Great Saddness...

[#1]

Even if this Terribly Written Law (CPSIA) was enacted during the time that young child died from swallowing the LEAD INFESTED CHARM, this law might not have protect or stopped this horrible accident from happening.

The charm in question was rated over 90% pure lead that dissolved in the boy's stomach. It always brings Great Sadness and Pain when a Child Dies, regardless if it was from an accident or illness. This kind of pain is something that no parent wants to experience.

The charm in question was on a bracelet that was being worn by the parent that the child swallowed. I am not blaming the Mother for this sad accident. I remember when my own children were young, how many times they would get into things when I wasn't paying quite enough attention to them.

What the Congress and Senators didn't take into consideration is that the item that the child died from was something that the parent was wearing and the CPSIA law is allowing sellers to put disclaimers on there products, to sell only to adults and children 13 years and older.

The bracelet was not original bought for the Child, nor was the child wearing the Charm! It belonged to the mother and she thought the charm was safe. She had no reason to doubt the safety of the charm because the U.S. already has laws against the over amount of lead in products...

And as we have seen, Items are constantly coming into the U.S. from other countries, China being our biggest offender of Lead made and Lead painted products.

My personal opinion is: This new law - CPSIA, may not have stopped this Horrible Accident from happening. But that it was written as a knee jerk response to a tragic accident and as a way to pat themselves in the back calling themselves, Protectors of America's Children....

This new CPSIA law was not needed and has been poorly written, causing more harm that good. The CPSIA LAW needs to be repealed, while the older Lead laws already on the books need to be ENFORCED.....

Than maybe children and adults would be protected from the over abundance of Lead in products.

[Former_Member]

Thanks so much for this info, ArtisanGifts...

It helps us focus on the true problem and not a distracting band-aid.

[Former_Member]

sewmelody says:
And children will put just about every conceivable object under the sun into their mouths.

...And the all-encompassing "What the @#&! is that!!"
***********

This was always my kids' favorite!

[Former_Member]

The point is that laws cannot protect us from Life. I raised 5 kids, and have 7 grandchildren. None of them died from exposure to toxins. I was as careful as I could be of them, but not too careful, because I didn't want to make them anxious. I wanted them to be confident enough to climb trees. They jumped off the front porch roof when I didn't know, and since they've reached adulthood, I've learned of other dangerous things they did. Never was there a broken bone. Neither the government nor the most caring parent can save kids from Life. They're all healthy and most productive today.

[Former_Member]

I believe that most of us do not want items containing more than miniscule amounts of lead in this country. There must be other metals that charms, buttons, buckles, etc can be made of instead of lead which we all know can have devastigating effects on children -- and adults.

Consumer Product laws are meant to ensure that dangerous items are not sold in the US. These laws have been effective when they are enforced.

What we need to a way to consistently enforce the laws so banned items are not imported. Testing guidelines which all can understand and which are fair to all -- large manufacturers and small crafters alike.

If you read the testing requirements as the CPSIA of 2008 are written, the testing is a nightmare for any manufacturer. Anytime any part of the process is changed -- one supplier is changed for another -- the testing must be redone, although nothing else changed. Component parts testing is much simplier to track and to document for any manufacturer.

[Former_Member]

thats sad

[Former_Member]

I agree lilgirlca. I don't want any lead containing products available either because as the OP pointed out, the current laws won't protect the little ones. There are enough unethical, greedy people who will find loopholes to worm their greedy little way around things. There should be no lead in the products we use that could come in contact with our kid's mouths. As the mother of four, I can tell you that while my kids are watched, I'm sure I don't know (or want to know)half the junk they put in their mouths. Ugh!

Of course, crazy legislation isn't the answer either.

[Former_Member]

if the charm was for the mom, and came with her shoes... why is this law not setting a legal limit for lead for ALL consumer products?

wouldn't that actually be the appropriate thing to do... set a limit and make it a federal crime to exceed it in anything that's possible to be swallowed, or chewed, or worn, on anyone.


maybe if the CEO of any company was going to face time in federal prison for not watching what's going into their products... they would pay closer attention to details.

but, this thread really makes a good point. even if we had this law 10 years ago, the charm wasn't intended for a child. it wasn't being worn by a child... and it was dangerous.

even today, it would get past the CPSIA. until it killed a child... THEN, it'd be found out.

that's sad.



it's all politics. when you realize that consumer products for people over 12 are just as dangerous, and accessible to kids.


i shudder at the thought, tho of testing everything in the country.

eek!

[Former_Member]

I was saddened when I heard the story of the little boy dying in Minneapolis, but at the same time I don't think this law will be helpful in situations like that either. I personally do not think you children should have jewelry or access to it. If my children ages 2 and 3.5 get a piece of jewelry it is often thrown out immediately by me because there is really no reason that I can think of for them to have jewelry. When I noticed that the kids wanted to touch or try to chew my jewelry that was all real gold and stones I stopped wearing it and put it away somewhere that they could not get it.

I think common sense really does go a long way...if you don't know what something is you probably shouldn't allow them to put it in their mouths. Good supervision of your children is essential to their well being, and there is no way of passing laws that will do this.

