After all the recalls from China this year for unsafe levels of lead, some parents are questioning whether they should trust any toys from China. Some are taking steps to avoid them altogether. Mom Dana Deasy of Eastchester told she was motivated to find a solution for her family after she found a recalled Go, Diego, Go toy in her children’s toy collection. “You feel that your playroom is a ticking time bomb,” she told me. Her son, Jason, recently celebrated his first birthday without any toys — friends and relations were asked to bring clothes instead. I wrote about Dana and other parents and grandparents from the Lower Hudson Valley in this story, which appeared in Sunday’s paper. (This picture of Dana with Jason and her other son, Ryan, was taken by my colleague Mark Vergari.) You can see a video with Dana talking about her choice by clicking here. If you’re interested in more on this topic, a good page to bookmark is Consumer Reports safety blog.

Cortlandt Manor mom Erica Dubrawski is in Las Vegas this weekend — not for the sun and gambling, but to hawk her invention at the ABC Kids Expo. Like many other mom inventors, Erica was inspired by the hijinks of her own youngster — who woke up crying for a pacifier nearly every night. He didn’t rest until mom scrambled under the crib to find one. Erica decided to devise a way to keep spare binkies handy by attaching them to the crib. You can read more about Erica and her invention, called Pacifier Place, in this story. (That’s Erica in a photo by my colleague Angela Gaul.)

I talked to local parents yesterday for our story on the massive toy recall by Mattel. Not everyone with whom I spoke got to be in the story, so I thought I’d share a little more of what I learned with readers of this blog. I was particularly struck by my conversation with Catherine Mahoney of Verplanck, who was shopping at Target in Mount Kisco with her mother, Cathy Elliott of Croton-on-Hudson, and 11-month-old daughter, Lola. (I just love that name!)

Catherine told me she was upset by the frequency of the recalls from Mattel. She pointed out that the company’s Fisher-Price brand just recalled almost 1 million toys earlier this month. “I think I will probably stay away from their toys for quite some time. Christmas is coming, so I’ll probably just stick with something else,� she said.

The grandmother said she thinks it might be time for parents to return to the basics. “I think you just have to have lots of wooden blocks and sticks and make your own toys,� Cathy said.

Catherine said she’s ready for wood toys considering new worries in the news about the safety of ingredients in plastic, like Bisphenol A, an organic compound thought to cause cancer and hormonal changes.

Keeping up with all the recalls becomes a challenge in large families, too,
who trade toys among cousins, Catherine pointed out. Lola has four cousins between the ages of 4 and 6 who share toys. “My sister-in-law is all freaked out because they have so much stuff around, you don’t know what’s what, where you get it from and when you got it. Her son’s birthday just passed and so she has all these toys and she doesn’t know where they came from. You go into their playroom and it’s like a toy store, so to go through all of those toys and to check them is a lot of work,� she told me.

What are your worries when you hear about these ongoing toy recalls?

So, as all you moms and dads have probably heard, there’s yet another study out that shows that planting your children in front of the TV doesn’t produce any geniuses — regardless of the name on the DVD box.

The main finding of the new study is that for every hour spent watching a baby DVD, an infant understood an average of six to eight fewer words than babies who didn’t watch them. The study’s lead author, Dr. Frederick Zimmerman of the University of Washington, said the research shows no benefit to infants from baby videos and some evidence of harm. The study didn’t find an effect on toddlers ages 17 to 24 months.

What got me a bit riled was a comment from the other author, Dr. Andrew Meltzoff, a colleague of Zimmerman’s and a pediatrics researcher at Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute. He said that babies are awake and alert for a limited amount of time and if that time is spent in front of a TV, that’s time the child is not spending interacting with a parent. This implies that parents can be engaged with their children for all of their waking hours.

