Are Your Children At Risk From Products In Your Home? Check This Week, Urges Safe Kids
Canada
by: News Canada
(NC)—Most homes with young children are full of products such as cribs, baby gates, and playpens.
Parents naturally think that these products are safe, but this could be a dangerous assumption, says
Safe Kids Canada.
"Some older products have caused deaths and have been taken off the market, but they're still found
at garage sales or are passed from family to family," says Allyson Hewitt, executive director of Safe
Kids Canada. "Another problem is that some common products are often used incorrectly, putting children
at risk for injury. We're urging Canadian parents and caregivers to check their homes and make sure their
children are safe." Products to check include:
Baby walkers with wheels: Don't use these, warns Safe Kids Canada. Children have suffered head injuries
from falling down stairs in walkers.
Baby bath seats with suction cups: Babies left alone in bath seats have drowned; some have almost
drowned even when their parents were in the bathroom. The suction cups on the bottom of the bath seats
don't always stick properly, and babies may fall over into the water. "This isn't a product you need
to look after your baby," says Ms Hewitt. "It's not worth taking the risk."
Playpens: Millions of playpens have been recalled for safety reasons in the last decade. "Every parent
with a playpen should check with the company to see if it has been recalled, even if it's a recent model,"
says Ms Hewitt.
Baby gates at the top of stairs: "Make sure that any gates at the top of stairs are fastened to the
wall with screws," says Ms Hewitt. "It's not uncommon for parents to mistakenly use pressure gates, which
aren't fastened to the wall, and these can give way if children lean on them."
For more information on these products and others such as bunk beds, and car seats, look for a free
"Check It Out" product safety booklet from Safe Kids Canada in more than 5,000 pharmacies across the
country. This booklet has been made available due to a generous grant from Johnson & Johnson and McNeil,
and can be picked up next to Johnson & Johnson product displays in participating stores during Safe Kids
Week, June 2-8. Detailed information is also available on the Safe Kids Canada Web site at www.safekidscanada.ca.
and at 1 888 SAFE TIPS (1-888-723-3847).
- News Canada
|
About The Author
News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use
copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web.
News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering
access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial "fill" items.
Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national
media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product
news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available
to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television
stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News
Canada and learn more about the NC services.
|
|
