Make today your SaferProducts Day. Explore the reports and recalls that have been posted, be informed, and be empowered.

Share this free poster. We have posted it on Flickr for easy sharing. We also have a print-friendly version for you to post in your community.

1. Maclaren Stroller Recall Video
2. Pool Safely Educational Video
3. Safe Sleep for Babies: Learn How
4. Advertencia sobre los Cargadores de Tela Para Bebé (CPSC Advises Parents “Use extra caution with infant carrier slings”)
5. Crib Safety Q&A
6. Furniture Tipover Tragedies
7. SaferProducts.gov: Toy Chopper Frenzy (Saferproducts.gov, by the way, is celebrating its second anniversary on March 11!)
8. Teen to Teen: Magnet Talk
9. CPSC Advises Parents: “Use extra caution with infant carrier slings”
10. Stop Using Recalled Simplicity Drop-Side Cribs

Did you know that CPSC has three YouTube channels? We launched with our main channel in 2009.

At the time, we posted Spanish videos on our single channel along with English. But as the channel grew, we wanted to make it easier for you to find our Spanish videos. USCPSC Español launched in May 2011. In addition, all of our Pool Safely campaign videos are on a dedicated Pool Safely YouTube channel.

Happy viewing!

In late August, CPSC voted to begin rulemaking to address the serious risks posed by hazardous, high-powered magnet sets. You will have 75 days to comment to the agency about the rulemaking. Your comments are due to CPSC by Nov. 19.

CPSC staff briefed the commission about the magnet hazards at an open meeting on Thursday, Aug. 9.

Between 2009 and 2011, our staff estimates that there were 1,700 cases treated in hospital emergency rooms nationwide related to the ingestion of small, high powered magnets. More than 70 percent of these cases involved children between the ages of 4 and 12.

The agency’s staff is proposing a rule that addresses the size and strength of the magnets. Under the proposed rule, magnets that fit in a small parts tester would be required to have a flux index of 50 or less. Many of the high-powered magnets in the sets sold today, by comparison, are many times stronger.

Magnet sets that do not meet the new requirements could not be sold as a manipulative or a desk toy.

CPSC has published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register. (FR). Now that the proposed rulemaking has published, your opportunity to comment begins. Here’s where you can share your comments about this proposed rule. Your comments must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on Nov. 19.

Rulemaking comments are submitted through the government website Regulations.gov. We will publicize the Federal Register notice and the link to comment on our website, our @OnSafety Twitter account, and in this blog.

We continue to encourage everyone to read the information on our magnet information page. Watch the video. Keep these magnets away from all children and out of homes with children. For us, it’s about keeping kids safe.

Calling all moms, dads and kids of all ages in the Washington, D.C., region. Join us at our ScienSafety! booth at this year’s USA Science and Engineering Festival.

The free festival is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 28, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 29, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW, Washington, D.C.

At our booth (booth #727!), kids will work with CPSC engineers on a hands-on demonstration on toy testing. They’ll learn first-hand how our scientists and engineers determine which ages a toy is appropriate for.

So, bring your kids to meet and play with us. They, and you, will learn how to play it safe.

Here at CPSC, we’re all about keeping families safe – around the holidays and beyond. And that starts at our National Product Testing and Evaluation Center.

For a recall to happen, a product needs to be found to be unsafe by CPSC staff or its manufacturer. But exactly what does that mean? Here’s an inside view. Meet the scientists. See some of the tests. Think about these tests when you buy and use holiday gifts.

And be sure to check the products in your home against those that we’ve recalled.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum is looking for nominations for her Chairman’s Commendation Circle Award. This award will recognize people, businesses, organizations, state and local governments, and other groups that have demonstrated a commitment to consumer product safety.

We’re sure you know one of these leaders. They come to the table with solutions and creative approaches to safety and they get things done. They have contributed in an important way to the benefit of consumers by reducing deaths, preventing injuries and improving consumer product safety.

Now’s your chance to nominate a leader in this area. Tell us about these people and their groups. How has your nominee contributed to improving consumer product safety? What are their notable accomplishments? And how have consumers benefitted from your nominee’s work?

So, go ahead. Start the process. Go to www.cpsc.gov/award to read the rules and get a nomination form. The nomination deadline is March 31, 2011.

That’s how many entries we received from middle schoolers in our “Help Stop a Killer Contest.”

We sponsored this contest to help raise awareness about the dangers of carbon monoxide, or CO, in the home. More than 180 people die every year from accidental, non-fire related CO poisoning associated with consumer products. In 2007, more than half of those deaths occurred from November through February.

Products like faulty or incorrectly vented fuel-burning appliances. Products like stoves improperly used to warm a home in the winter. Products like portable generators improperly used inside basements or near homes, garages, or sheds.

