News
Families can visit Early Learning Resource Center Region 5 starting Monday, October 5 to pick up winter coats for their children.
The coats are available while supplies last through a partnership with the state’s Department of Human Services.
Children and their families can pick up their coats between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday at:
ELRC Region 5
304 Wood Street, Suite 400
Pittsburgh
For more information, call the office at 412-350-3577.
News
Parents and caregivers should be aware of several child-related products recalls.
Below is a list of September recalls collected from the following federal agencies: the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Nanjing Wu Hai Smart Home Appliance Store recalled its Alanca six-drawer dressers because they are unstable if they are not anchored to the wall, posing tip-over and entrapment hazards that can result in risks of serious injuries or death to children.
Gizoon Direct recalled its six-drawer double dressers because they are unstable if they are not anchored to the wall, posing tip-over and entrapment hazards that can result in risks of serious injuries or death to children.
Skip Hop recalled its Baby Sesame Street Elmo Silicone Teethers because the item’s black eyes can detach from the recalled teether if frozen, posing a serious risk of injury or death by choking.
OKK Trading recalled its Rainbow Mystery Squishy Bun Toys because the water beads inside the dumplings expand larger than permitted, posing a deadly ingestion hazard. If a water bead is ingested, it can post ingestion, choking, and intestinal obstruction hazards inside a child’s body, resulting in severe discomfort, vomiting, dehydration, and risk of death.
GIHNJSI recalled its squeezy dumplings toys because they contain water beads. If a water bead is ingested, it can post ingestion, choking, and intestinal obstruction hazards inside a child’s body, resulting in severe discomfort, vomiting, dehydration, and risk of death.
SHEIN Distribution Corporation recalled its spiral toys because they contain small balls and are intended for children under 3 years of age, posing a deadly choking hazard.
SQT recalled its Lontcs busy boards because the toys’ zipper contains levels of lead that exceed the standard set in the federal lead paint ban. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health issues.
FJTJBSI recalled its six-drawer dressers because they are unstable if they are not anchored to the wall, posing tip-over and entrapment hazards that can result in serious injuries or death to children.
Sweet Cubby recalled its children’s loungewear because it violates the mandatory flammability standard for children’s sleepwear, posing a risk of serious burn injuries or death.
ZMC Group expanded the recall of its light-up children’s toys. The toys contain button cell batteries that can be easily accessed by children. If button cell or coin batteries are swallowed, the ingested batteries can cause serious injuries, including chemical burns, and death.
SHEIN Distribution Corporation recalled its bear-shaped refrigerator magnets because they contain loose magnets posing an ingestion hazard to children and can appeal to children or teens. When high-powered magnets are swallowed, they can attract each other, or other metal objects, and become lodged in the digestive system. This can result in perforations, twisting, blockage of the intestines, blood poisoning, and death.
Ricky Joy recalled more than 2.3 million bottles of Sour Crush candy because the rolling ball on the bottles can detach, posing a risk of serious injury or death by choking.
Cade California Electronic recalled its finger light toys because they contain button cell batteries that can be easily accessed by children. If button cell or coin batteries are swallowed, the ingested batteries can cause serious injuries, including chemical burns, and death.
Toyworld168 recalled its Rainbow Mystery Squishy Bun Toys because the water beads inside the dumplings expand larger than permitted, posing a deadly ingestion hazard. If a water bead is ingested, it can post ingestion, choking, and intestinal obstruction hazards inside a child’s body, resulting in severe discomfort, vomiting, dehydration, and risk of death.
Esjay US recalled its Toddler Busy Board Montessori toys because the product is for children under 3 years of age and the red knobs can detach, posing a deadly choking hazard.
SHEIN Distribution Corporation recalled its pull and chew Montessori teething toys because the silicone strings are smaller and longer than permitted. The strings can reach the back of the throat and become lodged, posing a risk of respiratory distress and a deadly choking hazard.
Colerinsec recalled its Jerify magnetic stick figure toy sets because the sets can liberate loose high-powered magnets, posing an ingestion hazard to children. When high-powered magnets are swallowed, they can attract each other or other metal objects and become lodged in the digestive system. This can result in perforations, twisting, blockage of the intestines, blood poisoning, and death.
Melissa & Doug recalled its fire truck activity board because the fire hose can come loose and detach, posing a risk of serious injury from choking.
ABC Trading recalled its light-up children’s toys because they contain button cell batteries and the compartments that hold the batteries can be easily accessed by children, posing a deadly ingestion hazard to children. When button cell or coin batteries are swallowed, they can cause serious injuries, internal chemical burns, or death.
Yuyitop recalled its Aitjunz eight-drawer dressers, which are unstable if they are not anchored to the wall, posing tip-over and entrapment hazards that can result in risks of serious injuries or death to children.
Hyperfuels recalled its methanol and ethanol fuel containers because they lack flame mitigation devices required by law, posing a deadly flame jetting hazard. Furthermore, the methanol container is not child-resistant, posing a risk of serious injury or death if the contents are swallowed by young children. The contains also do not comply with federal labeling requirements.
