book’s release, it appears that we’re still attempting to catch-up to improvements made in the 1990′s.

• Six Areas of  Improvement: infant mortality rate, child death rate, teen death rate, teen birth rate, high school dropout rate, and rate of teens not in school and not working
• Four Areas of Worsening: low-birthweight babies, children living in families where no parent has full-time year-round employment, children in poverty, and children in single parent families

– ———

• Best States for Children’s Well-Being: (1) New Hampshire, (2) Minnesota, (3) Utah, (4) Connecticut, (5) Massachusetts
• Worst States for Children’s Well Being: (50) Mississippi, (49) Louisiana, (48) Alabama, (47) Arkansas, (46) Tennessee

Visit the Kids Count Data Center online to see how your state adds up!

Have fun and stay healthy,
Dr.MOZ

1) Petition to Reform CPSIA HR4040
2) Petition to Repeal the CPSIA

Everyone will soon feel the CPSIA’s wrath because it not only puts unreasonable mandates on small manufacturers and those making handmade products, it also threatens family-owned boutiques facing unbelievable penalties for selling inventory purchased before February 10th. Thank you for taking the time to sign the petitions above!

-> Anyone participating in today’s blog-in is invited to leave a comment with a link to your post by clicking on the comment bubble above. Thanks for sharing!

Have fun and stay healthy,
Dr.MOZ

> also see: CPSIA Victims:Add Your Extinct Product Here

A fair number of Dear Dr.MOZ posts are dedicated to green-focused companies and products, so why don’t we do something even more eco-friendly this Earth Day? Let’s celebrate by turning off our computers and getting a little exercise outside. I’ll see you out there!

Have fun and stay healthy,
Dr.MOZ

Congratulations to two of Dr.MOZ’s retail partners The Pokey Pup of Atlanta, and Rhode Island based Bellani Maternity for celebrating their first birthdays!

To celebrate, Bellani Maternity is throwing a birthday party on November 3rd between 10am and 1pm. They’ll have face painting, a bouncy house, music, and plenty of goodies to begin their second year in style. They will also be collecting for the non-profit Federal Hill House who helps families in need so don’t forget to bring a baby-related donation (clothing, toys, etc) for the cause. (learn more at their blog)

The Pokey Pup is celebrating their first year anniversary by giving back to their loyal customers through free standard shipping on all orders! Use the coupon code “birthday1” until October 15th at midnight for your free shipping. (visit their website to save)

Thanks again for visiting Dr.MOZ’s retail partners and for help making their second year as successful as their first!

Have fun and stay healthy,

Dr.MOZ

1) Maine Foliage Report: current foliage conditions with color-change listed by zone.
2) Where and When to Visit: decide where in Maine you would like to visit and then click the map to see what the best time to visit will be.
3) Other Things to Do: pick a Pumpkin for Halloween, watch a Portland Pirates hockey game, or just kick back and have a big bowl of chowdah!

Other online leaf peeping resources include the free fall wallpaper page, the foliage email subscription page, and a photo gallery showing past years. In the off chance staring at leaves isn’t your cup of tea, forget the tree and go for the Maine lobster roll. Do you have additional ideas for a leaf peeping journey? Post your comments by selecting the bubble above.

Have fun and stay healthy,

Dr.MOZ

The Twins Days Festival is only 10 days away, so we thought we would give a quick “heads up” to all the twins out there that may be interested in attending. It only seems right to provide a double-dose of twins-related news, so we’ve also included information about how you can be involved in the upcoming book Twin Connections.

Twins Days Festival
Held every year on the first week of August, the Twins Days Festival is appropriately located in “Twinsburg” OH. Although pre-registration is available to twins and multiples interested in participating in the events scheduled for August 3rd-5th, on-site registration is available at the door for $20.

Event Note: To all the faux-twins planning on infiltrating this year’s fishing contest with your my twinn “just like me doll” TM…we’re on to you.

Additional Festival Information:

Official Twins Days Festival Website FAQs
and

The Twins Days Message Board

Twin Connections
You may also be interested to know that Debbie LaChusa is writing a book called “Twin Connections” which celebrates the unique bond connecting twins. Join her twin community and sign-up for the monthly ezine from her home page, or submit your own twins story to Debbie to have your experience considered as part of the book.

Let us know if you have additional information about the Twins Festival, or other great projects in the works relating to twins by adding your comments to the comment bubble above.

Have fun and stay healthy!

Dr.MOZ

Dear Dr.MOZ,

Here’s a challenge for you. I have an outdoor birthday party brewing for a six-year old, and the birthday girl wants a piñata. I love the piñata idea, but I’m not a big fan of feeding ten kids candy from a piñata and then watching them shovel down a birthday cake. Any ideas on how I can make the piñata healthy without disappointing a group of kids expecting candy?

Thanks,
Margaret

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hi Margaret,

I’ll admit that this was a tough one. We obviously don’t want a piñata full of broccoli and bran, but packing it full of toys will most likely result in broken pieces by the time the piñata is cracked. My answer for the world’s first healthy AND fun piñata…drum roll please, the treasure-hunt piñata! Here’s my six step recipe for success:

(1) Create ten “gift packs” (one for each guest) that would include the usual party favors and any treats (toys, noise makers, art supplies, etc) that you feel would be more healthy than candy. Place the individual children’s names on the gift packs.

