In countries where the cost of health care is high and the prices of medications a burden, many people are happy to received free drug samples from their health care providers.

A survey in the US which involved 10,295 children and adolescents (age below 18) gives the following information:

• 4.9% of all children received at least 1 free drug sample.
• 10% of children who were prescribed drugs also got at least 1 free drug sample.
• Free drug sample distribution was not dependent on socioeconomic status. All children received samples regardless of income or health insurance coverage

So what’s the big deal? Who doesn’t want freebies?

The problem lies in the fact that some of these free drugs actually have safety problems – major safety problems in some cases. Among the top 15 most commonly distributed free samples are

• 2 drugs classified as schedule II controlled medications, drugs which are closely monitored by the US FDA because they can be addictive and are prone to abuse.
• 4 drugs with the so-called “black box warnings” issued by the US FDA, the most serious type of safety warning in prescription drug labeling.
• Some drugs indicated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Freebies are used as marketing tools by big pharmaceutical companies. It has always been thought that doctors tended to distribute free drug samples to needy patients. The survey results indicate otherwise. So, what is the motivation behind the doctors’ act of giving free drug samples? Is it simply to clear out the clutter and reduce the inventory? Or are there greedy motives behind the act? Are they aware of the safety issues concerning the drugs they are giving away?

What do you think?

Among ourselves and our family members, we’ve probably spent a small fortune on toys for our daughter. Sadly, her favorites don’t seem to be the toys that make the most sounds or offer the most activities. No, she seems to prefer the joys of the less expensive toys; that is, the free ones.

They’re not even toys, really: they’re things that were lying around the house that she came across and thought were fun. Right now, she’s having a blast playing with the box from a wireless router we purchased. She’ll open the box, look inside, close the box, open it again, and then hand it to me and take it back again. She also stands on it, pounds it with her hands and hides her toys inside of it.

She also loves the sight and sound of tearing paper. Instead of using the shredder, we now tear paper by hand – getting rid of our documents so they can go in the compost bin or recycle box, and putting our daughter into fits of giggles and laughs.

As they say, having a baby does indeed change everything, but most of all it changes your perspective. Who would have thought that a simple object could result in hours of entertainment? It’s given us a new way of looking at things, and made my husband and me more creative when it comes to everyday objects. A crumpled up piece of paper? A ball! A discarded sock? A mitten, a hand puppet or a handy pouch to hide a toy or two inside of. Best of all, there’s always something around to entertain our daughter, even when her ‘official’ toys are out of reach or in a different room. Just be sure that the object isn’t dangerous or pose a choking hazard – any item that can fit inside a paper towel or toilet paper tube is a potential choking hazard.

I love summertime because there?s so much to do. What?s more, many of the activities are free of charge or inexpensive. So if you end up bringing a fussy child to the activity and end up having to make a quick and early exit, it?s no loss. Some of my favorites include:

Concerts in the park. Many cities and towns have local bands play once a week or several times a week in local parks and other areas. Bring a towel or lawn chairs and pack a picnic lunch, and enjoy the free entertainment with your kids. Even if there?s not a concert going on, it?s still fun to pack a lunch and spend a summer afternoon playing at the park.

Story time. Our local library offers story time for kids on Saturday mornings. It?s a great activity to get kids involved with, as well as a good way to meet other local parents.

Festivals. Local festivals offer a range of activities for children and adults alike. The Traverse City (MI) Cherry Festival takes place over the Fourth of July, and the Taste of Chicago runs June 27-July 6 in Chicago Check with your city or county for a festival schedule.

Parades. Holiday parades are a great place to take kids. Find out if your town offers a parade for the Fourth of July or other holidays and bring the kids along.

Ferry rides. Many ferry boats give passengers a free ride across the river. The Staten Island Ferry offers a free, five-mile, 25-minute ride between Staten Island and Manhattan. The Galveston-Port Bolivar ferry is the only way motorists can cross the waterway between Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island, and is free. The Jamestown-Scotland Ferry takes passengers to the historical attractions of the Historic Triangle (Yorktown-Williamsburg-Jamestown). The free ferry service runs from Scotland Wharf in Scotland, VA, to Glass House Point, in Jamestown, VA.

