We here at BloggingStocks are quite diligent about reviewing the comments from our readers. Whether added to a blog post or submitted directly to our editorial staff via the home page widget, your viewpoints are critical to making this a well rounded presentation. In response to a comment by a reader whom I'll identify only as Laura B., I'd like to address a very important issue which she offered for our consideration.

Laura expressed a concern which is brought to her mind by a television commercial which was produced for Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM). You've probably seen the commercial yourself. In the advertisement a father labors valiantly to build a tree house for his children to play in, only to have the kids absently spurn his efforts in lieu of playing in a Toyota Sienna outfitted with all the latest electronic gizmos. Laura's issue is with the action of the father closing the door on the vehicle and then leaving view. The kids (I assume) remain in the vehicle unattended.

Every year an unacceptable number of children and pets succumb to the heat which is quickly generated by sunshine beating down upon tightly closed motor vehicles. I'm reminded of an incident which happened near to where I previously lived. A woman returned to her minivan after shopping and placed her infant in it's car seat. She then closed the van door, accidentally locking her keys inside. The good news is that this particular story had a happy ending, another shopper quickly produced a tire iron and they entered the van by breaking a window. However, the time span from door locking to window breaking was estimated at three minutes, and even in that short time span the child became over heated to the point that they needed to immediately employ extra measures to cool the child's body temperature back to a safe level.

This is pretty appalling: Not content with exposing kids to junk food on television and on every street corner, McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) has apparently decided that it needs to reach out to kids on their report card envelopes.

An Orlando parent was upset when her 9-year-old daughter brought home her report card. But it wasn't Ds and "acts obnoxious in class" comments that annoyed this mom: the envelope the child brought home displayed a nice advertisement for McDonald's -- the chain whose food can have such a bad impact on health that it inspired a hit documentary.

The Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood is, of course, not too happy about all this, and issued a press release demanding that the ads be pulled.



As a practical matter, these ads aren't really a big deal. For better or for worse, kids are exposed to fast food advertising pretty much from the cradle to the grave. But does the school really need cash so badly that it would participate in a campaign to market unhealthy food to children?

Another problem I have with it: The ad offered kids a free Happy Meal for their good work. Shouldn't kids be taught to work for knowledge and pride, not crappy food and imported toys?

As news of the nationwide obesity epidemic among children sweeps through the media, it's hard to fathom that one of major purveyors of crap food are the schools: Yes, those places we send children so they can be safe and grow up to strong, intelligent members of society.

Mercifully, Congress is close to dealing with the issue. According to the New York Times, "Federal lawmakers are considering the broadest effort ever to limit what children eat: a national ban on selling candy, sugary soda and salty, fatty food in school snack bars, vending machines and a la carte cafeteria lines ...Several lawmakers and advocates for changes in school food believe that an amendment to the $286 billion farm bill is the best chance to get control of the mountain of high-calorie snacks and sodas available to schoolchildren. Even if the farm bill does not pass, Mr. Harkin and Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, a sponsor of the amendment, vow to keep reintroducing it in other forms until it sticks."

Signing this bill would send the right message. It's important for schools to raise money to fund programs, but exploiting vulnerable members of society and selling them something that could have a very negative impact on their lives is not the right way to do that. Government should not fund programs, however worthy, that sell unhealthy stuff to people.

The next step is for some independent-minded, courageous politicians (yeah, I know) to take on the lottery, which is similar to junk food in schools, in that they raise money by selling unhealthy products to society's most vulnerable.

BusinessWeek's Karyn McCormack laments the cost of raising children -- pegged at around $289 thousand for the first 18 years of a child's life if you're in the top 3rd of income earners. Are they worth it? Blasphemy! But in a way they're not. Kids no longer work on the farm and the value they provide is now emotional rather than concrete -- but, of course, still no less real. And that's to say nothing of college and then the increasing likelihood of Junior moving back in when he has trouble finding a job that can cover all his expenses.

So having a kid is a huge financial sacrifice -- When you add in the fact that subtracts from the amount of time you can generally spend working, it's even worse. I would go so far as to say that a large percent of 20- and 30-something's really can't afford to have kids -- and still be on track for retirement.

With the cost of child-rearing on the rise, it seems likely that a growing number of people will simply elect not to have children. This is, after all, the me generation, and lot of us are just too selfish to bother with the responsibility of having a little person to look after.

And with the population already high enough, there's really no compelling altruistic reason to have a child -- which raises questions about why the government provides tax advantages to people who have children.

