The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Recall of the Week: Build-a-Bear Colorful Hearts Teddy Bears due to choking hazard

By Rita R. Robison

Build-a-Bear is recalling Colorful Hearts Teddy Bears, about 284,000 in the United States and 13,200 in Canada.

The teddy bear’s eyes could loosen and fall out, posing a choking hazard to children. No injuries have been reported.

The Colorful Hearts Teddy is a stuffed animal about 16 inches high with black plastic eyes. The bear’s fabric covering is printed with multi-colored heart shapes.

Manufactured in China, the bears were sold nationwide by Build-A-Bear Workshops and online at www.buildabear.com from April 2011 through December 2011 for about $18 in the U.S. and $23 in Canada.

Consumers should immediately take the recalled teddy bear from children and return it to any Build-A-Bear store to receive a coupon for any available stuffed animal from Build-A-Bear, the company and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a statement.

For additional information, contact the firm toll-free at 866-236-5683 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, on Saturday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. CT, and on Sunday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. CT; visit the firm’s website www.buildabear.com; or email the firm at colorfulhearts@buildabear.com.

For details on other recalls, see www.recalls.gov.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Which stores are opening first for Black Friday sales?

Retail stores are racing to see who can open earliest for this year’s Black Friday sales, with some opening on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.

Kmart is taking the lead this year, opening at 6 a.m. Thanksgiving Day. Toys R Us is in second place with a start time of 9 p.m., one hour earlier than 2010. Wal-Mart takes third, opening at 10 p.m. on the big Turkey Day.

Here is a list of opening hours for 15 major merchants from CouponSherpa.com, along with a special deal each is offering. Remember that hours are subject to change and some states don't allow stores to open on Thanksgiving Day. For a detailed guide to Black Friday store openings and hours, check out CouponSherpa.com.

Ace Hardware - Midnight Friday

Enter to win a Craftsman 5-drawer Tool Center.

A.C. Moore - 5 a.m. Friday

Free $10 gift card to the first 50 customers.

Bealls - Midnight Friday

First 100 customers per store have a chance to win an iPad2, $250 gift card or $5 Bealls Bucks.

Best Buy - Midnight Friday

Best Buy will distribute entry tickets up to two hours before midnight.

Half Price Books - 7 a.m. Friday

First 100 people per store receive a tote bag and $5 gift card.

JCPenney - 4 a.m. Friday

Free collectible Disney snow globe, while supplies last.

Kmart - 6 a.m. Thanksgiving

Earn 20 bonus points for every $1 spent, twice the normal amount.

Macy's - 4 a.m. Friday

Shop online all day Thanksgiving.

Office Max - 6 a.m. Friday

Save $15 on a $100 VISA or MasterCard gift card.

Kohl's - Midnight Friday

Receive $15 Kohl's cash for every $50 you spend, through Nov. 27, with coupon from Black Friday flier.

Old Navy - 9 a.m. Thanksgiving and midnight Friday

Free Kodak Easyshare Sport waterproof digital camera bundle with $40 purchase (while supplies last).

Rite Aid - 7 a.m. Thanksgiving at select stores through 11:59 p.m. Friday

$10 reward when you buy a $50 Home Improvement gift card.

Sears - 4 a.m. Friday

Pick up a Real Deal Coupon Book with over $3,000 in savings that start Nov. 27 (while quantities last).

Sports Authority - 5 a.m. Friday

First 80 people in line at each Sports Authority receive Bonus Bucks valued between $10 and $500.

Target - Midnight to 11 p.m. Friday

Learn about unadvertised deals by texting "MORE TVs" to "Target."

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Recall of the Week: BUSA children’s folding tent due to laceration and puncture hazards

By Rita R. Robison

IKEA North America Service is recalling about 58,000 BUSA children’s folding tents, 51,000 in the United States and 7,000 in Canada 

The steel wire frame of the tent can break, producing sharp wire ends that can protrude through the tent fabric, posing a laceration or puncture hazard IKEA and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a statement.

Three incidents were reported, including one injury. No incidents were reported in the U.S. or Canada.

