So... I have a tendency to check a few news websites in the mornings. Because I can. Because I have the internet. Because I like to have a general idea of what is happening outside our little family/home, church, school, friends, neighborhood, city, metro area, country bubble.
Today there was a headline "Fisher-Price Recalls More Than 10 Million Items". Um, say what?! Excuse me?! Everyone who has children between the ages of birth-8 probably has a plethora of Fisher Price items! Ahh! My children are going to DIE! So I need to see what the recall is, right? I went to the company's recall page to find out what is going on.
OH NO! Our little Fisher Price tricycle thingy has been recalled!!! What's wrong with it? Is it going to spontaneously combust? Does it have lead paint? Are the wheels going to malfunction and eat up my child's foot? Horrible images are flashing in my mind... I read on...
It turns out that they are being recalled (voluntarily) because of the key. The little key thingy shown in the insert above. It protrudes a bit from the bike and allows the kids to feel like they're putting a key in the ignition and driving away. My kids enjoy it. It's a nice feature. So what's the problem? Apparently, there have been reports of children falling on the keys. And getting hurt. Actually some reports (a whole 6) of genital bleeding from falling on the key. Ouch.
But okay, wow. Is it just me or is this getting a bit ridiculous? I mean, I am the first one to tell you I want my children to be safe. To never ever ever get hurt. Ever. Never. I can be a big bad mama bear on this. But it's not always realistic. And yes, I want the products I purchase for my children to be safe for them. But at the same time, as a parent and a consumer, I am perfectly capable of looking at a toy and thinking, "How could my child injure his/herself on this? Is it worth taking a risk?" Then I try to be involved in being near them as they're playing so I can kiss the boo boos when they happen. And I know they could fall on that key-thingy but I'm not too worried about letting them ride the tricycle. Even if the recall page says to "immediately place the trike out of the child's reach" and order a replacement kit to fix it.
So, am I wrong to think this is a bit silly? I assume the company is trying to avoid lawsuits, right? But where is the line drawn? How much responsibility do companies need to take when it comes to accidents happening with their products? I am pretty sure I played with rusty nails as a child. Sometimes. Because we were playing sardines and I was trying to hide on the top of the roof of our little barn/garage thingy at the back of the house and there were some nails by the fence I was climbing up to use to get on the roof. To play sardines. And technically I turned out okay. You know? But I digress. Products aren't perfect because people aren't perfect. Accidents happen. We all mess up. Just like doctors aren't perfect even though they try to be and probably are pretty perfect 98% of the time. And their malpractice insurance is astronomically high. So the costs are passed on to us and it's astronomically high for us to get care.
Funny how a little Barbie trike turns into me on a soapbox about health care... :) All I know is, sometimes life is not fair. And it doesn't make a bit of sense. Bad things happen to amazing people, and good things happen to less-than-stellar people. Good thing this life isn't the end. It will all be worked out. Our loving Father in Heaven is full of WISDOM, and it will all be worked out. The End.
(Stay tuned... the Bubbs had a birthday, we have a new arrival in the family to blog about, my baby brother's getting home from his mission today - yay! - seminary is just amazing, and baby T is trying to walk or something! Never a dull moment! Well, actually, some of the moments are kind of dull. But we're too busy to remember when the dull moments happened. :)
Today there was a headline "Fisher-Price Recalls More Than 10 Million Items". Um, say what?! Excuse me?! Everyone who has children between the ages of birth-8 probably has a plethora of Fisher Price items! Ahh! My children are going to DIE! So I need to see what the recall is, right? I went to the company's recall page to find out what is going on.
OH NO! Our little Fisher Price tricycle thingy has been recalled!!! What's wrong with it? Is it going to spontaneously combust? Does it have lead paint? Are the wheels going to malfunction and eat up my child's foot? Horrible images are flashing in my mind... I read on...
It turns out that they are being recalled (voluntarily) because of the key. The little key thingy shown in the insert above. It protrudes a bit from the bike and allows the kids to feel like they're putting a key in the ignition and driving away. My kids enjoy it. It's a nice feature. So what's the problem? Apparently, there have been reports of children falling on the keys. And getting hurt. Actually some reports (a whole 6) of genital bleeding from falling on the key. Ouch.
But okay, wow. Is it just me or is this getting a bit ridiculous? I mean, I am the first one to tell you I want my children to be safe. To never ever ever get hurt. Ever. Never. I can be a big bad mama bear on this. But it's not always realistic. And yes, I want the products I purchase for my children to be safe for them. But at the same time, as a parent and a consumer, I am perfectly capable of looking at a toy and thinking, "How could my child injure his/herself on this? Is it worth taking a risk?" Then I try to be involved in being near them as they're playing so I can kiss the boo boos when they happen. And I know they could fall on that key-thingy but I'm not too worried about letting them ride the tricycle. Even if the recall page says to "immediately place the trike out of the child's reach" and order a replacement kit to fix it.
So, am I wrong to think this is a bit silly? I assume the company is trying to avoid lawsuits, right? But where is the line drawn? How much responsibility do companies need to take when it comes to accidents happening with their products? I am pretty sure I played with rusty nails as a child. Sometimes. Because we were playing sardines and I was trying to hide on the top of the roof of our little barn/garage thingy at the back of the house and there were some nails by the fence I was climbing up to use to get on the roof. To play sardines. And technically I turned out okay. You know? But I digress. Products aren't perfect because people aren't perfect. Accidents happen. We all mess up. Just like doctors aren't perfect even though they try to be and probably are pretty perfect 98% of the time. And their malpractice insurance is astronomically high. So the costs are passed on to us and it's astronomically high for us to get care.
Funny how a little Barbie trike turns into me on a soapbox about health care... :) All I know is, sometimes life is not fair. And it doesn't make a bit of sense. Bad things happen to amazing people, and good things happen to less-than-stellar people. Good thing this life isn't the end. It will all be worked out. Our loving Father in Heaven is full of WISDOM, and it will all be worked out. The End.
(Stay tuned... the Bubbs had a birthday, we have a new arrival in the family to blog about, my baby brother's getting home from his mission today - yay! - seminary is just amazing, and baby T is trying to walk or something! Never a dull moment! Well, actually, some of the moments are kind of dull. But we're too busy to remember when the dull moments happened. :)
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