The AP is reporting that the “No shoes, no shirt, no service” signs commonly found in fast food and other restaurants may have been enforced a little too strictly at a St. Louis Burger King.

The article says that Jennifer Frederich, along with her mother and her infant daughter stopped at Burger King on Sunday. The baby was not wearing shoes, her mom figured that her tiny baby feet were exempt from the rule.

But workers asked the family to leave because the shoeless baby was violating a health code. In fact, there is no such policy in that county and the restaurant eventually apologized to the family.

As a mom of two, I know that baby shoelessness is a common occurrence – at least with my kids. Even my toddler daughter, who is known to kick off her shoes the minute she is strapped into her car seat, sometimes is brought into restaurants or stores sans shoes. Be it because she is asleep or because we just don’t feel like fighting her about it – but never sets bare feet down on the floor. Perhaps if the young baby was walking on the floor it might have been grounds for a health code violation, but to require babies to wear shoes is a bit extreme. Heck, our seven month old son doesn’t even own shoes!

What do you think?

Did they take it too far at this restaurant, or should babies be required to have on footwear?

As children across the United States begin a new academic year, teachers are sending out their lists of required readings, and parents and students are beginning to gather books. However, in some cases, classics like “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” “The Catcher in the Rye,” and “To Kill a Mocking Bird,” which many of us read in high school or junior high, may not be included in curriculum or available in the school library due to challenges made by parents or administrators.

Since 1990, the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) has recorded more than 7,800 book challenges, including 458 in 2003. A challenge is a written request that a book be removed from library shelves or a school’s curriculum.

However, thanks librarians, teachers, parents, and students, most challenges are unsuccessful and the potentially banned books remain readily available.

The reading materials most often challenged and/or restricted have been children’s books. Nevertheless, challenges are not simply an expression of a point of view; they are an attempt to remove materials from public use, thereby restricting the access of others. Even if the motivation behind the ban or challenge is with good intentions, the outcome is still detrimental. For children, it?s their parents ? the people who know them best ? who should decide what they read, and encourage them to do so.

The ALA is sponsoring Banned Books Week in the United States, taking place September 27-October 4. Now in its 27th year, the week is an annual celebration of our right to access books without censorship. This year?s theme is “Elect to Read a Banned Book.” Support our freedom to read freely and buy or check out from the library a banned book this year ? then read it to your child or to yourself. Some of the most frequently banned books include: ?The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? by Mark Twain, ?The Color Purple? by Alice Walker and ?The Golden Compass? by Philip Pullman.

With yet another hurricane makings its way to the Gulf Coast, many people are preparing for the worst — sealing up their homes and getting ready to evacuate before the storms arrive.

The March of Dimes has released advice for parents of infant babies for how to pack in the event that you need to evacuate for a hurricane, although the advice could also apply to any disaster. Before a disaster, parents should be sure to contact their baby’s health care provider to let them know where you and baby will be. Pack the necessary items you’ll need, including baby’s immunization records, any cherished photos or keepsakes, and a breast pump if you’re using one. Also listed are tips for after the evacuation and how to stay healthy.

Have you had to evacuate? What’s your best advice for new parents going through an evacuation?

Queen of talk Oprah Winfrey has put together a list of age appropriate kids reading books to enjoy reading with your kids, or, for older children, for them to read, based on recommendations from the American Library Association.

The books are sorted by category: infant to 2 years, 3-5 years, 6-9 years, 10-12 years, and 12 years and up. The lists include both new releases and classic stories for kids (including the current favorite in our house, “Goodnight Moon“) of all ages.

Also included are tips to get your kids interested in reading. One of my favorites: Reading isn’t only about books. Just as you’d hunker down with your favorite magazine, encourage your kids to read everything they can, including comic books and jokes; even game directions will make a difference.

This statement reminds me of when our daughter was an infant — we would read anything with words and within reach to her, such as the back of a cereal box, a magazine that might be lying around, or even the warning label on her crib. Later, we progressed to the labels on her baby food jars, telling her all the details of the nutritional information she was getting from eating a jar of pears or prunes, and the ingredients therein. The reading material may not have been the most “age appropriate” at the time (lots of big words on some of those baby food jars!), but we did find that reading out loud to her would certainly get her attention — and it was a good way to show her the importance of language.