Also check with your local parks department or city newspaper for activities in your area.

What are your favorite free or inexpensive summertime activities?

Below is list of freebies and samples that I thought Babies Online Blog Readers might enjoy. Have a look and feel free to add to the list by sharing your comments on any other freebies that you may be aware of.

• Free CD – Find out how to “Beat the Odds” of heart Disease (60 sec Survey required)
• Free Jockey Underwear – Redeemable at Macy’s (Expires June 6th)
• Free Sample Pak – assortment of Kotex (4 in all)
• Free Kit – Important information about Breast Cancer and toold to prevent and detect it.

As always, Babies Online has an impressive list of freebies for you to choose from as well. Click here to see these exclusive offers.

Through a dark dark hall, down a dark dark stair, in a dark dark basement, at the back of a dark dark room, is a dark dark door. And behind the dark dark door, is a dark dark cupboard. And in the dark dark cupboard is things that squeak and swing and bounce and play music – all my son’s outgrown baby items.

With an odd name and a great idea, Freepeats is a website for parents to give away unwanted baby and kid items, and maternity clothes, to other parents. The idea is very similar to the popular freecycle.org but is just for babies, kids, and mothers-to-be. The person who wants the item comes to pick it up, so you can get gently used stuff for the price of gas, and get rid of stuff without going to the thrift store or dump.

Freepeats operates in several US cities, (Cleveland, Nashville, Seattle, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, DC, Philly, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Dallas and Detroit) and if your town isn’t on the list yet, you can sign up to be notified when they do start a site in your area.

I’m in the process of clearing out the dark dark cupboard, and while I was pulling out my son’s old swing and bouncer I remembered a mom friend telling me about Freepeats. So I thought I’d pass the world along to Babies Online readers, and now I’m off to list the stuff on my local Freepeats.

Below is list of freebies and samples that I thought Babies Online Blog Readers might enjoy. Have a look and feel free to add to the list by sharing your comments on any other freebies that you may be aware of.

• Free Fragrance Sample – Deseo, by Jennifer Lopez (survey required)
• Free Cookies Sample – Teddy Grahams Honey Variety Cookies
• Free sample – Snuggle Fresh Release Fabric Softener
• Free Kotex Sample – Ultra thin Ultra Compact
• Free sample of UnderJams – Bedwetting Undergarments for Children
• Free Paper Towels – Try a Sample from Viva
• Free Magazine Issue – Christian Magazine for kids

As always, Babies Online has an impressive list of freebies for you to choose from as well. Click here to see these exclusive offers.

Below is list of freebies and samples that I thought Babies Online Blog Readers might enjoy. Have a look and feel free to add to the list by sharing your comments on any other freebies that you may be aware of.

• Free sample – Moisture Block by Sabino Hair Solutions.
• Free Sample and Mixing Cup – Fiber Supplement by Konsyl
• Free DVD Rental – From MovieCube. Use Code: TYT08
• Free CFL Light Bulb – Energy Efficient from Accent Energy
• Free Iced Coffee – From Dunkin’ Donuts (9 different flavors)

As always, Babies Online has an impressive list of freebies for you to choose from as well. Click here to see these exclusive offers.

Babies Online is chock full of information, it may be hard for you to keep up with all of the newest additions. So, we have made it easy for you! Each week we will place the newest links right here for you to enjoy and not miss a thing. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter to have great information, deals, and relevant links sent right to your inbox.