(2) Wrap them into one “mega gift” box and hide it somewhere close to the birthday site, preferably in an outdoor location where it won’t be stolen or ravaged by a pack of wild dingos.

(3) Working backwards from the final “mega gift” location, create a sequence of hints that will lead the group from hint to hint until they could track it from step one (the piñata). You’ll have to guess on how difficult to make the hints but as a rule-of-thumb, try and make the entire search something that would take about 10 minutes. Anything longer will slowly become a buzz-kill, so plan your treasure hunt accordingly.

(4) Wrap each tip in something fun (shiny boxes, plastic capsules, etc) and hide them each in safe locations. The tips will need to be in the correct sequence to ensure that treasure hunters can work their way to each step, so don’t take this step lightly.

(5) The first tip will go into the piñata. This should be a single piece of paper or art (decorate for effect) cut up into ten pieces. Each piece will go into a small box with the names of the ten children on each. The boxed tips will then be packed into the piñata.

(6) When the piñata is eventually broken and the boxes fall out, the party goers will soon realize that their individual pieces will need to come together to create a single message. The treasure hunt has begun!

The great thing about the treasure hunt piñata, is that it merges two great group activities in one and it doesn’t require packing kids full of sugar. They’ll remain active for the duration of the event, and they’ll need to work together to find the birthday booty. Thanks for the great question Margaret!

Have fun and stay healthy,
Dr.MOZ

Toddlers and Fireworks:
Despite the fact that you may have played with fireworks as a child, no form of firework is safe for a small child. This includes sparklers which burn incredibly hot and and where responsible for 1,100 injuries to children under 5 last year alone. Approximately 40% of all 4th of July injuries occur to children 14 and under, so try and find new ways for the little ones to participate in the light show. A few creative options might include giving your toddler the important position of “king of the flashlight”, or handing

out glow sticks which make them more visible in the dark and are great fun at night.

Pets on the 4th:
Our dogs and cats are particularly vulnerable during the 4th, and the main danger tends to be their own fear. They often panic when surrounded by the loud explosions and hurt themselves while attempting to escape. I recommend keeping both cats and dogs indoors during the festivities. In a perfect situation, owners would stay at tome with their pets throughout the day and night. If you decide to go to a fireworks show at night, leave your pets at the house and keep the blinds closed. The less chaos they are exposed to from outside the better off they will be.

Adults:
You’ve probably already heard the usual safety steps from all directions earlier in the week, so we’ll emphasize one single tip. Stay away from firecrackers! According to the last fireworks injury report provided by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2005, firecrackers were responsible for 1,700 of the 6,500 fireworks-related injuries and they grow each year.

Thanks for visiting and have a safe and healthy 4th!

Yours,
Dr.MOZ

The 2006 issue of the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Fireworks Annual Report (pdf file) suggests proves that there is nothing more dangerous on July 4th than an American male with a handful of firecrackers. I think most of us are more surprised to hear that the Fireworks Annual Report actually exists than we are to know that men regularly blow themselves up on the fourth, but here are four government-backed safety systems currently in place that you may not be aware of:

1. The War on Watermelons by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (jump to .mov)
Executive Summary: (a) stay away from watermelons with M-1000s packed inside, and (b) blowing-up illegal fireworks by destroying creepy mannequins is a “win win”.

2. The George H. Bush Fireworks Movie (jump to .mov)
Executive Summary: (a) he has faced many challenges, and (b) “don’t let youngsters light fuses”, and (c) keep a “bucket’a water nearby”.

3. Kidd Safety (jump to Kidd Safety Fireworks site)
Executive Summary: (a) kids should NEVER play with fireworks, and (b) blowing-up watermelons looks like more fun than hang’in with Kidd Safety, and (c) time for new safety mascot.

4. The National Council of Fireworks Safety Test (jump to safety test pdf)
Executive Summary: (a) most Americans take fireworks safety tests right before they begin drinking on the 4th, so we should all be fine, and (b) consider carrying a fire extinguisher until the 5th.

So there you have it folks, we are all really pretty safe when you consider the government programs running behind the scenes. In the off chance you were hoping for actual safety tips for the 4th, come back tomorrow for a full collection of slightly more useful ideas.

Happy 4th of July!
Dr.MOZ

I may no longer be in New England, but I certainly haven’t forgotten about some of the fantastic programs I encountered while living there. One of my favorites is the Compass Project of southern Maine which teaches job training and life skills to at-risk youth through boat-building and rowing in teams.

Their 4th annual boat building festival takes place at Monument Square in Portland, Maine on July 15th through the 17th and everyone is invited to participate. Those attending the fund raiser will experience hands-on boat building in teams, and leave with a 12-foot Bevins Skiff!

If you aren’t able to attend the event in Portland but would like to contribute to the Compass Project, vist www.compassproject.org to learn more about their program and to make an online donation.

Yours,
Dr.MOZ