‘Nap Nanny’ recliners recalled

Portable baby recliners that are supposed to help fussy babies sleep better are being recalled after the death of an infant.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall Monday of 30,000 Nap Nanny recliners made by Baby Matters LLC of Berwyn, Pa.

CPSC says it’s investigating a report that a 4-month-old girl from Royal Oak, Mich., died in a Nap Nanny that was being used in a crib. The child was reportedly found hanging over the side of the foam recliner, caught between the Nap Nanny and the crib’s bumper.

The agency says it is aware of 22 reports of infants, mostly under 5 months, falling over the side of the Nap Nanny despite most of the babies being strapped into the harness on the recliner. The Nap Nanny is not meant to be used in a crib and instead should be placed on the floor away from other products, CPSC said.

The Nap Nanny was designed to mimic the curves of a car seat — elevating a baby slightly to help reduce reflux, gas, stuffiness or other problems.

The recliners were sold at toy and children’s retail stores nationwide and online from January 2009 through this month. They cost about $130.

Consumers should contact the company to receive new product instructions and warnings and in certain cases, a coupon toward the purchase of a new Nap Nanny.

More information on the recall from the Consumer Product Safety Commission

New tool offers ‘one-stop shopping’ for college aid programs

The Iowa College Student Aid Commission (Iowa College Aid) has announced the addition of its state-administered loan forgiveness programs to the online Iowa Financial Aid Application. The new simplified process makes it easier for applicants to determine eligibility and to apply for the programs. The application, which can be accessed from Iowa College Aid’s website, www.IowaCollegeAid.gov, as well as through the statewide community web portal, www.IHaveaPlanIowa.gov, allows applicants to apply for multiple state-administered financial aid programs with one application.

“We are excited about the addition of the state loan forgiveness programs to the Iowa Financial Aid Application,” said Karen Misjak, executive director of the Iowa College Student Aid Commission. “Students already use the application when applying for state grants and scholarships for college so the addition of the loan forgiveness programs makes sense,” Misjak explained. “The intuitive nature of the online application helps determine an applicant’s eligibility for the state-administered loan forgiveness programs and provides them with the flexibility to save, return, and view an application at any time.”

In addition to the Iowa Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program and the Iowa Registered Nurse and Nurse Educator Loan Forgiveness Program, the Iowa Financial Aid Application enables applicants to apply for the following state-administered financial aid programs:

• Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship
• All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship
• All Iowa Opportunity Foster Care Grant
• Terry E. Branstad Iowa State Fair Scholarship
• Education and Training Voucher Program, and
• Iowa National Guard Education Assistance Program (NGEAP)

Iowa teachers, registered nurses and nurse educators interested in the loan forgiveness programs should access the application to determine if they are eligible. Funding for both programs is limited. Applications received in July, August and September will be given priority consideration.

The Iowa Financial Aid Application is the newest enhancement to the statewide community web portal, www.IHaveaPlanIowa.gov. The online program is a free resource for individuals to investigate career opportunities, explore education options, learn how to use education to meet career goals, and find employment opportunities in Iowa. As early as middle school, students can explore their interests and develop a six-year education course plan that connects high school course work with education and career goals. High school and college students, as well as adults looking to return to college, can research colleges and majors, prepare for standardized tests, search for scholarships, and apply for state financial aid. Iowans looking for a career change or are in need of additional skills to reenter the workforce can match their interests and abilities to career options, as well as search for employment opportunities in Iowa.

To learn more about loan forgiveness programs available in Iowa or about the free resources available through the statewide community web portal, contact Iowa College Aid’s Information Service Center at 877-272-4456. More information about financial aid and products and services that help Iowa families plan, prepare and pay for college is available on Iowa College Aid’s website at www.IowaCollegeAid.gov

Camps celebrating past, changing for future

Campfires will burn around the country this month as two national camping organizations celebrate milestones.

Earlier this week, YMCA Camp Wapsie joined camps across the country to celebrate the 125th year of YMCA camping.

Later this month, Camp Fire USA will mark its 100th anniversary by lighting Centennial Campfires at campgrounds across America, including at Camp Hitaga, 5551 Hitaga Rd., Walker, which is owned by the Iowana Council of Camp Fire. Registration begins at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 31, at the camp’s Wohelo building. Tours, swimming, dinner and the campfire lighting will be held that day.

Both camps have seen their fair share of change over the years as the kids they cater to have redefined how they spend their summers off from school off from school.

“Today’s kids are in structured activities,” says Karen Dunlap, 56, of Central City, who participated in the Camp Fire program while growing up in Cedar Rapids. “They don’t play outside much.”

Iowana Council CEO Marian Zupke, 71, has been involved with Camp Hitaga most of her life.

