Speaker 1: We acknowledged the traditional custodians of the land we're recording
Speaker 1: on today.
Speaker 2: So what products have always been safety tested?
Speaker 3: None?
Speaker 2: None?
Speaker 3: I'm sorry, what because it's not a legal requirement.
Speaker 1: Hello, welcome back. This is eat Sleeve Shit Repeat the.
Speaker 4: Wildly Unhinged Podcast, hopefully your favorite podcast about the madness
Speaker 4: that is motherhood and everything in between.
Speaker 2: I'm Kelly McCarran and I'm kirious selves and I want
Speaker 2: to say something I have not stopped thinking about it.
Speaker 2: Episode from last week, if you missed it, we spoke
Speaker 2: to a fascinating shitter, Kirsty, who was Australia's first uterus
Speaker 2: transplant recipient, with her donut being her mum.
Speaker 1: Honestly, modern medicine collapse. Yeah, well done, modern medicine.
Speaker 2: Big ups.
Speaker 4: If you told us what could happen maybe thirty years ago,
Speaker 4: we would not have believed it.
Speaker 1: We simply would not have believed it. Actually, to be fair,
Speaker 1: we did believe that cars would fly.
Speaker 2: Think about that, and we still don't really have them
Speaker 2: at all.
Speaker 4: But medicine, at least the important things are fancy so true.
Speaker 4: On the show today, we are talking to another fabulous shitter, Kate,
Speaker 4: who while on Matt Lee decided to launch a little
Speaker 4: side hustle designing baby products. She quickly learned about the
Speaker 4: complex world of Australian toy safety standards and regulations and
Speaker 4: even loopholes, discovering that a surprising number of businesses don't
Speaker 4: go through proper safety testing yet still sell products for
Speaker 4: infants in toddlers, which is barbaric if you ask.
Speaker 2: Me, Yeah, piping hot tea. We get into it. It's
Speaker 2: really interesting and it's also shocking, but it's a chat
Speaker 2: that we hope will have an impact on the safety
Speaker 2: of our little.
Speaker 4: Shitters, because I think that, like, if we just said
Speaker 4: all this episode's about toy safety, it sounds like it's
Speaker 4: going to be boring, but it's not.
Speaker 2: It's not.
Speaker 4: We chose Kate because we read her message and we
Speaker 4: were like, I'm sorry, what.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it gets more and more shocking, but there is
Speaker 2: hope as well. It's all doom and gloom.
Speaker 4: She's also just like hilarious, has a lot of funny
Speaker 4: tale and we go off on some tangent, so it's
Speaker 4: a great episode.
Speaker 2: As always, it wouldn't be an Shitter interview if we
Speaker 2: didn't go off on a tangent. Australian toy standards and regulation.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, it sounds like we're on the news
Speaker 1: with that.
Speaker 2: It's not very sexy, but it is very interesting for
Speaker 2: how regulated we are as a country. I don't think
Speaker 2: I'm alone and assuming that this would extend to the
Speaker 2: toys and accessories and pacify thing he's on the market
Speaker 2: for our kids. I specifically remember this teether that I
Speaker 2: was gifted or purchased for rou when she was really little.
Speaker 2: It was like a wooden circle with four to six
Speaker 2: little wooden knobs on the outside, resembling the shape of
Speaker 2: the sun. And then these little knobs had these little
Speaker 2: rubber circles attached to the end, and they were really
Speaker 2: rock hard. I remember looking at these little rubber circles
Speaker 2: and thinking that they were like hard blueberries, and very
Speaker 2: much the shape and size that I had heard so
Speaker 2: many times were a massive choking hazard. And then I
Speaker 2: remembered thinking, well, these are being sold everywhere. Surely the
Speaker 2: safety standard of the product has been tested, and on
Speaker 2: I went with my day. A few weeks later, I
Speaker 2: came across a product recall. One of those knobs that
Speaker 2: I had been concerned about had detached from that toy
Speaker 2: and a kid had choked on it. That was a
Speaker 2: huge red flag for me as a first time parent.
Speaker 2: Never assume and always trust your gut. Call. Have you
Speaker 2: had any eerie moments with toys like that?
Speaker 4: For Lainn, every time I ever received something or opened
Speaker 4: to something and I had a weird feeling about it,
Speaker 4: even if it said it was fine on the packet,
Speaker 4: I just chucked it away.
Speaker 1: Oh wait, put it away.
