Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Safety Resources at Your Fingertips

The beauty of the Internet is that you can get information about anything as quickly as you can key and click. If you performed well in keyboarding class, then your access will be even quicker. During the recent “lead in toys scare,” articles were everywhere and it was possible to keep abreast of the developing changes as more lead was found in more toys making it harder to buy that special Christmas gift without being concerned about the long term effects it could have on the recipient.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is a government agency whose responsibility is to “protect the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death” from product under their jurisdiction. It is a great resource for product recalls as well as learning more about the standards on which products are reviewed.

Because there are so many products available to the consumer and we can only rely on the government agencies for so much, sometimes the best reviews come from the “mom to mom” connection. There are many parents who have taken protecting their children, and those of others, to a higher level by not waiting or relying only on the information released by government agencies. Kathy, also known as "Safe Mama," has made it a mission to provide a one-stop location where parents can obtain "information about things that affect our children." Kathy, and contributing ladies, do all of the research for you. Because of the positive response, they recently launched a new weekly column titled, "Ask Dear Safe Mama," where people can ask their questions and receive well researched answers to their inquiries.

Non-Toxic Kids wants to help your kids stay safe, healthy, and smart.” That is a pretty large task, but Katy Farber manages to complete everything on her task list and parents and children are the ones who benefit. If your life is “too busy” for you to care, then visit Katy’s site because she has filled it with "research summaries, news updates, product reviews," and more.

If you are in the market of purchasing anything for your child, then The Soft Landing may be a place you will want to visit first. In a former life, but the experience obviously carries with her, Alicia Voorhies was an RN with a specialty in developmental disabilities. Alicia’s motivation comes from promoting the health of her children and other family members. She occasionally slips pictures in her site of her family where you get to see who really keeps her on her toes and from where her commitment is based.

These are resources that will hopefully give you a good start in making better choices when buying toys for children. Purchasing a toy can be a little like buying a car. You want to get the best value, choose something safe, and also one that will last for a long time. Children like toys and some of them may be just as product savvy as adults. Choose quality and safety over inferiority and toxicity. It will last longer, be better for your budget, and their health. If you are already feeling a little overwhelmed, then try not to let that happen and visit one of these moms sites that will make the search a little easier.