"Toddlers Don't Read Labels"
Their parents, however, should be doing it.
Now, my neighbors' third child is an intrepid little thing. He basically spends his day energized about finding trouble to get into. Does this mean he is constantly getting into trouble? No, it means that my neighbor, who is a very good parent, as is her husband, is constantly exhausted. (Her other two kids and I and her husband, who works fulltime, try to help when and how we can.)
Here's a letter to the editor of the WSJ about Buckballs by an upset doctor:
Mr. Ahmari's interview understates the risk of Mr. Zucker's product and makes him look like a victim of regulatory overreach. This only tells one side of the story.After Buckyballs and other high-powered magnets came on the market, hundreds of children swallowed them, resulting in emergency-room visits, general anesthesia, endoscopies and in many cases surgery. The products' labeling was ineffective because toddlers don't read labels.
Our society of pediatric gastroenterologists got tired of seeing kids injured by this very dangerous, hazardous toy and requested the Consumer Product Safety Commission take action. Responsible companies and retailers recalled the product; Mr. Zucker didn't until much later.
Do I feel sorry that Mr. Zucker's offices have moved from fancy digs in Soho to a "dusty corner of Brooklyn"? Well, unlike many of the children injured by high-powered magnets, at least he still has all of his intestine.
Athos Bousvaros, M.D., MPH, Boston Children's Hospital
The essential bit:
Our society of pediatric gastroenterologists got tired of seeing kids injured by this very dangerous, hazardous toy and requested the Consumer Product Safety Commission take action.
Well, it's so much easier to ask the government to do something about it than to ask people to parent their children -- which involves keeping them away from small, dangerous non-food items they can swallow.
I came to this link via @walterolson, who wrote about BuckyBalls here and here. (Love the great Buckyballs poster with the analogy about how, based on the CPSC's logic, coconuts should be banned.)
Further posters in the series compare the risks of other familiar consumer products, namely hot dogs, stairs, and beds, each associated with significant numbers of fatalities and emergency room injuries.
We need to pare down the federal government and get those federal agencies to know what is reality.
Jim P. at September 7, 2013 5:40 AM
Since big business have law departments in house or on retainer, this may mean more to small business than seems apparent. Welcome to ObamaWorld.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324108204579023143974408428.html
Bob in Texas at September 7, 2013 5:58 AM
Please realize that effective safety analysis does NOT compare injury and fatality rates with other disparate items like stairs, bicycles, beds and hot dogs.
Even though the injuries and deaths occur to the same demographic, the risks are not the same.
This is because RISK is undertaken at every stage of life with respect to RETURN. A hot dog, while not the only source of nutrition, is a foodstuff. It's not a toy, like the magnets, however advanced or primitive you may find a Buckyball to be.
I find the mention of the CPSC to be unfortunate, as they seem to be of the "if it saves only one child!" mindset. Famously, the CPSC insisted that no one could buy a dirt bike for a minor, because that child might actually EAT MOTORCYCLE PARTS that could contain lead due to their manufacturing process.
Radwaste at September 7, 2013 6:53 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2013/09/07/toddlers_dont_r.html#comment-3896224">comment from Bob in TexasBob, the article is linked within the piece!
Amy Alkon at September 7, 2013 7:14 AM
What I also find distressing is that the society of pediatric gastroenterologists carry that kind of leverage with the CPSC.
Rather than putting out a public service announcement or some kind of pamphlet for overlooked hazards that a child can come in contact with, they decided to involve the government, and worse, they were successful.
Patrick at September 7, 2013 7:36 AM
CPSC clearly over reached. They appear to be on a power trip. Good write up by Ken White here http://www.popehat.com/2013/09/03/bullying-the-corporate-veil-the-smell-of-raw-power/
Joe Pullen at September 7, 2013 7:54 AM
OOPS! My bad.
Bob in Texas at September 7, 2013 7:55 AM
Circumcision in america kills more infants under the age of one every year than buckyballs has ever in the history of time
lujlp at September 7, 2013 9:39 AM
Before all the hoopla, I had bought a couple sets of bucky balls and other magnets for my son. Many afternoons we spent hours bouncing them on a glass tabletop with other magnets below the glass, he learning about magnetic fields and gravity (the bucky balls will form destructive orbits around the larger magnets).
Eric at September 7, 2013 10:52 AM
the important comparison isn't hotdogs...
it's cleaning supplies.
buckeyballs are NOT toys, and weren't marketed as such... they are for adult, or adult supervised use. JUST LIKE CLOROX.
did the cpsc ban Clorox? no, they or someone else started initiatives to 'childproof' your house, so the kids didn't get in to the cleaning supplies.
not everyone did, and a trip to the ER is often a feature of childhood. is that the fault of Clorox?
this kind of selective magical thinking drives me up a wall. neodymium magnets are in a lot of toys also as long as they are bound where they can't be swallowed.
THAT is a toy.
the magnets themselves are NOT toys.
The cpsc should keep them from being marketed that way... but running the guy out of business? that'd be a governmental punitive act.
considering all the different learning "toys" or even LEGOS, that are not to be given to toddlers, this is clearly a vendetta.
swissarmyd at September 7, 2013 11:54 AM
If I recall correctly, one of the "victims" of buckyballs was a teenage girl who put two in her mouth to simulate a tongue piercing and accidentally swallowed them. I doubt there are any laws or labels that can protect against teenage stupidity.
Sosij at September 7, 2013 4:34 PM
Regarding the power trip that government agencies are on, it occurs to me that they have to be, to justify their existence. CPSC gets to point to buckyballs as proof of their utility. "See, how important we are? We got a dangerous product removed from the market! We obviously need more funding!"
If they were to actually act in ways that placed responsibility where it belonged, they could mind-their-own-business right out of existence.
And wouldn't that just be awful?
Patrick at September 7, 2013 5:25 PM
"The bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe."
Dr. L. McCoy
Sio at September 7, 2013 7:35 PM
This is the same CPSC who once insisted that mop buckets be designed such that they would be incapable of holding water.
Cousin Dave at September 9, 2013 8:37 AM
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