it's been a while since we've had a good, old-fashioned round-up of freakouts from the worlds of safety, science, and parenting to ruin your weekend, so here goes:
- You might as well let the kid drink Coke, because diet soda causes strokes and heart attacks. [too?] [msnbc]
- Just as we now know whatever happened to the Nirvana baby, when this kid grows up, he will have his very own, "I was the rapist baby" Facebook fan page. Heard it here first. [youtube via the hairpin]
- Some sort of toxic Chinese drywall coverup is afoot at Fort Bragg, where nine infants--including three in three families who lived in the same house at different times--have died since 2007. [propublica]
- Meanwhile, the offgassing from mothballs is killing Australian babies, but not at the clip of that Chinese drywall. Still. Use cedar chips or something. [chicagotribune via dt reader dt]
- The CPSC has recalled 2 million Summer Infant video baby monitors after at least two reports of strangulation deaths. KEEP THE CORDS AWAY FROM THE KIDS, PEOPLE. [cpsc]
- More Generation 2 Worldwide dropside cribs have been recalled for causing strangulation/suffocation deaths. These were sold under the SafetyCraft brand name, which is currently being sold by some completely other, not affected company. It's all very confusing, so read the details, but basically, if you bought a dropside crib at a garage sale, it's a deathtrap that has been recalled. [cpsc]
- The CPSC has recalled ten [10!] toddler windbreakers from the Japanese megabrand MIKI HOUSE, which were sold at Bloomingdale's last fall, because they have drawstrings in the hoods, which are a strangulation hazard. Those 10 [!] people should remove the drawstrings. [cpsc]
- The IRS says you may now purchase breast pumps with your flexible health savings accounts, beginning with 2010 expenditures. Or you may deduct the cost of breastfeeding if it exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. I'm trying to imagine how someone making $50k/year could spend $3,750 on breast pumps, but I'm coming up empty. So to speak. [nyt, love the url, btw, via @ronlieber]
- Speaking of breastfeeding, there's a nurse-in at the Hirshhorn Museum tomorrow, even though the museum quickly tweet-apologized to the mom who was told to breastfeed on the toilet, not on the gallery sofa. Bring your breasts and stay all day. [npr]
- You might as well lick the door handle, because if your barista is also the cashier, those money germs will get on your coffee lid. [chitrib]
Talk about incentives going awry. I can understand the government's efforts to encourage increased breastfeeding. But you've got to be a pretty die-hard lactavist to believe that a family should be encouraged to spend more than 7.5% of their income on breastfeeding paraphernalia. What good is a Pump N Style if Mommy's going hungry?