“I’ve been with Hitaga since I was 10 years old,” she says. “In 1949, I swam in the pool when it was brand spanking new. It was beautiful.”

While camping was popular when she was growing up, Zupke says Hitaga’s enrollment has steadily declined since the 1980s. She attributes the decrease in interest to technology such as computers, video games and cell phones that compete for youths’ attention.

She, too, has noticed a change in the way youth spend their time.

“Today’s kids are in structured activities,” she says. “They don’t play outside much.“Camp gives an alternative to slow down and get back to nature,” says Dunlap, who volunteers at Camp Hitaga and serves on the Iowana Council board of directors.

Camp Hitaga, which has struggled to maintain the number of campers it once had, is open to everybody, not just Camp Fire campers.

“We have diversified it and been able to keep it open,” Zupke says. “We rely on volunteers.”

Camp also builds social and team building skills.

“Kids now are so competitive,” says Zupke. “At camp you make friendships that last a lifetime. Families are smaller now. This gives kids another family.”

While activities such as horseback riding, swimming, canoeing and archery are still popular at camp, programming has changed to meet the needs of today’s youth. For example, at Camp Hitaga a GPS system is used to navigate through the woods rather than a compass.

“We have different things to appeal to different people,” Dunlap says. “I think the trend will switch back again to nature.”

Camp Hitaga, which has struggled to maintain the number of campers it once had, is open to everybody, not just Camp Fire campers.

“We have diversified it and been able to keep it open,” Zupke says. “We rely on volunteers.”

Zupke agrees that camp builds social and team building skills.

“Kids now are so competitive,” she says. “At camp you make friendships that last a lifetime. Families are smaller now. This gives kids another family.”

The experiences, friendships gained and lessons learned at camp. transcend Camp Hitaga’s financial and enrollment struggles, Dunlap says.

“Camp is still here and still doing well,” she says. “I think the trend will switch back again to nature.”YMCA Camp Wapsi

Those same distractions, though, are quickly forgotten once kids arrive at camp, where cell phones and video gaming devices aren’t allowed, says Camp Wapsie’s summer programs are nearly full, says Camp Wapsie Director Paul Denowski, 38.

“It’s something a lot of kids look forward to every summer,” he says.

It doesn’t take long for campers to forget about their gadgets, Denowski says.

“Once they get into it, they never even miss them,” he says. “We are doing so many things during the week,” he says. Camp Wapsi too celebrates an anniversary this month. It is the 125th anniversary of YMCA camping.Without cell phones and computers, youth have more time to interact with their peers, Denowski says. “There’s a lot of personal interaction. It’s a great way to start friendships and build social skills.”

‘Despicable Me’ screening well-attended!

There wasn’t a seat to be had Tuesday night at a special advance screening of “Despicable Me” at the Carmike Wynnsong 12 in Cedar Rapids.

The screening, co-hosted by Parenting Ain’t Easy and other local media partners, was a big draw, as crowds lined up early for a chance to get the best seats in the theater for the 3-D screening.

We hope everyone who attended had a great time! We were hearing plenty of positive comments, and the movie is being well-reviewed by critics, including hitting 94 percent on the Tomatometer at Rotten Tomatoes.

And the minions — let’s just say they’re probably in line for their own movie, or perhaps even a spinoff TV series.

The movie, featuring the voice of Steve Carell (“The Office”), debuts nationwide this Friday, July 9.

Here’s a synopsis of the movie:

In a happy suburban neighborhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbors, hidden deep beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by an army of tireless, little yellow minions, we discover Gru (Steve Carell) planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon (yes, the moon!) in Universal’s new 3-D CGI feature, “Despicable Me.”

Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze rays and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: A potential Dad.

One of the world’s greatest super-villains has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes.

For more information on the movie and to view trailers, visit www.despicable.me

And here’s a review of the movie, right after Tuesday night’s screening.

Having children changes families’ church habits

Before Chris and Becky Hubbs’ three girls were born, the Hiawatha couple was  very active members of Noelridge Park Church, 1147 Clifton St. NE, in Cedar Rapids.

The two helped out when needed, served on committees and in ministry and Chris served as a deacon and music ministry leader.

Once the girls, now ages 5, 4 and 1, arrived, juggling the many church activities with family time became difficult.

“Honestly, it was a struggle figuring out the priorities,” said Chris Hubbs, 33. “I got the feedback from my wife and with my own internal voices telling me I needed to spend more time with my family doing family things, that there was just too much church stuff going on.”

While the Hubbs’ particular situation may be different from most, growing families have long had an affect on the dynamics of church involvement, according to a recent study by the Barna Group, a research organization that follows trends in religion.