Speaker 4: Like as we discussed in the episode, I have like
Speaker 4: this little abaces Thini that I bought. It immediately just
Speaker 4: went on a high shelf away from Lenny so it
Speaker 4: could be for esthetic purposes. I also remember I got
Speaker 4: a what are those things called the dong you go
Speaker 4: dongdongdong dong dong dong dong dong dong oh xylophone.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they are like little weapons.
Speaker 4: They're really sharp on the corners. So just stuff like
Speaker 4: that that I just immediately. No one's ever even said anything,
Speaker 4: They've never been product recall, but I'm like, that is
Speaker 4: a weapon and that shall not be being used.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well not all of us are that smart. And
Speaker 2: that tea that has always stuck with me. I think
Speaker 2: that's why I was so keen to talk to our
Speaker 2: guest Kate today.
Speaker 4: Kate is a shitter, e mum of two, and a
Speaker 4: small business owner. Her story came through in a call
Speaker 4: out I did for fascinating stories. And while Kate's story
Speaker 4: might not be wildly outlandish, these are her words, not ours.
Speaker 4: It's quite eye opening, which is why we chose her,
Speaker 4: especially for other parents. While on maternity leave, Kate started
Speaker 4: building a small business, Billy Frank the Label, hoping to
Speaker 4: stay home with her two daughters a little bit longer.
Speaker 4: As she designed baby products, what she learned about the
Speaker 4: safety of some products was so eye opening and shocking.
Speaker 4: And after navigating the process and meeting all the safety standards,
Speaker 4: which is actually a huge sleigh and way more involved
Speaker 4: than you. Well, it should be way more involved, but
Speaker 4: it's surprising how many people don't involve themselves anyway. For
Speaker 4: her own products, she now feels a responsibility to raise
Speaker 4: awareness and help other parents make informed, safe choices. Welcome Kate.
Speaker 2: Firstly, we want to commend you on launching a small
Speaker 2: business on Matt Lee. If that's no small feet, I
Speaker 2: want to remind everyone that I too, launched ESSR on
Speaker 2: my Matt Leaf and you did too, but you didn't
Speaker 2: really take any mat leave, so we'll forget about that.
Speaker 2: Can you took us through the decision to dive into
Speaker 2: designing baby products? Where do we even start with something
Speaker 2: like that?
Speaker 3: I guess the decision to dive into designing baby products
Speaker 3: specifically was a natural step because I was living and
Speaker 3: breathing all things baby. I still am and have been
Speaker 3: since the end of twenty twenty one when Billy was born.
Speaker 3: When Billy was six months old, to celebrate surviving six months,
Speaker 3: we went to Fiji, which was very exciting and I
Speaker 3: was so excited to show off my baby Billy to
Speaker 3: the world because we got pregnant in COVID and then
Speaker 3: we moved out of Sydney and the day that lockdown
Speaker 3: finished in Sydney, it actually came into effect in Newcastle,
Speaker 3: which is where we moved, so that was fun for
Speaker 3: me anyway. So no one knew I was pregnant except
Speaker 3: the people that I worked with, and even then they
Speaker 3: hadn't seen my bump because I was from home and
Speaker 3: we didn't announce it to social media. So I was
Speaker 3: really excited. I was going to show off my kid
Speaker 3: to the world. But she weaned herself while we were there,
Speaker 3: and she started baby leg weaning, so she was eating,
Speaker 3: which was super cute and messy. But all of my
Speaker 3: beautiful photos of us in Fiji are her wearing a
Speaker 3: gray table napkin around her neck to catch all the food.
Speaker 4: It's not aesthetic, No, it wasn't aesthetically pleasing, No, couldn't,
Speaker 4: so my photos weren't going Look, I survied pregnancy and
Speaker 4: I did breast beating.
Speaker 3: I haven't slept, but look happy my baby is. So
Speaker 3: that was upsetting. So then fast forward a year, so
Speaker 3: I had Frankie and she was six months old, so
Speaker 3: we did the same thing to go away, but I
Speaker 3: was pretty determined to take an aesthetically pleasing bib that
Speaker 3: actually you could wipe down, that was waterproof, because what
Speaker 3: I found is if you're on holidays, you don't have
Speaker 3: a washing machine. And Frankie had just started baby leg weaning.
Speaker 3: So I bought all these very very cute outfits, and
Speaker 3: then I didn't want them to get ruined because if
Speaker 3: you're going out to breakfast again, you don't have a
Speaker 3: washing machine. So I started researching. I wanted one that
Speaker 3: was waterproof that you could wipe off, and one that
Speaker 3: was aesthetically pleasing and not blue with a truck or
Speaker 3: pink with a unicorn, and I couldn't find anything at all.
