Mar
25
2013

RECALL: SOZO Sleepers and Polo Pyjamas

Flammability Hazard

RECALL: SOZO Sleepers and Polo Pyjamas

Health Canada has recalled the above sleepers and polo pyjamas with CA number 00108 in the following styles after it failed to meet the flammability requirements for children's sleepwear in Canada. The recall involves the following styles:

Model & Description:

Footsie/Sleeper—12-24 months

  • ANGLFR Pink and beige with small mice print and a cat applique on the front
  • BEAVFR Brown and blue with a large beaver applique on the front
  • BGIRFR Blue with giraffe print and a giraffe face applique on the left
  • BLOOFR White with large red and orange flower print and frills on the bottom
  • BLOWFR Stripped blue and light blue  with an orange blow fish applique on the front 
  • BUGGFR Light green with small blue and orange blow fish applique on the front
  • BULLFR Blue, red and beige with fire hydrant print and a bull dog applique on the front
  • BUTTFR Fushia, pink and white with butterfly print and frills on bottom
  • COWWFR Black and white cow pattern with the word moo on left chest area
  • DINOFR Grey and dark blue with dinosaur prints and a dinosaur applique on the front
  • DYNOFR Blue and dark blue with small dinosaur prints and a large dinosaur applique on the front
  • EARLFR Light blue with small green and pink bird print  and frill on the bottom
  • ENGLFR Houndstooth pattern with fushia sleeves and  frills on the bottom
  • FISHFR Light blue with dark blue and orange fish print with an orange fish applique on the front
  • GECKFR Light blue with dark blue spots, green sleeves and gecko applique on front
  • GIRAFR Giraffe print with pink flowers and frills on the bottom
  • JNGLFR Lime green with a lion face applique on the front
  • LBUGFR Red with black polka dots and a larger white flower applique on the front.  There are also with frills on the bottom.
  • LITTFR Light and dark blue with small green and blue alien print with a green alien applique on front
  • MODFFR Red, pink and fushia, large floral pattern and  frills on the bottom
  • PLADFR Fushia and pink with a ladybug applique on the front and  frills on the bottom
  • SHEAFR Lilac with pink hearts print with a large lilac heart shaped applique on front and frills on the bottom
  • SSHOFR Striped lime green and pink with pink sleeves and a candy applique on the front and frills on the bottom
  • STRAFR Red with strawberry applique in the front and frills on the bottom
  • TERRFR Lime green and blue strips with a black and white terrier applique on the front
  • TREEFR Pink with fushia, brown and pink flower print and frills on the bottom

2-piece Polo Pyjama—12, 18 and 24 months and 2-4 years

  • BEAVJA Brown bottom and blue top with brown sleeves and  large beaver applique on the front

Though neither Health Canada nor DoGree fashions Ltd. has received reports of incidents, loose-fitting cotton sleepwear poses a flammability risk. 

 

Customers should immediately stop using the recalled sleepwear and return them to the place of purchase. For further information, please contact Do-Gree Fashions Ltd. by email

From October 2010 to March 1st 2013, approximately 1,600 sleepers and polo pyjamas were sold in Canada.

Mar
22
2013

The Justin Bieber Lookalike Who Would Be Famous

Lock up your tweens

The Justin Bieber Lookalike Who Would Be Famous

Which comes first: the talent or the recording contract? For a 12-year-old Dane named Benjamin Lasnier, it's clearly the latter. The boy, who bears an uncanny resemblance to our own Justin Bieber, is using his Doppelganger to carve out his own brand of celebrity. 

According to an article in the Guardian, his Instagram self-portraits (or 'selfies' as they're aptly called) have been the glue building a fan base much like his idol's. The trouble for Lasnier, though, is talent. He doesn't have one. 

Yet with more than 762,000 followers, the now 13-year-old Copenhagen resident doesn't seem too bothered. Sony has just signed him anyway.

Talk about salting the wounds of all the young, hard working idol wannabes out there. All he has to do is smile and his Instagram selfie gets hit with "60,000-odd 'likes.'" Oh, and companies shower him with freebies, hoping his baby face will help their brand.

Is it fair? Of course not. Can he cultivate a career to rival that of his idol? Time will tell.

"Every talent starts from scratch," said Sony's Mads Kjaergaard. 

Do you agree that talent can be 'taught'? 

Mar
22
2013

What Your Five-Year-Old Needs To Know About Money

Yeah, Money Buys Things

What Your Five-Year-Old Needs To Know About Money

When's the right time to teach kids about money? How young is too young? According to an article in Forbes, five is probably the magic number. Or as soon as they realize "money buys things."

If all your children sees is the magic swipe of a plastic card and doesn't get that you actually have to have credit behind that piece of plastic, then it may be time to open up the discussion. 

A CFP and senior financial planner at T. Rowe Price, Stuart Ritter says we aren't teaching our kids enough about money. And that education has to start earlier. 

Ritter provides these tips for learning about money at each stage.

At five, your child should know the following terminology: 

  • "Savings Goal – a savings goal has three elements: (1) what you want to buy, (2) when you want to buy it and (3) how much it will cost at that time.
  • Bank – a place that helps us safely store, organize and manage our money
  • Check – a way to pay for items where we write a note asking our bank to send our money to someone to pay for our purchases
  • Bills – notes letting us know how much we owe for our purchases
  • Trade Off  – A decision we have to make when we are considering whether to save for something or spend our money."

Click here to view tips for kids age 10 and up

Ritter imbued his own children with a reality check when they unanimously agreed to buying a new, larger vehicle. He explained that in order to do so, the cost of the car would be offset by what the family would usually spend on a beach holiday. Needless to say, suddenly his kids weren't so enthused. (Lucky them, to have a financial planner for a dad!) 

“It’s not about saving for the sake of saving. It’s about spending choices and figuring out if you should spend now or spend later. It’s about teaching priorities and trade-offs,” said Ritter.

Are your kids financially savvy? Is five a reasonable age to start teaching kids about money?