 GMT

Sometimes you just have to suck it up and put your irritation with your mother-in-law on hold—particularly when it’s Christmas Eve, your toddler is in the room, and you’re wielding a large Christmas tree like a weapon.

A 21-month-old is in the hospital after receiving a serious eye injury during a tussle between her mother and her grandmother over a four-foot-tall Christmas tree, over which they each claimed ownership. (It really is amazing how often Christmas becomes a time to completely obliterate the Christmas spirit.) The holiday did not begin auspiciously for the family, as they were celebrating in a motel after a fire forced them out of their home.

The mother, Sandra Price, is being held on charges of reckless conduct, and it is not yet clear whether or not her daughter will lose sight in her eye.

Photo: thetelegraph.com

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Store Refuses To Make Cake for Toddler Adolf Hitler

Kelly Mills — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:31:00 GMT

Oh, the hardships of being a white supremecist. Heath and Deborah Campbell tried to get ShopRite and a local grocery store to make a birthday cake for their three-year-old, named Adolf Hitler. And they actually wanted the cake to say "Happy Birthday Adolf Hitler" (I guess just using "Adolf" was out of the question, hmmm?) But apparently they are so persecuted that the stores refused, though the grocer did offer to leave room for their own inscription. The story has some awesome quotes, like Deborah lamenting how sad it is the store can't make a cake for a kid, and Heath saying, "Other kids get their cake. I get a hard time. It's not fair to my children. How can a name be offensive?"

Um, yeah. I have no idea. Oh, and believe it or not, ShopRite won't make a cake for their two-year-old either. Her name? JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell. Oh boy. By the way, Wal-Mart is willing to do the cake.

A psychologist quoted in the story says he believes the names will cause problems for the kids later in life. Hmm, ya think? But he also points out that the parents' views are kinda likely to damage the kids too. Oh, and that any problems they face in school later "would be icing on the cake." Get it? Icing? Riiiight.

Of course Adolf and siblings live in a house decorated with swatstikas, but the Campbells insist the swatstika "doesn't really have a meaning. It's just a symbol." Just a name, a symbol, and a few kids who are gonna have a rough road. Seems like an inscribed cake might be the least of it.

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The 5 Best Christmas DVDs According to One Two-Year-Old

editors — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:47:00 GMT

Yes, we let our toddler watch television — the past two weeks, kind of a lot of TV. We did it for you, the readers! To save you from the horrors of a bad Christmas movie experience, our two-year-old screened all the holiday DVDs that came into the Babble office this month, which means we also screened them (and if you know a trick for getting the song “There’s Always Tomorrow” out of one’s head, please share). Here are our young tester’s five favorites, in order.

1. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (Part of "Christmas Classics")
We swear our son improved his pronunciation just so he could clearly request this title in its entirety. Rankin/Bass claymation creates a bizarre, compelling world, and the message about “misfits” is a good one, even if that dentist-elf gets mighty irritating after a few viewings. One possible downside: repeat viewings may cause your child to run around pretending to be the Abomidable Snowman and yelling, “I’m gonna bite you!” Also, you know, those songs really do stick in your head like glue.

2. Elmo’s Christmas Countdown
We now have this movie memorized. There is a funny scene between Bert and Ernie and the stars of The Sopranos. And Anne Hathaway is pretty damn cute singing about Snuffy. But Ben Stiller’s sarcastic, yoga-practicing Elf is hella annoying. Not to our son, though. If he had his way, he would watch this twenty-four hours a day until Christmas, and probably beyond. Heaven help us all.

3. Gumby (Part of "The New Classics")
This time of year, there are a ton of compilation DVDs for regular old kid shows that just have “Christmas” slapped on the front of them because there’s, like, five minutes about snow. This is one of those, but it’s kind of great anyway, as there are all kinds of truly weird little holiday-esque episodes about, among other things, a witch pretending to be Santa, and the Mayflower — also a politically incorrect Pilgrims-and-Indians battle. And some jail time. Anyway, just trust us, it’s festive!