Speaker 3: I ended up buying one that was reasonably cute to
Speaker 3: look at, but actually quite useless in actually keeping my
Speaker 3: kids clean. So that is where it started from, basically
Speaker 3: messy baby lead weening and sick of doing a two
Speaker 3: bib situation or ruining clothes because I'm not very good
Speaker 3: at washing. I'm terrible at getting stains out.
Speaker 1: Sam.
Speaker 2: I think that's so great though, like you solved a
Speaker 2: problem that is very real for parents, especially in those
Speaker 2: baby lead weaning like stages. And also there's it's really
Speaker 2: difficult to find ones that actually work as well because
Speaker 2: they're not designed properly. I think, yeah, there's a lot
Speaker 2: of dodgy ones out there. So I love that you
Speaker 2: sold an issue.
Speaker 3: Yes, and so it was based off both my girls.
Speaker 3: So I did some of the bits. There's a you'd
Speaker 3: be shocked, No, there's a matching one for a baby
Speaker 3: and a toddler. Yes.
Speaker 2: I actually did receive those and rue was so excited
Speaker 2: because lots of stuff's been coming for the baby, and
Speaker 2: she was like Rual, but she also tried to steal
Speaker 2: the teddy Bear, and I was like.
Speaker 3: That's not the baby.
Speaker 2: The baby has no new stuff.
Speaker 3: You will find out soon, Key that no one acknowledges
Speaker 3: that you have a second baby. So the first baby,
Speaker 3: everyone's very excited and sends your baby shower gifts and congratulations.
Speaker 3: The second one comes in this crickets. So I got
Speaker 3: one really beautiful gift for Frankie and it really made
Speaker 3: me think about those gifts that you keep as keepsakes.
Speaker 3: We've got one really nice gift from when I mean,
Speaker 3: all the gifts really lovely, but one was this really
Speaker 3: beautiful tea that in that beech wood, and Frankie got
Speaker 3: a really beautiful one for her birthday. So that's where
Speaker 3: it led from Bibbs.
Speaker 4: From Bibbs, I think that's brilliant though, And also I
Speaker 4: really love that idea of like having something that's just
Speaker 4: a really nice gift that they will want to keep
Speaker 4: and maybe like put on their little Like Lenny's got
Speaker 4: this little display cabinet thing that well, actually it's mainly
Speaker 4: just where I put things that I've ordered on Etsy
Speaker 4: that are wildly unsafe for him to use, so that
Speaker 4: they look cute.
Speaker 1: So I put them up there.
Speaker 3: I will talk to you about Etsy when we get
Speaker 3: to it as well.
Speaker 4: Oh my god, okay great. As part of the gift,
Speaker 4: one of the gifts packs that you have, You've got
Speaker 4: a really cute, beautiful, very aesthetic dummy clip.
Speaker 1: So can you talk us through.
Speaker 4: The testing process of a baby product like a dummy clip?
Speaker 1: Who carries it out?
Speaker 4: Like how long does it typolically take? And what is
Speaker 4: done to the product to test its safety? Because Lenny
Speaker 4: huge dummy kid baby, and we had dummy clips the
Speaker 4: law when he was little, and I think only ever
Speaker 4: had one that was actually cute with his little.
Speaker 1: Name on it. The rest was so hideous.
Speaker 4: And then yeah, I did read I just never thought
Speaker 4: about anything. I was never going to put one on
Speaker 4: him to sleep anyway. But then yeah, I read something
Speaker 4: about like some of them could be dangerous.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's actually wild because in my head, if I
Speaker 3: neither of my girls to get dummy, because why would
Speaker 3: they want to sleep and let me sleep? But I
Speaker 3: would never have bought one and considered that someone would
Speaker 3: be selling something that wasn't safe, Like I would have
Speaker 3: just looked at it unless it was really obvious, like
Speaker 3: bits were falling off and it was loose, I'd be like, oh,
Speaker 3: that's cute. Like we were given them for both girls,
Speaker 3: and I didn't think anything of it. I'm like, oh,
Speaker 3: that's cute, but neither used to dummy.
Speaker 1: I'm pretty naive.
Speaker 4: I just always I think I like to give people
Speaker 4: the benefit of a doubt as well, and I just
Speaker 4: think that people aren't out to get us, so I
Speaker 4: agree as well, Like I would just assume that a
Speaker 4: company that's selling a baby toy it would be safe
Speaker 4: for a baby.
Speaker 3: You would assume that is the assumption that many people
Speaker 3: make and what.
Speaker 1: I should be able to do technically, like you would think, you.