In the meantime, I'm sticking with my plan not to have children, and I know that lot of my college-age friends aren't planning to either.

Target (NYSE: TGT) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have announced a recall of the popular Cars movie-themed backpacks which contain magnets that could become dislodged. Any small pieces that can easily be taken off any consumer product are a choking hazard to small children.

Again and again, Chinese manufacturers and U.S. vendors can't seem to design products made for children that won't end up with parts that can come off and be swallowed by kids. We're cracking into the human genome in another field, but hey, forget backpack design, right? My goodness, must be a toughie.

110,000 Chinese-made Cars backpacks are being recalled after magnets fell out of a piece of the plastic enclosure attached to the backpacks in three separate instances, although no subsequent injuries were reported. The backpacks in question were sold at Target stores nationwide from February through September of this year for $13 each.

So, this may not be a lead-paint recall issue from Chinese-sourced products, but that does not diminish the fact that it's still just as important. With China now making 80% of the world's toys, the parade of recalls is sure to continue. Stay tuned to BloggingStocks for more coverage of product recalls from the retail industry as they happen, because they will.

The latest from the China-linked recall department: The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission on Tuesday announced that Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) has voluntarily recalled 250,000 children's mugs, which it sold from last May until this August. Apparently the colorful plastic faces of Dot the ladybug and Dash the turtle can break off, posing an inviting and pointy choking hazard for your youngest. The latte empire has so far gotten just seven reports of the cups breaking. No injuries have been reported, thankfully.

Were you even aware that Starbucks was marketing to children?

No one will be surprised to learn that the mugs were of course manufactured in China, adding to the long list of Chinese-made toys, scooters, and knickknacks that have been recalled for choking hazards, high lead levels, electrical shock risks, likelihood of catching fire and so forth.

Dating back just to Thursday, 14 of the CPSC's last 15 recall announcements concern products manufactured in China (the P3 IonizAir air purifier was made in Taiwan). And, your favorite domestic companies are surely striking new contracts for Chinese outsourcing right now, so start your boycotts or brace for more recalls going forward.

(This is not terribly related, but it's worth wondering whether recalls of products that might find their way into higher-class homes get more press than cheap tchotchkes, such as these fun but excessively leaden keyrings, which sold for a buck at the KKR-held Dollar General.)

I suspect that my older brother secretly commissioned this study, and I'm inclined to doubt the validity of its findings. But if it's true, I may be destined to a life as a miserable failure.

According to data from Vistage, the largest CEO organization, first-borns are, in addition to having slightly higher IQ's, more likely to succeed in business than their younger siblings. Of the respondents, 43% were born first, 23% born last and 33% landed somewhere in the middle. The story on AOL Money & Finance has some quotes from notable first-born business leaders offering explanations for their success. Some felt more pressure to be role models as children and, as older siblings, had to take on leadership responsibilities that may have been great preparation for management.

The achievement gap between children and their younger siblings appears to be explained by environmental factors. If you're a parent, giving your younger son additional responsibility and authority -- perhaps a pet to take care of -- may be one way to counter-act the discrepancy.

But one thing that I can't find a study for is this question: Are older siblings happier than their younger brothers and sisters? That's what really matters.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: American Home Mortgage (AHM), Biogen Idec (BIIB), Bebe Stores (BEBE), Ingersoll-Rand (IR) and SK Telecom (SKM) were today's more noteworthy downgrades:

• RBC Capital cut American Home Mortgage (NYSE: AHM) to Sector Perform from Outperform citing the deterioration in the global debt markets for the downgrade.

• Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) to Underweight from Equal Weight citing risk to Rituxan growth.

• Merriman downgraded Bebe Stores (NASDAQ: BEBE) to Neutral from Buy as they believe new fall merchandise is not performing well enough to improve sales trends.

• Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE: IR) to Neutral from Outperform citing higher risk premium due to the IRS challenge and tighter credit markets that could impact the Bobcat divestiture.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Children's Place (NASDAQ: PLCE) was cut to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna.

• Thomas Weisel downgraded LoopNet (NASDAQ: LOOP) to Market Weight from Overweight.

• ThinkEquity cut Kyphon (NASDAQ: KYPH) to Accumulate from Buy.

• Needham downgraded QLogic (NASDAQ: QLGC) to Hold from Buy.

