IKEA, Health Canada, and the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (US CPSC) have jointly recalled the above high chair as the belt can open unexpectedly, creating a fall hazard.
Though there have been no incidents reported in Canada, 8 incidents, three of which resulted in minor injury when a child fell from the high chair, have occurred in the United States, Sweden and Japan.
Customers are advised to immediately stop using the chair and contact IKEA toll-free at 1-800-661-9807 or via its website for a replacement belt.
Between July 2006 and November 2009, approximately 36,000 units of the recalled products were sold in Canada, and 133,000 units in the United States.
Is pregnancy a disability? A law professor south of the border thinks so.
Associate law professor at the University of Dayton, Ohio, Jeannette Cox claims the U.S. Disabilities Act should be revised to include pregnant women, if only to garner them small "accommodations" which would allow them to work comfortably for longer.
As it stands, American employers don't need to accommodate pregnant women who complain of things like shortness of breath, prolonged standing or sitting. Prof. Cox, an expert in employment law, claims pregnant women currently have "less legal standing to workplace accommodations than other persons with comparable physical limitations.”
If pregnancy was listed as a disability, employers would be forced to put women on light duty where necessary, allow them to drink water on the job, take more bathroom breaks, etc.
Small potatoes, you might say, but some employers have actually denied pregnant women this kind of "special treatment" -- from a retail worker who violated store policy by sipping water, and a police officer who wasn't allowed to perform lighter duties.
Pregnancy obviously isn't a handicap. But do you think it should be defined as such, if only so expecting women are granted these small graces?
I admit, despite trying it a few times, I'm no Gumby doll. My body doesn't feel designed to bend that way. Yet millions of yoga bunnies (including our very own Meditating Mummy) would beg to differ.
A controversial article in the New York Times magazine, "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body," a questions whether yoga might actually do more harm than good in the Western world.
Adapted from William J. Broad's book The Science of Yoga: The Risks and Rewards, which will be published next month, Broad argues that yoga's shifting demographic is leading to increased injury risks.
"Indian practitioners of yoga typically squatted and sat cross-legged in daily life, and yoga poses, or asanas, were an outgrowth of these postures. Now urbanites who sit in chairs all day walk into a studio a couple of times a week and strain to twist themselves into ever-more-difficult postures despite their lack of flexibility and other physical problems."
According to Broad's substantial body of research, the lower back is most often the first to go. But other yoga teachers and disciples also sheepishly admit to pulverized hips and a nerve condition called "yoga foot drop." And Bikram or hot yoga which can bring about muscle damage and blackouts.
"Today many schools of yoga are just about pushing people," said Glenn Black, a yoga teacher who helps rehabilitate those with yoga-related injuries. "If you [teach yoga] with ego or obsession, you'll end up causing problems."
Ever had a yoga-related injury? Do you think overzealous Western teachers are to blame?
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