When you buy a child car seat, there’s a little postcard attached to the product. That card is important. When you fill it out and mail it in to the company, the company can then contact you (via mail, e-mail, or phone) if that car seat is recalled. Not all infant and toddler products have these cards—putting children and families at risk of harm—but that is about to change.
Last month, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, acting on a mandate by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, approved a measure requiring manufacturers of 18 categories of durable infant or toddler products to establish and maintain a registration card program.
In a statement on the CPSC’s Web site, Commissioner Thomas Moore said, “Too many of these products are ones that children have died in. But it is especially troubling when a child dies in a product our agency has recalled because the owner of the product was unaware of the recall.”
Categories affected by this ruling include full-size cribs, high chairs, strollers, play yards and infant bouncer seats, as well as toddler beds, booster chairs, hook-on chairs, non-full-size cribs, bath seats, infant bathtubs, gates and other enclosures for confining a child, stationary activity centers, infant carriers, walkers, swings, bassinets and cradles, children’s folding chairs, changing tables, portable toddler bed rails, and infant slings.
The rule requires each manufacturer of a durable infant or toddler product to:
The CPSC’s notice says the new rule is to “greatly promote a higher rate of product registrations, and in turn provide better notification for product owners, thereby increasing the overall effectiveness of our recall process.”
It will go into effect in about six months for all categories except for children’s folding chairs, changing tables, infant bouncers, infant bathtubs, portable toddler bed rails, and infant slings. For those items, the new registration rule will go into effect in about a year. In the meantime, parents should keep a running list of the brands and models of any products they buy that fall into in these categories, and periodically check for recalls in the CPSC’s children’s product recall search. (Toy recalls are listed separately.)
—Artemis DiBenedetto
It’s approaching six o’clock, and I’m still standing in front of the fish counter in my grocery store. Soccer practice is in an hour, and I’ve got to get my children some dinner before that. And here I am, caught listening to a debate between the tuna steak and a fish stick that I’m trying to decide upon.
“Choose me,” says the tuna. “I have wonderful omega-3s!”
“You’re tainted with mercury,” says the fish stick. “You’ve got nothing to boast about,” sniffs the tuna. “You’re nothing but a bunch of fat-laden batter.”
“I’m fast, and easy to prepare,” retorts the fish stick. “Just throw me and my mates on a pan and pop us in the oven. You, however, will need to be seasoned or sauced, while the kids give up and reach for the snack bars while they lace their soccer shoes.”
“Hot and fast doesn’t make you healthy,” snaps the tuna. “I’m a heart-healthy option that will feed their brains. “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration calls fresh fish a high-quality source of protein, low in saturated fat, and a contributor to heart health—and to her children’s proper growth and development."
“More like, you’ll stunt their brains,” the fish stick says snidely. “Don’t you remember the hoopla over the mercury in tuna? The FDA says I’m made from fish that’s low in mercury."
“With all the batter that covers you, I’m not even sure you QUALIFY as fish,” the tuna hisses.
“The kids like me better than you,” the fish stick says. “She doesn’t have any problems getting the kids to eat me for dinner. And you know they don’t have much time for dinner tonight.”
My hand drifts toward the fish sticks.
“No!” screams the tuna. “Don’t sell out your children’s health for the sake of convenience! I have omega-3s!”
“I’m low in mercury!” says the fish stick. “And I taste great with tartar sauce!”
“He’s…junk food!” the tuna says.
“He’s contaminated!” retorts the fish stick.
I sigh and check my watch. Unable to decide, I give up and head to the deli counter to grab a roasted chicken. Fast, tasty, and ready to serve, I think. Plus, no discussion about mercury.
“Is that chicken organic?” whispers the lettuce as I walk to the register.
—Erin Gudeux, senior project leader, Sensory
How swine flu gets around. How H1N1 spreads in a sample of households and in a high school were the subjects of two recently published papers in the New England Journal of Medicine, both of which demonstrate that children have been the most susceptible to this epidemic. Children 18 or younger were twice as likely to catch swine flu from a family member as those who were 19 to 50 years old. See the full Health blog post.