News
Paid parental leave is moving forward. The Allegheny County Board of Health approved an updated paid parental leave program that would require some businesses in Allegheny County to provide paid leave for new parents, including birth, foster, or adoption.
Following a highly engaged community process, the health board used more-than 1,400 public comments to make changes to the proposal.
Updated from the initial proposal, this policy would apply to businesses with 15 or more employees and would require them to provide at least 12 weeks of paid leave.
On Tuesday, October 6, the policy will be introduced to the Allegheny County Council and sent to the Health committee for review.
Council members can’t make any changes to the policy – they will vote on it as is.
We are expecting the committee to approve it and send it back to the full council for a final vote on Tuesday, October 20. To be passed by the Allegheny County Council, the proposed paid parental leave changes would need majority approval – or eight votes – before moving on to be signed into law by County Executive Sara Innamorato.
We are committed to supporting the adult caregivers in young children’s lives and we support the paid parental leave proposal in Allegheny County. A true continuum of care and support for families and babies begins with paid parental leave and continues with the availability of high-quality infant child care. We urge the Allegheny County Council to adopt the policy.
Paid parental leave helps businesses keep good employees and gives parents the time they need to care for a new child without having to lose their job or leave the workforce to care for their child. It gives children a healthier start by allowing parents to be there for important early moments, medical needs, and everyday care, forming critical bonds that support children across their entire lifetime.
When families are stronger and parents can stay connected to work, everyone benefits—from individual businesses to our communities and the economy as a whole.
Let your city council member know you support paid parental leave by sending an email encouraging them to vote in support of the policy.
Although the amount of leave went down to 12 weeks from the proposed 18 weeks, the change aligns with existing precedent offered by most states with a parental leave policy.
The proposal also clarifies that the county’s parental leave policy would run at the same time with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), so employers would only be required to provide a maximum of 12 weeks of parental leave, and employees would receive job protection through FMLA and not have to take leave without being paid.
Businesses with less than 15 employees would be exempt, which aligns with the county’s proposed sick leave policy. This is designed to support small employers by exempting them from parental leave costs. However, it is recommended for small businesses to offer employees paid leave at a mutually-agreed range due to the cost of rehiring and the positive impacts on infant, maternal, familial, and community health.
Other elements of the proposal include:
We acknowledge the unique operational and financial constraints that make implementing extended paid leave especially challenging for child care providers. As the next essential caregiving support following parental leave, we also continue to advocate at the local, state, and national level for all of the ways child care teachers and owners deserve to be supported.
In our July 16 public comment to the Board of Health, we outlined a number of recommendations to support the child care sector.
News
Two Trying Together initiatives made Remake Learning’s new report, The 57, which includes a collection of projects that have shaped Pittsburgh’s learning landscape.
The report was part of Remake Learning’s 20th anniversary. Some of the projects on the list were one-time events, while others are permanent fixtures. They were created in classrooms, libraries, museums, maker spaces, parks, community centers, and other locations. Projects include everything from TV shows and toys to weather balloons and video games.
Remake Learning highlighted the following Trying Together initiatives:
Message from Me is a digital tool that helps children to communicate with their families about their daily activities and learning experiences by recording and sending photo and audio messages throughout the day.
Trying Together partnered with Carnegie Mellon’s CREATE lab to solve two challenges: children struggling to articulate their learning and families feeling disconnected. Early childhood advisory groups played a key role in shaping and strengthening the model over time.
The team developed and tested a prototype housed in a fiberglass kiosk equipped with a microphone and camera that children could use to photograph their work and record messages to family members. When iPads emerged, the program evolved into an app and improved accessibility.
“When children were picked up from school, a parent would say, ‘I got your photo today! I saw you built a magnet-tile tower and counted 20 blocks,’” said Sue Polojac, the project’s co-lead. “Moments like these sparked conversations between children and their grown-ups about what the child had done at school that day.”
Ultimate Play Day is a celebration hosted by Trying Together’s Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative. The event brought families, educators, and community groups together for free play activities across Pittsburgh’s parks and public spaces, raising awareness of play as essential for learning, health, and human connection.
The collaborative worked with leaders from museums, parks, community groups, and early childhood organizations to plan the event.
Ultimate Play Day helped communities to experience the benefits of play directly, rather than discussing them abstractly, Remake Learning explained in the report. It also reinforced that play supports learning, health, and connection throughout life, not just in early childhood.
To learn more about the two Trying Together projects and read more about the 55 others included in the report, check out Remake Learning’s The 57.
News
September is National Suicide Prevention Month, so the Child Mind Institute has compiled some resources on how to help youths who are struggling and encourage them to speak about things that are troubling them.
Preventing suicide, the institute writes, starts with a willingness to talk about it. Some might avoid challenging conversations with young people out of fear of saying the wrong thing. However, showing that they have someone they can talk to can be a great relief to people who are struggling.
