Although it seems that most child products, household products, and toys are being built to high safety standards, each year many children are hurt or killed by unsafe products that have already been recalled. Do you know whether any of the products in your home have been recalled?

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recalls hundreds of products each year, including toys, cribs, playpens, and other baby equipment. Unfortunately, it is often up to parents to identify which products have been recalled, and then either repair these unsafe products or remove them from their homes. Even if you send in your product registration card, there is no guarantee that you will be notified if the product has been recalled, so regularly watch the news, magazines, and websites for recall alerts and information.

Even more of a concern is the rise in popularity of buying used products, some of which may have been recalled, from online auction sites. As long as you check to be sure a product hasn't been recalled, most used baby accessories can be safe. However, don't buy a used car seat on the Internet, since there is no way to make sure that it wasn't damaged in a car crash.