This law is characteristically flawed as are several other laws that are implemented by the CPSA. The other law that immediately comes to mind for me concerns childrens' pajamas and the requirement that they either be polyester or extremely snug fitting. This law was based on studies done about burns in children in the 1970s...when many people smoked in the home, and there were space heaters often used that were notorious for catching on fire. The research done did not mention the time of day that the injuries were occurring, what time of day the injury occurred, or even where on the body the burns occurred.

Follow up studies showed fewer burns, but correlational evidence was being passed off as causational. This means the the only legal pajamas I can buy for my children are either polyester that makes one of my girls break out into a horrible rash, cotton treated with chemicals that I don't want in my house to begin with, or sausage suit pajamas that I have to buy 4 sizes too big so they don't bother my other daughter who has some sensory issues and cannot stand for things to be the least bit tight on her.

We currently buy just about everything either used or handmade in the US because we feel strongly about the safety of products made in China. If you take a look at the childrens products recalled for lead you will see that an overwhelming number of them are produced in China.

I resent the government taking away my choices that I am making for my family. I think the handmade movement in the last few years has really gotten a lot more people interested in products produced on a smaller scale or products produced locally because the quality is often a lot better than mass produced products.

The fact that many of the labs for testing associated with this law are in China seems inappropriate to me as well...who really is policing those labs? I think if we are supposedly in need of this sort of testing and regulations it should all be done in this country no questions.

I also realize that I am just one person, but I think that a bit of education and free thought can go a long way. If we expect our senators to know what we want we should look for people who are better educated and people who are more willing to consider and fight for and with their constituents. I feel all too often that things in Minnesota fall on deaf ears.

[Former_Member]

I agree whole heartaly with VintageEmbellishment. Parents need to take responsibility for their children & not expect legislation to be enacted for anything & everything that is thought to be in the best interest of the nation`s children.Giving the gov`t all powers to act in the name of safety will prove disasterous.

[rakubuttons]

amen

[PincushionCrazy]

Like the OP said...it's not the items intended for children that are the problem, as they regulated. It's the items that are intended for adults that get into the hands of children that can be lethal. While these items may be regulated too the rules may not be quite as stringent.

[WeeEssentials]

I agree with Vintage, too. When it comes to drafting redundant laws, it seems like the government is all too eager. But when it comes to making sure these laws can be enforced...where is the enforcement? Why are companies like Nike allowed to sell charms with 99% lead content to *anyone?* Adults are not immune to the effects of lead, and there *are* adults who still chew on non-edibles. The only thing that bothers me about the CSPIA (if it were clearly written, anyway) is the fact that we already have laws in place that are very similar, and yet no one is enforcing them.

Anyway...lol.
/rant

My kids have gotten hurt *so* much, and not once was it with a child-designated toy. We've been to the ER after my then-2-year-old nearly impaled himself with a 1 inch PVC pipe he stole from daddy (he was walking away with it, tripped on his own feet, pushed two of his teeth in and poked a hole in the tissue under his tongue) He ended up with two black eyes after he fell off his bed and landed on either the frame or the nightstand - we aren't sure.

I don't disagree that lead should be highly regulated, but I agree with the others in this post that if the gov't was going to try to keep children safe, they need to look at other things, including things that aren't specifically for children.

But accidents happen. I don't want the gov't to try to regulate my family so much that we can't do anything for fear that "something might happen!" We avoid accidents as much as we can, but sometimes, there's no one to blame. It's just how accidents are!

[MyTheta]

You can live in a brand new house with perfect plumbing, but if your toys are contaminated, then you do have a problem. The problem with many "contaminated" toys is that they are as highly toxic as that charm was.

[Former_Member]

Once, while shopping with my one year old buckled safely into her stroller - I heard her choking and immediately rushed to see what it was. She had a staple in her mouth!

With my 3rd child safely in front of me while I folded clothing from the dryer -SHE started choking! A penny had fallen out of a pants pocket!

I've done the heimlich (sp?) manuever twice (not for the above)...we SHOULD do what we CAN to keep our children safe from harm knowing that the world is not necessarily a safe place.

[Former_Member]

Parents are responsible for keeping their children safe, but sometimes things that happen are outside of our control. Unless we want to become obsessed and watch our childrens' every move day and night, 24/7, we cannot keep them safe 100% of the time. That is why I think these laws are great. It keeps hazardous items from even being a risk in our homes. If we can't buy the dangerous material, our kids are kept a little bit safer.

[Former_Member]

I have had to watch my monkeys (I mean: children) 24-7. All three were able to climb out of a crib set at the deepest level - one landed on her head (so desperate to escape)...as it turned out 2 slept with me -- even though that is s'posed to be dangerous too!

[Former_Member]

If the charm came from a shoe then it was the mother's responsibility and negligence IMO that put that child in harm's way. Who lets their kid chew on a shoe? And who keeps their shoes with charms within a child's reach in the first place?

I am tired of companies having to bear the butt of our negligence. It's like the folks suing McDonalds for making them fat when they should have known better than to make their main source of nutrition fatty hamburgers.

[Former_Member]

Heck, my two bump and scrape themselves everyday. Clumsy little bunch, lol. But I keep them as safe as I possibly can.

[Former_Member]

I'm also ticked off with products which appeal to children that break two minutes after you get them home! Not for the monetary loss but for the angst it causes the child!

[Former_Member]

That is why we do not shop at the Dollar store. Those toys break before you even walk out the door, and who knows where most of them came from.