Usreports that Tyra Banks is seeking plus-sized teens for an upcoming modeling competition.
"I've always felt it was my mission to expand the narrow perceptions of beauty," she told Us. "Through America's Next Top Model, True Beauty and The Tyra Show, I challenge industry and universal standards by featuring and celebrating non-traditional beauty, and stressing that true beauty is both inside and out."
Banks said she was unhappy that the term "plus-sized" has such a "negative connotation" in today's society.
The requirements for Tyra's Fiercely Real Teen Model Search are that models have to be a size 12-20 and stand between 5 foot 9 and 6 foot 1 inches tall. You can read more about the requirements here.
Sesame Street has launched an app that lets you make monsters on the iPhone and iPod Touch. Sesame Street's Elmo's Monster Maker can be purchased on iTunes for $3.99. It looks like a virtual Muppet whatnot factory. Elmo explains how it works. Take a look:
Here is the official commercial for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter that will air during the Super Bowl on Sunday. Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a theme park based on the Harry Potter universe. You can read more about the theme park here. The park will official open in late Spring 2010 at the Universal Orlando Resort. Take a look:
Team Umizoomi is a new animated live-action series on Nick Jr. The show offers entertainment while spreading a message about the importance of math. The city of Umizoomi includes streets paved with origami and sidewalks swirled with color. Even the manhole covers in Umizoomi have whimsical patterns embedded within. Team Umizoomi is made up of Milli, Geo, and Bot. They solve everyday problems using their Mighty Math Powers in order to keep Umi City running smoothly. The show's website also has some math games.
Necklaces based on Disney's Princess and the Frog movie were recalled
today because they are filled with toxic cadmium. Here's the official statement by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
FAF Inc. Recalls Children's Necklaces Sold Exclusively at Walmart Stores Due to High Levels of Cadmium
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.
Name of Product: Children's Metal Necklaces
Units: About 55,000
Importer: FAF Inc., of Greenville, R.I.
Hazard: The recalled necklaces contain high levels of cadmium. Cadmium is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported.
Description: The recalled jewelry is shaped as a metal crown or frog pendant on a metal link chain necklace in a crown hinged box. The packaging has the words "The Princess and the Frog" on it and contains the following model numbers and UPC codes:
Crown Model # 4616-4187 UPC # 72783367144
Frog Model # 4616-4190 UPC # 72783367147
Sold exclusively at: Walmart retail stores nationwide from November 2009 through January 2010 for $5.
Manufactured in: China
Remedy: Consumers should immediately take this recalled jewelry away from children. Consumers should return the recalled jewelry to any Walmart store for a full refund or a free replacement product.
Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact F.A.F. Inc. at (800) 949-3311 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's Web site at www.faf.com
The necklaces were manufactured in China: what a surprise. These necklaces are also being sold on Ebay and other places online, so parents should beware.
Walt Disney Co. said only "Disney supports the decision by FAF and the CPSC to recall the jewelry." Wal-Mart hasn't commented yet.
Elmo and Grover of "Sesame Street" visited Detroit where they were given the key to the city by Detroit Mayor Dave Bing. The presentation took place during a visit to the Children's Hospital of Michigan. Thursday was also declared "Sesame Street Live Day" in Detroit. Take a looK:
Old Navy is selling four t-shirts using artwork from old Popular Mechanics covers. The shirts, made for children and infant, are made by Mighty Fine and range in price from $10.50 to $12.50. The shirts are being sold in Old Navy stores and at oldnavy.com.
All the Rage says Old Navy and Popular Mechanics are also hosting a kids design contest inviting kids to create a design for a Popular Mechanics cover about "the future of transportation." The prize is a
$500 Old Navy shopping spree and the design showcased in an issue of Popular Mechanics.
The Miami Herald is reporting that Merlin Entertainments Group is building a Legoland park in Central Florida. The shuttered Cypress Gardens theme park and botanical garden will undergo a makeover to become the new Legoland.
With up to 50 new rides, shows and attractions, it will be the biggest of five Legolands worldwide. The park is packaged to entice parents and kids 2 to 12 years old to spend a day immersed in a world that revolves around plastic Lego bricks, one of the world's most popular toys.
The plans include reopening the historic botanical garden that founders Dick and Julie Pope carved out of a cypress swamp in 1936 and fashioned into what was claimed to be Florida's first theme park. The once-famous water ski shows could return in the form of a Lego-themed stunt show, and the park will get its own studio with a full-time staff of Lego model artists. Cypress Gardens' leftover midway thrill rides and one or both of its wooden roller coasters will be sold.
The Legoland location in Carlsbad, California reportedly gets 2 million visitors a year. Legoland also has locations in Denmark, Germany and the UK.
Playthingssays the Legoland in Central Florida will be the second biggest Legoland in the world when it opens in 2011.
A group of children with no home in Haiti share a brief and much needed moment of smiles as a dog tries to get into the photo. The Government of Haiti has requested assistance from the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) to help with the emergency relief operation. WSPA along with other animal welfare organisations that have come together as the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH) will be in Haiti this weekend. The WSPA says tt is estimated that there were 5,925 poultry, 1,450,000 cattle, 1,900,000 goats, 500,000 horses, 80,000 mules, 1,000,000 pigs and 153,000 sheep before the earthquake. You can get updates on the WSPA disaster work on the Animals in Disaster blog.
The New York Times is reporting that Scholastic plans to relaunch Ann M. Martin's series of books called The Baby-sitters Club. The relaunch will include slighty revised versions of the first two volumes in the series as well as a new book, a prequel called The Summer Before by author Ann M. Martin.
The move follows Scholastic's 2008 resuscitation of "Goosebumps," another of its most popular series. For now Scholastic and Ms. Martin only have plans for the one prequel, although the publisher will release three more reissues of the original series later next year.