Speaker 3: Would think and hope. However, in all the research that
Speaker 3: I've done recently, it's not necessarily true with a dummy clip,
Speaker 3: though it is different slightly so for dummy clips specifically,
Speaker 3: in twenty seventeen, the Consumer Goods Baby Dummy and Dummy
Speaker 3: Change Safety Standard was brought in, so from twenty seventeen
Speaker 3: it was illegal to sell a dummy clip that wasn't
Speaker 3: safety tested.
Speaker 2: So what products have always been safety tested?
Speaker 3: None?
Speaker 2: None?
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's going to blow your mind. So this as well,
Speaker 3: I went, Really, I'd like deep dived into it since
Speaker 3: we've spoken, and it's actually blowing my mind. So my
Speaker 3: friend works for one of the top global insurance companies
Speaker 3: at a very high level. With the old standard, which
Speaker 3: was a two thousand and three standard, it just said
Speaker 3: you don't willingly knowingly sell toys that aren't safe. So
Speaker 3: if I looked if I made a toy and I went, yep,
Speaker 3: this is good, it's safe, I could sell it. If
Speaker 3: I heard a child the a triple C can then
Speaker 3: choose to recall it. They can then choose to find you,
Speaker 3: and if it goes to court, they'll look deeply into
Speaker 3: the lads, We'll look into it and see if you
Speaker 3: have actually done accountability and made sure that the product
Speaker 3: was safe.
Speaker 2: So basically they're relying on your due diligence and you're
Speaker 2: like call on whether or not your product is safe.
Speaker 3: And more than likely, in general, I would say you
Speaker 3: might get a slap on the wrist.
Speaker 2: Really no real life consequences.
Speaker 3: I went back to look at these statistics report and
Speaker 3: I can't find anything significant about big insurance claims on
Speaker 3: products where the child has been hurt. Does that make sense?
Speaker 3: So it hasn't got to that level but in saying
Speaker 3: that if toy that I was given broke, I would
Speaker 3: just put it in the bin.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so true. Unless something dire happens, you're not going
Speaker 2: to report it.
Speaker 3: No, And I think this is what we need to
Speaker 3: be doing, Like I really so, I would really like
Speaker 3: this to be a bit of a passion project for
Speaker 3: me because everyone that I've spoken to again just assumes
Speaker 3: that it's safe. So if I bought something, I would
Speaker 3: assume it was safe. But if I bought something off Temu,
Speaker 3: definitely don't make that assumption.
Speaker 2: No exactly, but then they're all coming from the.
Speaker 3: Same way, but because it's sold under an Australian business,
Speaker 3: you assume it. And even that I bought toys for
Speaker 3: Billy for the plane to go to Fiji, and I
Speaker 3: just bought off Amazon and they definitely were not safe.
Speaker 3: Like now that I reflect and I'm like, oh, that
Speaker 3: was a strangling raceaw you would have choked one that
Speaker 3: this is fun shit.
Speaker 2: I'm just thinking about the trip I did to Europe
Speaker 2: and all of the things I got off Amazon there, Like.
Speaker 3: Yeah, because Amazon is just the Australian Temu. Yes, if
Speaker 3: I don't want to wait two weeks for that toy.
Speaker 3: I will pay Amazon three times and have it the
Speaker 3: next day.
Speaker 1: Yeah, oh my god, Kate, you're going to die.
Speaker 4: Actually, just as we were just talking and Amazon delivery
Speaker 4: arrived that I ordered at ten pm last night.
Speaker 3: See this is why Amazon's great.
Speaker 4: Because I was like, I need an iPad cover. We're
Speaker 4: going on a plane. And then I was like, oh,
Speaker 4: just get one and get it delivered tomorrow. Yeah, brilliant,
Speaker 4: and I would who knows what it's made of?
Speaker 1: Who knows? So it arrived today, Yep.
Speaker 3: Definitely wasn't made in Australia.
Speaker 2: Convenience. Yeah, what we really care about. It's al how
Speaker 2: soon into your process of designing did you sort of
Speaker 2: become aware of these Well it's not even loopholes.
Speaker 3: So that's interesting as well. So you and I talked
Speaker 3: about the loophole because that's something I got really caught on.
Speaker 3: I was so upset by it that there was a
Speaker 3: loophole that people could go through if they wanted to
Speaker 3: with safety testing, which I thought was horrible, Like, I
Speaker 3: can't imagine risking a child's life to make free dooms.
Speaker 2: The loophole that we're talking about. Sorry, assumed knowledge or
Speaker 2: just rewind it back a little bit. So the first
Speaker 2: kind of thing that shocked you was a loophole around
Speaker 2: the rattles. Yeah, the sizing. Can you talk us through that?