About half of parents surveyed in the Barna study said having children changed their involvement in church, according to the research findings, with just 4 percent saying that having children decreased their involvement. About 17 percent said they were able to better reconnect with church once they had children, and another 20 percent said they became more involved in the churches they already attended. One in 20 people, or 5 percent, said having children helped them become active in a church for the first time.

For Kathy Ebeling, the birth of her son Michael 15 years ago was just what she needed to connect with faith. Although her family went to church “every once in a while” when she was growing up, it wasn’t a major part of their lives, she said.

When Michael was born Kathy and her husband wanted to find a church to provide a faith foundation for him while he was growing up.

“I know nothing about the Bible and I don’t want him to be the same way,” said Ebeling, 51, of Marion. “With today’s youth, I think the more involved they are in the church the better of they’re going to be.”

Although her husband Robert doesn’t attend with them, Ebeling and her son attend First United Methodist Church in Marion regularly. When Michael was a small child Ebeling helped with the Sunday school classes so she could be with him.

Now that he’s a teenager, she tries to go to Summer Games — a Methodist camp for high-school-aged kids in Grinnell — with him and works in the nurse’s office.

The changing dynamic can make it hard for church leaders to know their congregation, said the Rev. Tom Steele, pastor of Iowa City Church of Christ, 4643 American Legion Rd. SE, in Iowa City.

Steele, 38, said church leaders are always searching for ways to make services and ministries relevant to everyone, not just a chosen few.

“We’re always tweaking and changing,” he said. “It’s amazing, you always have to be innovative in the church anymore.”

More than 2 million cribs recalled: Is yours on the list?

More than 2 million cribs from Evenflo, Delta Enterprise Corp. and five other companies have been recalled amid concerns that babies can suffocate, become trapped or fall from the cribs.

Most of the cribs were drop-sides, which have a side rail that moves up and down so parents can lift children from them more easily. That movable side, however, can malfunction or detach from the crib, creating a dangerous gap where babies’ heads can become trapped, leading to suffocation or strangulation.

The other companies involved in the recall were Child Craft, Jardine Enterprises, LaJobi, Million Dollar Baby and Simmons Juvenile Products.

No deaths were linked to the recalled cribs, but there were more than 250 reports of drop-sides detaching or failing and at least 16 entrapments of infants. In one case, a child was found unconscious and later hospitalized.

In the announcement from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, all seven companies recalled drop-side cribs. Delta and Child Craft also acknowledged problems with fixed-side cribs.

Drop-sides have increasingly come under scrutiny, with several warnings from the CPSC in the last year that the cribs can be deadly. CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum has pledged to ban their manufacture and sale by year’s end.

“This new recall announcement is part of a larger effort by CPSC to clean up the marketplace from many of these unsafe cribs,” said Tenenbaum. “Most of these recalled cribs have dangerous drop-sides, while the Delta crib can pose a danger to babies if the mattress support is installed incorrectly.”

CPSC urged parents to stop using the cribs and contact the manufacturers for repair kits to immobilize the drop-side or information to make the cribs more secure.

The recalls involved about:

750,000 Jenny Lind drop-side cribs distributed by Evenflo Inc.

747,000 Delta drop-side cribs. Delta is also urging parents to check all fixed and drop-side cribs that use wooden stabilizer bars to support the mattress. The company says the bars can be installed upside down, causing the mattress platform to collapse. CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson said Delta “was not cooperative with providing the full number of units involved in the mattress support assembly problem.”

306,000 Bonavita, Babi Italia and ISSI drop-side cribs manufactured by LaJobi Inc.

130,000 Jardine drop-side cribs imported by Toys R Us.

156,000 Million Dollar Baby drop-side cribs.

50,000 Simmons drop-side cribs.

40,000 to 50,000 Child Craft brand stationary-side cribs and an unknown number of Child Craft brand drop-sides. Child Craft ceased operations last summer and sold its name to Foundations Worldwide Inc., which did not manufacture or sell any of the recalled cribs but will offer rebates for some of them.

With the most recent announcement, 9 million drop-side cribs have been recalled in the past five years. Drop-sides have been blamed in the deaths of at least 32 infants and toddlers since 2000. The cribs are suspected in another 14 infant fatalities during that time.

Congress is also concerned about the cribs. Legislation has been introduced by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., to outlaw the sale and manufacture of drop-sides. A similar bill has been introduced in the House by Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley, also of New York.

Drop-side cribs have been around for decades, but consumer advocates say they are not as sturdy as those of the past. Older cribs had metal rods that guided the drop-side up and down. Many newer cribs have plastic tracking guides for the drop-side that critics say are more prone to breaking.

The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, which represents over 90 percent of the crib industry, urges parents not to use cribs with loose or missing parts. It also says consumers should not use a crib that is older than 10 years because it may not comply with current standards.

To see if your crib is on the recall list, check the Consumer Product Safety Commission site.