Oaklee’s guest post by Laura Nikolovska, Program Director for Kids In Danger, a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to improving children’s product safety.
Spring is here and you know what that means; warmer weather, spring cleaning, and… yard sales! Generally speaking, garage sales are a great place to get a good deal, but they are also a likely place to find dangerous, recalled products. That’s why KID has developed a handy Yard Sale Safety Checklist that you can bring with you as you shop.
The checklist is full of great advice, but here are our 3 favorite tips from the flyer:
- Access KidsInDanger.org from any mobile device to check for recalled products on the go.
- Do not waste your money on dangerous products like bath seats, baby walkers, and crib bumper pads. Don’t think bargain when you see these items, think beware!
- It’s now illegal to buy or sell cribs made before June 28, 2011 because they do not meet tough new federal standards. If you do see one for sale, be sure to alert the seller that this is just not a safe product for a baby to use.
In addition, be extra careful checking when shopping for other sleep environments for babies (i.e portable cribs). Many of these products have new mandatory safety standards which older models just won’t meet.
The checklist is also great for sellers to display to show their commitment to product safety to their customers. If you are hosting a sale, be sure to review the list before the day of the sale and make sure you have followed each tip so protect your customers from unsafe products. Feel free to print as many checklists as you like at our publications page.