Need some pencils for the new school year? How about a ruler? If you've got a cent, you can get them -- at Staples and OfficeMax, respectively, in some areas. Target regularly offers school supplies for next to nothing in the weeks leading up to the start of the school year. (Wanna meet a teacher? Hit Target at 8am on a Sunday in August -- they'll be there stocking up on pencil boxes, crayons, and -- literally -- hundreds of folders for their classrooms.)

As the economy nose dives, parents aren't rushing out to buy brand new supplies when last year's zizzors (as my daughter calls them) work just fine. Retailers are running scared and are offering lots of "loss leaders" -- items priced below their cost -- to get shoppers in the door. This is nothing new, of course -- it happens every year -- but this year retailers are dropping prices even more than usual, even to the point of offering products for free.

Naturally, the stores are hoping you'll buy other, more profitable items while you're there and that's usually the case. Still, if your kid's backpack still holds books and their binders still hold paper, do you really need new ones? Are you buying all new supplies or making do with what you have as much as possible?

Not satisfied with just putting lead paint on our children's playthings, Chinese manufacturers are now putting the toxic stuff in their clothes. Well, at least one manufacturer is, and for that reason the Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of about 600 Sun Smarties Board Skirts. The lead paint is in the grommets.

The skirts are peach microfiber with an embroidered flower accent and back pocket. You can find Item Number 13926 HIBI printed on the care label inside the back of the waistband. The skirts were sold in girls sizes 12 months to 4T. They have six grommets, four on the front of the waistband and two on the back pocket.

As mentioned, these were made in China for Chelsea & Scott Ltd. and sold exclusively at One Step Ahead from May 1, 2008 through May 9, 2008 for about $15 each.

If you have one of these skirts, you should immediately take it away from your child and return it to Chelsea & Scott Ltd to receive a replacement skirt or refund. You will be sent a postage paid envelope from the company.

For more information, contact Chelsea & Scott Ltd by calling (866) 271-4536 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, visit their Web site, or email them at customerservice@onestepahead.com.

Now, this is a collector Barbie I can get behind. Forget the trashy looking comic book hero Black Canary, Mattel's newest collector dolls have a sweet and innocent air about them. Available for the first time ever, the new dolls depict Priscilla Beaulieu and Elvis Presley on the day of their 1967 wedding in Las Vegas.

The details are good - from Priscilla's heavily made up eyes and her bouffant hair to Elvis' sexy sneer and shiny pompadour. Priscilla even looks like she might be pregnant under that satin gown - a condition many suspected she was hiding at the time of her marriage.

The release of the dolls is no doubt timed to coincide with the upcoming anniversary of Elvis' death. August 16 marks 31 years since his untimely passing and for those of us who loved him, it is a sad reminder of what could have been.

Recommended for ages 6 and up, the dolls are available at Wal-Mart and Shop Elvis for about $60. At that price, there is no way I'm letting my seven-year-old get her hands on them.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of about 15,000 Fisher Price Learning Pots & Pans Toys. Some are missing screws in the blue toy pan, which can cause the clear plastic cover to come loose and release small balls. This presents a choking hazard to young children. Fisher Price has received five reports of this happening, fortunately with no injuries resulting.

The Learning Pots and Pans toy sets include stackable pots and pans, a lid and shape-sorting blocks. They have light and sound features that operate with AAA batteries. Model number G6685 can be found on the bottom of the blue pan.

These were made in China for Fisher Price and sold at discount and department stores nationwide from October 2007 to August 2008 for about $20 each.

If you have one of these toy sets, you should immediately take it away from your child and examine the bottom of the blue pan. If all six screws are present, no further action in necessary. If any of the screws are missing, you should contact Fisher Price to arrange for the return of the blue pan for a replacement pan. You can reach Fisher Price by calling (888) 521-0820 anytime, or by visiting their Web site.