While there is no disputing the fact that time with mom and dad is best — and in no way am I advocating hours of TV for babies — I can’t help but feel he’s living in a different reality from mine. As working parent who hasn’t had child care every minute of the day, Baby Einstein has been a blessing at times. In Pumpkin’s first year, those 20-minute videos — which did mesmerize her, I must say — provided me with the time for luxuries like, oh, going to the bathroom and taking a shower. And in Pumpkin’s first months at home, she was spending her days sleeping and nights awake. We found that Baby Einstein DVDs helped us catch a few winks while she was happy and occupied.

What’s more, Pumpkin seems to have really connected with these videos in a way that’s been positive for her language skills. For instance, her favorite DVD is “Baby Van Gogh,� which is “hosted� by a goat puppet, “Vincent Van Goat.� (Yes, I know.) As a result, she loves goats! When we go to Muscoot Farm, she spends a long time looking at the goats. And “goat� was one of her first words. Now, of course, the word “goat� isn’t actually spoken in the video. She got that from us. That’s part of the key: We watch the videos with her, too.

Instead of just venting to all you other moms and dads, I decided to ask the researchers exactly how they would respond to my points. Here’s the e-mail I sent (I’ll post the answers if I get a reply):

Dear Drs. Zimmerman and Christakis,

I read the reports about your study about Baby Einstein. As a reporter who writes a blog about parenting and the mom of a 2-year-old who has had Baby Einstein videos in the house from the beginning, I have some questions I hope you can answer.

• My first reaction was: Is it news that it’s better to sit and talk to your baby? That’s the ideal. But don’t the researchers realize that no parent can talk to a child all of their waking hours? Aren’t they parents themselves? There has to be time for a shower or bathroom break, right? What do you propose we do with the baby during these times? Why isn’t a Baby Einstein video better than letting the child be strapped into a bouncy seat starring at nothing? Or perhaps screaming about being left in the playpen?

• Surely we all know that hours of TV are no good, but what’s the harm in 20 minutes a day?

• The images in some of the videos are beautiful. Why is it better to look at pretty pictures in a book than pretty pictures of video? The nature scenes are gorgeous.

• These days, my daughter watches a 20-minute Baby Einstein video with her morning milk. We watch it together and both enjoy it. Why isn’t this an OK activity in your view?

• My daughter also has so many books that if they were stacked, they’d be much taller than she is. We read, we play ball, we swim, etc. Why can’t a video be part of this picture?

• As a parent who doesn’t turn on the TV to watch my own programs until my daughter is in bed, I can’t help but feel that the minimal amount of time she has watched Baby Einstein (and lately I’ve been Tivoing “Sesame Street”) isn’t harmful. Should I be concerned about even her limited viewing?

Check out the cryptic screen at the right. That’s what my iPod looked like after Pumpkin swiped it from my desk when we weren’t looking. Suffice it to say, we were a bit boggled by this message. My husband has had an iPod since 2003 — and he NEVER saw this screen before. Who knew you could actually lock your iPod? After playing around with it for a couple days, we were ready to call Apple. Then a friend visited and fixed it in a matter of minutes. In an embarrassingly obvious way. (We felt somewhat better when we considered that he’s doing an internship at Google.) What technology has your child rendered nonfunctional?

When I was a kid, I don’t think my mother worried about how many hours I spent in the sun. By the time I was a teenager, I regularly used suntan-enhancing products — like baby oil! Today, we know better. There are probably few parents who have not given sun protection some thought — even if they ultimately decide the risks are overblown. Please check out our new poll that asks you to share your sun-protection strategy.

I’m also planning a story that explores new technologies and materials that are being developed to guard against sunburn — and the skin cancer it can ultimately cause.

I plan to take a look at the new play clothes that come with built-in sun protection, like this romper from One Step Ahead. I’ll also explore stick-on patches that measure exposure to the sun, like the Huggies Little Swimmers Sun Sensors. For the geek on the beach, there are also electronic UV monitors, like this one from Oregon Scientific that calculates your recommended exposure time based on the strength of the Sun’s rays, what SPF sunscreen you are wearing and your own personal skin type. Pretty neat.