4. Snow Days: HIT Round-up Including Fireman Sam and Thomas
This is another one of those non-Christmas Christmas DVDs, but the very British Fireman Sam episode about putting out a fire on a very cold day (watch out for those falling icicles!) seemed to plug directly into our son’s back-brain. He’s been pretending to put out blanket-fires ever since. The Thomas one is a blur of Christmas trees and over-eager helping. They don’t drop the “useful” mantra for the holidays, we can tell you that. How Anglican is that show, by the way?

5. Casper’s Haunted Christmas (Part of "The New Classics")
Our tester loved this one, as it was about ghosts, which he finds fascinating. Unfortunately for him, this DVD got “lost.” The adults in the house didn’t enjoy the wise-ass humor or the insanely complex plot as much as he did. Apparently, ghosts have to deal with scare quotas, strict deadlines; a black hole of nothingness for those who don’t do their job. We’ve got enough performance anxiety in real life, thanks.

Postman Revives Unconscious Toddler

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:41:00 GMT

In case anyone doubted whether the small town romance of the postal work profession was still alive in this age of email, here’s a story to remind you just how important your neighborhood postman is.

For at least the second time this year, a postal worker has saved a baby’s life. (The first time happened when a postal worker caught a baby after she fell out of a second-story window.) Postman Robert Sweeney was delivering mail along his Sacramento route when a mother ran screaming out of her house, holding a seemingly lifeless toddler. “My baby, my baby!” she kept shrieking. Sweeney grabbed 19-month-old Kelly Jimenez out of her mother’s arms, laid her on the grass, and performed CPR.

Meanwhile, neighbors called 911. By the time the ambulance arrived, Sweeney had succeeded in reviving the little girl. She is still at the hospital, but is listed in good condition. Sweeney, who says that he burst into tears immediately after the rescue, is anxiously awaiting news on Kelly. "Her still being in the hospital concerns me," he said, "but at least I know she's in good hands."

Photo: KCRA.com

Is This Baby Obese? Aussie Mom Says No

Kate Tuttle — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:02:00 GMT

Are we too quick to call babies overweight and obese? One Australian mother thinks so, and she's pulled her infant from a daycare center for fears the staff there, who labelled her ten-month-old overweight, will fail to feed her adequately. Olivia Villella, ten months old, is hitting the 75th pecentile for weight and the 25th for height -- maybe a little on the round side, but nothing most doctors would worry about -- but her teachers at the ABC childcare center in Australia have called her fat and obese (which her four-year-old brother mis-heard as "a fat beast"), prompting her mother to worry they will withold food from her should she remain there.

I'm all for helping parents feed their children a healthy diet, and even giving them tools to know when their child might need expert help, but the knee-jerk labelling of any child as obese, particularly by people who have no medical training, seems counterproductive at best. While I'm sure the mother is leaving the daycare out of embarrassment and anger as much as any real concerns of her daughter's starving, I can understand how she feels. It's all too easy to judge someone else's baby, and when those doing the judging may well be bringing in their own baggage (especially when it comes to gender: why is it always a girl baby that gets this label?), then it's downright destructive. I know that if my child's daycare wanted to put my child on a diet without consulting me, I'd be out of there fast, calling everyone on the waitlist as I went.

More by this author:

Update: Coroner Finds No Link Between Vaccine and Toddler’s Sudden Death

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:51:00 GMT

After hearing testimony from bereaved parents and numerous health care professionals on the sudden death of toddler George Fisher ten days after he received the vaccine against measles, mumps, and rubella, a coroner ruled that the child’s death was unrelated to the vaccine.

Because George had suffered an epileptic fit four months before receiving the MMR vaccine, he had a 2 percent chance of suffering from a seizure as a result of the MMR. However, there are no known cases of children dying as a result of these seizures, and therej is no evidence that George suffered one before his death. The coroner also ruled that George’s symptoms (he had diarrhea and red eyes in the days before his death) emerged too soon after the MMR shot to be linked to it.