What’s your favorite children’s book, either that you read to your own kids or from your childhood?

Our daughter?s crib has been recalled. While we?ve gone through recalls before for our cars and some random house hold items, we?d never had what?s essentially a major piece of furniture recalled, and weren?t quite sure what to expect when participating in a crib recall. Here?s what the recall involved for us.

The first step was finding out about the recall. Watching the evening news one night, my husband noticed that they were showing our exact crib make and model on a recall report. We rewound the program (thank you, DVR!) and were able to hear the entire report, stating that the crib our daughter sleeps in is part of a major, yet voluntary, recall of baby cribs. (A good source for recall information is the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website or your very own Babies Online Blog recall section)

Since our daughter?s crib was part of a voluntary, not mandatory, recall, we needed to contact the manufacturer and register the crib as part of the recall, including the model number on the tag stuck to the side of the crib. We then accessed the company?s Web site, filled out an online form with our information, and waited about two weeks to receive the necessary paperwork back from the company. The paperwork included another form, instructions on how to proceed and a return shipping label. The instructions told us to take apart the crib and send in the bolts and some other miscellaneous hardware from the crib, so that it could not be reassembled.

We complied, taking apart the crib and mailing back the parts. Fortunately, still have the Pack N Play that we used quite often as a second crib when our daughter was an infant. It?s not the most comfortable place for her to sleep now as a toddler (she does wake up more frequently) but it’s safer than the recalled crib.

Soon, we will receive a voucher in the mail to purchase a new crib of equal or lesser value at the store where we purchased the original crib. We?re looking forward to selecting a new, safer crib, and getting our daughter back into a crib with a comfy mattress and packing away the Pack N Play once and for all!

Us Weekly is reporting that Naomi Watts and her boyfriend Liev Schreiber are expecting their second child together.

Watts, 39, is reportedly in her second trimester. She and Schreiber, 40, welcomed their first child, a son, Alexander Pete, in July of last year. The pair starred in “The Painted Veil” together, and have been dating since 2005.

A couple of months ago, a friend gave my son a couple of Barney books.

Her: These are for your son. Enjoy!

(Translation: I was too embarrassed to give them to the thrift store, i feel eco-evil tossing them in the trash, and I sure don’t want them in my house. Here, you have them. Bwahahahahhaha!)

Me: Thank you!

(Translation: Thanky… Oh geez, Barney?!? How could you do this to me?)

Of course, my toddler totally fell in love with Barney and his hideous singing friends and it’s part of the reason I recently had my TV disconnected. The primary reason was serious lack of cash and no time to ever watch anything, but no Barney is a major advantage of no cable.

Kid’s television is almost universally annoying to adults. Barney, Caillou, Elmo and Thomas the Train comprise my personal hit-list of squeaky, whiney voices and inanely cheerful characters who all make me want to rip the cable out of the TV. Oh, wait, I kinda already did that.

Anyway, there’s must be some parents in the army who feel the same way I do about Barney. The US military’s most overused torture song is Barney’s I Love You song. Playing loud music on repeat with no respite, is, apparently, an officially sanctioned technique to make prisoners talk.

Imagine hearing that over and over again at full volume for a couple of days and I’m not surprised prisoners begin to loose their minds and get willing to talk. Just typing the last sentences got that obnoxious song stuck in my mind. (By the way – the cure for a song stuck in your head, is listening to another song, preferable loudly, to obliterate/replace it. I don’t want you to suffer.)

So, if you don’t want to go for the final solution and unhook your TV, I invite you to use the comment space below to vent, scream and shout at your child’s favorite television character. Please let it all out. Phew.

Gillian Anderson, known for her role as Scully on the “X-Files” series, is expecting her second child with boyfriend Mark Griffiths.

The “X-Files” actress and the businessman are parents to 18-month-old son Oscar.

Anderson, 39, has a 13-year-old daughter, Piper, with her production designer ex-husband, Clyde Klotz. She and her second husband, documentary filmmaker Julian Ozanne, split in April 2006 after 16 months of marriage.

Anderson reunites with co-star David Duchovny for “The X-Files: I Want to Believe,” the second feature film to be spun off from the popular TV series. The movie will be in theaters July 25.

Congrats to Gillian and Mark!