Comment on this blog or send me an e-mail at jalterio@lohud.com if you would like to be part of the story.

And don’t forget to vote in the poll at right!

A colleague here at LoHud.com asked me for advice about the best way to get rid of disposable diapers. In addition to giving my own 2 cents, I thought I’d throw the question open to Parents’ Place readers.

Here at the Alterio household, we’ve been using a Diaper Genie that we bought at Babies R Us while Pumpkin was still in the NICU. I have mixed feelings about it, and can’t wholeheartedly recommend it. While the Diaper Genie does enfold the dirty diapers in a sausage-like casing, it sort of stinks, as in hold your nose. The plastic liner smells bad, the poop odor isn’t perfectly contained and emptying the unit is awkward. Today there is a new version, the Diaper Genie II, and perhaps it is better.

What I do like are Sassy Diaper Sacks. I buy them to bring when we’re on the go and end up using them in the nursery when the Diaper Genie liner runs out and I’m feeling too lazy to run down to the garage for a refill. They actually smell nice (kind of like baby powder) and form a solid barrier to unpleasant odors. If I were starting from scratch, I might just go with these.

What does everyone else do?

Some special songs are not about love, sex, drugs or rock ‘n’ roll, but a result of the aforementioned – children. I’m not talking about songs to entertain kiddies, but songs that celebrate the arrival of children, that contain parents’ hopes for their offspring, and even those that record the less inspiring moments of parenthood.

I’m not sure if fewer of these songs are being written these days, or maybe it’s my disconnect from popular music. There was a time when almost every major singer-songwriter seemed to have a song on becoming a parent. The songs comprise an overlooked genre that we’re exploring now with the approach of Mother’s Day on Sunday and Father’s Day next month. Send me your favorites and maybe we can update this before Father’s Day.

Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely”:http://steviewonder.free.fr/html/song32.html is the only song here that could be described as a hit. It’s a short song, only three verses, and a great take on the first thrill of becoming a parent. The song opens with a baby’s wail and proceeds:

“Isn’t she lovely,
Isn’t she wonderful,
Isn’t she precious,
Less than one minute old
I never thought that we’d be
Making one as lovely as she.
But isn’t she lovely made from loveâ€?

Taking this chronologically, at least for the newborn, next comes “First Born”:http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=106939 by the Canadian songwriters and sisters Kate & Anna McGarrigle. The song covers a lot of ground and apparently was inspired by the birth of Kate’s son, singer Rufus Wainwright:

“Daddy’s buddies send the flowers,
Mother’s friends have baby showers.�

The McGarrigles can’t help but worry about the kid’s future:

“Some of them make it,
Some of them don’t.
Some of then can’t,
Others won’t grow up.�

But they decide that’s for the future and return to celebrate the growing boy:

“Yes’s he’s the first born son,
That son of a gun,
Just hates to walk,
Just loves to run,
Just as fast as he can
With life held tight,
In the palm of his hand.�

Long before he wrote movie sound tracks, Randy Newman was a wonderful writer of satirical songs. When he took on parenthood in “Memo to My Son”:http://www.lyricsdepot.com/randy-newman/memo-to-my-son.html it was with self-effacing humor.

“I know you don’t think much of me,
But some day you’ll understand.
Wait’ll you learn how to talk, baby,
I’ll show you how smart I am.�

Paul Simon’s view in “St. Judy’s Comet”:http://www.lyricsdomain.com/16/paul_simon/st_judys_comet.html is similar:

“Well I sang it once,
Then I sang it twice,
I’m going to sing it three times more.
I’m going to stay til your resistance is overcome.
‘Cause if I can’t sing my boy to sleep
Well it makes your famous daddy look so dumb.�

In “That was your Mother”:http://www.lyricsdomain.com/16/paul_simon/that_was_your_mother.html, Simon makes it clear that kids don’t always seem like a blessing:

“Well that was your mother,
And that was your father,
Before you was born dude,
When life was great,
You are the burden, of my generation,
I sure do love you,
But let’s get that straightâ€?

