Safety is critical for children, and an entire industry has sprung up to help keep our children safe. Guidelines are strict and when we discover that something we believed to be safe is in fact, not, there is a powerful reaction from parents, media and even the government. Sometimes we can’t avoid dangers, such as when toys from reputable companies are painted with lead-based paint, but other times we can prevent many of the potential dangers that surround us and our children every day.

Research
The most important step parents can do to keep children safe is to research a decision. In the case of a small toy, the research will obviously be much shorter and might simply be comparison based in the store. But for large items such as cribs and car seats, take plenty of time and read reports to be sure you are purchasing the safest products available.

Recalls can tell you much about products, but be sure to understand the basis of the recall. Cribs were recently recalled because parents were installing part of it upside down. While this can be dangerous, it is not as dangerous as a much smaller recall for crib slats whose screws were falling out. (Both recalls were for Simplicity cribs.) Price doesn’t always mean quality, but there is usually a line where price assures quality without paying for brand names or logos. (more…)