Facing My Fears and Safety Concerns all at Once

I did something today that I have never done before.  I spoke at a national press conference.  Last week I was asked by Health Canada if I would speak at an event that was announcing new legislation that would impose stricter safety regulations on kids toys and products.

My initial thought was that I could not do that. Then I started asking myself why: I believe in stricter rules on products for kids; I think child safety is important; and, I could fit it into my schedule.  I realized the only reason I was opposed to doing the speech was that I had never done anything like it before.  Certainly that is not a good enough reason.

If one of my kids had been asked to do something new, I would have encouraged them to do it.  I also probably wouldn’t have let them get away with not doing it because of fear.

I agreed to do the speech.  It was this morning and I think it went fine. The Minister of Health and the President of Toys R Us were both there – it really was their event.  They explained the new legislation, the impact on consumers, and the need for retailer support.

I added my thoughts about parental responsibility and the importance of safe toys and children’s products from my perspective. I explained that in my world toys are rarely used for the purpose they were intended – in fact in my back yard is a dismembered doll arm that is being used as a bat for a pair of rolled up socks.  I am happy that there will be experts figuring out if the toys – in all their forms – are safe.

In the end, I faced my fear of the unknown and supported a piece of legislation that will make toys and children’s products safer.  For more information on the legislation click here or visit the Health Canada site.

This entry was posted on June 8, 2010 at 11:26 am and is filed under Shopping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.