Do Baby Wordsworth DVDs help your baby talk? Although quite chatty now, our daughter wasn't an early talker. I clearly remember the worry I felt when her doctor expressed mild concern over her lack of words. As a parent, it's hard not to obsess over such developmental milestones, and you do what you can to help your child learn and grow. One tool many parents turn to are educational DVDs for babies and toddlers, some of which focus on language. However, a new study suggests that such tools do not actually help young children learn new words or improve their overall language skills. The study focused on the Baby Wordsworth DVD, which is part of the Baby Einstein series. Ninety-six children aged 12 months to 24 months participated in the study, and half watched the DVD regularly for six weeks. Parents were told to use the DVD as they would any other type of children's media, allowing them to decide whether they would watch the DVD with their child. Every couple of weeks, the researchers tested both groups' knowledge of the 30 words featured in the DVD by showing the children pairs of pictures and asking them to point to the one showing the word. The parents were also interviewed about their child's use and understanding of these words. At the end of the study, there were no differences between the groups in overall language skills, or in the numbers of words understood, words said, or pictures identified. Learn more in the

Keeping child car seats rear-facing longer is better Though parents may be eager to “graduate” their child from a rear-facing infant seat to a forward-facing seat, it potentially exposes their child to greater risk. A 2007 study published in Injury Prevention, a publication of the British Medical Journal, and funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows that the standard advice of turning a baby from rear-facing to forward-facing at one year and at least 20 pounds puts a child at greater risk for severe injury than if they were to remain rear facing. The study states that children up to 23 months old are about 75 percent less likely to die or sustain serious injury in a rear-facing car seat than a forward-facing one. A rear-facing seat spreads the force exerted on a child's body during a crash more evenly across the entire body; limits the motion of the head reducing the potential for neck injury; and keeps the child more contained within the shell of the child restraint than a forward-facing seat. The benefit of a rear-facing car seat was particularly great, the study found, in side impact crashes.

Infant carrier safety tips Safe ways to transport infants include strollers , handheld infant carrier/car seats , and strap-on carriers . (See our Safety blog post on the safety concerns about some infant slings .) Here are some safety tips for using strap-on front- and hip-carriers: Read the instruction manual and the warnings on the product before you first wear it to make sure you’re using it properly. Before using a carrier at any time, take time to put it on properly. Check that the straps are fitted and adjusted correctly, and the buckles, snaps, straps, and adjustments are safely fastened into position and secure. Sit down when placing your baby in the carrier and when taking him out. After your child is seated in a carrier, with her legs securely in the leg openings, adjust leg openings to the smallest size possible without cutting into her thighs or seat. Make sure your baby can breathe easily when in the carrier. His nose and mouth shouldn’t be obstructed in any way, and his chin should not be pressed against his chest, which carries a risk of asphyxiation. Don’t transport your child in a carrier on your back unless it’s made to be worn that way. Note that infants who can’t hold their heads up should never be carried on an adult’s back under any circumstances. Use the carrier according to the manufacturer’s weight recommendations. To avoid back and neck strain, stop using a front carrier when your baby reaches 20 pounds, or anytime you feel uncomfortable. Until your child can hold her head upright (around 6 months old), she should ride facing toward you with head support. Be careful when bending, leaning forward, or going through doorways when wearing a carrier. If you have to reach down, bend at your knees to make sure your baby stays upright. Don’t bend over at your waist. Use a carrier only for standing or walking. Don’t use it for sporting activities like running or bicycling or when cooking, cleaning, carrying a load, or driving. Don’t use a carrier to hold your baby in a car instead of a car seat. Don’t leave a baby in the carrier while putting it on or taking it off. Don’t put your baby in a carrier that’s not attached to you or another caregiver. Stop using a carrier if any parts or components are damaged, missing, or broken. Consider his and hers carriers of you and your partner want to use a strap-on or hip carrier frequently and you’re not roughly the same size. To wear a strap-on or hip carrier safely, adjust the straps exactly right. If you have a separate carrier for each parent, you won’t have to continually adjust the carrier to trade back and forth or be tempted to make a too-quick adjustment. If you want to use your strap-on carrier outside in cooler months, consider getting a carrier cover (we have not tested these). It slips over most brands of strap-on soft infant carriers so you don’t have to stuff your bundled-up baby into a carrier or zip your coat around him. Subscribe now! Subscribe to ConsumerReports.org for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products. Update your feed preferences

Laundry-room dangers to toddlers and young children When I was a kid, one of my favorite hide-and-seek hiding places was in the clothes dryer. Sounds innocent enough, but it can have tragic results. Last year, a 4-year-old Mission Viejo, Calif., girl climbed into the family’s washing machine. Her 15-month-old-brother managed to turn on the machine, and she died of related injuries. A disturbing number of kids—more than 2,000 each year—are seriously hurt, and a few die, after reaching, climbing, or falling into washers and dryers or toppling down from them. The now-popular frontloading washers can be particularly dangerous because the controls are often located on the front panel, within easy reach of a young child, and the doors lock when the machine is started. And many people leave the doors of those machines open to minimize mold growth around the rubber gasket, a common complaint with front-loaders. Plus laundry machines are now being moved into the living quarters, where young kids can have unrestricted access. (Learn more about childproofing your kitchen, basement, garage, and other areas of your home .) Manufacturers warn about allowing kids to play on or in those appliances, and one manufacturer has developed a child-entrapment warning system. Take precautions to keep kids away from the washer and dryer, whether you’re doing laundry or just playing hide-and-seek. See our related childproofing video: Baby danger zones . —Donald Mays, safety director and consumer advocate Subscribe now! Subscribe to ConsumerReports.org for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products. Update your feed preferences

