Recall Regrets

One of the most dreaded words that a Worry-Wart Mama can hear is...da da dum…RECALL.

At some point, each and every one of us has been affected by some sort of recall. My new, expensive, and supposedly family safe, SUV has already had two recalls in the two months we have owned it (or should I say in the two months we have made payments on it). My salad mix has been recalled, along with my chili. But nothing is more scary than when a child is directly affected.

One day, while checking up on a recall on my favorite news site, I remember thinking, “My biggest fear would be to see a Similac or Gerber recall.” Low and behold, that same afternoon, Similac had a voluntary recall of some ready-to-feed bottles due to a problem with the lining of the bottles affecting the color and nutrition of the formula. I panicked, thinking that my baby had scurvy, and called the doctor. I called the Similac phone number, and they were very helpful and provided a full refund, but I this experience put me on worry-overload.

I became obsessed with how the formula bottles were sealed. I inspected them all with scrutiny, driving my husband and family crazy. If I opened one and didn’t like the color, I threw it in the trash. I probably threw away hundreds of dollars, but to me, the price was justified by the fact that I did not give my baby anything that I thought may be compromised.

While spending so much time obsessing over the quality of his food, I never thought I would have to worry about the toys that my baby was chewing on. I had heard about excessive lead recalls, but they had always been toys from dollar stores…by buying only name brands, I was being careful…or so I thought!

If you are like me, you enjoy giving your child toys as much as they enjoy getting them! I never would have thought that I could be potentially harming my child! My recall experience taught me a very important lesson... I was very arrogant to think that I had complete control over my childs life. As parents, it is our job to do our very best to provide a safe, healthy, loving, and nuturing enviroment for our child. But no matter how much control you have over one aspect of their life you do not control destiny. Now, I am not saying to feed your son moldy cheese and leave it up to God. I am saying that many times, as Worry-Warts, we think that we can control everything when the reality is WE DO NOT.

Secondly, with the proper education we don't need to fear anything! What do you worry about? Know the real risk! When I stopped to think how many bottles of baby formula were fed to children everyday vs. the number of bottles that had been recalled, I began realizing my risks were very low. I gained confidence in myself. I realized that if something were wrong, I was smart enough to see it...I didn't need to spend important minutes of my life seeking them out. I believe this advice can be very helpful for many types of Worry-warts!

As far as the recalled toys, what can we do? With Christmas around the corner, how can we be sure that our children can be 100% safe? Buy all clothes? Hope that Santa brings only stuffed animals? No, we just need to be educated. Mattel has promised that all toys on shelves this Christmas season will be lead free. I proposed that we buy toys made in the USA! A lot of toy makers are listing their toys made in the USA. Here a few links…

http://www.fatbraintoys.com/specials/made_in_america.cfm

http://www.littletikes.com/toys/toys-list.aspx?FS=1&N=26&Ntk=Product+Search&Nty=1&Ntt=made%20in%20the%20usa

http://www.howtobuyamerican.com/

What was your worry? How did you overcome it? Have you been affected by any recalls?
Let me know, I want to hear!