February may be the shortest month of the year but it packs a pretty heavy punch! There’s Valentine's Day, President's Day, the Super Bowl, and of course my eagerly awaited excursion to the annual American International Toy Fair.

Kids’ birthday party guests often look forward to the goody bags they get at the end. But some parents may not like to spend money on disposable trinkets, or overpriced favors on top of the cost of a party.

An in-depth look at our tests that found arsenic in apple and grape juice, health tips for the New Year, and more family news and consumer updates from the January 2012 Consumer Reports.

If you have little ones on your holiday list, the editors of ShopSmart and GreenerChoices.org have found some great green toys on several websites that support nonprofit charities and causes. So you can get a green gift that does good, too. (And see our toys buying guide for more shopping tips.)

There’s Netflix for movies, Zipcar for cars, so no wonder there’s now Plumgear for baby clothes.

This year, popular Halloween getups will include the living dead, as well as pop culture icons and movie characters. But no matter what your child wants to dress up as, a few costume safety tricks can lead to a safe and fun night of treats.

Fever thermometers (with Ratings), health insurance rankings, outlet store Ratings, a riding-toy recall, and more family news and consumer updates from the November 2011 Consumer Reports.

The number of deaths and illnesses associated with Listeria-tainted cantaloupes continues to rise, amounting to the deadliest outbreak of a foodborne illness in the United States for more than a decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tyson Fresh Meats is recalling approximately 131,300 pounds of ground beef products sold at Kroger because of possible E. coli contamination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

When tropical storm Irene inundated the Northeast last month, Darcy Pray, owner of Pray's Family Farms in upstate New York, saw his entire crop of pumpkins, up to 20,000, wash into Lake Champlain. "I think there's going to be an extreme shortage of pumpkins this year," Pray told the Associated Press. Other growers agree.

The fifth annual Toys “R” Us “Great Trade-In” event is currently underway, running through Sunday September 18. The event is at Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us stores nationwide. Customers can bring in used baby equipment from any manufacturer that could potentially be unsafe and receive a 25 percent discount on new merchandise, from select manufacturers, in the following categories:

In blind taste tests of six popular brands of fruit cups, 28 kid testers gave their highest marks to the Walmart brand Great Value Mandarin Oranges in light syrup. Our young testers (age 5 to 16) said they liked the sweetness and orange flavor in these snacks.

Amazon yesterday announced the release of the Amazon Student app for the iPhone and iPod touch. The app allows college students to price-check textbooks and other items, keep lists of things they want to buy, and check the eligibility of items for trade-in.

Heart health care, best face creams, best alternative therapies, and more great advice for families from the September 2011 issue of Consumer Reports.

Bring these tips to the store when looking for a back-to-school backpack for your child. (And see our backpack Ratings, available to subscribers, for models that fit your child.)