With all the information out there about the importance of booster seats and their power to save the lives of children, some parents shockingly still don't use them. Especially parents who carpool it seems.

A new study from the University of Michigan found that  while most use them when they're driving their own kids, 30 percent of parents don't require their kids ages 4-8 to be in a booster seat when they ride with someone else. Not only that, they found that 45 percent of parents don't make their own kids get in booster seats when they have other children in their own car without booster seats. 

Are you kidding me? Who are these people?

Yawn. Did you hear the news? More toddlers are playing video games. You don't think this is news either? Then you must have a toddler and an Xbox 360 Kinect. Or an iPad, iPhone, or any handheld device that screams out for tiny hands to come and play. Got Wii? Then you've probably got a toddler who knows how to virtually ski, bowl, and skateboard.

In fact, toddler video gaming is so prevalent, an ardent anti-gamer like myself has finally given in as I sit and cheer my toddler on as he plays Kinectimals. It's totally a 180 from when I told my boyfriend that playing video games when I was at home was the same thing as telling me I wasn't as interesting as his avatar.

But there's a secret all parents (and girl- and boyfriends) should know about video gamers.

City planner Alyse Nelson wrote a post yesterday about how she about died of embarrassment the first time she rode the bus with her son. The bus driver had the audacity to tell her to fold her stroller before coming on board! The rest of the post is all about how this rule discourages people from riding the bus, and wouldn't it be nice if we could be more like Copenhagen, where their aircraft-carrier-sized buses allow un-folded strollers and priority seating for parents of tots. 

Is this for real? This complaint, I mean, not Copenhagen. Lord have mercy. In all my years of riding the bus all over Brooklyn, where we have the same rule, I've only seen a certain type of privileged, entitled parents complain about having to fold up their strollers. I know getting around a city with a toddler can feel like an acrobatic feat. I lived it! And you know what? Then my kid got older and life went on.

Once you tackle buying all the big gifts, you usually give out a big sigh of relief. Until you realize you still need to stuff the stockings! Sure you can throw some candy in there, but do you really want your kid even more sugared up on Christmas?

I'm here to help with a roundup of inexpensive, fun, and even unusual stocking stuffers for your little one that will do those stockings proud. Like this Super Sudser bath toy. This works like an eggbeater to both dispense and whip up shampoo or bubble bath into tons of frothy foam. Amazon, $3.

Happy holidays! It's that time of year when we buy too many things for our kids and wind up feeling guilty anyway when we go on a playdate and discover Tiffany has a hand-built dollhouse made by Grandpa. Still, we try.

Some parents try too hard, as witnessed by a recent post on Facebook. My FB friend basically said if you're buying your 4-year-old an iPad for Christmas, well, forget you. If I didn't 'Like' on the page, I certainly liked in real life. I mean, spending hundreds of dollars on a gadget for a kid that you can't even afford to buy for yourself? You know kids ruin everything, right?

And then I found out my kids were getting iPads for Christmas. Suddenly it seems like an amazing idea.

Don't worry, I can fly us to New YorkWhether you felt the toddler deserved it, or still can't believe no one was fired when a mom and her little boy were kicked off a plane, we can all agree that we never want to see this happen in our own family. Since I have a particularly verbose toddler, and we're boarding a cross-country flight this week, it's on my mind constantly. I'm truly frightened of the havoc my two-and-a-half-year-old might cause because that kid is active, talkative, and airplane seats cannot contain that boy.

But since I'm already committed to not leaving my child behind every time I go somewhere, I've got some tricks up my sleeve when the excitement of being on an airplane wanes, and reality kicks in. Ugly, ugly, reality.

Here's my emergency toddler travel preparedness list.

The next time you go to the playground, be on the lookout for strange adults hovering around, getting the lay of the land. Some people like to use the toddler equipment for themselves, even if they're about 17 years too old and 100 pounds too heavy. And, let's just say it, probably about two sheets to the wind.

Like the 21-year-old California man who found himself stuck in the toddler swing, aka the diaper swing. On a bet (of course) the young man lathered himself up with liquid laundry detergent and squeezed into the swing around 9 p.m. and didn't leave until 6 a.m. And that was only after the paramedics came, cut down the swing, and took him to the ER where an orthopedic cast saw was used to cut him out. His friends left him hanging and, I'm assuming, $100 richer.

This all is to say, leave toddler stuff to the toddlers. I realize it's tempting, but just in case you can't leave it well enough alone, here's a list of other items that should only be enjoyed by the 4 and under set.

Today's child gear recall comes from stroller maker for the stars -- Bugaboo. The elite and uber-expensive stroller company has issued a recall for their Bugaboo Bee stroller because there's a potential tipping danger. What a bummer, especially when they run about $600.

The company offers a lengthy explanation on its website about how the problem came about when they switched from metal bearing wheels to plastic ones to prevent a previous shimmying problem. Because of the change, now some people have found their front wheel sticks when swiveling, which can lead to a tipping problem. They issued the following statement:

In light of this we believe that the safety profile of this product is inadequate and not up to our quality standard. We take this very seriously and therefore we immediately stop shipment and sales of the Bugaboo Bee.

Here's what you need to know if you have one: