The Safest Line: a blog for parents

KID recently met with Ken Levinson, the author of The Safest Line blog. Ken is a Chicago attorney. We asked him some questions about the blog and his thoughts on safety for children.

What led you to start The Safest Line?

My experience helping injured children (plus having three boys of my own) inspired me to take a proactive stance to prevent child injuries by showing parents how to become active proponents of their own children’s safety.

What are your goals for the blog and outreach?

Parents are bombarded daily with child safety messages and warnings that create an environment of fear. The Safest Line helps parents move past the noise by cutting to the safety issues that matter. As parents we can do a better job educating ourselves and our children about child safety to reduce the amount of child injuries that occur each year.

I also want parents to feel empowered to take a stand against careless corporations and individuals. Being a child injury lawyer helps, but in the age of social media, parents have a whole new way of alerting the public about dangerous products and behaviors. The online petition to ban crib bumpers is a great example of the proactive steps we can take to improve child safety.

If you had to give parents one piece of safety advice, what would it be?

Be alert, be proactive, and stay educated – but don’t be overprotective. We want to raise children who think for themselves. Find effective ways to instill safety values in your kids. If parents are always doing the thinking for their children, those kids miss out on learning experiences that will protect them when they grow up and experience more personal freedoms.

What is the attorney’s role in product safety?

Traditionally, child injury lawyers haven’t become involved until after the child is injured. Unfortunately, this role will always exist, but I think we have an obligation to do more to prevent child injuries by better promoting child safety. I want to help families hold careless companies and people accountable, but I also want fewer dangerous products on the market. I firmly believe that one child injured is one too many.

Thanks Ken! You can read KID's blog post on The Safest Line here.

The dangers of car seats - out of the car

A new study by Dr. Shital Parikh indicates that car seats should be used carefully outside of cars. Babies can fidget and tip themselves over when placed on improper surfaces. And, if the restraints aren't used, babies can fall from the carrier while being carried or placed on a raised surface. Between 2003-2007 over 40,000 babies were sent to the emergency room after falling from (in their car seats) counters, tables, sofas or beds. Many serious fractures were reported and 3 infants died. In addition to injuries from falls, babies can suffocate if they fall on a soft surface or strangle on the restraints.

Dr. Parikh emphasizes that car seats may not be safe for use outside the car and that manufacturers should be more effective in warning parents of misuse and in designing seats with more stability.

For more information on the study, please visit healthfinder.gov's article. And for more general information on car seat usage please visit the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Celebrate national Grandparents Day on Sept 13

Make safety a part of your Grandparents Day celebrations! Grandparents and older relatives serve as teachers, caregivers, and pillars of the family. They are a rich source of wisdom and heritage. It is crucial that these important family members have up-to-date information on child product safety.

This year's Grandparents Day marks the launch of The Debby Sayah Grandparent Outreach Project, an educational campaign to give grandparents the tools and information to keep grandchildren safe from dangerous, recalled products. The program is named for Debby Sayah, mother of KID board member Judy Sage. Her grandson, Andy, suffocated on a foam sleep positioner in 2002.

Check out the safety suggestions in our Grandparents Day email and forward it to others. More materials and opportunities will become available in the near future. Contact Sarah with comments, ideas, and feedback on the program, or if you would like to receive updates on new activities and resources.

Mattel settles case with 39 state AG's on lead in toys

A settlement was announced today between Mattel and its subsidiary Fisher Price and 39 state attorneys general on toys tainted with lead. Mattel will pay the states $12 million, reduce the lead paint in their products immediately to the federal level of 90 ppm that will be effective next August and spend additional funds on lead testing and notification of consumers. California had reached an agreement with Mattel and other manufacturers earlier this month.

University of Michigan students design safer crib

Students at the University of Michigan joined together in Project Safe Crib to look at design ideas to eliminate some of the hazards that have led to millions of cribs being pulled from the market due to defects, injuries and deaths. The team developed a prototype (painted of course in proud Michigan colors) that can only be assembled one way and with virtually no hardware, even though it still has a dropside. The dropside can even store under the mattress creating a daybed or changing table mode.

