During the spring and summer months, garage sales pop up like dandelions. Whether you consider them a bargain hunter’s dream or eyesore, garage sales can be a great place to furnish your home with treasures at a fraction of the new retail price. However, parents should be smart consumers when it comes to buying children’s products at garage sales. Getting a $10 retro bar stool is a steal; saving $50 on an infant seat is a major risk.
Many products commonly found at these roadside mini-markets don’t meet current safety regulations or may not even be in working order. Baby gates, walkers, cribs, cradles, playpens, car seats and booster seats, strollers, walkers, toys and even children’s sleepwear are all products regulated by Canada’s Hazardous Products Act. So if you’re thinking of selling any of these items at a garage sale, you may want to think twice. On their website, safety-council.org, the Canada Safety Council warns that The Hazardous Products Act provides for steep fines and prison sentences for individuals or companies if someone is injured due to a product you sold.
With the recession deepening every month, how can parents take advantage of the bargains offered by garage sales without putting their child at risk? It’s simple, really – do your research before jumping into your minivan on a nice Saturday morning. Visit http://209.217.71.106/PR/home-accueil-e.jsp where all Canadian recalls are listed. If you know you need a baby swing, search for infant swings and make a list of swings that have been recalled. You can check on most baby equipment this way.
Clothing – It would be impossible to check clothing recalls and be 100 per cent certain of what you’re purchasing. When buying clothing, check for drawstrings at the neck and don’t buy items with them, or remove the drawstring before dressing your child in the item. Check snaps and zippers to ensure they’re not falling off – a serious choking hazard.
Car seats – The Canada Safety Council does not recommend buying used car seats. In a crash, that means the car seat might not protect the child. On top of this, used seats usually do not come with instructions.
While you can ensure the car seat has no recalls on it and is less than ten years old, you have no way of ensuring the seat hasn’t been in a car accident just by inspecting it, and it’s extremely dangerous to trust a seat that has been involved in an accident.
Cribs – There are a lot of recalls on cribs – it’s very likely a crib at a garage sale has been recalled and the owner isn’t aware. If you are certain the one you’re looking at hasn’t been recalled, ensure the crib comes with the sticker that identifies the manufacturer, model number, date of manufacture and assembly instructions. Cribs made before September 1986 do not meet current safety standards and are illegal to sell under the law. The spacing between the bars should be no more than 6cm. Corner posts must be no more than 3mm high. The mattress support must be firmly fixed to the end panels. Cribs that have a floating mattress support system with S or Z-shaped hooks, with visible signs of damage, missing parts or missing information are not safe.
Baby gates – Baby gates that have large diamond-shaped openings or large V openings at the top pose a strangulation danger and are illegal. Like cribs, baby gates must come with information that identifies the manufacturer, model number, and the date of manufacture and information regarding instructions for use and installation.
Baby walkers – You might think a baby walker is the perfect solution for a baby who wants to walk but can’t quite figure it out yet, but avoid buying any type of moving baby walker. Baby walkers are illegal to sell in Canada – they are extremely dangerous, as a baby in a walker can easily crash through baby gates and tumble down stairs.
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