So the media was all aflutter about the “balloon boy” yesterday. While I watched my stream on Twitter talking about the fate of this young boy as well as the extensive coverage (CNN, etc) on news sites, I thought about how, yet again, the fate of one child was front-and-center while a law that impacts countless numbers of children is hardly a blip on people’s radar.
Of course I wanted the boy to be found safe but I also want that same energy to be focused on the larger issues. CPSIA continues to devastate small businesses and manufacturers and yet the media and other outlets still aren’t reporting in a way that truly informs the public especially when pieces like Tenenbaum’s article in Product Safety Letter are printed as an explanation (more on that in a subsequent post).
And as if the state of the economy weren’t already enough, CPSIA also creates additional hardships for families across the United States because resale shops, Goodwill, Salvation Army, and many other similar shops are no longer able to offer the same kinds of toys or clothes that so many depend on during tough economic times.
With Winter and the holidays just around the corner the impact of CPSIA should be top-of-mind for the general public. Remember, this isn’t just a toy law. Children may not have the very basics they need to stay healthy (warm coats, shoes, etc.) at a time when H1N1 continues to be a top news story.
So while I understand that people were taken in with this strange-but-true story, I want to know how to channel that energy into discussion, concern, and buzz focused on a more pressing issue: the emotional and physical welfare of untold numbers of children affected by CPSIA.
