I was just writing this morning on the Older Parent Blog about parental concerns over toxic substances coming anywhere near close enough to contaminate children, so this news item is timely in many ways:

THIS JUST OUT for any parents with children into the Thomas the Tank Engine Toys:

The NYTimes just announced that Thomas the Tank Engine Toys are being recalled because of lead paint used in the manufacture that could be ingested by children.

An alert posted here includes a list of more than two dozen Thomas-related toys that sport the lead-ladened red and yellow paints decorating more than 1.5 million toys.

For information on the heath effects of lead poisoning on children, click here.

For contact information for the company that manufactures the toys and is instigating the recall, here is the link.

In the adoption world, Denmark recently suspended adoptions from India following a report out of Holland suggesting children made available for international adoption may have been kidnapped, or in Denmark's case, put up for adoption without parental consent.

Today, CARA, India's Central Adoption Resource Agency, denied reports of irregularities in adoption.

Companies in Canada are beginning to catch on to the sense of offering adoption benefits to employees, and the number of employers providing such is expected to double over the next three years.

That still will mean only 14% of employers, but given that the trend toward adoptive parent parental leave only started about seven years ago, it's some progress.

In the US, 45% of American firms provided adoption benefits in 2006.

KPMG so far holds the unofficial title of Best Adoption Benefit Provider, giving up to $20,000 toward the costs of adoptions.

And as would be expected, a whiff of adoption coming from a celebrity's direction is bringing on speculation and yap, yap as the world holds its breath, waiting anxiously while reading Jennifer Aniston is either considering adopting or she isn't.

Time for a gentle reminder that the press knows little to nothing about the inner workings of stars, and although it might pass a moment or two that could be better spent thinking about important stuff, it's really no one's business anyway.