• Creative Baby Nursery Rooms
  Decorating your baby nursery is fun and easy to do with this step-by-step guide. Here you?ll find detailed information on planning your baby room, choosing baby furniture and decorating in a variety of nursery themes and color schemes with easy, DIY techniques.
• My Toy Pianos
  We specialize in providing Schoenhut toy pianos for kids of all ages.
• Baby be Blessed
  We carry a fabulous and always growing collection of stylish, unique, handcrafted and simply ORIGINAL products that you are sure to love!
• Born Gifted
  Offers loads of great baby gifts and Christening gift ideas
• CKL Keepsakes
  Hand Made Personalized Baby Bibs, Baby Gifts, New Baby Gifts, Burp Clothes by CKL Keepsakes. Register for your free account and enter to win a free baby bib!
• Baby Bump And Me
  Parenting and pregnancy advice.Tips on how your body changed, the pregnancy, advice on pain relief and bringing up your baby
• Foster Care
  Fostering Solutions is an independent foster care agency who are passionate about ensuring positive outcomes for children and young people in foster care
• InfantSEE
  Get a free vision screening for your 6 to 12 month old baby. Don’t let unforeseen vision troubles sneak up on you…get a free vision screening in your area.
• Gerber Baby Food
  Learn about Gerber(R) Baby Food For All Your Baby’s Phases
• Namely Newborns
  A fabulous collection of personalized baby blankets, handmade quilts, stuffed animals, nursery accessories, and more.

Below is list of freebies and samples that I thought Babies Online Members might enjoy. Have a look and feel free to share your comments on any other freebies that you may be aware of.

• Free Kotex Samples – Ultra thin, Ultra compact.
• Dove Deodorant – Green Tea and Cooling Cucumber scent
• Free Underjams – For bedwetting children
• Free Skin Cancer Screening – From Olay
• Free “The Magic School Bus” – Books by Scholastic
• Free Tips for Eco-Living – Live a greener life

Below is list of freebies and samples that I thought Babies Online Members might enjoy. Have a look and feel free to share your comments on any other freebies that you may be aware of.

• GoodNites? Sleep Pants for Boys and Girls – Help your little one stay dry through the night
• Register to win a FREE Totyota Prius. – Just fill out a short form to enter
• Free Scotch Bright Disposable toilet scrubber – Just print this coupon!
• Body Eclipse Aromatherapy Shampoo - Just fill out a short form for a full-sized bottle (8oz)
• Organic foot cream by Gilden Tree- Try a free sample
• Dove Cream Oil Body Lotion – Click for a free sample

Get a free sample of Kiehl’s Facial Cleansers, toners, and moisturizers.

Allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Available to U.S. Residents only.

I love freebies. Especially baby freebies. I started getting them at my OB`s, then at the hospital after delivery, and even by mail during the first year of my babies`life. They came in different forms: baby care products, toys, baby formula, and baby food.

A recent study, however, shows that distribution of free ?discharge packs? to new mothers at hospitals can have a negative impact on breastfeeding.

A study on 3895 women in Oregon indicated that women who received these packs have the tendency to stop breastfeeding or do mix feeding (breast milk + formula) rather early compared to those who did not received the commercial freebies.

Discharge packs are usually part of marketing campaigns of companies producing baby products and infant formulas are invariably a part of it. The authors of the study suggest that distribution of these packs in hospitals should be reconsidered.

What do you think? Should hospital freebies be stopped altogether? Or should they simply exclude baby formula out of it?

Source:

Rosenberg et al. Marketing Infant Formula Through Hospitals: the Impact of Commercial Hospital Discharge Packs on Breastfeeding. American Journal of Public Health, February 2008, Vol 98, No. 2 290-295

Get a FREE sample of All Natural Lavera skincare products.

Just call the number below to request a sample.

1-877-LAVERAS

?(Available to U.S. and Canada residents only)

New parents of babies born in Maine are receiving a $500 donation from Harold Alfond, founder of Dexter Shoe Company, to begin a college nest egg. Harold Alfond never attended college himself, obviously a decision he regrets, so he is taking steps to ensure others have the opportunity to go to college.

At current interest rates, this generous donation will be worth about $2,000 in 18 years. However, a monthly deposit by parents and loved ones of $50 will increase this nest egg to roughly $25,000 by the time your new baby is ready to use it.

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