Children not carried correctly in slings have greater chances of suffocation. Yet, supporters of babywearing tout its benefits, including better bonding between mother and child. So, what should you pay attention to?

Some parents still are not aware of the risks of using slings. Australia had its first sling-related infant death recently, and as a result, the Australian Competition and Consumer Committee (ACCC) issued a safety warning. According to newspaper The Age, a mother was carrying her 2-day-old boy in a sling under her clothing and noticed he went cold and stopped breathing. As a result, the ACCC is also developing safety standards for baby slings.

Slings and other similar baby carriers are popular alternatives to strollers. Nevertheless, carriers in which the baby faces forward to pose some risks, and a few basic points need to be kept in mind. A child should never have his chin and chest touching and his mouth or nose should never be covered. The New York Times’ Motherload gives some more points to watch for:

• A baby in a sling must be in the same position as in your arms once you let go. A baby should never move away from the parent once in the sling.
• A parent should be able to kiss the baby’s head without bending his or her neck.
• The carrier needs to be tight enough so that no space is between the parent and baby.
• A baby’s face must always be visible.
• Parents should not feel back or neck pain when using slings. Otherwise, the carrier is being worn incorrectly.

If you need better visualization of how to put on and wrap a baby in a sling and how to carry your child, watch the video below for a few babywearing methods:

Unless you live in a handful of states, finding BPA-free baby products can be a challenge. Although some bottles, cups, and toys are labeled “BPA-free,” many aren’t, and how do you know which ones are safe? Some parents, taking a different approach, look for glass or steel bottles and dishware, but in California, finding BPA-free baby products may soon become easier.

Banning BPA has been visible to the public since 2006, when San Francisco passed an ordinance banning BPA in baby products. A year later, however, the ordinance was overturned. In the present, legislation to ban BPA in baby products, The Toxin-Free Infants and Toddlers Act (AB1319), was proposed and is being voted on next week. Should the legislation go into effect, baby bottles and sippy cups made or sold after July 2013 would be required to be BPA-free.

Adults, as well, are concerned about BPA exposure, but children are at a greater risk. Present in items ranging from plastic coating to cash register receipts, BPA mimics estrogen, and its effects have been associated with hormonal and behavioral issues, such as early puberty, hyperactivity, prostate and breast cancers, infertility, and obesity. About the effects of BPA on children, CEO and director of Healthy Child, Healthy World stated:

“Children are uniquely vulnerable to toxic exposures. They are typically exposed to more toxics per pound of body weight. Their immature systems are less capable of excreting the toxics. And, perhaps most importantly, they are still developing, so exposures that may have no impact on an adult can create a domino effect of biological disruption in a child.”

Unless you can trust that all plastic baby products in your area are BPA-free, opt for glass or stainless steel items, including bottles, cups, and dishware, for your child and yourself instead.

When a mother leaving a baby in a stroller outside of a restaurant for 10 minutes makes the news and babywearing is a growing trend, where’s the middle ground for being watchful of your child without being overprotective, indulgent, or selfish?

Parents may never know, but a child health expert out of Australia gave them another facet to worry about: carrying children forward. So, what’s the big deal? According to Professor Catherine Fowler, sourced in a Daily Mail piece, a child “suffers” in such a position and may later turn into an anxious adult:

“Imagine if you were strapped to someone’s chest with your legs and arms flailing, heading with no control into a busy shopping center – it would be terrifying. Outward-facing baby carriers and prams give babies a bombardment of stimulus, creating a very stressful situation. In not considering our baby’s perspective, we are inadvertently quite cruel to children.”

Who knew that such a slight action could scar a child into adulthood? But not everyone is impressed. In fact, other experts cited in the Daily Mail’s piece are incredulous to Fowler’s statements and, rather, think that a child facing its mother all the time gets bored.

Parents may never find the fine line between suffering and boredom for their children, but some are getting on board with the theory that a child close to and facing its mother bonds well. Babywearing is the result. Profiled in a piece in The Lufkin Times, babywearing allows a child to be close to its mother at all times, helping with bonding, and her hands are free to do ordinary tasks. Additional supposed assets of babywearing include calming fussy or colicky babies, less crying, and a more restful child.

Regardless of which experts you agree with, there are many options for baby carriers, including wraps, slings, and even strollers, that allow a child to face forward or backward.

Baby products and pop culture can mix, but the combination treads from being inappropriate to a novelty item to practical. An item such as a onesie emblazoned with Kate Moss’ quote, “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels,” is clearly inappropriate, although cartoon characters, even older ones, are less out of place. But, what about video game characters, such as Angry Birds?

While a video game about aggressive birds doesn’t seem like a fit for baby products, Angry Birds, with its growing licensing and merchandising division, thinks it is the brand’s next step. Already with a successful line of toys, Angry Birds partnered with SwaddleDesigns, the first company to introduce large swaddling blankets. Displaying characters from the video game, Angry Birds baby products will include clothing and blankets. While not presently available, Angry Birds products can be purchased through pre-order and will eventually be found at retailers carrying the brand’s toys.

