Dorel Juvenile Group Inc. is recalling more than 200,000 play yards sold under the Disney-Safety 1st and Eddie Bauer brands due to a risk of suffocation, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced.

The metal bars supporting the bassinet floor can come out of the fabric sleeves, making the sleeping surface uneven posing the risk of suffocation or positional asphyxiation for infants. No injuries or incidents have been reported.

These Chinese-made portable play yards came with a bassinet attachment and a built-in changing station. The following models are being recalled: 05025, 05026, 05037, 05088 and 05350. The model number can be found on one of the legs beneath the play yard.

The Safety 1st Disney Care Center Play Yard and Eddie Bauer Complete Care Play Yard were sold for $100-$130 at Babies R Us, Kmart, Sears, Target and Walmart between January 2007 and October 2009.

Those who have these play yards are asked to stop using the bassinet attachment and order a repair kit that includes new fabric for the bassinet as well as new support bars. The rest of the play yard, including the changing station, may be used, the company said.

For more information, call Dorel Juvenile Group 866-762-2166 weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time, except on Friday when calls will be taken until 4:30 p.m. Consumers may also visit Dorel’s web site, or click here to order a repair kit

http://cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10097.html

Walmart’s Black Friday specials include 50-inch Sanyo plasma HDTVs for $598, Magnavox Blu-Ray disc players for $78, TomTom GPS systems for $59, $7 reversible fleece jackets and $3 children’s sleepwear, according to Melissa O’Brien,a Wal-Mart spokeswoman.

Some of the toys at Walmart stores that will be discounted starting this Saturday through Nov. 27 are EZ Bake Oven, Disney Princess Scooter and Nerf N-Strike Vulcan. The discounts are up to 60%. Starting this Saturday, customers purchasing certain gaming packages such as “Band Hero” and “DJ Hero” will receive a $40 Walmart gift card while supplies last.

Wal-Mart and other retailers including Sears and Toys R Us have started to hawk deep sales usually reserved for the big sales day known as “Black Friday” in hopes of attracting more shoppers early. While Black Friday has faded a bit in importance, it’s considered a key barometer of shoppers’ willingness to spend for the holiday period.

The traditional shopping spree is dubbed Black Friday because it traditionally was considered the day when a surge of shoppers helped stores break into profitability for the full year.

Office supply chain Staples said that it will be selling HP laptops with an Intel Celeron processor for $299.98, slashed from $599.98; and Garmin Nuvi GPS systems for $119.99, reduced from $219.99. For the first time, Staples will be offering the same Black Friday deals online from 6-10 a.m. that shoppers can buy at the store.

Disney Store North America, which will be opening more than 125 stores nationwide at midnight on Black Friday, will be slashing prices with many gifts at $5, $10, and $15. Even these items will be 20% off during the early morning hours, the company said.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2009-11-17-walmart-discount_N.htm

 Walt Disney Company is offering a refund for their “Baby Einstein” videos. They may have been a great electronic baby sitter, but the unusual refunds appear to be a tacit admission that they did not increase infant intellect.

“We see it as an acknowledgment by the leading baby video company that baby videos are not educational, and we hope other baby media companies will follow suit by offering refunds,” said Susan Linn, director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which has been pushing the issue for years.

The videos — simple productions featuring music, puppets, bright colors, and not many words — became a staple of baby life: According to a 2003 study, a third of all American babies from 6 months to 2 years old had at least one “Baby Einstein” video.

Despite their ubiquity, and the fact that many babies are transfixed by the videos, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time at all for children under 2.

Last year, lawyers threatened a class-action lawsuit for unfair and deceptive practices unless Disney agreed to refund the full purchase price to all who bought the videos since 2004. “The Walt Disney Company’s entire Baby Einstein marketing regime is based on express and implied claims that their videos are educational and beneficial for early childhood development,” a letter from the lawyers said, calling those claims “false because research shows that television viewing is potentially harmful for very young children.”

The letter cited estimates from The Washington Post and Business Week that Baby Einstein controlled 90 percent of the baby media market, and sold $200 million worth of products annually.

In response, the Baby Einstein company will refund $15.99 for up to four “Baby Einstein” DVDs per household, bought between June 5, 2004, and Sept. 5, 2009, and returned to the company.

All rules for partipation guidelines can be found at: http://babyeinstein.com/parentsguide/satisfaction/upgrade_us.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/24/education/24baby.html

Disney is rewarding people who volunteer at select charities by distributing a million one-day, one- park tickets. The new promotional launch is called “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day”. Last year Disney drove business to their theme parks by allowing people to come for free on their birthday. This year they are continuing to drive business, but also trying to bring social awareness to lure in their vacationers.

 Starting Jan.1, the Disney website will allow guests  to sign up for volunteer work. People will be able to choose from service opportunities provided through HandsOn Network, which links volunteers with more than 70,000 nonprofits across the country.

Once guests have completed their community service, they will receive a voucher good for a one-day ticket to any theme park at either Walt Disney World or Disneyland. Like the birthday promotion, this will continue for about a year or until the one-millionth ticket has been distributed. Whichever occurs first, the official end date will be December 15^th, 2009.

 Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts states  “We think, in this case, that doing good for our communities is good business.” In a difficult economic climate, the volunteer promotion is the latest in a series of discounts Disney has rolled out this year to help prop up attendance at its theme parks during the recession.

 http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/sfl-disney-volunteer-093009sbsep30,0,3963425.story