Poor Product Quality or Irresponsible Parenting? A Harsh Look At Product Recalls.

Modern stroller and crib designs have been in use for at least a decade, so why are so many current stories of amputated fingers and infant deaths just recently surfacing? Is it because parents are relying too much on products or companies or even government to keep our kids safe? Do parents fail to do their OWN due diligence when it comes to the protection of such precious little ones? There are many other factors to consider when figuring out the increase in product recalls. Those include, but are not limited to; access to more information, larger media presence, and greater media influence with the infant and child product market has undoubtedly quadrupled in the past 20 years. Each one of these could be responsible for the seeming increase in child product recalls, but what about the role of the parent in all of this? Parents should be the first and last line of defense when it comes to the safety of their children. At certain times, this seems obvious. Keep the knives and matches and chemicals out of reach, of course, but what about when buying a high chair? Do parents stop to look at the design and think about how their child could be hurt using this product? When shopping for a stroller or a crib, do parents envision how they will use these products in everyday life and stop to think of the danger it may pose to their child? Sadly, it seems most modern parents just assume that if a product is for sale, it has passed some rigorous level of testing. On the other hand, they may think if they do a little online research and look at a small sampling of parent and expert reviews then that is adequate and should be enough to protect their child. What is missing is the active, hands-on, common sense approach to buying products for our children. Certainly, there will be times when manufacturers mislead, confuse and confound consumers as to what products are made of or what may be harmful to children. However, parents should take a long look at the mechanisms of the products they buy and use common sense when deciding if this product should make it into their home. If a product looks as if it could pinch a child’s finger in a hinge, or feels wobbly when fully constructed, parents should not rely on the manufacturer or some government agency to convince them that the product is safe enough for them to take home. Parents need to go back to relying on their own judgment as much so, if not more than, the opinions and approvals of others, even if those others are presumed experts. When parents begin to vote with their dollars and stop buying products based on the reputation of the manufacturer or advice of some agency somewhere, manufacturers may finally get the message and start making products of high quality, not just products that pass any given test.