Does your schedule have about 10 “to-dos” and only time for 5 of them?  Well, welcome to the club.  So here is number 11… no,… bump it up to at least number 4; it can only take 1-2 minutes.  Your child’s safety may depend on it!  Go to the Consumer Product Safety Commission web site for recall information at www.CPSC.gov.

A children’s advocacy group, called Kids In Danger, released their 2013 annual report on recalls and children’s injuries due to faulty or dangerous products.   The good news is that the number of injuries is down from 2012, but the bad news is that the deaths are up and there was an increase in the number of products recalled.  The majority of deaths occurred with nursery products and furniture, falling or entrapping the youngsters.  The report noted that only 10% of the recalls for 2012 were known to be corrected.  Now, it’s possible that parents knew of the recalls, and stopped using the products rather than returning the items for repair or replacement.

However, here’s the take-home message: frequently go to the website of “CPSC.gov” to become informed.  For example, in late February are new listings for a foot rest with lid that had trapped a 3 year old.  Some cork toy blocks for infants can be easily broken into choking hazards. A sports throat guard shatters when hit by the ball.  The flip side is that some recalls don’t appear to have posed a real threat, but some “idiot” didn’t follow the instructions or got some little ”ditsel” cut or scrape, and now you are “wasting” valuable time learning about it!  Well, such is life. We do waste time, but in this case going to the cpsc.gov website periodically and quickly scanning the items for things in your household, may save a life, or prevent an injury. Oh… and what’s Number 1 on that “to-do” list?  Give that kid a hug, of course.