Just because the legislators extended the deadline for mandatory testing on all children’s products, doesn’t mean things.   The very day I was having my Pencil Bugs tested,  the lawmakers who wrote the CPSIA were moving the deadline out another year.   At first I thought, “wow! what timing!”  But then I was glad I went ahead and had them tested because at least I knew I was able to keep selling them.

But the CPSIA is still legal mumbo jumbo.   I read the revisions they made when they pushed the deadline to next year and it still didn’t make any sense.  I know it’s not just because I’m only 13 years old because I hear there are a lot of adults that don’t get it either.   In my opinion, the biggest reason they extended the deadline was because they realized they made a mistake but didn’t know how to fix it in time.    It’s just like in school when teachers change the rules because it fits them.  Forget about what’s best for the kids.

The CPSIA rule is still ridiculous!   Sure, everyone wants to keep dangerous products from getting to kids but when someone makes a law that they didn’t think through, it doesn’t help anyone.   It only makes it worse.   It’s like punishing the whole class for one bad kid.  If certain toys that were made in China ended up in US stores, then go after those factories or the companies in the US that had them made.  Don’t punish the rest of the manufacturers. 

With the way the rule is still, it means a lot of expensive testing for every single product made for kids.  Some of the toys or clothes or even books that kids use and play with couldn’t possibly have any lead or other chemicals that could harm them.   I look around my room and see all the different things that I have.   A bookshelf  overflowing with books, clothes in my closet and drawers,  plastic model cars, sports trophies, a collection of keychains and magnets, stuffed animals, piggy banks, carved wooden things.  Well, you get the point.  The list could go on and on and on.  If the CPSIA rule stays the same as it’s written now, everything would have to be tested because it’s for a kid. 

If it stays the same, there won’t be as many choices for parents to buy things for their kids.   If there are less things to buy, the price on what’s left will probably go up.  It doesn’t take a financial genius to figure out supply and demand.   I got that concept as soon as I started my own business. 

My mom has always taught me that if you keep quiet, you can’t expect things to improve or change.    And if you just complain about it without doing something, then you really have nothing to gripe about.  You get what you get.   She also believes that you can fight the system, as she says, and if enough people make a big enough stink, sometimes you even win.   The more people on your side, the easier it is to be loud.  The louder you are, the harder it is to have people ignore you.  Well, she also tells me that you have to go about your fight in the right way.

So if you’re a parent who wants to have lots of choices for kids’ products or a small business owner like me and many other people who hand make their kids’ products or a store that buys from someone who makes kids’ products, or even a kid — now is the time to do something.   There are tons of things on Internet about this issue.   All you have to do is type in the search bar, CPSIA, and you’ll be reading for hours, days, and weeks.   Some sites even have pre-formatted letters that you can send to your state legislators and let them know what you think.

Or you can choose to not do anything.   But remember, you can’t complain when stores are forced to throw toys and books and clothes in the garbage dumps.  And you can’t complain when you have less choices on what to buy for your kids.   And you can’t complain when the prices of what’s left get higher.

If I can do it at my age, so can you.   I don’t do it alone.  I couldn’t possibly.  Geez, I am after all, only a kid.  But just like my parents help me, there are tons of other people that can help you speak up.

Tweet This Post  Buzz This Post  Delicious This Post  Digg This Post  Reddit This Post  Stumble This Post