"The Baby-Sitters Club," which ran from 1986 through 2000, garnered an ardent following among preteenage girls throughout its run of 213 titles, with the publisher ultimately printing 176 million copies. The series, which followed the baby-sitting adventures and friendships of four 12-to-13-year-old girls — Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia and Stacey (the cast expanded to eight main characters later in the series) — spawned several spinoffs, including a mystery series and a collection of books about Kristy's little sister. All of the books are now out of print.
The relaunched series and new prequel novel will hit stores in April.
Chuggington is coming to Playhouse Disney, Disney Channel's preschool-focused programming block, on January 18, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. ET/PT. The series follows the adventures of Wilson, Brewster and Koko, trainee diesel engines, each with their own unique personality and learning style. The series is set in a world much like our own with cities, villages and diverse cultures and geography.
Chuggington is already a ratings success in the U.K., France, Australia, Germany, Japan and Canada. Chuggington'swebsite features games, interactive adventures, stories and original content.
MediaPost reports that a new MRI's American Kids study has found that 20% of children aged 6 to 11 now have cell phones.
As you can see in the chart below the main purpose these young children have a cell phone. The top reason given is so they can phone their parents. Uses other then communication given by children include games, music, photos and ringtones.
CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum is advising parents to keep cheap metal jewelry out of the hands of children. Her warning follows a recent Associated Press investigation that found high levels of cadmium in cheap children's jewelry manufactured in China.
In March 2006, a tragic incident occurred which had a significant impact on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Jarnell Brown, a 4-year old boy from Minneapolis, Minn., swallowed a metal charm that was nearly pure lead. He sadly died four days later. Since 2004, our agency has conducted more than 50 recalls of more than 180 million units of metal jewelry because it contained a hazardous amount of lead. Since August 2009, it has been illegal to produce a piece of children's metal jewelry with more than 300 parts per million of lead.
Now we hear about cadmium in jewelry. This is unacceptable. Just this week, I sent a clear message warning manufacturers against the use of heavy metals, "especially cadmium," in a keynote speech that was delivered Tuesday at the APEC Toy Safety Initiative/Dialogue in Hong Kong.
Because of these recent developments, I have a message for parents, grandparents and caregivers: Do not allow young children to be given or to play with cheap metal jewelry, especially when they are unsupervised.
We have proof that lead in children's jewelry is dangerous and was pervasive in the marketplace. To prevent young children from possibly being exposed to lead, cadmium or any other hazardous heavy metal, take the jewelry away.
We are moving swiftly to stop the replacement of lead with cadmium and other hazardous heavy metals in children's products imported from China. We are also actively investigating the jewelry cited in the recent AP story and will inform parents and consumers quickly of any actions we take as a result of our efforts. Our investigation is squarely focused on ensuring the safety of children.
It is very difficult for a parent to determine if an item contains harmful levels of a metal in a specific item except by checking recalls listed on the CPSC Web site. Parents should know that swallowing, sucking on or chewing a metal charm or necklace could result in exposure to lead, cadmium or other heavy metals, which are known to be toxic at certain levels of exposure.
We are working to take decisive action at CPSC, using the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, a law aimed at keeping kids safe from toxic chemicals and metals.
The key message that I want parents to know is: We will act to protect young children, but take the metal jewelry away from children who will swallow, suck or chew on it while our work continues.
This warning could have a significant impact on retailers that sell cheap children's jewelry as many parents will likely hear the warning through news outlets and avoid new purchases. The CPSC has not provided any guidelines for disposing of jewelry containing cadmium. The threat of cadmium is significant. It can cause cancer, brain damage and learning disabilities. A story here has a slideshow that has a diagram listing some of the illnesses caused by cadmium.
Senator Charles E. Schumer is proposing legislation to ban the use of cadmium in children's jewelry and toys. Companies also need far more stringent reviews of imports from China to keep these products from getting on the shelves in the first place. It is unnaceptable that the harmful product ends up on store shelves.
The Sun-Sentinelreports that Claire's stores have joined Walmart in pulling jewelry found to contain cadmium in an Associated Press investigation.
"While we have no reason to believe that this product is unsafe, out of an abundance of caution, we are taking this action because we take our responsibility to our customers very seriously," company officials in Pembroke Pines said in the statement. Customers who brought tainted products can return them for store credit.
Charms on a "Best Friends" bracelet sold at Claire's contained 89 and 91 percent cadmium, according to testing that was part of an investigation by The Associated Press. The jewelry shed high amounts of the metal in a procedure that examined how much cadmium children might be exposed to if they suck or bite the items.
An Associated Press investigation found that the children's jewelry, manufactured in China, contains high levels of cadmium. Chinese manufacturers were basically substituting lead for cadmium, an equally dangerous metal. Cadmium is known to cause cancer and children can get low-level doses just by sucking or biting on jewelry with high levels of cadmium. The metal ranks 7th on the CDC's list of the 275 most hazardous substances in the environment.
The New York Postreports that this will be the upcoming season (fourth season) will be the final season of Disney's hit Hannah Montana.
Miley Cyrus -- who plays Miley Stewart, a down-to-earth high schooler who leads a secret double life as pop star Hannah Montana -- has been making noises for more than a year that she is ready to move on.
But the news quietly marks the end of one of the most successful kids' shows ever. The show still averages nearly 5 million viewers a week.
"You never know in this business . . . but right now we're scheduled to wrap [forever] after shooting this new batch of episodes," says Disney Channel Worldwide's Adam Bonnett, senior VP/programming.
Miley Cyrus is ready to move on and has fans that will follow her but Disney may have a tough time finding a replacement for the show that captured 5 million viewers a week. The fourth season of Hannah Montana will premiere in late spring.
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The New York Times is 
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