Prevent The Death or Injury of Your Baby

 
Although the Canadian federal government is set to enforce guidelines and standards for manufacturers of portable baby beds and other child care products and toys this still leaves parents as the front line of protection when they are buying any of these items.



In a recent article in the Vancouver Sun Post Media reporter Sarah Schmidt quotes the federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq who said: Canada' requirements for cribs and cradles are already among the toughest in the world. These changes will make them even tougher."



She was referring to standards that manufacturers will have to meet to eliminate the danger of young babies and toddlers being killed or injured by shearing or pinching parts and other hazards. This follows the death of a two-month old baby boy in Winnipeg Manitoba in February 2009.



Alukkaq assures parents that, "If manufacturers do not voluntarily meet these standards the government could enforce regulations," but that in itself is not a guaranty that some manufacturers or retailers will not try to sell dangerous products to unsuspecting parents – so parents need to be extra vigilant when buying any of these baby products – to ask a lot of questions and check for possible hazards to their babies before buying anything.

[For more information on this topic see the Vancouver Sun December 12, 2010 and thee article "Ottawa Unveils Safety Rules for Bassinet Makers" by Sarah Schmid].


 
Other  dangers to toddlers and young children are  highlighted in the same edition of the Vancouver Sun  in the article "Holiday Hazard from Deadly Toys" from Reuters.



These deadly toys continue to appear  on retailers shelves according to the Public Interest Researach Group or PIRG in its annual "Trouble in Toyland " report. Among the dangers are a Dora the Explorer backpack that contains the toxic chemical bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and a Bib Bang rocket that could cause hearing damage.



In addition to these two  other toys continue to be produced with choking, cutting, blinding and strangulation hazards. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the United Sates, "toy-related injuries sent 250,100 children to U.S. hospital emergency rooms in 2009 and resulted in 12 deaths, including two from choking." And this carnage in Canada and other countries where such toys are sold is not doubt very high as well.



As Jacinda Adams, vice president with Prevent Blindness America said in the article…."at the end of the day, it's up to parents and consumers to be aware …[of the danger]to avoid winding up in the emergency room for Christmas."

[For more information see the Vancouver Sun Dec 1, 2010 and the article, "Holiday Hazard from Deadly toys"].