Setting The Agenda -- Do Children's Products Need

Tougher Safety Rules

By Noah Rothbaum

 
Smart Money Magazine – November Issue

Each year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, nearly 70,000 children under the age of five will visit emergency rooms because of injuries sustained while using child-oriented products such as cribs, booster seats and swing sets. Sadly, as many as 65 of these kids will die. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D Ill.) thinks such injuries can be avoided if children's products are subject to mandatory testing. Her bill, the Infant and Toddler Durable Product Safety Act, aims to take kids out of harm's way.

Q: Why do we need special testing of products for toddlers and infants?

A: Speaking as a mother and as a grandmother, I know that most people believe if there is a product on a store shelf, someone is making sure that it's safe. But that's not the case at all. There are hazards that even careful consumers can't avoid because there is no system to guarantee the safety of products --- or even warn people in an effective manner.

Q: How would your bill make products safer?

A: The bill would require the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish an infant and toddler product-review panel that would advise the commission regarding existing guidelines and promulgating new standards. A seal would then be placed on the product to show that it is safe and has been certified.

Q: Do companies already test their products?

A: There are no mandatory safety standards. I imagine that a number of the more responsible manufacturers are not only concerned for their ultimate customer, the children, but for liability issues -- so they do some testing. But the results prove that it's really insufficient, and there is no reason why we shouldn't have these kinds of standards.