Is it a cold or the flu? The most characteristic sign of flu is its abrupt onset. A cold can build over a few days, but the flu strikes hard and fast—fever, chills, severe muscle aches, a hacking cough, and general malaise. Fever is a good yardstick, because a cold rarely raises body temperature more than a degree or so. See the full article from the Consumer Reports February 2010 issue.
H1N1 vaccine now widely available. The H1N1 vaccine has become so widely available that many retailers, including pharmacies and supermarkets are offering it. The price of the dose? $10 to $18 to cover the administrative costs of providing the vaccine which the government gives to retailers for free. See the full Health blog post.
Drawstrings can strangle children. Drawstrings in the hoods or necks of kids’ clothing can and do cinch up and strangle children. Drawstrings at the waist can get caught in buses and result in a child being dragged. In 1996, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued guidelines to prevent these tragedies. But as recently as last February, a 3-year-old boy strangled when a string in the hood of a sweatshirt he was wearing became caught on a playground set. Read the full Safety blog post.
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With an active baby on the loose, a gate or two can make your life a little easier and your child a lot safer by keeping him away from potential dangers, such as stairs or a bustling kitchen. You can also use a gate to keep a pet away from a child and vice versa. Child safety gates are intended for children between 6 months and 24 months. All the gates we tested (see baby safety gate Ratings) can be opened and closed by an adult but have various designs to prevent children from opening them. Child safety gates come in two basic types, based on the method of installation: Hardware-mounted, or permanent, gates and pressure-mounted gates. (Learn more about safety gate types.)
Look for JPMA certified. Whether you choose a hardware- or pressure-mounted gate, look for one that's Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association certified. Situated on the frame or packaging should be a certification sticker showing that the gate meets the ASTM International voluntary safety standard, and that its manufacturer participates in the certification program administered by the JPMA.
Know the standards and check for openings. The ASTM standard addresses issues such as the bottom spacing—the distance between the bottom of the gate and the floor—so a small torso can't pass through and there's minimal risk of head and neck entrapment, gate height (not less than 22 inches), strength of top rails, slats, and framing components, latching mechanism integrity, and upper-edge configuration—any openings more than 2/3 of an inch deep can be no wider than 1 1/2 inches.
Install the gate according to the manufacturer's directions.
Pick the right type. As you can see in the video (above, right), never use a pressure-mounted gate or the pressure-mount option on a gate that can be installed either way at the top of stairs—no matter how much you want to avoid drilling holes into your woodwork. Choose a gate with a straight top edge and closely spaced, rigid vertical slats or a mesh screen.
Avoid accordion-style gates without a top filler bar (with open points at the top) and gates with horizontal slats or similarly tempting footholds. If you choose a model with mesh panels, look for a fine weave—wide-holed mesh may provide a foothold for climbing or could trap fingers. Follow the safety recommendations for installing and using gates and use our baby safety gate Ratings as a buying guideline.
Carbon monoxide is a byproduct of fuel combustion, present whenever fuel is burned. Typical sources are gas-fired appliances, including dryers and furnaces, wood-burning furnaces or fireplaces, and motor vehicles.
Install carbon monoxide detectors. Carbon monoxide poisoning often occurs when people are asleep. Because of the colorless and odorless nature of the gas, many people don’t realize they are being poisoned. That makes it critical to install carbon monoxide detectors outside bedroom areas and on each level of your home. The detectors should be able to detect both low and high concentrations of carbon monoxide, because low concentrations over a long period of time are just as dangerous as high exposures over a short period. Proper placement is essential for these detectors to work, so be sure to read the owner’s manual before you install them. (See more smoke and CO detector installation advice.)