The recall involves a cube-shaped children’s folding tent with model number 90192009. The brand name BUSA and IKEA and the model number are printed on a sewn-in label attached to an interior seam in the tent. 

The tent frame is made of flat steel wire, and the tent material is pale green polyester fabric with turquoise, pink, and white trim. The tent’s dimensions are: length, width, and height, 28¼ inches.

Manufactured in Vietnam, the tents were sold only at IKEA stores nationwide from August 2011 through September 2011 for about $8.

Consumers should immediately take the tent away from children and return it to their nearest IKEA store for a refund, the company and commission advise.

For additional information, contact IKEA at 888-966-4532 anytime, or visit the firm’s website at http://www.ikea-usa.com.

For details on other recalls, see www.recalls.gov.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Company agrees to pay $1 million penalty for failure to report defective toy dart gun sets

By Rita R. Robison

Henry Gordy International Inc. has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1 million to settle allegations that the company knowingly failed to report the safety defect and hazard with the "Auto Fire Target Set" immediately to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, as required by federal law.

The commission staff alleges that Henry Gordy knew on or about May 2006 that the target set was defective and could cause harm but failed to report this to the commission. The agency staff alleges that the target set is defective because if a child places the soft, pliable, plastic toy dart into his or her mouth, the toy can be inhaled into the throat and can prevent the child from breathing.

Henry Gordy also made a misrepresentation to the staff in an investigation into the target sets in May 2009 by not reporting all of the information the company was aware of, the commission alleged in a statement.

In May 2010, Family Dollar Stores Inc. and the commission announced the recall of about 1.8 million Auto Fire Target Sets because Henry Gordy refused to conduct the recall. By then, three deaths were associated with the target set.

Auto Fire Target Sets were sold only by Family Dollar Stores between September 2005 and January 2009 for about $1.50 each. Each set came with a toy gun; soft, pliable, plastic toy darts; and a small target.

In agreeing to the settlement, Henry Gordy denies the commission’s staff allegations as to the existence of a defect or that it knowingly violated the law.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Consumer groups urge Congress to reject bill that weakens product safety laws

By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

A coalition of consumer, health, and safety groups today called on Congress to reject a bill that would diminish the effectiveness of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a law that keeps unsafe toys and products off the shelves.

Passed in 2008, the act was approved in response to the recall of millions of toys and children’s products for excessive lead, ingestion hazards, and other serious health risks. It raises standards and improves safeguards against unsafe toys and products and provides for a database for consumers to report and read complaints about hazardous products filed with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The House Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee is planning to meet Thursday to mark up a bill that would undo key components of the act.

Consumer and safety groups say the bill would lower standards and roll back safeguards for children and infants.

Consumers Union

“The stakes are too high to rush these sweeping changes,” Ami Gadhia, policy counsel for Consumers Union, said in a statement. “A toy box shouldn’t be a game of roulette. You ought to be able to buy toys for your children and know that they’ve been properly tested for safety. This draft bill sets up impossible hurdles that would likely mean toys and other children’s products wouldn’t be adequately tested for safety.”

American Academy of Pediatrics

O. Marion Burton, M.D., president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, agrees.

"For nearly 40 years, our nation has been striving to remove lead from children's environments because we recognize its devastating impact on child health,” Burton said. “Congress should not allow more lead in toys and other products specifically designed for children."

Public Citizen

Christine Hines, consumer and civil justice counsel at Public Citizen's Congress Watch, said the bill seeks to impose severe restrictions on the successful incident reporting database, such as limiting individuals who can report to the database and adding onerous burdens to the reporting process.

“Evidently, supporters of this bill would prefer that consumers remain in the dark and unaware of dangerous products,” said Hines. “Considering the time and resources used in building the database, this proposal would turn a vigorous consumer tool into a dramatic waste of government resources.”

Cancer Prevention and Treatment Fund

Diana Zuckerman, Ph.D., president of the Cancer Prevention and Treatment Fund, said the bill is bad news for children. “It would weaken current law, which prevents our children from being exposed to hormones in plastic toys and children’s products. The petroleum-based hormones in phthalates have been linked to testicular cancer and other dangerous diseases.”