If you are interested in learning more, contact us at KID. The project is part of KID's Teach Early Safety Testing (TEST) program to integrate design safety into undergraduate engineering programs. This is the sixth year KID has worked with a team from UM.

Safety group warns against certain car seat boosters

As more and more states require car seats and boosters for older and larger children, the number of booster seats on the market has risen. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently tested 41 booster seats and found 13 of them wanting when it came to correctly positioning the safety belt on the child. Given that the seat belt is what is keeping the child safe and that incorrect positioning can lead to severe injuries, the results of this report should be taken seriously.

"We evaluated the safety belt fit boosters provide, not crash protection," says Institute president Adrian Lund in the press release. "This is because unlike child restraints, boosters don't restrain children in crashes. They simply position children so lap and shoulder belts are in the right place to restrain them."

"We'd expect the 10 best bets to improve belt fit for children in almost any car, minivan, or SUV," Lund says. "Likewise, it's clear that kids in the 13 boosters we don't recommend aren't getting the full benefit of improved lap belt fit. These boosters may increase restraint use by making children more comfortable, but they don't position belts for optimal protection."

For a list of the "not recommended", "best bet" and "good bet" seats, click here.

Another death in a Simplicity Bassinet

New reports have come to light of another death in a Simplicity bassinet. Last September, a four month old strangled in a Simplicity 4 in 1 bassinet when she slipped through the bars on the side of the bassinet that are covered only with fabric. Now it appears a seven month old has died in the same way. KID would recommend that anyone with this product stop using it. CPSC has known about the first death for almost a year and yet has not taken any action -- and now there is another death. For more on bassinet safety, go to our website.

KID participates in live Webcast today

Live Web chat Monday-from the Chicago Sun Times:

Please join The Fixer at noon (CDT) today at as we chat with Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids in Danger, a Chicago-based organization that has been on the front lines of legislation to make children's products safer.

You remember the scares last year about lead paint on toys and high-strength magnets that toddlers were swallowing? Consumer groups are hoping to finally give the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission the teeth it needs to stop products like these from reaching our stores.

We'll also have a link afterward where people can view the rerun online.

President signs CPSC reform bill

President Bush signed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act this morning. This Act is the legacy of the countless children, including Danny Keysar - whose parents founded Kids In Danger - who have been killed or injured by unsafe children's products and toys. It is to honor their memories that KID will work to ensure the full implementation of the bill as quickly as possible. Here's more from the coalition of consumer groups.

Senate passes Consumer Protection Bill

Washington, D.C.—Today, consumer, public interest and scientific groups applaud the U.S. Senate for passing strong product safety reform legislation that would overhaul the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The bipartisan Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 will make consumer products safer by requiring that toys and infant products be tested before they are sold, and by banning lead and phthalates in toys. The bill also will create the first comprehensive publicly accessible consumer complaint database, give the CPSC the resources it needs to protect the public, increase civil penalties that CPSC can assess against violators of CPSC laws, and protect whistleblowers who report product safety defects.

The groups praised the Senate Conferees for their tireless work in reconciling the House and Senate versions of the CPSC reform bill: Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), Chairman Mark Pryor (D-AR) , Senator John Sununu (R-NH) , Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX). The groups also thank Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) , and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) for their critical work on this bill.

In approving this sweeping reform measure, the Senate put children’s and consumers’ safety first by enacting the most significant improvements of the Consumer Product Safety Commission since the agency was established in the 1970’s. The bill was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on July 30^th by an overwhelming vote of 424-1. The President must sign this bill into law this week, before the August recess, the groups urged.

“My family and I are so honored that the portion of the bill that will protect children from unsafe infant and toddler products such as cribs is named for our son Danny,” stated Linda Ginzel, president of Kids In Danger. Ginzel and her husband Boaz Keysar founded the organization to protect children from unsafe children’s products after Danny’s death in 1998 in a recalled defective portable crib. The Danny Keysar Product Safety Notification Act, which is contained within the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008,would require mandatory standards and testing for specific infant and toddler products, ban the sale, lease or use in commercial settings of cribs that do not meet current safety standards, and would require manufacturers to include product registration cards with new products to facilitate notice of recalled products. “This, along with Kids In Danger, is Danny’s legacy,” added Ginzel.