I had to re-read this story twice to make sure I didn't miss something, but sadly I didn't. UK Shop-owner Amanda Bere really did remove a pregnant mannequin from the window of her lingerie store because some people found it offensive.

Bere opened her store, which specializes in lingerie for pregnant women, in Selby, North Yorkshire about eight weeks ago. She dressed her shop window with a mannequin she calls Emily in a black nursing bra and panties. She says it didn't take long for the mannequin, which is actually just a headless torso with a distinctly round belly, to become the target of complaints.

"It started with people looking in the window and making comments outside and they told me their points of view that they found it offensive," she says. "Other shop traders also told me that people were saying to them that it was offensive and that I should cover her up or move her. So I put a camisole on Emily and someone else made another comment, saying that they could still see the bump, so I put her in the corner of the shop away from the window."

Bere is trying to run a business, so I can understand why she wouldn't want to offend the locals. What I can't understand is just what is so offensive about a pregnant mannequin. Bere says the complaints came from the town's older residents. In fact, the video accompanying this story has an elderly woman expressing her opinion that the mannequin's large belly is "not pleasant look at."

I hope Bere returns Emily in all her pregnant glory to the front window. The people who are offended by it are probably not people who would shop there anyway.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced yet another crib recall. This time, about 500 Baby Appleseed Davenport Cribs are being recalled because they fail to meet federal safety standards for cribs. These cribs have a two-mattress support system and the secondary one, used for the lowest position, doesn't meet the full 26 inch minimum height requirement in its lowest position. This could allow a child to crawl over the railing and fall out of the crib.

These were made in Vietnam for by Baby Appleseed and sold at specialty juvenile product stores nationwide from December 2006 through September 2007 for between $600 and $800 each.

The recalled cribs are the Davenport models that begin with model numbers 273 and have manufacture dates on or before August 2007. You can find the manufacture date printed on a label on the right side of the lower inner panel of the crib. Newer Davenport cribs with model numbers beginning with 244 and having just one mattress support are not included in the recall.

If you have one of these cribs, you should stop using it in the third lowest position, which uses the wooden mattress support. If you are currently using the crib with the metal mattress support in the top or middle positions, you can continue to do so while awaiting a repair kit. Repair Kits will be available from the firm in mid-August 2008.

To receive your repair kit, contact Baby Appleseed by calling (877) 348-2199 anytime or by visiting their Web site.

Last week, Congress passed a law designed to ensure that the massive toy recalls of 2007 are not repeated. The bill, awaiting the signature of President Bush, gives the Consumer Product Safety Commission a larger budget, increases the fines for companies who don't comply with the new stricter rules, and forces those companies to take responsibility for making sure safety standards are met in toy design and manufacture.

But it isn't just lead paint and loose magnets the bill hopes to eliminate. The new law also bans six types of phthalates in children's toys. Phthalates is a chemical commonly found in plastics that may disrupt the hormonal development of children. The bill completely bans three types of phthalates - di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP). Three others are temporarily banned pending a study of their effects on children and pregnant women.

This is clearly a step in the right direction, but many believe that banning phthalates is just the beginning. "This has started a dialogue on what else is needed," says Janet Nudelman of Breast Cancer Fund. What is needed, she says, is the passage of the Kid Safe Chemical Act, which would require all chemicals be proven safe for children.

In the meantime, banning phthalates is likely enough to change the face of the toy industry. All those plastic playthings littering your child's room may soon become relics of the past. But buyer beware: this law will not have any impact on toys already on the shelf. Maybe it is time to revisit the past and experience the joys of simple wooden toys. Or perhaps a game of kick the can will keep the kids occupied while everyone figures out how to make toys safe again.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of about 1,300 Mother Hubbard's Cupboard cribs. The cribs fail to meet federal safety standards in that the distance between the mattress support bracket in the lowest position and the top of the side rail in the highest position is less than the required 26 inches. This poses a fall hazard to children.