Kids In Danger

Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids In Danger, is concerned about crib safety.

“While we appreciate that the draft amendment will still require third party testing of cribs and other durable infant and toddler products, we are disheartened that children in child care centers will not be afforded the same protections,” said Cowles. “By allowing existing cribs, no matter what safety standards they meet, to remain in child care facilities, the drafters of this amendment do a disservice to the millions of American families who rely on safe child care."

The Consumer Federation of America and U.S. Public Interest Research Group also oppose the bill.

Let your member of the House of Representatives know that you don’t support the weakening of consumer product safety laws, especially those that protect children.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

2011 Academy Awards nominated movies often too violent, dark

Last year, I wrote that the movies getting the Academy Award nod didn’t live up to the potential of what the powerful movie industry, one of the main purveyors of American popular culture, could achieve.

This year, it’s more of the same. It seems as though Hollywood executives sat around and thought about what kind of violence they hadn’t shown yet, then made their selections. Again, the emphasis often was on movie topics that appeal to young males.

Here are my picks among what was nominated for Academy Awards in 2011:

Best picture: “The King’s Speech.” Although I liked “The Social Network,” too, British historical movies are a favorite of mine. I realize the movie had historical inaccuracies.

Best director: David Fincher for “The Social Network” and Tom Hooper for “The King’s Speech.” They both did a good job on complicated, nonviolent movie topics.

Best actor: Jesse Eisenberg for “The Social Network. I agree with many commentators who said Eisenberg nailed the role of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Best actress: No pick. I didn’t see “Rabbit Hole” or “Blue Valentine.” “Black Swan” was the worst movie of 2010; the prima ballerina slipped into madness while her mother watched. “Winter’s Bone” was slow and disturbing. I couldn’t figure out what Hollywood was trying to say in “The Kids Are All Right”; lesbian families can be wrecked by male interlopers?

Best supporting actor: Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech.” Rush did a great job as King George VI’s speech therapist. “The Town,” about bank robbers, had twists, but was too violent. “The Fighter” was O.K., but watching boxers plummet each other, get injured, and bleed isn’t my idea of entertainment.

Best supporting actress: Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech.” Bonham Carter did a spirited job playing the Duchess of York and Queen Elizabeth. “True Grit” was a Western remake, with way too much violence. “Animal Kingdom,” about a criminal family in Australia,” was slow and full of senseless violence.

Costume design: “The King’s Speech.” “I Am Love” actually was a story about something besides killing. “Alice in Wonderland,” about the teenage Alice,” wasn’t for children with its excessive violence. I heard an interview with the director on NPR. He said his grade-school age children could handle the violence in the movie. Children shouldn’t be expected to mature enough steel themselves against violent “entertaining” assaults.

Animated feature film: No pick. I saw two of the three movies nominated, but I didn’t think either was a superior movie for children. “How to Train Your Dragon” wasn’t too bad, but again, a lot of violence for children. “Toy Story 3” was way too dark for young children.

Visual effects: “Inception.” About manipulating dreams and dreams within dreams, it was interesting, but filled with fighting, explosions, and killing. In addition, it had the added visuals of worlds of dreams tipping and collapsing. “Iron Man 2,” with lots of fighting, explosions, and killing, was a bit entertaining with Robert Downey Jr. as the self-centered head of Stark Industries. However, I don’t quite know what to think about the movie’s comment that Iron Man brought peace between the East and the West.

Original song: No pick. I saw three of the movies nominated in this category, but I wasn’t watching them to evaluate the music. “Tangled,” a typical Hollywood story for kids, had lots of fighting between the good guys and the bad guys.

Sound mixing: No pick. I think the sound in most movies is too loud. Also, I don’t like the way sound editing is done when more sound is added to things, such as footsteps, as was done in “I Am Love.” I watched “Salt” because it was nominated for this award. The overly violent movie was unrealistic with an extremely thin Angelina Jolie overtaking dozens of burly men.