• JMP Securities downgraded ValueClick (NASDAQ: VCLK) to Market Perform from Outperform.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required)

In what could be seen as a major victory for child health advocates, 11 of the nation's biggest food and drink companies will be restraining themselves like never before when it comes to advertising food and beverage products to kids under the age of 12. It's always been a troubling question as to why breakfast cereal companies are allowed to use bright colors and free prizes to lure children into sugary cereals and why fast-food chains get away with using cartoon characters to sell junk food to kids. Perhaps that will change soon.

The companies involved with this major shift in marketing include well-known producers like Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB), General Mills Inc. (NYSE: GIS) and PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP). Interestingly, the new guidelines adopted by the companies came a day before the FTC meets to pressure food and drink manufacturers to limit their marketing to children. The hope is that such limits will help reverse the explosion of childhood obesity currently occurring in the U.S.

Will parents be able to make more reasonable decisions now that some of those attention-grabbing marketing pitches won't be enticing kids to want all the "bad stuff'?" Probably. And the limits are certainly a good thing, given that the 11 companies involved in the new advertising guidelines account for about two-thirds of food ads on television that are directed towards kids. So, no more processed, sugary, nutritionally empty foods using such colorful characters as Shrek, Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants. This one is a victory for kids.

First was the column in the Wall Street Journal that argued that Mister Rogers helped spawn a generation of brats. Then there was an equally preposterous Fox News story. It's official: Conservatives have run out of villains.

The late Fred Rogers spread the message -- which for some reason is controversial now -- that children are special. He never taught selfishness. In fact, neither the Journal nor Fox News could produce any evidence that he did. Even the author of a book cited to back up their argument doesn't blame Rogers for the growing selfishness of today's youth.

"The MTV show 'My Super Sweet Sixteen' has done 100 times more to normalize narcissism than Mr. Rogers ever did," writes San Diego State University Psychology Professor Jean Twenge, author of Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled -- and More Miserable Than Ever Before." Mr. Rogers' show also emphasizes many things that are the complete opposite of narcissism: Gentleness, caring for others, and the value of community."

The Journal argued that "what often got lost in his self-esteem-building patter was the idea that being special comes from working hard and having high expectations for yourself." Ironically, that was exactly the message that Rogers preached.

"He certainly didn't want to be giving children messages that were narcissistic," said Hedda Sharapan, who started working with Rogers in 1965, in an interview. "Young children need affirmation. The security of being loved is essential for moving forward."

In addition, she pointed out that secure children develop self-control and self-discipline. As fans of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood -- which included me when I was a toddler -- could observe, those were qualities the television show host had in abundance.

"Instant gratification, and entitlement -- that's the antithesis of Mister Rogers," she said. "He always hung up his sweater. He always fed the fish. The stories were never solved easily or even within the half hour. The theme carried across the whole week."

Rogers, whose program still gets about 2 million viewers a month, chose his words very carefully. When he started his program, he told his young viewers that "I like you you just as you are." By the late 1970s, he changed that to "people can like you just because you are you," Sharapan said.

Fred Rogers, an ordained Presbyterian minister who died in 2003, should be a hero for people who profess to care about family values.

In case you weren't aware, there's yet another study, within the multitude of studies, which has tried to unearth the truths about the relationships between children, reading and video games. A Reuters report insidiously points at the proposition that video games are depriving children of much-needed reading and homework time, but as the story winds its lazy little circle, you'll find that the headline assertion is as hollow as the study findings it addresses.

Yes, they did determine that the boys in the study invested about an hour into gaming each weekday and about an hour and a half on weekend days, while the girls in the study spent just under an hour gaming on weekdays and a little over an hour on weekend days, and they did determine that gamers seemed to spend less time reading (just the boys), and less time doing homework (just the girls).

The University of Michigan study seems to be otherwise inconclusive in as much as it appears that the study could not determine a correlation between video gaming and a decline in academic performance. Add to those findings the significance of the fact that the study apparently arbitrarily deemed gaming time to be a complete intellectual loss rather than an alternate means of stimulating cerebral activity. Video gaming can involve all the major functionality of the brain and most of the games that I play do in fact require a certain amount of reading. No, it's not reading about the Franco-Prussian War, but it is reading just the same.

The one bright spot in the meager findings of this study was that it determined the children were not sacrificing valuable time with family and friends to partake in video games. Apparently, no dungeon dwelling, video addicted, antisocial monsters were identified. So it comes down to the same old story that we've been forced to hash over since the dawning of television in the fifties: If they're good kids and if the parents are overseeing the entertainment and activities, for crying out loud, let them be kids and let them safely blow off some steam.

After all, as a kid I watched enough television that I can still sing you the entire theme songs for Gilligan's Island and The Flintstones. Just look where that got me.

