Baby On Board – Only September is Baby Safety Month
I always thought those Baby On Board (do they still make them?) dangly window air fresheners were the Mt. Fujiyama of stupid. Who were they meant for? Other drivers on the road? “Hey Bubba, whuts at say?” “dunno, git closer, closer, closer…”
Now comes the good news that September is the only time you have to be safe with your baby.
Press Release: This year’s Baby Safety Month theme focuses on getting parents and caregivers “Out & About With Baby” by providing valuable information for keeping baby safe outside of the home. From carriers to car seats to strollers and more, there are a wide variety of products all parents and caregivers need. With more options available than ever before, there is quite a bit to consider when choosing the product best suited for baby.
You thought it was just toys from China? Turns out toys from China are a drop in the wok. This list from the Consumer Product Safety commission is huge – and it doesn’t include toys.
Here’s a few, just for fun your education:
Advantage Publishers Group Recall of Children’s Guide to Crystal Meth
Theraline Inc. Recall of Maternity and Nursing Pillows
Bunk Beds Recalled by d-Scan Due to Collapse Hazard
Quiksilver Recalls Children’s Lounge Pants Due to Burn Hazard
Gigantathon Leaded Moonwalkers due to trip and fall hazard
Daddy’s Little Ted Nugent Bow and Arrow due to possible chest piercing
My Little Martha Investment Guide if you buy this you may lose money
La Petite Brittney underwear due to possible evaporation in bright lights.
OK, so I made a few up. The list is huge! But remember September will be over soon and you can go back to putting your baby on it’s stomach on a nice comfortable down pillow with Little Bobby Lead and a comforting road hazard flare flickering in the room and it will be acceptable again.
Seatbelts! OMGosh! Remember the ones that were automated to strap you in and attached to the doors?! I just about got strangled when I jumped out of the car in a hurry one day to run back into the house to get something I had forgotten. Had DH dismantle that noose REAL quick!
(Those penquins CRACK me up everytime I visit your blog!)
Ha! I remember the days before seatbelts! My dad bought those cheesy automatic seatbelt retractors that never worked. So we just tucked the belts down in the seat.
My mom STILL did that “my arm will save you” move until she stopped driving — if she came to a sudden stop, the arm came up instinctively. The same went if we crossed a street together; into my twenties, she would reach for my hand by reflex as we started across the street.
As for seatbelts, remember the days when the seatbelts didn’t retract? Back in the ’60s, my dad got sick of it and cut all the seatbelts out of one of our cars. No seatbelt laws in those days . . .
Angela: Thanks for the reminder. My dad made us sit down, but my brother didn’t give a crap what we did. Great title for children’s book:
Kitty Goes Flying.
Don’t forget ridin’ in the beds of pickups at 50-70 mph before the limit was lowered yrs ago. I can remember bein’ in the backseat of my parents convertible at the age of 3…ponytail flappin’ in the breeze, and NO seatbelt, carseat, NUTHIN’ while my Mom flew like a bat outta you-know-where down the highway. I’m STILL surprised I didn’t fly out the back like my kitty did on the way home from Grandma’s one day.
I kinda figured from some of the comments I’ve read that you have some friends that don’t approve of your sleeping arrangements either.
Heck, when I was a kid, we rode on the ledge in the back window! And the cars had metal dashboards with killer knobs sticking out.
Did your mom ever do the “my arm will save you” move?
Hee! Oh, yeah, baby equipment is just fraught with peril. We sleep with our babies in our bed, and my mother-in-law is constantly cutting out articles and mailing them to us about how unsafe and dangerous that is — meanwhile, attachment parenting experts believe that CRIBS are unsafe and dangerous. And don’t get me started on car seats! They are constantly being recalled. I’ve given up keeping track. When I was a kid, people rode in the car with their babies in their laps, and most of us survived it.