CO is a poisonous gas that you can’t see or smell. In addition to following these safety tips, you should take two main steps to prevent a CO tragedy in your house:

•  Have a professional inspect your fuel-burning appliances, such as your furnace and fireplace, every year, and
• Install a CO alarm on each level of your home and outside sleeping areas.
• Take these steps today. And look at the terrific posters that so many kids took the time to make. Learn from them. Share your favorites with friends.

  As for us, we’re starting the judging and will announce the contest winners at the end of February.

Here are examples of what the men and women who work at CPSC are doing to protect you.

Stay Connected to CPSC Because CPSC Stands For Safety.

CPSC.gov home page

We’ve made some significant changes to make it easier and faster for you to find the information you want at CPSC.gov. Today, you’ll see the first step toward a more modern CPSC.gov.

The rotating top photo area highlights important safety messages, consumer product safety recalls and news. Just below that, the tabs take you quickly to the latest recalls, news and video from CPSC. We encourage you to watch, share and embed our videos. Plus, you’ll see easy ways to subscribe to recall news and to get safety information by topic.

Prominent buttons makes it easier for consumers and businesses to report an unsafe product.

To the right, look for the “Get Involved” area. These are our active social media websites and tools where you can connect with us. Places like Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

Business users now have easy home page access to find the laws, regulations, standards and guidance that affect their products. A new “Publications” area makes it easier to find just the right safety message to share with others.

This page is just the start of major changes to CPSC.gov. We’re hard at work rebuilding the entire website. Throughout our process, we’re keeping your needs front and center. By the end of the summer, you’ll see an entirely new website designed to serve you better.

As always, if you have questions or comments about these changes, e-mail us at feedback@cpsc.gov.

What’s this product? Students were surprised to learn that the airplane is really a cigarette lighter.

How do you know the elements that are in a product? With chemical tests, CPSC scientists measure stimulated emissions similar to light and color. That tells the chemists how much lead, cadmium and other elements of interest are in the product.

CPSC staff is promoting product safety in meetings, discussions and trainings at the Trilateral Summit on Consumer Product Safety. CPSC is attending the summit with representatives from the European Union and China. We’ll be posting photos here throughout the trip.

In the concluding session of the Second China-US-EU Consumer Product Safety Summit, the parties reached consensus on a Joint Statement that outlines steps and a timeline for improved product safety. Items such as a six-month road map for implementation of best manufacturing practices represent a major step forward in delivering safer products to U.S. consumers from China.

On Tuesday, Chairman Tenenbaum and CPSC staff participated in a Bilateral Meeting with Zhi and AQSIQ staff in Shanghai. Both sides voiced enthusiasm for the efforts being made to increase cooperation and enjoyed frank discussions on ways forward to address difficult issues faced by each side.

Chairman Tenenbaum and CPSC staff tour a commercial testing facility in Shanghai, China, on Monday.

CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum tours a childrens' clothing factory in Shanghai. The factory management described their current quality control processes and adjustments made to meet manufacturing requirements in the U.S and European Union.

We care about the health and well being of babies and take the reports submitted to us very seriously. Yet thus far, the diaper research done in the U.S. and Canada has not identified a specific cause linking the complaints from parents and caregivers to the Dry Max diapers. CPSC and Health Canada looked at the materials used to make the diapers, how the diapers were constructed and heat and moisture issues with diapers. They evaluated relevant diaper data. Plus, they studied the results of Proctor and Gamble’s diaper testing.

CPSC staff believes that some babies may be more prone to developing a rash or other skin problems from this or other products.

As many parents know, diaper rash is a common occurrence. Most babies get at least one diaper rash in their lifetime.

If you believe that your child is suffering from a diaper rash that you think is related to the diaper, we recommend that you stop using the diaper and contact your pediatrician.

If you continue to have problems with this or any other baby product, definitely let us know. The more details you give, the better.

CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan Bersin
signed a memorandum today that allows the two agencies to quickly share information about products coming through U.S. ports.

What does that mean? It means federal agencies are cooperating to make U.S. consumers more safe.

“By identifying and checking consumer products at our ports, we can reduce the flow of dangerous products into our homes,” said CPSC Chairman Tenenbaum.

“This is an important first step in strengthening our ability to promote consumer well-being and safety”, said Commissioner Bersin. “With this Memorandum of Understanding, CBP and the Consumer Products Safety Commission will be able to further protect consumers against the importation of dangerous goods into the U.S.”

Back in 2003, CPSC advised parents who were concerned about this risk that they should cut the cord off the toy or throw the toy away. CPSC staff concluded that the toy posed a low risk of strangulation, especially for younger children, but advised parents to be cautious.

Since then, a toy subcommittee made up of toy manufacturers, CPSC and other interested stakeholders developed string-length requirements on these toys that shorten the cords to less than 20 inches and limit the possibility of the cord wrapping around a child’s neck. As of February 2009, this limit in the yo-yo ball’s cord length became a mandatory rule in the United States.

Parents with older versions of these toys should follow the advice given in the past and either cut the cords to less than 20 inches or dispose of the toy.