Holiday shopping in the Year of the Recalls
So this is the big week. No, I'm not talking about GobbleGobble Day (although I do love me some Thanksgiving fixins). I'm talking about Black Friday. The day many Americans will lose their mind and camp outside to get the IT-gift of the holidays. Or rush to the stores to start their holiday shopping. Me, I'm going to be sleeping off my turkey hangover.
But to help you prepare, Washington-based advocacy group Consumer's Union released its 12 shopping tips to keep the holidays safe for families and children.
If you're asking why that's necessary. Just consider that this year, at least 23 million toys were recalled due to lead paint, small magnets, or toxic chemicals. That's not even mentioning the 175 million pieces of children's jewelry made with hazardous levels of lead or the more than a million cribs that have entrapped and strangled infants.
Starting Friday when they make a purchase, volunteers around the country will hand out "Safe Shopper coupons" to cashiers, which will hopefully find their way to managers. The coupons will list things that consumers should be able to expect, CU says. Things like all toy and products meeting strong safety standards, all recalled products being removed from shelves promptly, and all recall information being posted clearly for all consumers to see.
Makes pretty good sense, don't you think?
If you're crippled with fear about buying a bad toy, read on for the 12 tips.
1. Do not buy metal jewelry for children. The cheaper, the more worrisome. About 20 percent of children's metal jewelry has high levels of lead lurking beneath the surface coating. Lead poisoning can result from a child sticking jewelry in their mouth or accidentally swallowing it.
2 Try a home lead test kit. They're not always accurate, but a positive result indicates a high chance that the product you're testing has lead in it. Consumer Reports recommends the Lead Check and the Lead Inspector, which performed best in their tests.
3. Don't buy toys with magnetic parts that are small enough to be swallowed. Many magnets can fall out, and if swallowed, can cause serious health problems that are hard to diagnose.
4. Should you find loose, small magnets anywhere around the house, track down the source. Remove it, contact the manufacturer and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
5. Avoid no-name products and be careful of toys purchased at dollar stores, street fairs, vending machines, thrift stores or yard sales.
6. Stay away from permanent paints and markers when purchasing arts and craft materials. Look for water-based paints and glues. Search for age-appropriate material for your children.
7. Search for age-appropriate toys and materials for your children. The age-grading not only relates to play value, but also to safety.
8. Some toys may be inappropriate for your toddlers and babies. Toys labeled for children 3 and over may have small parts that can be a choking hazard for children under 3.
9. Perform your own safety check. If your child's toy fits through a toilet-paper tube, it is a potential choking hazard. The government-approved test for choking hazards is done with a smaller tube.
10. Beware of toys that can be broken into smaller pieces such as chalk, crayons, or caps from markers.
11. Small balls, tricycles and balloons are the leading causes of death attributed to toys. Balls less than 1- 3/4 inches in diameter can pose a choking hazard to youngsters. Balloons, which can suffocate children, were associated with more than 110 deaths since 1973.
12. Check any toy recalls at www.recalls.gov and at www.notinmycart.org before you shop. You can also sign up for automatic recall notifications at CPSC.
A native of Vietnam, 
Comments
I wish that the government would to the required lead test on incoming products. Who the heck knows what’s in some of these products from China. This month its lead but next month it might be benzene.
Posted by: Chris | December 2, 2007 12:38 PM