If you own one of these slings, quit using it immediately.

These slings are dangerous for two separate reasons: the positioning of the child in the sling and the child’s lack of muscle strength.  Both of these dangers can result in the suffocation of the child.

1.  In the first situation, the infant’s face is in contact with the sling’s fabric.  Since the baby does not have the neck muscles to move away from the fabric yet, the fabric can cover the nose and mouth and block the child from breathing.  If that happens, the baby would suffocate rapidly due to the lack of intake of oxygen.

2.  In the second situation, the child is positioned in a curled position with the chin facing the chest which restricts her airways.  In this case, the child is unable to cry for help because of the reduced oxygen intake.  If she remains in this position, she will thus suffocate slowly.

These dangers are serious and cannot be fixed, so the CPSC and Sprout Stuff have not issued repair instructions for the sling.

Officials are continuing to collect incident reports of cases involving this and other similar products.  If you have an incident to report, please visit: https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx.

The safest option is to call your child’s doctor if you think the injury was moderate to severe.  If you are concerned about a mild injury, there is no shame in contacting a medical professional just to be sure.  Click on this link for a good checklist of what to do when a child falls and injures her head.

If your child’s head injury is bleeding, the most important step is to stop the bleeding.  Apply pressure and the bleeding should stop within 10 minutes.  If it doesn’t, contact a physician about getting stitches.  Most likely, the injury will result in a bump on the head.  To reduce this, apply an ice pack for 20 minute periods.  While most swelling reduces quickly, it may take up to a week to disappear completely.  If your child complains of a headache, the best medicine is Tylenol® and lying down.

Sleeping or lying down after a head injury is okay.  Be sure to monitor your child while she sleeps. Look for discoloration, breathing difficulties, seizure symptoms, or an inability to wake up.  Keep an extra attentive eye on your child for the first 24 hours after the injury.

Be aware of any abnormal complaints by your child, especially of a stiff neck, forgetfulness, or inability to walk normally.  If she cries uncontrollably or refuses to be consoled for an extended period of time, this may indicate a more serious injury.  Here is more information on what to look for in monitoring your child after a head injury.

Seek medical care in certain situations such as unconsciousness, worsening pain, seizures, or trouble with vision.  Here is a link to an extensive list of symptoms for which a doctor should be consulted.

The most common physical symptom is a bump on the head. The best way to treat this is just the way you probably think: an ice pack or a bag of frozen peas or corn.

Many cases result in headaches, while only a few leave the child unconscious.  A fall can still be severe even if the child remains conscious.  While infants cannot tell a parent that they have a headache, they are usually more irritable than normal or act as if they are uncomfortable.

Vomiting is probably more common that you’d think, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the injury was severe. A seizure, however, is a serious symptom and if your child has a seizure after a head injury they should have a CT scan as soon as possible to see what’s really happening.  Here’s a link to a full list of symptoms that should be followed up with medical attention.

You may remember the recently death of a celebrity from a skiing accident who seemed fine immediately after the accident but who had actually received a severe brain injury.  This happens when blood rushes to the brain after an injury.  It can cause the child to lose consciousness hours after the injury because of the rise in pressure in the brain.  Immediate medical attention and persistent parental monitoring are essential in these cases.

Some symptoms can’t be seen for some time, especially if they are in young children.  Injury to the reading and writing area of the brain in an infant or toddler may not be seen until she reaches an age where she should be able to read and write.  Personality changes can also be a result of brain injury.  These symptoms do not occur in every case, but should be watched for in any child who has experienced a brain injury.

Here is a link to a short video from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety about a collision between a 50 year old car and a new car. Riding in a car now is safer than it was 50 — or even 20 — years ago. Our children are luckier, and so are we.

From working in Barnes and Noble I have learned about Code Adam, the process of locating a missing child in a retail establishment or a public place.  We train regularly in executing the procedure, just in case.  We did it every night for a month before the Harry Potter release party back in 2007.  However, I had never actually done one until last weekend.

Last weekend we had a parent come up to us saying that she couldn’t find her two little girls.  I was the one who received the information and had to make the overhead page…”Attention Barnes & Nobles customers, we have a Code Adam, etc…”.  We found the girls very quickly, but still I was shaken for hours afterwards.

I wrote the article explaining what Code Adam is and why it exists for you to share with parents.  I was very impressed by the customers in the store that day because everyone froze and was silent while we looked for the girls.  I think it’s helpful for parents to know that this procedure exists.

Stephanie wrote an article with more information about CODE ADAM that I posted on my firm’s website.  Here is a link to the article she wrote. Thanks, Stephanie, for helping to spread the word.

However, some apps have devious purposes.  Growing numbers of apps provide Caller ID Spoofing. We rely on caller ID and don’t question that the person on the phone is the name that appears on the screen.  However, spoofing apps allow the user to choose any number they want to appear on caller ID instead of their own, to completely disguise their voice so as to remain unrecognizable, and one spoof app allows users to fake texts and emails. Our children are trusters, but they can no longer automatically believe what the caller ID tells them.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article (along with a 6-minute video) that featured SpoofCard, one of the most popular of the spoofing software versions, that told stories from users about how they use the device.  Even though the site details useful applications of the device in the section on legality, not one legal use is included as an actual example.  The examples from customers are all personal pranks or spying on “loved ones.”

Possibly the most dangerous use of this technology is that the spoofer is able to check another person’s voicemail without their knowledge.  Many cell phone carriers allow the user to check their voicemail without a password by calling their phone number from their own phone.  If a spoofed caller ID of your number calls your number, the spoofer is also connected directly to the voicemail box.  To keep this from happening to you, make sure you have use a password to access your voicemail.

Congress is moving forward in making this practice illegal.  The House passed the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2007, but it was never made into law.

The Federal Communication Commission has detailed its current view on caller ID and provides a number to call if you believe a caller ID has been falsified.

Find out all you can about caller ID spoofs. I know it may cause eye rolling by your children, but please talk to them about not assuming the caller whose ID they see on their phone may not be who they think it is. This spoof is no joke.

I was surprised to see one of the products for sale on its website: The Little Motorcycle” is a children’s picture book “just for racers and their kids!”

According to the website, the picture book was written and illustrated by racers about motorcycle racing. TeeZee the racebike goes from winter sleep to Daytona racing action!

The website also has a link to The Little Motorcycle Special Series Coloring Page Free Download.

I’m not endorsing or criticizing the site or the book. I don’t do motorcycle racing. I’m just wondering what other parents think.