“The Marvelous Toy”:http://www.mydfz.com/Paxton/lyrics/tmt.htm by Tom Patxon is part of the kiddy music cannon, but it’s also a song about the connection between generations. It ends with Paxton presenting to his son his own favorite childhood toy and it’s easy to imagine his son passing it on, too. The song was written when Paxton was in the Army and forced into typing training.

“Well, the years have gone by too quickly, it seems,
I have my own little boy.
And yesterday I gave to him my marvelous little toy.
His eyes nearly popped right out of his head,
And he gave a squeal of glee.
Neither one of us knows just what it is,
but he loves it, just like me.”

I can t imagine a better pray for one’s child than Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young”:http://www.bobdylan.com/moderntimes/songs/forever.html. And for the record, it was written many years before an identically titled song by Rod Stewart.

“May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young.�

Many of these songs may not be known by new parents, the most recent was released about about 20 years ago. So if you are of a younger generation – or older one, for that matter – tell me your favorite song about parenthood.

If your baby is wearing a bib that was purchased at Wal-Mart, you might want to take note of this:

Vinyl baby bibs sold at Wal-Mart, including the chain’s stores in New York, have been found to contain lead that could be dangerous if they deteriorate and children swallow pieces of the vinyl.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning today telling parents to stop using bibs that are cracked or peeling. The agency said that “none of the bibs that were tested at CPSC’s laboratory would pose a risk of substantial illness to children from mouthing. However, if the condition of a vinyl bib deteriorates to the point that a baby could pull or bite off and swallow a piece of vinyl containing lead, then the amounts of lead consumed could approach levels of concern.”

The agency said it tested the bibs based in part on information provided by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s office.

The bibs in question were sold under the name “Baby Connection” and come in packages of two or seven. Some of the bibs have Sesame Street characters.

According to Cuomo’s office, the highest levels of lead were found in bibs with a tag sewn into the lining that have these numbers: 1468102732, 14681527 and 1468151077.

Wal-Mart has agreed to stop selling the bibs in New York, Illinois and California, according to Cuomo’s office.

More information at: http://health.lohudblogs.com.

There is a new tool to help prevent the tragedy of Shaken Baby Syndrome: A CD that’s designed to calm both the baby and the parent or caregiver. The CD of 10 original lullabies was produced by the Hudson Valley Shaken Baby Prevention Initiative, which is distributing 20,000 discs to 200 pediatric practices in the region.

“The CD will serve as an aid for stress management in a non-threatening, child- and family-friendly manner,” said Dr. Jennifer Canter, co-director of the project, director of child protection for the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital and medical director of the Children’s Advocacy Center at the Westchester Institute for Human Development.

The CD also includes information on a 24-hour toll free parent help line, which is available in English and Spanish. The help line number is 800-342-7472.

The Hudson Valley Shaken Baby Prevention Initiative involves 21 hospitals in the Hudson Valley, where more than 26,000 children are born each year. You can call your family’s pediatrician to see if his or her office is getting copies of the CD, or you can call the initiative at 914-493-7235.

Westchester County Executive Andy Spano has designated this week as Shaken Baby Syndrome Awareness Week. According to the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, 1,200 to 1,400 children are treated for injuries from shaking every year. More than a quarter die and the others have lifelong complications.

Here are some tips on what to do when your baby cries from the Hudson Valley Shaken Baby Prevention Initiative:

• Rub her back or stroke her head as you count slowly out loud.


• Let him listen to a repeating sound, such as a clothes dryer.


• Walk outdoors with her.


• Gently rock him in your arms or walk with him against your shoulder.


• Hum or sing to her.


• Try a pacifier, or help him find his thumb to suck on.


• Put her in a car seat and take a car ride.


• Carry him in a “snuggly.”

