Things are a bit brighter this Halloween. Health officials have given the go-ahead for kids to go trick-or-treating but cautions remain: stick with members of your household, put treats outside, and wear a mask inside or when in outdoor crowded spaces. Things look good here in the Seattle area. Read more →
In late September, two Republican members of the commission that oversees the safety of the nation’s consumer products voted to eliminate items from the agency’s annual plan that would have developed new mandatory rules for preventing suffocation in infant cushions. Read more →
Nine in 10 Americans experienced a fraud attempt in 2020, with one in seven losing money to a scam. Consumers reported losing more than $3.4 billion to fraud in 2020, according to a fraud database. However, since the vast majority of frauds aren’t reported, the amount lost is likely much higher. Read more →
Black Friday sales are already starting, so what you need to do is start watching the ads and continue to compare prices. While 2021 might be a more “normal” year than 2020, Black Friday 2021 will be more like last year than previous years. Read more →
My kids are grown and out of the nest, so all I have to do to get ready for Halloween is to figure out where I put the treats I bought several weeks ago. Last year, no one came to the door, so I had to eat the packaged raisins myself. My daughter scolds me every year about the raisin treats, but I’m stuck in a rut. Read more →
The Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of toxic lead acetate in consumer hair dyes, an action that will help protect the public from hazardous chemicals. Lead acetate is the ingredient that slowly darkens gray hair when used every few days and can increase the level of lead in users’ bodies. Read more →
Walmart is recalling about 3,900 bottles of aromatherapy room spray that may contain a rare and dangerous bacteria that can cause serious injury and death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested a version of the product and it contained Burkholderia pseudomallei. Read more →
Before we know it, Halloween will be here. It’s a fun time, but safety also needs to be considered. Nearly 4,000 Halloween-related injuries occur yearly in the United States. Common Halloween mishaps are slips, trips, and falls; lacerations, burns, and eye injuries; food poisoning; costume related injuries; and pedestrian accidents. Read more →
In my last article, Jason Brick, founder of Safest Family on the Block, discussed how two things parents worry about most on Halloween – candy tampering and stranger danger – aren't things that really happen. In this article, Brick covers one of the most common dangers to kids on Halloween night: costumes. Read more →
Jason Brick, founder of Safest Family on the Block, provides lots of great safety information through his newsletter, podcast, website, blog, and books. With his permission, I’ll be posting a three-part series that appeared in his newsletter on Halloween safety. Read more →