Z Recommends--recommended reading for parents

What blogs do you faithfully read on a daily basis (besides ours when we're actually posting on a daily basis)? StartupPrincess and Fritinancy (I do have a love of words) are two of my favorite blogs, but as a parent my must-read is Z Recommends. Z Recommends is one of the best product review blogs when it comes to children's gear. With his daughter's help ("Z") the blog's author reviews everything from activities, crafts and toys to music, food and safety items.

The site gives parents the latest news on important issues such as the use of BPA in various products (did you know Congress is moving to ban the use of some phthalates?) and offers wonderful product guides (e.g. safer teethers and safer kids' sunscreens). Z Recommends' ZRecs Hall of Shame is a "growing pantheon of miserably misguided or just plain wrong children's products" and a must-read for parents. Not only is it an extensive list of children's products you want to steer clear of, it also makes for some enjoyable reading. It's kind of up there with those dumbest criminal stories you hear about. Do these companies really make these products? What were they thinking?

And then you gasp when you realize those blinged-out pacifiers you bought, complete with Swarovski crystals, pose "an ingestion hazards when crystals inevitably separated from their pacifiers." Those same crystals contain 32% lead. Yep, lead.

We can all use a little help, a little more info, a little guidance when it comes to keeping our kids safe. Since I have yet to find a childproof bubble in which to put my kids I'll rely on blogs like Z Recommends to keep me informed on the latest and greatest products...and which ones I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. --Emily