There is no more wonderful gift in my life than my daughter, who is upstairs getting tucked into bed by her Dada as I write this. And when I thank God for her, I also remember the doctors and nurses who cared for her when she was born too early. So, it was with great recognition and understanding that I read the story of MariaClaudia Casella, a Harrison woman who is also the mom of a preemie. MariaClaudia, whose baby was born three months early and weighed just over 2 pounds, has found a tangible way to help White Plains Hospital Center, where her daughter was born in 1998.

MariaClaudia invented what she calls the First Comes Love Box. It is intended to be purchased as a gift for brides. Inside are nested boxes designed to hold the memorabilia and flotsam of wedding planning, baby showers and so on. My colleague Alison Bert interviewed MariaClaudia, who said she is donating $10 of the $95 cost of each box to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at White Plains Hospital Center. You can read the full story here. Here is a picture staff photographer Matthew Brown took of MariaClaudia with the First Comes Love Box:

This Friday, it will be two years since I was admitted to White Plains Hospital Center with early symptoms of pre-eclampsia. Twelve days later, I gave birth to my daughter by emergency C-section. I was 27 weeks and 5 days pregnant. Pumpkin weighed just 1 pound, 13.4 ounces.

This year, on May 2, I hope to visit the NICU with bring Pumpkin so the nurses and doctors who saved her life can see for themselves the 21-pound wonder she’s become. Last year, on the day before her birthday, I stopped by the NICU when I was on the maternity floor to return the breast pump I used for a year. I was flooded with memories of the nine weeks I spent glued to her incubator and cradle and so happy to see those faces again which had become so familiar.

I think it’s wonderful that MariaClaudia has found a way to help the NICU. The way our family has chosen to celebrate Pumpkin’s triumph over prematurity is to participate each year in the March of Dimes WalkAmerica event, which is coming up on April 29. I’ll be writing more about that soon.

I hope you enjoy reading Alison’s story about MariaClaudia, and I’d love to hear your own stories of the ways you thank and honor the people who helped your child into this world.

We have so many smart and talented parents here in the Lower Hudson Valley whom it has been my privilege to meet, either through this blog or in my job as a reporter. So, today I am introducing a new feature on Parents’ Place: A question-and-answer session with an interesting local mom or dad. I decided to call the feature Questions & Parents, or Q&P for short.

Our first Q&P is with Dr. Leyla Z. Nakisbendi, a pediatric dentist who practices at Mayers & Nakisbendi Dental Associates on Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains. She’s also been a wonderful participant in the Parents’ Place blog. She lives in Pleasantville with her husband, Michael Mayers, also a dentist, and her three children, 9-year-old Aliya, 6-year-old Aydin and 3-year-old Maia.

Q: At what age should children have their first dental visit?

P: I like children to have their first dental visit as soon as they start getting their first eight teeth (four on top and four on bottom). We don’t expect the baby to sit in the dental chair, but we like to check for hygiene, dietary habits, well-formed enamel and any developmental anomalies. This screening theoretically is done by pediatricians, but we like children to have a dental home by 1 year old. The exam is usually done on a parent’s lap and usually doesn’t involve a cleaning unless the child has staining from antibiotics or tartar that needs to be removed.

Q: How should you choose a dentist for your child? What questions should you ask? Should you visit the office first alone?

P: Being a pediatric dentist, of course I think children should see a pediatric dentist who has received two to three years of extra training in treating children, either at a children’s hospital or dental school. That said, there are a lot of general dentists who are very adept at treating children. A pediatric dentist should be chosen based on location, comfort level with the practice and referrals from pediatricians and friends. Ask around. I see all new patients. This does not always happen in all dental offices. I like to meet the families and get a sense of their needs and I feel I can only do this by seeing patients myself first. Right now, my husband and I do everything ourselves so our patients always see us. I think if you trust the people referring you, you don’t have to visit an office alone first, but that is always an option. It all depends on your schedule. I do not recommend choosing practices based on insurance. While it may save money, being part of a dental plan doesn’t necessarily mean it is the right practice for you. This is not an area I skimp on.

