By BOB URBAN
Raising children has become a lot more intricate in the past 40 years.
Back then, there was no such thing as recalls.
Today, you can't go a week without some brand of crib or baby-related items being recalled by the manufacturer. It makes you wonder how our kids ever survived their early years.
For instance, just in the last week here are two such recalls:
Baby Hammocks: Three Sisters Toys Inc. is recalling Yayita Baby Hammocks sold by Three Sisters Toys online from December 2007 July 2008. The hammock can flip over, posing a serious fall hazard and strangulation hazard to infants who become entrapped in the seat's restraint straps while upside down. The recalled baby hammock is a cream-colored canvas and hangs from a wooden pole. "La Siesta" is printed on a tag located below the restraint straps. Model number YABN-1 is printed on a white tag sewn into the hammock's side seam. Consumers should contact Three Sisters Toys, 888-537-9293, www.threesisterstoys.com [2], to receive a full refund.
Pacifiers: Grand World Inc. is recalling "Bobby Chupete" Pacifiers sold November 2004 July 2009. The pacifiers fail to meet federal safety standards. The pacifier mouth guard is too small, posing a choking hazard. This recall involves "Bobby Chupete" pacifiers. The pacifiers have a ring-shaped handle and heart-shaped mouth guard with two ventilation holes. "Bobby Chupete" and a picture of an infant are printed on the pacifier's packaging. The pacifier was sold in aqua, red, white or yellow colors. Consumers should contact Grand World, 718-326-7786, www.grandworldinc.com [3], for a refund or a replacement pacifier.
Then there was a recall of two and a half million cribs, a kind where the side comes down. Babies could get their heads caught and suffocate.
As soon as we read about it, and before it hit the 6 o'clock news, we checked out the brand name of the crib we have set up for our grandson. Thankfully it wasn't on the recall list.
Just in case you weren't feeling too old today, this might change your mind.
The people who started college this fall were born in 1992. I have a car that old.
They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up. I remember it like it was yesterday.
Their lifetime has always included AIDS.
The CD was introduced two years before they were born. I'm still trying to figure out how a VCR works.
They have always had an answering machine. What did we do before they came along? We called back later, that's what we did.
They have always had cable