In case you haven’t heard, McDonald’s has issued a voluntary recall of  their latest glassware, the “Shrek Forever After” series, due to possible cadmium levels.

In collaboration with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and as a precautionary measure, McDonald’s USA today issued a voluntary product recall of the four Shrek Forever After™ promotional glassware currently being offered in U.S. restaurants.

To be clear, the glassware was evaluated by an independent third-party laboratory, accredited by the CPSC, and determined to be in compliance with all applicable federal and state requirements at the time of manufacture and distribution. However, in light of the CPSC’s evolving assessment of standards for consumer products, McDonald’s determined in an abundance of caution that a voluntary recall of the Shrek Forever After glassware is appropriate.

Note that this only pertains to “Shrek Forever After” glasses, not to Happy Meal toys, or to previous glass series.

Well, it *should* be, anyway.

I love this image, from this design project. It reminds me of the line of historical action figures, like Albert Einstein and Ben Franklin, which are just plain hilarious.

From the Huffington Post:

So many questions…

1) Why does this baby have so much pubic hair?

2) Why does this baby have hair suspenders

3) Why does this baby have hairy ankles?

A manufacturer is creating a doll that realistically simulates breastfeeding. The doll comes with a special halter top for the young girl to wear, with flowers placed where nipples would be. The doll is put in position to “latch” on, and suckling noises and motions are then simulated.

Videos of the toy in use can already be seen on YouTube. From the article:

Even pediatricians, child development and toy experts can’t agree on whether the nod to support breast-feeding in the Bebe Gloton (loosely translated as baby glutton) would be healthy for young girls.

“My take is that anything which reminds young girls that their bodies are something other, and more, than sex objects, is a very good thing,” said Dr. Ronald Cohen, medical director of the Mothers’ Milk Bank in San Jose, Calif.

“On the other hand, encouraging young girls to want to have babies at a very young age may not be so great,” said Cohen, who is also the director of the intermediate intensive care nursery at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University.

Breastfeeding is natural and should be encouraged. I know many children imitate breastfeeding on their dolls while watching mommy nurse a sibling. But, do we really need our four and five-year old girls simulating it so realistically? I’m not sure how I feel about this product. I’m curious to hear what other rational parents have to say.

You are, of course, interested in teaching your kids about evolution. But how? They don’t cover it in schools much lately. You can’t find any toys that are based on it in toy stores. And when was the last time you saw a children’s book about it? So what is a good, rational parent to do??

Why, it’s simple! Go to » Continue reading “Charlies Playhouse: Blog, Toy Store, Resource”