TMZ is reporting that Clay Aiken, 29, will be a father this August. Jaymes Foster, 50, a record producer and Clay?s best friend with whom he lives, is pregnant with his baby, according to reports.

Reports are saying that she was artificially inseminated with his sperm. He says he is planning to take an active role in raising the baby, whom reports say is a boy.

Foster, sister of major record industry executive David Foster, divorced a few years ago. It will be the first child for both Foster and Aiken.

It is estimated that as many as 2 million American children are home schooled. Parents of these children have decided to eschew traditional public education for a variety of reasons from concerns about safety to religious issues to dissatisfaction with the academics provided in their school systems. Home schooling is also an alternative for progressive education that may be less expensive than private, independent or parochial schools, and not all areas have charter schools or ?open enrollment? or ?schools of choice? where a parent or guardian can send their children to a public school in a different school district from the one in which they reside. For many, homeschooling is the apt choice for overseeing and providing their children with the best education that they see fit.

But in both California and Washington, D.C., recent events have homeschooling under fire.

The California Department of Education allows home schooling as long as parents file paperwork with the state establishing themselves as small private schools, hire credentialed tutors or enroll their children in independent study programs run by charter or private schools or public school districts while still teaching at home. But on Feb. 28, the California Second District Court of Appeal ruled that parents must have a teaching credential to home school their children. (The decision has not yet gone into effect.) According to Seema Mehta, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, ?The appellate court ruling stemmed from a case involving the Longs, who were repeatedly referred to the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services over various allegations, including charges of physical abuse involving some of their eight children.?

Instead of the case being about the allegations of abuse, it turned into a case about homeschooling. (The Longs had a loose arrangement with an area private school, where the children were ?enrolled? but did not attend, instead their education being provided by their parents.) Mehta?s report continued, ?A lawyer appointed to represent two of the Long’s young children requested that the court require them to physically attend a public or private school where adults could monitor their well-being.? From that, the appellate court ruled that a parochial school’s occasional monitoring of the children’s education is insufficient to qualify as being enrolled in a private school, and because Mary Long does not hold a teaching credential, the court determined that the family is breaking state law.

A similar case occurred in our nation?s capital, where according to a recent Op-Ed in the Washington Times by Homeschool Defense League Association (HSDLA) president J. Michael Smith. In that case, a woman mistakenly identified as a homeschooler was charged with murdering her four children in January. The children had been enrolled in the public school system, but were truant. District of Columbia law requires homeschoolers to file notice with the District, and as a result of the case, the new Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) has proposed some new homeschooling regulations in 5 DCMR Chapter 52 for District of Columbia residents in grades K through 12 for minors from the ages of 5 through 18. The proposed regulations include but are not limited to:

• Homeschooling parents providing written documentation to the OSSE within a specific time frame.
• Documents of hours of instruction and daily attendance that demonstrate the parent/legal guardian is providing regular, thorough home schooling instruction during at least the District?s school year.
• Parents must have a high school diploma or its equivalent.
• Parents/guardians must submit evidence in a form acceptable to the OSSE that the children have been immunized and received health and medical services required of the child?s peer group.
• Annual assessments of adequate home schooling instruction with the right reserved for the OSSE to make home visits if it is determined that the homeschooling is inadequate according to OSSE standards.

Many District homeschooling parents were outraged by these new proposals, finding them ?unconstitutional.?

Regarding the California appellate court decision, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was of a similar mind. On March 7, Gov. Schwarzenegger called for the reversal of the California appellate court decision banning parents from educating their children at home if they lack a teaching credential. If the state Supreme Court, which will be hearing appeals on the decision fails to act, the governor vowed to push through legislation guaranteeing families’ right to home school.

“This outrageous ruling must be overturned by the courts and if the courts don’t protect parents’ rights then, as elected officials, we will,” he said in a written statement.

The governor?s statement was commended by U.S. House Education and Labor Committee Senior Republican Howard P. ?Buck? McKeon (R-Santa Clarita). In a March 19 statement, he said: The decision by the California 2nd District Court of Appeal is a tremendous disappointment to those who believe in educational freedom and parental rights. That the Court would undertake this type of assault on the longstanding framework of the right to homeschool is an outrage. I commend Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the State Superintendent for Public Instruction, Jack O?Connell, for taking a strong stand in support of families, and I join them in their commitment to ensure parents retain the right to educate their children as they believe is best. This flawed decision will not be the final word on homeschooling in California. It has already been rejected in the court of public opinion, and I look forward to its rejection by our courts and in our laws as well.?