The recall involves wooden full-sized cribs in the following models: Enchantment (model #210), Hush A Bye (model #215), Once Upon A Time (model #320) and Rock A Bye (model #1900-359). Only cribs with date codes from 0306 through 0308 are included in this recall. You can find the words "Mother Hubbard's Cupboards", the model number and date code printed on a label on the bottom inside of the right side of the crib.

The cribs were sold at juvenile product stores from March 2006 through March 2008 between $500 and $650 each. More pictures of the recalled cribs can be found here.

If you have one of these cribs, you should stop using it immediately and contact Mother Hubbard's Cupboards to receive instructions on how to reinstall the support brackets and eliminate the hazard. You can reach them by calling (888) 661-8201 between 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. ET Monday through Thursday and between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday, or by visiting their Web site.

With the start of the school year rapidly approaching, many parents are dreading the annual ritual of school clothes shopping. First, they'll spend hours scouring the Internet and newspaper for sales and deals to fit their shrinking budgets. Then they'll load up the kids for a long day of fitting rooms and check out lines -- not to mention negotiations over what is and isn't appropriate attire for school.

I relieved myself of this torture several years ago when my husband and I decided that a school uniform was the easiest and most affordable way for our growing family to deal with hectic mornings, rising costs, and trends in inappropriate fashion -- especially for girls.

At the beginning of August, I size my kids up and call the uniform company to stock up on whatever items they need or have grown out of. On average, we spend about $80 per child and the entire thing is delivered to my front door. With an e-mail order in to Zappos.com for shoes, my school clothes shopping is done!

But what do you do if your school doesn't have a school uniform policy? It's a great question. One I asked myself when I first enrolled my child in a Catholic school that did not require uniforms. My first thought was to initiate an optional uniform program with other like-minded parents. When faced with resistance, I decide that if the school didn't see the benefits, I wouldn't let it stop our family!

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced yet another recall of remote controlled helicopters due to faulty batteries. This time, it's about 685,000 "Sky Scrambler" and "The Sharper Image" Wireless Indoor Helicopters. The rechargeable lithium ion battery inside the helicopters can overheat, catch fire, and well, you can see where this is going.

The distributor of the helicopters, Innovage LLC, has received two reports of incidents involving the toy helicopters igniting, including one where a fingertip was burned.

The recalled helicopters have yellow, red or blue decals. "BH26047" is printed on the Sky Scrambler's tail and "The Sharper Image" is printed on the tail of The Sharper Image helicopters. More photos of the recalled toy helicopters can be found here.

These were sold at mass merchandisers, department stores, drug stores, and other retail stores nationwide, and on the Web from June 2007 through May 2008 for about $20 each.

If you have one the recalled helicopters, you should immediately stop playing with it and contact Innovage for a full refund. You can reach them be calling (866) 672-2630 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, by visiting either of their Web sites, or by emailing them at returns@copterrecall.org.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of about 19,000 Bright Starts Infant Rattles. The tip of the rattle's antenna (attached to a bee figure) can detach and pose a choking hazard to small children. The distributor of this rattle, Kids II, Inc., has received two reports of this happening, including one where the tip of the antenna ended up in a baby's mouth. No injuries have been reported.

The recalled rattle is a soft bee with a yellow head, ring-shaped green body and blue/green wings with purple/red antennas. You can find the model number 8534 and date code PA8 printed on a sewn-in label on the bee's head.

These were made in China and sold at toy stores, mass merchandisers, and other retail stores nationwide from January 2008 through June 2008 for about $2-3 each.

If you have one of these rattles, you should immediately take it away from your child and contact Kids II to receive a free replacement rattle. You can reach them by calling (877) 325-7056 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or by visiting their Web site.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of about 120,000 Cuddly Comfort Pillows. Due to a mechanical breakdown in the manufacturing process, some pillows contain metal fragments in the fiber-fill, which could cause abrasions to consumers.

These were made in China, imported by Sleep Innovations, and sold at certain Costco stores nationwide from February 2008 through June 2008 for about $20 each.