When I graduated college, the idea of having my parents negotiate a job offer for me would have sent shivers down my spine. Apparently, this current generation has no such qualms.

They call them "helicopter parents," and according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, they are annoying some of the biggest names in corporate America including General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) and The Vanguard Group.

What's even more shocking is that the hiring managers are ACCOMMODATING these overbearing people. They are taking a page from the U.S. Army, which now targets its advertising to prospective recruits. The world has certainly changed since I graduated college in 1991 and not for the better.

If I were a hiring manager, I would immediately revoke any job offer for those who had their mom or dad act as their agent. That is ridiculous.

If you are unable to speak for yourself when you graduate college, something has gone terribly wrong. Do today's twenty-somethings expect mom and dad to fight all of their workplace battles for them? When does it stop? This isn't healthy for either parent or child.

Helicopter parents are the types of people who would wrap their children in bubble wrap to protect them from all of life's disappointments. They make sure that no kid gets cut from a sports team and that everyone gets a trophy. These days, there are no winners and losers.

Unfortunately, life doesn't work that way.

If there's a kid close enough to trip over, chances are he or she's shod in a colorful pair of rubber clogs. The shoes, made by Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) are ubiquitous on the under-5 set (and their parents), favored for their bright colors and the relative ease with which tots can get them on and off by themselves.

But according to an ABC News report, Crocs pose a risk to kids riding on escalators. Seems the rubbery toe of the shoe can easily get caught, which could injure a little foot.

Sounds like a small concern, but remember, this is a country where a company will recall millions of product units over the threat of it being a choking hazard. Remember how hoodies used to have drawstrings? No longer.

Could this be the opening salvo for Crocs' demise? All it would take is a recall for parents and their progeny to find another colorful footwear favorite. Fashion is a fickle mistress. And it's notorious for taking companies making "hot" products to the heights (Adidas?) then letting them plummet to the depths when public tastes moves on. Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) was one company that managed to brand itself well and expand its product base widely enough to survive the winds of fashion. But is CROX Nike?

Who knows? The stock hasn't been hurt by the story. In fact, Shares of CROX advanced 9.55% last week, making the footwear retailer one of the top-performing Zacks #1 Rank companies. Earnings estimates for this year increased 15% over the past two months to $2.39 from $2.07.

March 18 through 24, 2007, marks National Poison Prevention Week and it comes with some good news.

In the 1970s there were more than 200 child deaths a year attributed to the accidental ingestion of any manner of dangerous household chemicals, personal care products, over-the-counter medications, and cleaning agents. Due to the efforts of multiple agencies, the occurrence of these unfortunate accidents has been reduced to about 36 a year.

In 2005 about 91,000 young children visited hospital emergency rooms do to unintentional poisoning, and poison control call centers fielded more than 1 million calls. By maintaining constant availability and aggressive public awareness, organizations such as the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission seek to further reduce accidental poison fatalities.

To prevent these incidents, CPSC recommends the following safety steps:

My son Everett, who's almost four, was so excited when a "Starbooks" (as he calls it) was built on the corner a few blocks from our front door. He knows Starbucks as a reliable outlet for chocolate cow (the little Horizon milks with the picture of the cow) and glazed doughnuts. Several local Starbucks have little reading areas for families with children. Every time we drop in to our corner coffee shop, we run into other children packed in strollers and baby carriers. In our neighborhood, at least, Starbucks is all about young children.

The company officially has a policy that it won't market to kids. Yet anyone who's been in a Starbucks outlet recently has noted a not-subtle shift. First there was the Laurie Berkner DVD (the first DVD marketed in Starbucks) -- she's a wildly popular children's singer. Then Dan Zanes CDs joined Berkner on the shelf. A few months ago I was unsurprised to see, next to heaps of stuffed bears, barrels of brightly-colored children's books (Dot and Dash, a ladybug and a turtle, go on adventures through "Mango Mooka Forest" and "Strawberry Summit," where muffins grow in the trees and chocolate rice krispie treats peak from behind oversized fruit).

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Starbucks' "written policy says its 'overall marketing, advertising and event sponsorship efforts are not directed at children or youth,' although some 'community activities' end up reaching kids. The company reviews marketing materials to avoid distributing ones that could be 'inadvertently appealing to youth.' " Yet June was welcomed in with the company's summer drink lineup; many of them available in non-caffeinated and decidedly kid-focused versions. As the Journal pointed out, the company staged marketing events at zoos and other kid-friendly locales.