While the California court?s decision has left just three options: attending a public school, attending a private school, or having a certified teacher tutor the children, it has not deterred families from continuing to home school their children.

While in many states there are no such laws and regulations and it is easier for parents to home school where home schooled children thrive as much as their peers who are enrolled in traditional educational systems. New Hampshire too is placing homeschooling under the microscope with Senate Bill 337, which now requires homeschooling parents to provide additional reporting beyond what is required as per New Hampshire HB 406, which went into effect May 12, 2006.

As many states address the issue of ?no child left behind,? within their traditional school systems, other states may look to the results of what is occurring in California, New Hampshire and Washington, D.C to determine if they too should alter their own homeschooling regulations and requirements.

Sources:

The Los Angeles Times

http://homeschooling.families.com/blog/why-what-happens-in-california-matters

?Draft of DC Education Code for Homeschooling? at http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/laws/blDC.htm

http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/hslda/200803190.asp

March 17, 2008 Washington Times Op Ed at http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/washingtontimes/200803170.asp

Keeping our kids and neighborhoods safe is important to all parents. Knowing that there are elements in place beyond watchful and vigilant friends and neighbors can bring an added piece of mind.

We’ve all seen or heard the Amber Alerts for missing and abducted children on television and radio broadcasts. Interstate roads also post them on the digital road-side and bridge message boards. Because of a recent Amber Alert broadcast in my state, a child was returned to her mother within a few hours of the release of the Amber Alert. Other kids, such as Amber Hagerman, for whom the Amber Alert system is named after, have not been so lucky. So what if you’re hunkered down at your desk, in front of the computer and aren’t tuned in to any media broadcasts? How would you know? How would you be able to help if you were in a position to? And, if it were your child (heaven forbid!) wouldn’t you want as many people as possible to be aware of the posted alert?

Now, you can be notified right at your computer desktop, from Web sites and even on your mobile device. CodeAmber.org, a non-profit organization in business since 2007 has developed a desktop ticker, a Web site ticker, wireless device and e-mail alerts. The desktop and Web tickers change from their standard background (white) to yellow when an alert is issued. Both downloads are free, and only require submitting your name and e-mail address in order to receive the desktop download and the java script code for a Web site, which can be cut and pasted into the site’s code. The CodeAmber tickers can be specified for the United States or Canada. (The national center for missing and exploited children also provides wireless Amber Alerts.)

A Brief History of the Amber Alert System

In January 1996, nine-year-old Amber Hagerman was abducted while riding her bicycle in her Arlington, Texas neighborhood. She was thrown into a car, but not before an alert neighbor heard her screams. The neighbor was able to provide a vague description of the abductor and his vehicle to police and FBI agents, who conducted a search. They found her body four days later, but unfortunately, the case remains unsolved. Another concerned citizen in Dallas, suggested that when such events occur, broadcast stations should inform the public through repeated broadcasts as with weather warnings, and by July 1997, the Dallas Amber Alert system came to fruition. Broadcasters use the Emergency Alert System to dispatch the information. In April 2003 Congress passed a national Amber Alert package.There are local, regional, state-wide, national and international Amber Alert systems, and since the inception of Amber Alert programs 365 children have been successfully returned to their parents or guardians. There are also 119 Amber Alert plans nationwide, according to statistics from the United States Department of Justice.

Sources: (In alphabetical order)

• Beyond Missing
• Code Amber
• History of Amber Alert Plan
• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
• U.S. Department of Justice

Remember those reports by the Philadelphia Medical Examiners Office about 15 infantile deaths which might be related to cold and cough medications? It is well-known that pseudoephedrine is one of those drugs to be wary of. However, other active ingredients in many over-the-counter medications may be involved as well. These substances are dextromethorphan, acetaminophen, brompheniramine, carbinoxamine, chlorpheniramine, ethanol, doxylamine, phenobarbital, and phenytoin. All of these may be found in the common cold drops you can buy almost anywhere. In addition, acetaminophen, also called paracetamol, is present many anti-fever medications. Phenobarbital and phenytoin are anticonvulsants used to manage epileptic seizures.