Sound editing: No pick. I saw four of the movies nominated for sound editing, but wasn’t watching to see which one had the best sound. “Unstoppable” was a pretty good movie; plenty of action and drama, but not about people killing each other.

Adapted screenplay: Aaron Sorkin for “The Social Network.” I thought the writer was creative in thinking up a way nerdy computer scenes could be entertaining. I’m interested in finding about how much of it was true. I checked Wikipedia to find out after I saw the movie, then I had to laugh. Reading a site written by thousands of people, including those who have a vested interested in a topic, was an Internet age irony. “127 Hours” was gruesome, although it was about something that really happened.

Original screenplay: David Seidler for the “The King’s Speech.”

Hopefully, movies will improve in the next year as Hollywood realizes baby boomers are returning to the theaters and want to see something beside topics that appeal to teenage males.

Copyright 2011, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Facts and figures for the 2010 holiday season

U.S. consumers plan to spend an average of $688.87 on holiday-related shopping, a slight rise from last year’s $681.83, according to National Retail Federation.

On holiday travel, 87.7 million Americans will be traveling 50 miles or more away from home during the year-end holidays, reports AAA. This is a 3.8 percent increase from the 84.5 million Americans who traveled during the same Christmas-New Year period last year and is the largest projected increase for any major holiday this year.

The U.S. Census Bureau offers the following holiday-related facts and figures from its data collection:    

$27.4 billion

Other U.S. retailers with sizable jumps in sales between November and December 2009 were book stores, 98 percent; clothing stores, 36 percent; jewelry stores, 135 percent; radio, TV, and other electronics stores, 42 percent; and sporting goods stores, 71 percent.

 14%

The percentage of total 2009 sales for department stores in December. For jewelry stores, the percentage was 21 percent.

$30 billion

Value of retail sales by electronic shopping and mail-order houses in December 2009 – the highest total for any month last year.

$488.5 million

The value of U.S. imports of Christmas tree ornaments from China between January and August 2010. China was the leading country of origin for these ornaments. China also was the leading foreign source of artificial Christmas trees shipped to the United States – $28.2 million worth – during the same period.

$5.1 billion

The value of U.S. toy imports including stuffed toys and dolls, puzzles, and electric trains from China between January and August 2010. China was the leading country of origin for stuffed toys coming into this country, as well as for other popular holiday gifts. These include roller skates, $37 million; sports footwear, $218 million; and basketballs, $32 million. China leads Thailand as the leading supplier of ice skates, $9 million versus $6 million, with Canada ranking third with $4 million.

Holiday season names

Place names associated with the holiday season include North Pole, Alaska, population 2,226 in 2009; Santa Claus, Ind., 2,303; Santa Claus, Ga., 247; Noel, Mo., 1,615; Rudolph, Wis., 418; and Dasher, Ga., 821. In addition, there’s Snowflake, Ariz., 5,686, and a dozen places named Holly, including Holly Springs, Miss., and Mount Holly, N.C. 

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist 

Top three safety tips for children’s toys this holiday season

Although new toy safeguards have contributed to a decline in toy recalls since 2008 and toy-related fatalities decreased in 2009, toy-related injuries are increasing, reports the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

In 2009, about 186,000 emergency room-treated injuries occurred related to toys with children younger than 15. This is up from 152,000 injuries in 2005.

Often these injuries involved cuts and bruises on the child's face and head.

The commission offers these safety tips:

1. Which toy for which child – Always choose age appropriate toys.

2. Gear up for safety – Include safety gear whenever shopping for sports-related gifts or ride-on toys, including bicycles, skates, and scooters.

3. Location - Be aware of your child's surroundings during play. Young children should avoid playing with ride-on toys near automobile traffic, pools, or ponds. They also should avoid playing in indoor areas associated with hazards such as kitchens and bathrooms and in rooms with corded window blinds.

Additional safety steps include:

• Scooters and other riding toys – Helmets and safety gear should be worn properly at all times and be sized to fit.

• Small balls and other toys with small parts – For children younger than age 3, avoid toys with small parts, which can cause choking.