The Child Mind Institute’s resources help to navigate discussions about suicide and what to do when children are in distress. The resources cover everything from finding treatment and making a safety plan to what one should expect when taking a child to the ER during a psychiatric emergency.
The resources include:
News
Various organizations, states, and nations recognize a number of observances each month. Resources help parents, caregivers, and child care professionals acknowledge and navigate them.
Here is a list of resources for October observances.
News
To celebrate September’s National Early Literacy Month, The Pennsylvania Key’s monthly Health Trends in Early Childhood is highlighting how early literacy helps to support children’s well-being and health.
Early childhood literacy is important because it lays the foundation for the lifelong health and well-being of a child, The Pennsylvania Key writes. It was chosen as September’s health trend because exploring and cultivating literacy in young children enhances their ability to understand and use health-related information effectively to make healthy choices.
Some resources cited by The Pennsylvania Key include Sesame Workshops that can support families and children to practice healthy habits and build health literacy, a workshop to help children develop healthy relationships with food, and a list of books that encourage young children to develop habits that promote their health and hygiene, from diet and dental care to exercise and sleep.
The Key defines family health literacy as families being able to find and understand health information and use it to support their health, being able to reflect on and evaluate their health experiences, and being able to share accurate information and new learning to family, friends, and neighbors.
Actions to promote health literacy include:
News
Residents of southwestern Pennsylvania will have the opportunity to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15, with upcoming events and learn more about the month through a variety of resources.
In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a proclamation to establish Hispanic Heritage Week. President George Bush proclaimed the 31-day period between mid-September and mid-October as National Hispanic Heritage Month in 1989.
The month includes the celebration of a number of independence days, including September 15 (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua), September 16 (Mexico), September 18 (Chile), and September 21 (Belize).
The name of the month emphasizes the word Hispanic because it is used to signal a connection to Spain or the Spanish language, whereas Latino describes the diverse residents of the United States with cultural or ancestral ties to Latin America or the Caribbean, according to the National Museum of the American Latino.
Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations in the Pittsburgh region will be held throughout September and October.
The Heinz History Center will host Little Historians Storytime: Hispanic Heritage Month on Wednesday, September 23 from 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. The storytime, which is aimed at children ages 5 and below and their caregivers, will also include songs and crafts.
The Indiana Free Library in Indiana will hold DOL Homeschooler’s Club: Hispanic Heritage Month and Paper Picados from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, September 23. The children’s program is for homeschooled children, ages 6 to 11.
The Andy Warhol Museum will hold an event on Saturday, September 26 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. that will be free with museum admission. It will include Latin dance and drag performances, Spanish-language tours, screen printing, music and dance lessons with Flamenco Pittsburgh, and other activities.
The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will hold a special author talk with Jared Lemus at the library’s Main (Oakland) branch, located at 4400 Forbes Avenue, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 10. Lemus is a Guatemalan-American author who has released a short story collection titled “Guatemalan Rhapsody” and will debut his first novel, “Magic in the Land of Eternal Spring,” in 2027.
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds will honor Hispanic Heritage Night on Saturday, October 10 at Highmark Stadium with a celebration honoring the cultures, traditions, and contributions of the region’s Hispanic community during a game. Ticket prices will vary by seating.
To learn more about Hispanic Heritage Month and to read books on Spanish-speaking cultures, check out these resources:
News
Licensed child care providers can help young children build healthier eating habits by applying for the 2026-2027 PA NAPSACC Wellness Grant.
The Pennsylvania Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (PA NAPSACC) grant helps providers to strengthen nutrition and physical activity practices and policies while helping children to build healthy habits.
Applications must be received by midnight on Friday, October 2. Participating programs can receive:
An informational webinar will take place for participants on Tuesday, October 27 at 12:45 p.m. There are 75 spots available in the program, and enrollment will be on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 12 a.m. on Monday, November 2.
Past participants may apply, but priority will be given to programs that have participated no more than once since 2020.
To be eligible, providers must serve a minimum of four children, ages 3 to 5 years, in Pennsylvania.
More information on the program and eligibility is available online.
News
The Pennsylvania Youth Homelessness Coalition is conducting a statewide survey to better understand which resources and services are helping children and youth experiencing homelessness succeed in school as well as where additional supports are still needed.
State Head Start and Early Head Start programs and other partners who work with children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness are asked to participate and help the coalition to reach others who may have valuable perspectives.
The survey takes about five to 10 minutes to complete. Those who take it are asked to share it with others in their networks, especially:
The survey asks about approaches that have been successful in helping students experiencing homelessness participate and succeed in school as well as resources or supports that schools and communities still need.
Survey participants are encouraged to think particularly about spending in the following categories:
Responses will help to inform the PA Youth Homelessness Coalition’s statewide advocacy efforts to strengthen educational support for children and youth experiencing homelessness.
The survey is available online.