The report concludes that the giving OTC cold and cough medications to babies may actually be unsafe and potentially fatal. Parents, as well as doctors, should therefore, be extra careful when using these drugs in very young patients.

Sources:
Wingert WE, Mundy LA, Collins GL, Chmara ES. Possible role of pseudoephedrine and other over-the-counter cold medications in the deaths of very young children. J Forensic Sci. 2007 Mar;52(2):487-90.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Infant deaths associated with cough and cold medications–two states, 2005. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2007 Jan 12;56(1):1-4.

American Idol finalist Jessica Sierra will have to spend 1 year in rehab for violating the terms of her probation for an earlier drug offense. She will also have to serve 3 years probation and remains in jail until she leaves for a treatment facility in California.

It is also reported the judge in the case stated that he didn’t want Sierra making a career out of being a recovering addict.

“I don’t want her giving interviews. I don’t want her on TV. I don’t want anybody glamorizing the fact that she’s a drug addict. I’m over that.”

Sierra was arrested in an incident following taping of VH1’s new series “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.”

source: The Tampa Tribune

Some more proof that passive smoking is not good for your kids!

In a study conducted in Stockholm, Sweden, over 4000 children were studied, followed-up and checked for allergic symptoms starting at age 2 months, then at age 1 year, 2 years, and 4 years old.

The results?

Children exposed to cigarette smoke early in life are more likely to develop allergies to food and airborne particles such as animal hair (cat & horse) and molds. However, no relationship to seasonal outdoor allergens such as pollens was found.

In addition, age at exposure and who`s smoking in the family seem to make a difference. The earlier the child is exposed, the higher is the risk that he/she develops allergies. Two smoking parents in the family produce the highest risk, followed by a smoking mother only, and then a smoking father only.

The study was started in 1998 and funded by the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation, Stockholm County Council, the Gillbergska Foundation and the Swedish Asthma and Allergy Foundation, the Swedish Foundation for Health Care Sciences and Allergy Research, and the Swedish Research Council.

Sources:

Lanner? E, Wickerman M, van Hage M, et al. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and sensitisation in children. Thorax. Published Online First: 18 December 2007. doi:10.1136/thx.2007.079053

Santa Claus used Chad McMaster to deliver the gift of a liver transplant to his grandmother Patricia Middleton. She suffered with chronic liver disease for many years before finally needing the transplant. According to his grandmother, Chad was a perfect match out of all of the family members who volunteered to be donors.

During the operation, 55 percent of his liver was removed. The procedure took place in early December and Patricia will spend the winter adapting to the new organ.

The liver is the second most transplanted major organ. The kidney is the first. There are many criteria used to determine who is eligible to receive a liver transplant, but those with a status 1 ranking are at the top of the list. These are patients who have a life expectancy of less than 7 days if they do not receive the transplant. Currently, the success rate is over 95 percent for these procedures and there are about 17,000 people on the waiting list.

Source: Foxnews

A Nebraska family got the ultimate Secret Santa present, $2000. Bill Bradley, a construction worker, received a box at work Friday that contained an envelope full of money. It came from Santa with no other return address information.

Instead of getting $20 each for Christmas, the Bradleys four children and one grandchild will now get Christmas presents. The rest of the money will go towards paying bills.

Linda Bradley had this to say, “Whoever you are, the gift you gave my husband is a godsend.” Next year, she would like to do the same for another needy family.

What’s the best Secret Santa gift that you ever received?

This just stinks.

A Scrooge, pre-ghost of Christmas Future, passed off a fake lottery ticket to a single mom. She thought she’d won $25,000 only to find she had been duped when she went to call the claim number. According to ABC News, the back on ticket said:

“Claim forms supplied by Santa Claus. All winning tickets must be validated by the tooth fairy and conform to her game rules … All winners are losers and must have an excellent sense of humor.”

When news spread about the fake ticket, patrons and community members rallied around Mary Ann Shaffer, who has two small children. People have left big tips at her concession stand, given her giftcards and even bought gifts for her children.

Perhaps the Grinch who gave her the gag gift will see that Christmas still comes, without bows, without gifts – through the hearts of others.

Whoever passed off the ticket will be getting one heck of a lump of coal this year.