Crib recalls and tainted milk

Today, two news stories caught my attention. One was the big crib recall, and the other was how China executed two men in connection with the melamine tainted milk. First, I checked and double checked our crib to make sure it had not been recalled. Thankfully, it is supposedly safe. Then, I really started thinking about the endless safety issues that parents face.

I admit, I never really thought about the crib my baby sleeps in as a potentially dangerous place. A classmate of Mike's had a baby suffocate in a crib because of a space between the crib and the railing. (This separation is why many cribs are recalled). How can I feel safe putting my baby to bed? Even though it is deemed "safe" now, in six months someone's precious baby may die and the crib will be recalled.

Along the same lines, I found the story from China interesting. At first, I was really surprised. Execution? For a mistake that might have been out of their control? As I kept reading, I learned that a company put melamine in the milk on purpose to boost it's protein content. Six babies died, and countless others were made ill. I think that if indeed they did that on purpose, their execution is just.

So, what do we do about companies the keep producing fatal baby products like cribs? Is it an innocent accident? Or did they not do enough testing on their cribs to make sure they are safe? How can we know? I'm sure that they didn't purposely make bad cribs, but they might have rushed planning them. Are they accountable?

Needless to say, this makes me an even bigger worrier. I feel like I can't buy cribs, toys, formula, bottles or anything without doing my research. Even then, it's not guaranteed.

I am realizing that there are a million things that are out of my control. I can buy the BPA free bottles and toys, but I can't protect them from some other toxin yet to be discovered in the plastic. I can't worry about the things that are out of my control, even though I'm tempted too. I would go crazy. I can only make the best choice I can with the knowledge that is there. I can make my voice heard that I want safe, non-toxic products for my children and my family. And I can hope that cooperations will make that their top priority.