Quote:
Originally Posted by Cheater
Bravo, Daval, I think you hit on everything! As for #2, you mention the liability issue: if the legal system would not address some of the trivial lawsuits, perhaps we could bring back the "fun" toys we used to play with. We also need to change the attitude of many that think there is always someone else to blame when accidents happen.
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I have to disagree with both your comment and the sentiment behind it. People love to talk about "trivial" or "nuisance" lawsuits. It's true that there are a very small number of these in the court systems. As someone who deals with product liability all day, every day and specifically from liability arising out of toys and children's products, my experience is that these sorts of suits don't really hit that industry.
I have seen go-cart manufacturers (at least 3) who had lots of claims in the 3 or 4 days after Christmas. Some of them would be wrecks, as expected, but there were a large number of them in the Eighties where little girls, especially in the South, would get their long hair caught in a chain drive (or other moving part) because a $0.50 guard wasn't put in place by the manufacturer. Scalping claims are very expensive. I saw 10+ of them.
I expect that my kids will fall down and get hurt. I even expect that there will be times where it will be my fault that they're hurt. But I don't expect that I'll be the one going back to the toystore with a red Thomas the Tank Engine wooden toy to return it because it had lead-based paint. And knowing that my son had it in his mouth - a lot. And knowing having read study results on what happens to kids exposed to miniscule amounts of lead.
I've seen water toys for use in lakes, etc. that are death traps for anyone who uses them, regardless of age.
Childhood is full of bumps and bruises. Given the "kids are assholes" thread I started, I don't think they should be coddled. But at the same time, a lot of the "fun" toys are actually very dangerous. Lawn darts were a fantastically bad idea, for instace. Don't blame the court system for the fact that the marketplace imagined by the conservative isn't a perfect place and that humans design some incredibly flawed products and make some incredibly stupid cost-saving decisions.
As for the rest, kids need to learn about the real world. They need to fall down and figure out how to pick themselves up again.