With 40 million players per month, Angry Birds is one of the most popular Apple mobile apps. But, does that translate out to baby products? SwaddleDesigns’ creative director Lynette Damir thinks it does. In a press release she stated:

“As parents, one aspect of Angry Birds we appreciate is how protective the birds are and how much they love their offspring. It’s one of the characters’ endearing qualities that resonates with parents everywhere, and a key reason we believe Angry Birds fans will be enthusiastic about our new line of Angry Bird baby products. We’re excited and honored to be Rovio’s partner to bring these fun, playful and loveable characters to SwaddleDesigns product line.”

If you play the app game on your iPhone, will you be considering Angry Birds blankets or clothing for your child? Or, are such products strictly extravagant novelty items?

You’d think that, with all of the coverage surrounding celebrity babies even before they leave the womb, Victoria Beckham’s baby shower would have been covered in the news sooner. Yet, news of her May 7 baby shower didn’t hit the tabloids until May 16 – even in the U.K., where Beckham and her soccer player husband are far larger celebrities than they are in the U.S. Perhaps the paparazzi are far more concerned with Mariah Carey’s twins than they are with the Beckham’s fourth spawn.

Nevertheless, as reported in celebrity gossip blog Hollywood Life, Beckham was thrown a pink-themed baby shower at the Hotel Le Petit Ermitage in Hollywood. A-list guests, including Selma Blair, Eva Longoria, and Nichole Richie, were invited. Source Beginnings, a Hollywood baby boutique, claims that, even with Beckham’s insistence that all gifts be pink, guests chose presents in other colors.

Baby products used by celebrities are not as far removed as, say, fashion choices. A Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag is closer to the average woman’s budget than a pair of Louboutins or a Hermes bag. If you are curious about the gifts given to Beckham, the following items have been mentioned by Hollywood Life and the Daily Mail:
• A Quinny Buzz Special Edition Stroller in pink
• A mamaRoo baby swing
• A Hoppop bath tub
• A Little Giraffe Luxe Blanket
• A Timi + Leslie diaper bag
• A custom-made stuffed giraffe by Melissa & Doug
• A Bonpoint clothing set
• An Orbit Baby Infant Stroller in red
• A Bloom Alma crib; and
• A Bloom Fresco high chair

Surprising a friend at a baby shower with a gift like one Victoria Beckham received isn’t out of the question. In fact, many of these brands can be found through ordinary baby boutiques. Baby and Me Boutique, for instance, carries Quinny Buzz strollers and Timi + Leslie diaper bags. Brands Melissa and Doug and Little Giraffe are sold through Hunky Dory.

Fire-retardant chemicals, in concept, seem beneficial. After all, in theory, they should slow a fire’s spread and save more lives. Yet, at the same time, many fire-retardant chemicals are toxic and can be found in items ranging from furniture to clothing to baby products. Because going green is beyond a trend and, at this point, has become a necessary lifestyle, USA Today ran a piece recently about the hazards of fire-retardant chemicals in baby products.

Fire-retardant chemicals are so omnipresent that even the dust in your house has traces of them. If you consider the habits of a baby, including sleeping and putting objects into his or her mouth, exposure to fire retardant chemicals seems unavoidable. In fact, such chemicals are found in the polyurethane foam in baby mattresses; up until the 1970s, they were added to baby clothes, until a study showed that these substances cause cancer in animals.

According to the USA Today article, the concentration of fire-retardant chemicals in toddlers and preschoolers is three times the amount in adults. While such chemicals are harmful to people of all ages, they can affect behavioral and brain development in children, lower IQ, or result in learning products.

But, is the addition of such chemicals even necessary? According to an article published in the Los Angeles Times in 2009, fire-retardant chemicals worsen emergency situations, as materials like polyurethane foam release the chemicals into the air during a fire. Although California, the state with the most strict fire standards, has made an exception for baby products, a significant amount of furniture is still made with fire-retardant chemicals: 56 percent of infant carriers, 44 percent of car seats, and 40 percent of portable cribs.

Finding baby products free of these chemicals is difficult but not impossible. Baby mattresses are a particular concern, as a child sleeps for 70 percent of its first year, and Naturepedic makes products that are organic and free of toxic chemicals. Containing no PVC, vinyl, or phthalates (a plastic softener), Naturepedic baby mattresses are tested for chemical emissions and are Greenguard certified. Each baby mattress has a 100-percent food-grade polyethylene waterproof surface, organic cotton filling, and a non-toxic and naturally-derived fire barrier system.

At the end of 2009, if you can remember, a large amount of Maclaren strollers was recalled. Although the amount of recalled products has died down a bit since the drop side crib ban at the end of 2010, plenty of products still pose safety hazards, and Maclaren strollers are one of these. But, instead of a new product being taken off shelves, the same group of 1 million Maclaren strollers from 2009 is being recalled for the same reason: A hinge mechanism poses a fingertip amputation or laceration hazard to a child when the stroller is unfolded.

Maclaren strollers aren’t the only baby product recalled recently. Falls Creek slipper socks, which are bug shaped and designed with balls at the ends, were taken off shelves as well; the balls can detach and become choking hazards to young children. Maclaren strollers, on the other hand, include single and double umbrella models sold from 1999 to November 2009. Strollers sold after May 2010 are not affected.