The Cuddly Comfort Pillows were sold in packs of two in white, violet, blue, pink and yellow. They measure 20" wide by 26" long and only those with Registration Number PA-27156(CA) are included in the recall. You can find the Registration Number and the words "Sleep Innovations" printed on the pillow's tag.

If you have these pillows, you should immediately stop using them and return them to any Costco store for a full refund. For more information, contact Sleep Innovations by calling (866) 656-0610 between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or by visiting their Web site.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of about 115,000 It's My Binky Personalized Pacifiers. The pacifier can come apart and pose a choking hazard to infants. No injuries have been reported, but the company has received two reports of this happening.

Made in Malaysia for It's My Binky of Henderson, Nevada, the pacifiers were sold at Nordstrom and baby boutique retail stores nationwide and online from February 2006 through June 2008 for between $5 and $6.

The recalled pacifiers have the word "Japlo" imprinted on the front of the pacifier shield at the bottom center. They were sold in blue, white and pink with various words or designs printed on the button of the pacifier. Photos showing examples of some of the text and symbols on the recalled pacifiers can be found here.

If you have one of these pacifiers, you should immediately take it away from your child and return it to the store where purchased or contact It's My Binky to receive a free replacement pacifier. You can reach It's My Binky by calling (888) 689-9444 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday PT or by visiting their Website. You can also email Danielle Riiber at Danielle@itsmybinky.com.

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Barbie has always provoked strong emotions in some, but with the introduction of Bratz dolls, she seemed downright quaint. Well, she is quaint no more. With Mattel's September release of a doll based on the DC comic superhero Black Canary, Barbie is going to find herself back on the naughty girl list.

Clad in black thigh-high leather boots and gloves, fishnet stockings and a motorcycle jacket, this S&M Barbie is stirring more than little girls' imaginations. A spokesman for the religious group Christian Voice finds this sexed-up plaything to be just too much. "Barbie has always been on the tarty side and this is taking it too far. A children's doll in sexually suggestive clothing is irresponsible – it's filth."

I agree that perhaps this isn't Barbie's best look and wouldn't buy it for my kid. But that won't be a problem because she doesn't want Black Canary. When I showed her this photo and asked for her opinion, she looked aghast. "She's not wearing any pants!" she exclaimed. Good girl.

A recent letter from the Vice President of Communications at Nike, which was perhaps inappropriately shared, has controversy brewing. Apparently, one Amanda Miller contacted one New York Times writer Joe Nocera in an attempt to pitch him some sort of stroller. Nike Communications is a public relations firm that sells expensive stuff. Joe, and everyone else who responded in the comments section of his blog about the letter, was offended, or at least annoyed. You see, Ms. Miller referred to children as accessories. This is nothing new--people have worn their babies since, well, since they've been having them. What we carry them in, as opposed to on us, has changed, but little else.

Oh, perhaps there was a time not so long ago when women didn't really leave the house and therefore, when with child (in or out of the womb) they didn't leave either, which meant no one really saw much of children until they were working age. But now, all that has changed. Now celebrities can be seen with their spawn doing whatever it is they do when they're not busy making the millions required to purchase the kind of stroller Ms. Miller is suggesting to the tune of $1,000.

Celebrities procreate--many of them doing so two at a time--and then they show them off to the world. The question is no longer what those celebrity moms are wearing, but what their babies are IN. That's right--out with Halston, and in with the Phil & Ted's chic stroller, and their new Traveller, which is actually just a playpen. Clearly Ms. Miller should be fired. Not for attempting to sell people stuff they don't need at a ridiculous price--after all, it's a PR firm, that's what they get paid to do!--but because Joe Nocera is clearly not her target audience. I can think about at least ten people, all of them women, who would eat up the letter from Ms. Miller and barely wash it down with an iced decaf skim latte before immediately setting out to purchase one. Did I mention I live in New York City? Joe Nocera? Clearly not interested.

Stroller pic by Ed Yourdon.