The coroner agreed with other infant health experts that George had died of a rare condition called Sudden Unexpected Death in Childhood.

George’s parents strongly disagree with the verdict. Sarah Fisher, George’s mother, said, “I think it’s so wrong to put the death of a healthy little boy down to natural causes. There’s nothing natural about an 18-month-old boy dying of nothing, because that’s what it was—nothing.”

My heart goes out to George’s parents in these unthinkably difficult times, further complicated by a legal controversy.

Photo: Getty Images

Toddler Dies Suddenly 10 Days After MMR Vaccine

Does Your Toddler Need a Cell Phone?

editors — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:02:00 GMT

Here’s how a typical phone conversation between one of my youngest nephews and I goes:

Me: Hi! It’s Aunt Lindsay.

Him: Hi. (Long silence.)

Me: What are you doing right now?

Him: (Long silence. Heavy breathing. Crunching noises.)

Me: Are you eating something? Are you playing?

Him: Hi. (More silence followed by more heavy breathing.)

Me: Are you still there? Can you put your mom back on the phone? Where’s your mom?

Him: (Loud crash as the phone hits the floor. Pattering of little feet as he runs off to play.)

Me: (Calling out to my sister-in-law) Kristen? Kristen? Are you there?

Once I needed to tell my sister-in-law something really important and she put him on to say hi to me first. He dropped the phone, she forgot all about me and I ended up spending the next two hours calling back and getting a busy signal because the phone was, no doubt, still lying in the same position on the floor.

So I was truly bewildered today when I was reading the Daily Buzz and came across a posting called New Toddler Cell Phone. The phone features large, brightly colored buttons and is capable of holding 200 pre-programmed numbers (this just made me feel bad about myself as I don’t think I have that many numbers in my phone).

I feel like toddlers show little interest in having real phone conversations. They are probably just as happy, nay happier, talking on those toy phones that call their favorite Sesame Street characters, as they would be gabbing with their real-life friends, but maybe I am wrong. If you’d like to weight in on this topic, visit CaféMom and take their poll.

No matter what your opinion, I think we should all prepare ourselves for a new generation of toddlers, riding around in strollers and whipping out candy-colored Blackberrys to schedule their own play dates.

(Image from pro.corbis.com)

Missing Toddler Found Live and Well Under Floorboards

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Let me warn you that this story, which should simply be happy, has an unexpectedly tragic ending.

While staying with his children at his parents’ home, an Oregon father woke up the other night around 5 a.m. and discovered that his one-year-old daughter, Kate, was not in her bed. Lawrence Higgins, Jr. woke up his parents, who helped search for their granddaughter. When they could find no sign of her, they called the police. Since Kate can’t walk yet, the family feared she had been kidnapped.

What actually happened was much more unbelievable—and much less terrifying. After searching the house and surrounding areas for hours, police heard the sound of a child coughing in the bedroom. Realizing the sound was coming from underfoot, they tore up the floor and found the toddler, filthy but unscathed, underneath the floorboards. Police decided that Kate must have fallen off the bed in her sleep, gotten wedged in a small hole in the flooring, and wiggled her way under the house.

Her enormously relieved parents took Kate to the hospital, where she was pronounced safe and sound.

Here’s the sad part. The Department of Human Services investigated the Higgins’ home and determined it was unsuitable because, according to an officer, it was “just too dirty.” The Higgins’ three children were taken away from their parents and placed in protective custody.

Either the article that I’m quoting is giving woefully incomplete information, or DHS has behaved in a shamefully rash manner. No child should have to live in a filthy home, but dirty countertops are certainly not grounds to take a child away from its parents. The more sensible, and less traumatizing, solution would have been to call in a caseworker to speak with the parents about creating a safe living environment and to evaluate their parenting before making the monumental decision to break up a family.

Photo: KPTV.com

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