Two years ago, 149 reported incidents lead to the recall of 1 million strollers; presently, the same group of products caused 37 additional safety incidents. If you own a Maclaren stroller, what should you do at this point? The manufacturer has a repair kit for the hinge cover available, just like it did two years ago, and can be contacted by email or telephone.

Before you purchase a repair kit, stop using the stroller first. Although the stroller may have not caused an injury, it still poses a hazard to your child and could result in one in the future. Second, either purchase a repair kit or a new stroller – don’t keep on using the same recalled model. Because the models recalled are umbrella strollers, purchasing another is not a significant expense and may be safer for your child in the long run. If you are concerned about purchasing another recalled product, check with Recalls.gov before purchasing a new stroller.

Ever since January, many parents have been stuck in a quandary: Keep the drop side crib or toss it? A ban on drop side cribs became effective as of January 2011 but applies to places selling or using drop side cribs only – not parents. While it’s not illegal for parents to use drop side cribs, retailers, secondhand stores, daycares, hotels, or any similar establishments need to replace them with stationary designs. But what do you do when a drop side crib has functioned for years or when you can’t afford new baby furniture?

In theory, all parents could purchase new stationary cribs, but everyone has a different situation. Drop side cribs may be given as an heirloom or hand-me-down, or parents may have one already from an older child. Still, with millions of drop side cribs recalled by multiple manufacturers during the past decade, owning this design can be risky.

The North County Times offers a few points to parents on the fence about keeping the old crib or purchasing a new one:
• Check if the manufacturer or the particular model has had any recalls. Drop side cribs were a nursery staple for several decades, and not all brands or designs were recalled. You may likely have a crib that has never had structure or hardware problems.
• Examine the crib. Cribs are taken apart and put back together for multiple children or when given as hand-me-downs. Check to see if the hardware is sturdy. Poorly-designed hardware that broke and let the drop side fall was often a cause of many crib injuries or deaths.

If you plan to purchase a new crib, which model should you choose? All designs available are stationary, but convertible cribs have become popular. Once a child is too large for the crib, the furniture’s frame folds out into a toddler bed and also into a full-size or sofa bed.

These days, children are expected to be reading well by the time they finish kindergarten. But should you be expecting your child to read by the time he or she turns 2? Or, furthermore, can you even expect a 2-year-old to start reading? Educational product line Your Baby Can Read thinks so. If you’ve ever watched late-night infomercials, you likely caught one for Your Baby Can Read. If you haven’t seen it, here’s the product’s commercial:

Consumer advocacy group Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood claims these commercials are misleading and deceptive and claims Your Baby Can Read products are harmful to children. Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, but this instance is not the first time the organization questioned a baby product’s claims.

A few years ago, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood took the same approach to Baby Einstein, and parents who purchased Baby Einstein products were eventually refunded. Baby Einstein claimed their products assist with building young children’s vocabulary. Studies, however, disproved these claims, finding instead that children who exclusively watched Baby Einstein videos knew fewer words than those who just interacted with their parents.

Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood takes their argument a step further. They claim that, while young children can recognize words aurally and visually, they are not developed enough to read. Additionally, they state that the amount of time Your Baby Can Read requires a child sit in front of a television or computer is harmful.

Your Baby Can Read, of course, denies these claims, and says that one million families have bought their product and are satisfied.

Still, although Your Baby Can Read involves interaction between the parent and child, sitting a child in front of a computer or television is no substitute for talking to and reading with your child.

Fashion is the refuge of actors or musicians with waning careers. Just look at the selection of fragrances at the closest department store. You might not have seen an album by Celine Dion in nearly a decade, but she appears to be doing well as a fragrance brand. Ditto with Antonio Banderas. Even if you cannot remember the last movie he was in, his fragrances are often featured prominently at department and drug stores.

But fashion, from clothing lines to perfumes, has become saturated with celebrity-created or endorsed brands and the next move appears to be baby products. As the unchartered terrain about to be conquered, baby products are an inevitable step, considering the growing popularity of celebrity baby news. But while Angelina Jolie is busy with films, which stars are putting out baby gear lines?

Although not the designer, Kate Moss is associated with a recent baby product line displaying her 2009 quote: “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” Your baby might not know the difference, but from a parenting perspective, should any mother or father dress their young child in a onesie with a pro-anorexia slogan?

A line created by Snoop Dogg and David Beckham may not be any better. Although in the initial stages, a baby gear line by this unusual duo that met on reality series Father Hood could turn into a novelty brand specifically for hip-hop or soccer fans.

Even if these two celebrity-related lines are the paradigm of inappropriate baby clothing, not all star-created baby products are this self-promotional, tacky, or extreme. PetitNest, a line of sheets and décor created by Saved by the Bell and Beverly Hills, 90210 star Tiffani Thiessen, actually appears practical. Although more expensive than most baby décor lines, PetitNest was created by Thiessen and Design Star finalist Lonni Paul after the television star couldn’t find baby products she liked. If you look at PetitNest, however, the sheets and décor are far away from the star’s personality and, so far, can be considered a more practical celebrity-related line.