This is an important safety alert because of the number of cribs and the severity of the possible accident. Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc. is recalling 2.1 million drop-side cribs, 147,000 of which have the Fisher-Price logo on them. Prompting this is the death of four infants who became trapped and suffocated when a space was created between the drop-side door and the mattress due to faulty parts. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) urges “parents and caregivers to immediately stop using the recalled cribs, wait for the free repair kit, and do not attempt to fix the cribs without the kit. They should find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their baby. Consumers should contact Stork Craft to receive a free repair kit that converts the drop-side on these cribs to a fixed side.” Go to the CPSC site for more information.
“Let the Sunshine In” is a concert in San Francisco to be held this Monday (May 25) that exhibits the power of a community to help young people in need. The musical extravaganza honors Christopher (Chris) Rodriguez, an 11-year-old Oakland boy who was in the midst of a piano lesson when he was hit by a stray bullet and paralyzed from the waist down. Produced by musician-producer extraordinaire Narada Michael Walden, the event will feature Sting, Bob Weir, the Narada Michael Walden Band, and other new and established musicians. Proceeds from the concert will go to the Narada Michael Walden Foundation, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music scholarship fund, and music education programs in the Bay Area. If you live in the Bay Area or happen to be visiting San Francisco, check out this benefit concert to be held in Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall.
Yesterday, President Bush vetoed a bill that would renew the Children’s Health Insurance Program (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21111931/ ). The legislation’s intent was to cover more of the lower-income kids who lack health insurance. Currently, 9 percent of our nation’s children do not have insurance coverage to help prevent them from getting sick or covering them when they do fall ill. Considering that the bill had significant bipartisan support (particularly in the Senate), the veto seems to show the president’s lack of connection to what many of the country’s citizens feel is important regarding health care.
Bush has only vetoed three other bills, two of which involved funding stem-cell research, and one that would have required troop withdrawals from Iraq. Politicians feel a compromise might still be made to fund health-care coverage for the poor at a lower level, but this might very well leave many underprivileged kids without insurance. Given all the money we pour into the war in Iraq, is it wise for us to shortchange our nation’s children? Your thoughts are encouraged, especially as this legislation continues to be in play.
Since May, Madeleine McCann has been missing from a Portuguese hotel room. Following months of searching, an international plea for help, and the recent evidence of blood traces in the parents’ rental car, the McCanns headed home, today, to England, their remaining twin children in tow (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6985454.stm).
The discussions around the world have been red hot. Should the parents leave the country in which their daughter was lost, though the authorities say they are free to go? Are police unfairly accusing the parents of having killed their daughter? Has there been an offer of a plea agreement if one of the parents will confess to the accidental death of Madeleine? What were the parents doing at a restaurant while their children slept in the hotel room, unsupervised?
Ultimately, we must all hope that Madeleine will be found, alive. Realistically, the situation is accutely painful for parents who live in fear, whatever the degree, that something horrible could happen to their children. One thing seems clear, based on my limited knowledge of the facts — the parents should not have left their children unattended. I know it’s judgmental, but parents just have to accept the restrictions placed upon us when we have kids. If we really need a break, then we should hire a referenced babysitter, or have one parent go out while the other one watches, or take the kids to the movies and chill out that way while the children are engaged in watching the film.
Truly, no one is perfect, and most of us have left our kids unattended for short periods under seemingly safe circumstances. It’s hard to drag unhappy kids everywhere, I know. But we have to bite that bullet and haul them around, nonetheless.
Another note is about fear. We must not cave in to worst-case worries for our own health and we should not scare our children to the point of making them think the world is out to get them. This is such a fine line, yet one lesson is that we need to depend on each other for moral support and even for child care help. It is a frightening world in a lot of ways, but we need to spend our time teaching and building rather than scolding and worrying.
In a country of such massive resources, it still boggles my mind that so many of our nation’s children go without proper health care. I do realize that the parents of these children bear the responsibility of going to great lengths to help provide for their kids, but the price of health care continues to rocket skyward, even for those who could have easily afforded it a couple of years ago.
Some of our representatives, both Republicans and Democrats, have taken a step toward sharing the burden of ensuring our children’s health (http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8QFT1900.html ). Today, a Senate committee voted to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which will help subsidize the health care costs for families who make too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough for private insurance. Hopefully, this is the beginning of focusing on this vital issue, especially since keeping less fortunate families healthy assists in the health quality of everyone.
According to a United Nations study looking at what countries do to ensure child welfare, the United States ranked 20th out of 21 of the world’s wealthiest nations. Finishing last in the assessment is Great Britain (http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8N9PH282.html). Among the factors looked at were poverty, inequality, family services, infant mortality, and school drop-outs. A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services explained that the U.N. study uses standards different than ones used by the U.S.
However we analyze the data, it’s difficult to make the case that the U.S. does enough to help the disadvantaged children of our country (certainly not as much as the study’s top-ranking countries of Sweden or Denmark, which arguably have a less complicated task of attending to its populations’ needs). It remains utterly confounding how, with all of our vast resources, we can leave so many children below the poverty line and without much hope for a decent future. What can we do? What should we do? One suggestion is to do some community service work for at-risk kids as a family on the weekends, even one weekend every so often. This can teach our children the value of giving to others and help them understand how good they have it as well. Some other ideas can be found at the site for the Children’s Defense Fund (http://www.childrensdefense.org/), but please write in with your own thoughts.