Baby & child news: BPA in child products, toy retailer banned from U.S., food borne illness States take action on children's safety issues. The Maryland General Assembly is one step closer to passing a bill that would

Allowances may help teach your child about money As I’m planning to pull together my tax-related documents this weekend, I’ve got money and finances on the brain. High school and college math classes didn’t prepare me one jot for the household finances/budgeting area of real life. While there’s lots of money advice for adults on how to prepare a household budget, manage debt, and get a grip on investing, where was this advice when we were young? One way to start you child on the road to a healthy relationship with money may be to give her an allowance. Once she’s got her own money to work with, you can then coach her in the fine arts of wisely spending, saving, donating, and possibly even investing. Once children understand that things cost money and they can identify coins (probably around age 3-5, depending on the child), then it’s probably a good time to start an allowance. If a kid can say he wants to buy something, then he’s probably ripe for learning about what things get bought with. Older children, with larger allowances, can take on more expenses from buying clothes to gifts for friends. Here’s where the learning about budgeting comes in: If the allowance is handed out on Friday and by the next Wednesday all the money’s gone, then no buying until the next allowance is received. The general consensus seems to be not to pay kids to do day-to-day chores around the house, the thinking being that all family members should pitch in to keep the household in working order and not expect to be paid for their efforts (Hey, if chores were tied to $, this momma would be rolling in the dough). But if you’d like your little dear to go above and beyond—like detailing your car or cleaning out the attic—then it’s perfectly fine to pay them. Learn more in the

Babies & kids safety news roundup Fourth stroller recalled because hinges pose amputation hazard. Britax has recalled 15,000 “Blink” umbrella strollers because the hinge mechanism poses a fingertip amputation hazard when the stroller is being opened or closed. This is the fourth in a series of stroller recalls because of hinge hazards. Learn more in the full Safety blog post. CPSC chair takes hard line on defective cribs. Inez Tenenbaum, the chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, had some harsh words for manufacturers who blame the victim when their products are recalled. In her recent keynote address to the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization, Tenenbaum said her agency is cracking down on the makers of defective products, especially children's products. She

Best batteries for toys, baby gear, digital cameras You may not go through as many batteries as diapers during your baby’s first couple of years, but it will seem pretty close. Batteries aren’t usually included when you buy toys and baby gear with music, lights, vibration, or sound effects, and some toys or baby products may require more than one size battery. Not every battery is right for every job, either. Here’s a rundown of what to consider before your next visit to the battery section of the store, based on our recent tests of AA batteries—the most common type used in toys. Buy rechargeables for high-use items. For often-used toys, digital cameras, and other devices drawing bursts of power, make the greener choice: rechargeables. Another option is a single-use lithium battery. The downside of rechargeables? They discharge when they’re not in use, so they’re not the best choice for battery-powered toys that sit idle. You also may have to charge the battery before the first use. Don’t mix rechargeable and disposable batteries, however. And use a suitable recharger. For flashlights, remote controls, and other devices drawing little power, consider single-use alkaline batteries, which should have a shelf life of several years. Keep disposable batteries around as a backup, even if you plan to use rechargeables. Among disposables, lithium batteries, which are expensive, are the best for getting the most shots from your digital camera. Follow manufacturer recommendations. No disposable battery is a deal if the toy or baby product’s manufacturer recommends another type. Be wary of knockoff brands that seem like a great value. Some have been defective. Store and dispose of batteries properly. You should store batteries separate from one another and from other metal objects in a cool, dry place (no need to store in the refrigerator). Don't mix battery types, sizes, or ages. Rechargeable batteries should be recycled to keep their heavy metals out of landfills. To find out where to recycle, go to

Babies & kids safety news roundup: Hockey and figure skating injuries and children The puck stops here: Keeping hockey injuries in check. Hockey has been on display at the Winter Olympics since the moment Wayne Gretzky lit the Olympic cauldron in Vancouver. That attention is sure to ignite interest in youngsters to head to the local rink and lace up. But the rough culture of the sport has some sports physicians concerned. A recent study of U.S. youth hockey players 9 to 15 years old found that head and neck injuries accounted for 23 percent of the total number of injuries and that body checking accounted for 86 percent of all injuries that occurred during games. Learn more in the full Safety blog post. Helmets and figure skaters. One thing you'll rarely see a figure skater wearing is a helmet. Some sports physicians and trainers think that's a mistake. A recent study concludes that helmet use would prevent a large number of head injuries, especially in children. The

How Twilight, Harry Potter, and other films broadened my kids’ culinary horizons It began with the puttanesca sauce.