Q: How often do children need to brush their teeth? Is it the same as adults or more/less often?

P: Children should be brushed two times a day, as should adults. After breakfast and before bed. If children swallow toothpaste, they should get a training toothpaste with no fluoride. If they are good at spitting, they can use real toothpaste. Flossing is required if the teeth are touching. If you can see spaces, you don’t need to floss.

Q: At what age is a child old enough to brush his or her own teeth? Use adult toothpaste?

P: Age 7 or 8 is when children should be able to brush their teeth alone, but this all depends on your child’s manual dexterity and attention span. I’ve seen 2- and 3-year-olds who really can do a good job brushing their teeth!

Q: What age do you start seeing cavities?

P: I’ve seen cavities in children who have only two to four teeth! Children who nurse on demand all day or night or have a bottle with milk or juice at night are at very high risk for decay. Children whose parents or primary caregivers are still actively getting new cavities are also at increased risk for cavities.

Q: Is there any special advice you have for teenagers?

P: Teenagers are tough! It’s hard to get them to shower let alone brush their teeth. Access to junk is much easier. I think kids who were raised with good oral health habits and dietary habits, for the most part, continue that way with minor detours. Soda is brutal — diet or sugared. They are very acidic and actually can etch teeth. Sports drinks for athletes are also a very high-sugar drink and the frequent sipping while rehydrating is high-risk for cavities.

Q: Are teeth-whiteners safe for teens?

P: Unless a child has severe cosmetic issues, we try to discourage bleaching until kids are in their late teens. Even then it can cause sensitivity because the teeth are very young. As we age the sensitivity decreases, usually. I’ll do isolated in-office bleaching for severe issues.

Q: What is the biggest mistake parents make with regard to their child’s dental health?

P: I think the biggest mistake people make with regard to taking care of their children’s teeth is assuming that because their child will not behave well at the dentist, that they aren’t going to go. We change our children’s dirty diapers with them screaming, we let the pediatrician check ears while screaming and we clip finger nails, etc. Parents need to let the pediatric dentist do their job even if the child cries. If the parents follow the pediatric dentist’s advice as to follow-up care almost every crier at the first visit turns into a great patient eventually. That is the goal of my pediatric dental practice — raising children so that they grow up to be great dental patients. It is not a perfect science and sometimes takes some trial and error but eventually all the kids gets there.

Q: What advice would you like to give parents reading this blog?

P: Teach your children that taking care of their teeth is not optional! Teeth get brushed and flossed every night and morning no matter what. Also, do not show your children that you have any dental phobias. They don’t understand and it just makes it harder for your pediatric dentist to work. Don’t use the word drill, needle, etc. Let your pediatric dentist do his/her job. I’m including a link to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Web site, which is a great source of information.

Thanks very much to Leyla for being the first to do a Q&P! If you know any parents who you think would be great to feature, please comment here on the blog or send me an e-mail at jalterio@lohud.com.

Also: I’d love to know if you like this feature. Do you think it’s worthwhile? What kinds of questions would you like answered?

Here’s the story of how Pampers dissed Elmo, made my baby cry and insulted my intelligence.

Our tale starts on the changing table, a place every parent of a toddler visits at least five times a day. These visits aren’t a picnic for either party, but for some reason it’s the baby who gets the most upset. A child can have a bum full of you-know-what, and still she will resist a diaper change. The answer to making this experience more pleasant is a mix of distraction and humor.

We parents use the tools we have at hand, and since diaper cream and wipes aren’t too entertaining, I turned to the happy cartoon faces on her diapers. Pampers licenses the “Sesame Street” characters and on the front is a rotating cast that includes Cookie Monster, Big Bird, etc. On the back — until recently — there was a picture of Elmo is all his red, cheerful glory.