Maintain your carbon monoxide detectors. When you change the batteries on your smoke detectors (see smoke detector tips), change them on your carbon monoxide detectors, as well. Carbon monoxide detectors should last five years, so check the label on the bottom of detectors and replace any that are older than that. (See our carbon monoxide alarm video.)
Know carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms. At lower levels of exposure, carbon monoxide poisoning can be mistaken for the flu. The symptoms include dizziness, fatigue, headaches, nausea, and irregular breathing. But some people have no symptoms—another reason detectors are important.
If you have any doubt about whether you have the flu or carbon monoxide poisoning, you should evacuate your home, call your local emergency number, and stay away from your home until someone from the fire department says it’s safe to return there.
Check heating appliances for leaks. A faulty furnace or fuel-burning heater can result in a carbon monoxide leak. You should have a professional service person inspect all your heating appliances, including their mechanical components, thermostat controls, and automatic safety devices, every year.
See the Consumer Reports Guide to Childproofing & Safety for more great child safety tips, available in our bookstore or at retailers nationwide.
Taking simple measures this New Year to install and maintain smoke detectors in your home can be a matter of life and death for yourself and your family. Here are some tips:
Install multiple smoke detectors in your home. If you have multiple levels, install a smoke detector up high on each level and outside sleeping areas. Mount each alarm at least 4 inches from a corner and 4 inches from walls, but well away from windows and heating vents. It’s best to install one inside each bedroom, as well, especially because you and your children should sleep with bedroom doors closed. (Learn more about where to install smoke detectors.)
Test your smoke detectors and replace the batteries. Test them every month and replace the batteries at least once a year. (A chirping sound means your battery needs to be replaced. Pick the same dates every year to help you remember to change the batteries, such as the New Year, or when you adjust the clocks for daylight saving time. (Learn about smoke alarms for kids.)
Never disable your smoke detector. Perhaps your smoke detector occasionally goes off while you’re cooking. It’s tempting to shut the thing off or remove the batteries. Never do this; you may forget to reset the detector or reinstall the batteries later on.
Keep fire extinguishers in strategic places. At a minimum, you should keep one on each floor and in the kitchen. Be sure you know how to use them. The one in the kitchen should be a multi-purpose fire extinguisher, one that can put out electrical and grease fires.
When you have kids, it might feel like every room in your house has turned into a playroom. Toys seem to magically multiply and take over your home. The best way to reclaim your house is to make one room or small area into the playroom or play area. Even more important than helping you stay organized, you'll be creating a special environment that's safe and kid-friendly.
Organize the room. When you're having a tough day, just getting the toys put away seems like a major accomplishment. Organization is the key to making it easier. As a first step in organizing the playroom, get on your hands and knees and try to see the room from your child's perspective. This will help you determine how best to store his toys as well as identify the potential dangers in the playroom. Organize the room so your child can easily reach his toys, thus eliminating the temptation to climb to get something he wants, and allowing him to safely explore his space. (Learn more about furniture straps.) Lots of handy storage makes it easy to put toys away where no one can trip over them.
Make organizing fun. You can turn the job of organizing a playroom into a fun project for you and your child. One simple approach: Buy some sturdy plastic containers with lids that snap closed. Working together, fill the containers with different items, such as books in one, toy cars in another, and toy animals in another. Next, look in magazines for photos of the items in your containers and cut them out. Using glue labeled "nontoxic," "washable," or "for school use," attach the photos onto the corresponding containers. (Glue is recommended for use only by children over 5, so make sure you're handling it if your child is younger than that.)
Move toys up. Keep toys that aren't age-appropriate, such as puzzles or board games with small pieces, on higher shelves or in an area your toddler can't reach, like a closet. It is importanmt to keep these toys out of sight, as well, so your toddler won't be tempted to try to reach them. Teach your older child that these toys are only for her, and that she can play with them during her little brother's nap time or when another adult is watching her younger sibling.
See the Consumer Reports Guide to Childproofing & Safety for great child safety tips, available in our bookstore or at retailers nationwide.