“This bill represents the most significant improvements to product safety since Congress created the CPSC in the 1970’s. This reform is much needed, long overdue and necessary to ensure that CPSC can successfully ensure the safety of consumer products,” stated Rachel Weintraub, Director of Product Safety and Senior Counsel with Consumer Federation of America. “We applaud the Senate for their strong vote in support of consumer safety today.”

“This week, Congress responded to the wishes of parents and children all across America and passed legislation that will help restore our confidence in the safety of our toys and everyday products,” said Ami Gadhia, Policy Counsel for Consumers Union. “This landmark, bi-partisan legislation will overhaul an agency that – as reported by Consumer Reports magazine - was unable to do its job for far too long. The President should now sign on the dotted line and turn this bill into law,” Gadhia added.

"This bill introduces critical reforms like ensuring that toys are tested for safety before they go on the market, banning certain hazardous substances, and creating an online database for consumers to share information about dangerous products with each other," said David Arkush, Director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch division. "Consumers don't always come out on top in Congress, especially when big business fights hard, but this time consumers won big. Congress deserves applause."

“We applaud the Senate for acting to get toxic chemicals like lead and phthalates out of our children’s toys,” said U.S. PIRG Public Health Advocate Elizabeth Hitchcock. “This bill is a huge victory for America's littlest consumers in the face of ExxonMobil and the chemical industry’s efforts to gut it. The conferees and their staff deserve tremendous credit for bringing it over the finish line.”

“Congress passed today the strongest consumer product safety bill in 30 years,” said Dr. Diana Zuckerman, President of the National Research Center for Women & Families. “Our children and grandchildren are the big winners because their toys will be safer.”

"This bill will enhance the scientific integrity of the CPSC, protect whistleblowers and improve consumer safety by making the agency more transparent and accountable," said Dr. Francesca T. Grifo, director of the Scientific Integrity Program, Union of Concerned Scientists.

The House and Senate conferees on the product safety measure concluded action this weekend. The conference report on the legislation must now be approved by the President for his signature. Here are some examples of how this legislation changes and improves the safety of products sold in the United States:

• Lead will be essentially eliminated from toys and children’s products.

• Consumers will have access to a publicly-accessible database to report and learn about hazards posed by unsafe products.

• Toys and other children’s products will be required to be tested for safety before they are sold.

• State Attorneys General will have the necessary authority to enforce product safety laws.

• CPSC has the authority to levy more significant civil penalties against violators of its safety regulations, which will help deter wrongdoing.

• Toxic phthalates will be been banned from children’s products.

• Whistleblowers will be granted important protections.

• CPSC will receive substantial increases in its resources – including its staffing levels, its laboratory and computer resources and its various authorities to conduct recalls and take other actions - going forward.

House passes CPSC Reform

The House passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act 424 to 1 today. Now it goes to the Senate and then the President for his signature. We are one step closer to establishing a child safety system that will keep our children safe from tainted toys and collapsing cribs. KID urges the Senate and the President to act swiftly to get these life-saving measures in place. Here is the press release from the stalwart group of consumer organizations that have been working on the landmark legislation.

CPSC overhaul bill finalized, contains crucial consumer protections

The Conference Committee working on reconciling the House and Senate versions of a CPSC reform act have finalized their work and the final version contains many key consumer protections. It still needs to pass the House and Senate this week before the August recess.

The final bill, among other important provisions calls for:

• More funding and staff for CPSC
• A full commission at five members
• A process to set mandatory standards for 12 infant and toddler products including cribs, strollers, high chairs and more
• Integrating the voluntary ASTM F963 toy standard into mandatory standards
• Required third party testing and certification for children's products
• A ban on phthalates , chemicals which may cause cancer and damage reproductive organs
• Enforcement provisions for state attorneys general -- putting 50 more cops on the child safety beat
• protection for whistleblowers
• a ban on lead in children's products

And the list goes on. For more, check out this article from the Chicago Tribune. The Tribune also carried this article about Danny Keysar whose parents founded Kids In Danger and have worked over 10 years for these safeguards.