CPSIA effective start date is Feb 10th

Thursday, January 08th, 2009

On February 10th, an important new law will go into effect that has lots of implications for the production and purchase of products for children (under 12). Due to recent problems in lead poisoning from Chinese made products, the U.S. passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which will be implemented starting on February 10th. What this means is that any product sold for children under 12 needs to be tested for lead and phthalates. So even if an entreprenurial mom wants to make and sell socks for toddlers, she will need to get them tested for toxicity - which is not only a hassle, it will cost several hundred dollars (at least).

Obviously, the intention of this act (protect children from evil substances in products sold to them) is good, but the implications are rough for small businesses and possibly quite worse for consumers, who will presumably have less choices in the marketplace (albeit safer ones). This is legislation that is obviously good spirited, but needs some important refinements. Also, it’s another reminder that it only takes one bad offender (China) to ruin life for the rest of ~99% well-meaning enterprises.

If you have strong feelings FOR or AGAINST this legislation, make sure you make your voice heard to your local congressional reps.

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Government, Toys, Baby, Toddler | Comments (2)

Automoblox cars

Sunday, January 04th, 2009

If you have a toddler or youngster that is really into cars, we suggest you check out the Automoblox line of cars.

These things represent the culmination of a nice little story - a young college student designs a wooden car for a school project. Student goes to work for Fortune 100 company, learns about product development. Student becomes entreprenuer and the Automoblox company is launched. The first (project) car was made up of a a few blocks that were attached together via wooden dowels. The idea was to combine high quality wooden blocks that could be attached together with a concept all kids love - the toy car. It’s a great idea and the secret is in the care with which the idea was executed. Automobox has now acquired a long line of good reviews and loyal customers.

My wife and I bought a couple of these cars from Amazon when our son was just about two. He was a bit young for them then, but he since has really grown into them. He loves taking them apart and putting them back together. Of course, he loves racing them even more. And we’re happy the folks at Automobox took the time to design them with care - for example, the rubber “tires” not only make the car move fast along our wood floors, they also don’t damage the floors. Can’t argue with that combination.

The cars are very sturdy, just as everyone says and there aren’t any sharp edges. If you have very small children, who like to put everything in their mouths, you might want to watch out a bit for the plastic people, but given their size, it’s a minor concern. BTW, the people are kind of fun - they each have different shapes and fit into the car a different way. One minor complexity with some of the cars is that you have to make sure the people are facing forwards in order for everything to come together nicely. But our 2-3 year old grew into that and we saw it as a nice learning opportunity.

As far as the differences between the cars, I think that’s really only of importance if you have an older young child playing with them (i.e., K through 2nd grade or something). Toddlers don’t really appreciate the differences and in fact they are more likely to be interested in the slightly larger cars. What’s fun about buying at least two is that you can mix and match some of the pieces and create totally new cars. Kind of like Legos, with less pieces, less freedom, but more practicality for the younger child.

Check them out online and read the reviews over at Amazon for more info.

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Toys, Toddler | Comments (1)

The wonders of a beach ball

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Like to play kick the ball with your toddler? Want to make it fun for him or her as well? Then a beach ball may be the answer. We happened to have one lying around at home and one day our son started to kick it around. Although our house is not that big, it does have high ceilings, and a beach ball feels right at home in the family area we have.

For the toddler, a beach ball provides some key benefits:

1. It’s big, so it’s hard to miss when they kick it (eliminates frustration when kids are first starting out)
2. It’s usually too soft to break anything, and
3. Because it’s so light, toddlers can kick it quite far or high, which they enjoy immensely.

Actually, with regards to (3), it’s interesting to note that your toddler doesn’t have to have that much umph in his kick to kick it roughly as far as you can. Even though you have a lot of power in your legs (compared to your little one, at least), kicking a beach ball hard sort of reminds you of the law of diminishing returns. In short, you won’t be able to kick it that far. And once your toddler sees that he or she can kick it roughly just as far as you can, it very well adds to their interest, in their desire to emulate you. At least, that is what we found.

You have to be a little careful - watch out for anything that’s somewhat top heavy and can be knocked over, and/or fill it up with a bit less air - but it’s a lot of fun. Our son started playing with it when he was old enough to walk reasonably well. You can’t beat the price (usually under $5), it’s a great indoor physical activity, and the smiles you get from the little one are obviously worth it!