A while back, I started a little game with Pumpkin: I’d show her the back of her Pampers and say, “Who’s this?” She soon learned to say, “Elmo.” It was amazingly effective. I’d tried other games in the past, but nothing calmed her down as much as the sight of Elmo, merrily smiling at her.

Then, a few weeks ago, I opened an 80-count box of Pampers Baby Dry and was putting them in the diaper holder when I noticed, “Hey! No Elmo!” There was still the character on the front, but the back was plain white. I thought to myself, “Huh, I wonder if this is a mistake?” I didn’t get mad until the change made my baby cry.

This happened last week when Pumpkin was suffering from her first-ever bout with a stomach virus. We were upstairs in her room and I was giving her tiny sips of water every 15 minutes to prevent a repeat episode of sickness. She kept asking for water over and over, and I kept trying to distract her. The only thing that entertained her was pulling her socks from the bin and other mischief that I don’t usually allow but tolerated while she was so miserable. Then, she started pulling the Pampers from their holder. One by one, she turned them over and said, “Elmo? Elmo? Elmo? Elmo?” She looked at me as if to say, “What happened to Elmo?”

I decided to call Pampers and get an answer to that question. On Friday, I called the toll-free customer service line and asked what was up with the missing Elmo. (I didn’t identify myself as a newspaper reporter, just as a concerned mom.) The customer service representative told me this was a new change. She said they try new features from time to time. I said, “This isn’t a new feature, this is removing a feature.” She said that was the feature.

Then, this week I called the media line and got through to baby care spokeswoman Lisa Jester at Pampers’ maker, Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati. I told her I am a newspaper reporter who planned to blog about her experience. First Jester said, “Elmo is still on the front, right?” Then she said, “We are always changing our design. We listen to customers.” I pointed out that the new design has a lot less printing overall and seems to be more about saving money on ink than pleasing customers. Jester said she would pass along my comments. “I’ll tell them Elmo has a fan,” she said with an intonation that was, how I can I put it? A little mocking.

Now, cutting out Elmo was undoubtedly a small change in the minds of the bean counters at Procter & Gamble, but it was a big deal here in the little purple bedroom at the top of the stairs in the Alterio home.

I went to the store recently and bought a package of Huggies. Let’s hope Winnie the Pooh has a better agent.

Cheerios. Check. Spaghetti. Yup. Bananas. You bet. A year ago, I wouldn’t have been able to put bananas into the “loves it” category. In fact, “hates it” was putting it too mildly, as you can see in the photo at right. I took that picture on Jan. 30, 2006, the first day Pumpkin tried bananas. Both her father and I were disappointed she didn’t like bananas since we both love the fruit ourselves. Plus, it’s so nutritious. (I must say, her Grandma, who hates bananas, took a certain satisfaction in their shared dislike — especially since picking up my discarded banana peels when I was a child grossed her out.)

But now, a little over a year later, Pumpkin loves bananas. It’s one of the snacks that gets a hearty “Yum!” every time. Go figure.

What about the rest of you moms and dads — what foods are your children’s favorites, and which ones did they have to grow into to like?

Pumpkin loves music. Every day, we play CDs and she’s already dancing to the beat. I wish there were a way for her to hear live music, too. Last fall, when we visited a friend in Washington, D.C., we all went out to dinner at a restaurant where a guitarist performed rock and pop songs. Pumpkin swayed, clapped hands and just ate it up. Since then, I’ve been wondering how to duplicate the experience.

Caramoor has concerts for kids, but you have to be at least 3. We are thinking about taking Pumpkin to the outdoor picnic concerts Lasdon Park hosts every summer, but that’s a long way off. Plus, the concerts feature classical music — and I’d like to get her dancing again.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Are there any venues that host concerts appropriate for a toddler? Any restaurants that feature musicians that are also friendly to children? I’d love to compile a list we all can use, so don’t be afraid to send in suggestions you think are obvious!