When you buy a new car or washing machine or refrigerator, they each come with a thick owners manual, letting you know exactly which buttons to push and how to make it do what you want it (and need it) to do.
Unfortunately, children don’t come with owners manuals, and mothers everywhere wonder daily if they are doing everything “right.”
As a mom, one of the roles that I take most seriously is my children’s safety. Dangers are everywhere – from the cribs and the beds that they sleep in to the toys that they play with and the food that they eat. It feels overwhelming to try to keep track of it all.
I managed to survive the baby years 5 times over. I purchased at least 8 car seats, 3 cribs, 4 high chairs, hundreds of toys, thousands of diapers, and enough food over the years to feed a small country. A few times over the years, I heard about recalled products or foods from friends who happened to mention them in conversation, but otherwise I was completely in the dark in terms of the safety of the products I used with my kids. Once I made the purchase, I blindly believed that they would continue to be safe to use with my kids.
Last month, I was a panelist at the #RecallsPlus Twitter party, and was thoroughly impressed and utterly horrified at the same time as I discussed child safety issues with fellow moms. Looking back on some of the things that we did…it’s a wonder my kids survived as well as they did. Here’s a little bit about the Recalls Plus app:
About Recalls Plus
Recalls Plus is a newly launched app that helps busy parents to proactively monitor recalls on their kids’ strollers, cribs, toys, formula, and other items for greater safety and peace of mind. The app is created by SAP, a market leader in software applications whose vision is to help the world run better.
Our diverse team consists of parents and others who are focused and passionate about parenting issues — working around the clock to make sure we don’t miss catching a recall on kid’s products or food with undeclared allergens. Recalls Plus is designed and built for busy parents like you so you can focus on the important things in your life.
Using the Recalls Plus App
Using the Recalls Plus App (available on iPhone/iPad, Android, and as a Facebook App) is free and easy. You can either follow a list of latest recalls of foods/allergens, toys, children’s clothes, car seats, and children’s furniture, OR you can enter items that you own and use onto your “watch list.” The watch list is also perfect for families with food allergies, as the app will identify foods that have been recalled due to possible contamination or mislabeling.
As a mom, I always have so much on my mind – so much to keep track of – and having a tool like this gives me piece of mind AND takes a little weight off my mommy guilt.
Recalls Plus is available on Facebook, iPhone, and Android.
Connect with RecallsPlus and SheSpeaks on Twitter:
@shespeaksup & @recallsplus and use the #RecallsPlus
Disclosure: This post is part of a promotional campaign with SheSpeaks, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. I have also included one Amazon affiliate code…so if you happen to buy that Baby Owner’s Manual I’ll earn 20 cents. Heehee.
© 2012 – 2013, Lolli. All rights reserved.