• Balloons – Keep deflated balloons away from children younger than 8 years old to avoid choking or suffocation on deflated or broken balloons. Discard broken balloons at once.

• Magnets – For children under age 6, avoid building or play sets with small magnets. If magnets or pieces with magnets are swallowed, serious injuries and/or death can occur.

After the gifts are open:

• Immediately discard plastic wrappings or other packaging on toys before they become dangerous play things.

• Keep toys appropriate for older children away from younger siblings.

• Supervise the charging of batteries. Chargers and adapters can pose thermal burn hazards to young children. Pay attention to instructions and warnings on battery chargers. Some chargers lack any mechanism to prevent overcharging.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Recall of the Week: Fischer-Price toys, tricycles, and high chairs due to safety issues

About 11 million Fisher-Price tricycles, toys, and high chairs are being recalled due to choking hazards and faulty construction.

The items include:

Toddler tricycles

About seven million Tough Trikes toddler tricycles. A child can strike, sit, or fall on a protruding plastic ignition key resulting in serious injury, including genital bleeding.

Click here for information on model numbers and how to get a replacement key and photos of the trikes involved in the recall.

High chairs

About 950,000 Healthy Care, Easy Clean, and Close to Me High Chairs. Children can fall on or against the pegs on the rear legs of the high chair resulting in injuries or lacerations. The pegs are used for high chair tray storage.

For information on the model numbers and how to get a repair kit and photos of the high chairs, click here.

Infant toys with inflatable balls

About 2.8 million infant toys with inflatable balls, including the Baby Playzone Crawl & Cruise Playground, Baby Playzone Crawl & Slide Arcade, Baby Gymtastics Play Wall, Ocean Wonders Kick & Crawl Aquarium (C3068 and H8094), 1-2-3 Tetherball, and Bat & Score Goal. The valve of the inflatable ball on these toys can come off and pose a choking hazard to young children.

Click here for information on model numbers and how to get a replacement kit and photos of the infant toys with inflatable balls involved in the recall.

Little people rampway

About 100,000 Little People Wheelies Stand 'n Play Rampways. The wheels on the purple and the green cars can come off, posing a choking hazard to young children.

For information on the model numbers and how to get cars to replace the purple and green cars and photos of the rampway and cars, click here.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Recall of the Week: Toy dart gun sets sold at Family Dollar Stores due to aspiration hazard

About 1.8 million toy dart gun sets sold by Family Dollar Stores Inc., of Charlotte, N.C., are being recalled due to an aspiration hazard. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Family Dollar have received reports of two asphyxiation deaths involving a 9-year-old boy in Chicago, Ill., and a 10-year-old boy in Milwaukee, Wis.

If a child places the soft, pliable plastic toy dart in his or her mouth, the toy can be inhaled into the throat and prevent the child from breathing, reports the commission.

The toy dart guns, imported by Henry Gordy International Inc., of Plainfield, N.J., were sold only at Family Dollar stores. Family Dollar is working with the commission to announce the recall because Henry Gordy International has refused to recall the toy dart gun sets, according to the commission.

The "Auto Fire" toy target set is sold with either an orange and yellow toy gun – item #P238 – or a blue-and-yellow toy gun – item #9328, eight orange darts, and a small target with numbers from 1 to 20.

The gun's item number is located on one side of the handle in raised lettering. The soft plastic darts measure just over one inch in length and have a small suction cup at one end with a diameter of about ½ inch. The target board is black, yellow, red and green, and measures five inches in diameter. "Gordy Toy" for "Ages 8+" is printed on the packaging.

Manufactured in China, the toy sets were sold at Family Dollar stores nationwide from September 2005 through January 2009 for about $1.50.

Consumers should immediately take the toy target sets from children and discard them, advises the commission. Consumers can also return the guns and darts to a Family Dollar store for a full refund.

For additional information, contact Family Dollar at 800-547-0359 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's Web site at www.familydollar.com.

To learn about other recalls, visit www.recalls.gov.

Copyright 2010, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist