DadTalk

Young Athletes ‘Trick Knees’Hinge on Crucial Ligament

I haven’t heard of this expression in decades: “Trick Knee.” As I remember it, kids with this condition tended to fall a lot while running or competing.

Trick Knees were something of a mystery during my childhood: a lot of us just thought kids were born with it.

Not so, doctors now know. Instead, the Trick Knee often meant a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament, which “stabilizes the joint,” reports The New York Times.

More cases are being diagnosed in children because of better diagnostic tools. Interestingly, girls are two to six times more susceptible to the injury than boys, explains the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

An ACL tear is the same injury that causes so much misery for professional athletes. Treatment involves drilling into the leg bone to replace the ligament with tissue from elsewhere, such as the athlete’s hamstring or from a cadaver, reports the Times. Unfortunately for children, drilling into the leg bone also can affect growth, resulting in uneven stature.

Recalls Speed Racer, Bead Toys, Magnets Teethers, Fishing Games, Strollers

There have been quite a few recalls this week, so I’ve had a hard time getting them all together. Before I get started, the Thomas cartoo n above was named one of Time Magazine’s Top 10 cartoons of the year.

Here Are the Recalls:

About 300,000 Baby Bead and Wire Toys and Speed Racer Pull Back & Go Action Cars are being recalled by Greenbrier International because of excessive levels of lead, reports the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The Chinese-made toys were sold March 2007 through November 2007 at Dollar Tree, Dollar Bill$, Dollar Express, Greenbacks, Only One $1 and Deal$ stores nationwide.

About 153,000 Horseshoe Magnets sold to schools are being recalled by United Scientific because the paint contains high levels of lead. The Indian-made magnets were sold from March 1995 through September 2007 at stores nationwide.

My New Business: Baseball Trading Cards (on Steroids)

I’m not a close follower of sports, but it’s been hard to miss what’s been going on with the baseball drug and steroid scandal, which is summed up in The New York Times. The scandal confirms my belief that there are few compelling reasons to turn my kids into sports fans.

In fact, I consider it payback for all the times newspaper sports editors told me: “Bicycling isn’t a real sport. Only baseball, football and basketball are.” There was some debate about whether hockey constitutes a real sport.

On the other hand, I think there may be a way to profit off this ugly mess: My very own line of “Sports Trading Cards (on Steroids.)” I offer two samples here. The backsides would include a complete breakdo wn of steroid use each season. Since I doubt athletes will publish their true drug-use numbers, I will ask fans what and how much they think each player was using and then average the results.

If you want your very own Sports Trading Cards on Steroids, let me know in the comments section.

Is Recess Today Different?

My son, Seth, recently told me he loved recess. Although he craves structure through most of his school day, he has definite reasons to love free time:

1. The social aspect of playing with his friends.

2. A chance to burn off physical energy that most assuredly is building throughout the day.

One of the great things about a private education is that the school is not dependent on district, state or federal mandates. Instead, our school focuses on what is best EDUCATIONALLY and EMOTIONALLY.

But recess is suffering a variety of fates at public schools. Some states don’t require recess at all. Others are cutting back on play time to focus on No Child Left Behind mandates.

And then there is this: Oakdale School in Montville, Connecticut, has imposed some strict rules on recess, reports The New York Times:

Children at the Oakdale School here in southeastern Connecticut returned this fall to learn that their traditional recess had gone the way of the peanut butter sandwich and the Gumby lunchbox.

No longer could they let off their youthful energy — pent up from hours of long division — by cavorting outside for 22 minutes of unstructured play, or perhaps with a vigorous game of tag or dodge ball. Such games had been virtually banned by the principal, Mark S. Johnson, along with kickball, soccer and other “body-banging” activities, as he put it, where knees — and feelings — might get bruised.

Recalls Almost 1 Million Products Are Cited During Two-Day Frenzy

I hardly know where to begin, there have been so many recalls in the last two days. It’s overwhelming.

Before I get started, you might want to read this article by David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times about how that city’s toy district is struggling with a huge drop in demand for Chinese-made products. Perhaps reduced business will finally win the attention of manufacturers and retailers.

On the other hand, Lazarus confirms what I feared:

While the nation’s big toy-related firms are retesting their products, the vast majority of unnamed companies are not:

Since the 1970s, the 12-block Toy District has been the city’s central bazaar for imported toy cars, action figures and other knick-knacks. Its wholesale outlets funnel goods to stores near and far.

Yet in a year that has seen millions of toys recalled for lead paint and other potentially dangerous defects, the Toy District highlights the difficulty, if not impossibility, of preventing unsafe goods from reaching kids under our current system of relying on overseas manufacturers to meet U.S. safety standards.

If anything, the Toy District speaks to a need for U.S. authorities to be more aggressive in inspecting the goods arriving on our shores – through increased random checks, if no other way – and for U.S. manufacturers and importers to be held accountable for any safety violations.

And now, the most recent round of recalls.

The death of a 19-month old child triggered the recall of about 138,000 Ameriwood entertainment centers, reports the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  The furniture can collapse if a back panel is not secured. Ameriwood Industries reports three other minor injuries related to the entertainment centers.  The American-made centers were sold from June 2000 through May 2005 at K-Mart stores nationwide. See the link for information on how to receive a free repair kit.

