1 Mother 2 Another

With the big gift-giving bonanza behind us, chances are you’ve got a lot more baby gear in your house than you did two weeks ago.  Hopefully by now, instruction manuals have been read (hah!), appropriate batteries found, and every toy or item of clothing tried out or tried on.  Your child now has the must-have item of Christmas 2005 and is happily at work destroying it.  You can rest in the knowledge that it’ll take him at least a couple weeks to bring it to a state of dangerously worn out.
 
What happens, though, if you’ve unknowingly got a defective toy or new stroller?  What if you do everything right – supervise the use, read the instructions – but the product itself is inherently bad?  How will you find out?



As much as we hate being on mass-mailing lists, here’s one you should definitely sign up for.  The Consumer Product Safety Commision allows you to sign up for an automatic email notification sent anytime a product that falls under the parameters you’re interested in gets recalled.  The email will detail whether the recall is voluntary, why the recall’s been requested, and how many if any people have been hurt by the product.  You can register to receive every recall announced, or just those child- or infant-based.  We’re on the second email list, and I’ve yet to see a product we use get recalled, but I’m happy to get those emails.  It makes me feel that much safer.
 
Sign up and then forget about it.  You’ve got so many other things to worry about, like finding 2006’s must-have item.  Only 363 shopping days left!