Recalls Confetti Bags, Ornaments, SweatersPitchbacks, Jackets, Saws, Fire Pits

Sorry, I’ve gotten a bit behind on recalls so I could work on other posts. Here’s a batch that has been accumulating over a week:

About 60,000 bags of DesignWare Confetti Bursts sold by American Greetings are being recalled because the surface paint on the packages contain excessive levels of lead, reports the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The Chinese-made toys were sold December 2003 through September 2007 at discount, toy, drug, grocery, party and specialty stores nationwide. The toy comes in plastic bags that are inflated before consumers squeeze them until confetti bursts out. Who knew such a product even existed?

About 57,000 Power Bolt, Y-Frame and Ultimate Y-Frame Adjustable Pitchbacks sold by Dick’s Sporting Goods are being recalled because the upper portion of the frame can collapse when locking pins are removed. At least three people have suffered finger/hand lacerations. The Chinese-made toys were sold from November 2002 through July 2007 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Stores nationwide and the company’s website. Contact Dick’s Sporting Goods for a free repair kit.

Schools Becoming More Health Conscious, Major Study Finds

America’s schools have been responding to growing concern about childhood obesity by reducing junk, improving food offerings and requiring increased physical education, reports The New York Times. (I presume the story is referring to the oddly unmentioned School Health Policies and Programs Study, which provides reports on the health of America’s school children every six years.)

The good news is that more schools are offering salads and vegetables, while almost a third have banned vending machine sales, according to the 2006 version of the study.

Recalls Girls’ Boots, Air Pumps Toy Swords, Ladders

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is reissuing a recall of 11,000 Inflator Air Pumps, which have reportedly overheated and exploded on 52 consumers, the agency reports. Thirteen people have been lacerated by flying debris with two victims needing stitches.

The Chinese-made air pumps, which were sold separately and with Launch Pod Water Trampolines, were sold from January 2004 through January 2005 via Marine distributors, mail order catalogs and sporting good stores. The Launch Pod and Pump were sold from January 2004 through August 2004 at Sam’s Club.

Who knew boots can be dangerous? See those little guitars on the interior side of the boots? In five incidents, the zipper pulls interlocked and caused the consumer to stumble or fall. In one case, a toddler skinned her knees.

Because of the danger, Payless ShoeSource is recalling 90,000 of these Girls’ Boots. The Chinese-made shoes were sold from August 2007 through September 2007.

Recalls Bikes, Hammocks, Sprinklers and Foam Balance Beams

As someone who has ridden bicycles for thousands of miles, I certainly can appreciate the dangers of the crank or brake lever coming off while pedaling furiously into the wind or flying downhill.

So it’s kind of scary to hear that 22,000 Huffy “Howler” and “Highland” bicycles are being recalled because the crank can fall off. So far, there have been only two reports of this happening – and only one person hurt – but if you bought one of these Chinese-made bikes from Kmart between May 2007 and July 2007, please contact Huffy on how to tighten the crank correctly.

In another bike-related recall, Oro Disc Brakes is recalling about 5,700 Italian-made hand brake levers, after six hand levers, which were made by Formula SRL, have reported detaching. No injuries have been reported. The brakes were sold at bike specialty stores from May 2005 through July 2007 and were usually installed on mountain bikes. See the link above for more details on affected model numbers.

This Dad Needs to Run

For some reason, I rarely write about my primary form of exercise; since I’ve been distance running since high school, maybe I just take it for granted.

I first became a runner the summer before my freshman year when I was recruited in junior high by the high school distance coach in Illinois. My first choice was to join a bike team, but alas American high schools didn’t seem to have them. Instead I ran thousands of miles during my high school career and participated in numerous “meets” and road runs.

I pretty much stopped running in college, though I did experiment with the dorm bike team at Indiana University. Unfortunately, the team didn’t hold together long enough to compete in the race made famous by the movie Breaking Away. Actually, the team sucked so bad it would not have qualified.

My running was on and off during my 20s, as I explored hiking, swimming and biking. It was especially difficult to run during Arizona summers because I worked a shift that made it impossible to run during cooler night hours. By my last two years in Arizona (1994-1996) I began running (very slow) in the summer heat three to four times a week.

When I moved to Florida in my mid-30s, I started to get serious about running again. (Working Days really helped.) One of my favorite courses was to run from our rented house in Flamingo Park in West Palm Beach over the Intercoastal Waterway to Palm Beach and back. Unfortunately, there were no hills and the humidity left me coated in sticky sweat. For the first time since high school, I started running with my shirt off.

Movig to Southern California was fantastic in terms of running: it never gets too cold to run, it seldom rains and it rarely gets too warm – unless you live in the Valley or desert. Upland offered me the added bonus of a huge climb in the middle of the run. I never seemed to run fast, but when I’d visit family in flatter parts of the country, I could zoom around like a kid.

The only lulls I've had in recent years was after Seth and Lael were born. Actually, I found it easy to keep running after their immediate births, but once they started moving around and sleeping less, it was nearly impossible.

Lael hit that difficult age sometime last spring just as we were planning to move. Quitting my job and moving to Chicago made it difficult to get started back up.

But a couple weeks ago – and after an eight-month lull – I resumed running. Normal people would have started earlier, when it was still somewhat warm out. Or they would have waited until spring. Not me, though. No, I’m a bit nuts: I started running just as the temperatures dropped into the teens and below! On the other hand, I’m running four miles as fast as ever – that’s because if I move too slowly, I’ll turn into a popsicle.

Speaking of which, it’s time to dress up and head out.