Speaker 3: I definitely can. So with the dummies, they test for
Speaker 3: four things. The length must not exceed twenty two centimeters
Speaker 3: otherwise it's a strangulation risk. The strength is tested to
Speaker 3: make sure you can't break or tear under pressure. Then
Speaker 3: the little clip is open and shut multiple times to
Speaker 3: make sure that it won't break. And then there's not
Speaker 3: allowed to be any details or labels on dummy clips.
Speaker 3: So they're the four things they test for.
Speaker 2: Who are you sending it to? Are you paying for
Speaker 2: it to be done? It's not being sent to a
Speaker 2: regulatory board like you're sending it to a private lab.
Speaker 3: Yes. So there's oz Test, which is an Australian based
Speaker 3: testing company and they test everything under the sun, not
Speaker 3: just toys. Then there's another company that is a world
Speaker 3: no one called SGS, which is a globally international testing company.
Speaker 3: So I went through them. Generally speaking, at the moment,
Speaker 3: if you're trying to get insurance that cover your toys
Speaker 3: or baby products, the insurance companies prefer international testing company
Speaker 3: like OZ Test, or SGS, otherwise they will not accept
Speaker 3: their safety certification to cover you in insurance.
Speaker 2: And is that because the products are being sold intnationally
Speaker 2: and I want like the regulations to be met at
Speaker 2: an international level or that that's a really good question.
Speaker 3: But it's because os Test and SGS are reputable, so
Speaker 3: it's not a little unknown testing company in China facts
Speaker 3: that may not be as rigorous as an Australian testing.
Speaker 2: Company, right right, That makes sense.
Speaker 3: So I had to send it off to Hong Kong
Speaker 3: because they're not actually based to hear, and then once
Speaker 3: they received the samples, it took seven to ten working
Speaker 3: days and then I received a digital safety certificate back,
Speaker 3: which is when I found out the dummy and the
Speaker 3: rattle didn't pass safety testing, which is what led me
Speaker 3: into my chakhara of the loophole. And that's how I
Speaker 3: discovered the loophole. So it's really expensive to get your
Speaker 3: product safety tested by a reputable testing company. So I
Speaker 3: had spent a lot of money on the rattles because
Speaker 3: I assumed they were safe. And I assumed they were
Speaker 3: safe because when I started working or started designing the products,
Speaker 3: I worked with a sustainability consultant and made sure that
Speaker 3: the suppliers I partnered with aligned with my brand values.
Speaker 3: So i'd like hand picked the suppliers that I wanted,
Speaker 3: and then to find out that they were selling me
Speaker 3: products that weren't safe for children like blew my mind.
Speaker 3: So the dummy clip that I had it had wooden
Speaker 3: balls in it, which is fine because they were secure,
Speaker 3: but they didn't meet the impact test. So I sent
Speaker 3: some to key and if you just did a light
Speaker 3: tap with a hammer, the ball split, which then become
Speaker 3: a checking hazard, which is right next to a kid's
Speaker 3: face with their dummy So specifically that didn't pass. And
Speaker 3: when I asked them if I could then just have
Speaker 3: the dummy clip without the little wooden balls, the actual
Speaker 3: gap in the dummy clip were too small. So there's
Speaker 3: also regulations on how big or small the holes are
Speaker 3: in case fingers get trapped.
Speaker 2: Because the dummy clip is like crochet, right, and the
Speaker 2: risk is like obviously if it's too small a finger
Speaker 2: getting caught in circulation, et cetera, et cetera.
Speaker 3: Yes, so they didn't pass it when you bopped with
Speaker 3: a hammer, So that was fine I was fine with
Speaker 3: because I was like, holy moly, I would have I
Speaker 3: could have really hurt a child with the rattle. I
Speaker 3: could not understand how it didn't pass because it has
Speaker 3: a spheric end, like on the end if it's got
Speaker 3: a ball or a flat end. That has to meet
Speaker 3: a certain size requirement. So I've always been told if
Speaker 3: it's smaller than a twenty saint coin, don't give it
Speaker 3: to a kid. Like common sense. You look something and
Speaker 3: you're like, okay, that's more my child choke on it.
Speaker 3: This was almost four centimeters, so it's almost twice a
Speaker 3: twenty cent coin, but it still didn't actually make It
Speaker 3: needs to be forty three millimeters and that's based purely
Speaker 3: on the size of a baby's throat and if it
Speaker 3: can call like airway obstruction and suffocation. So when that
Speaker 3: came back as failing, I was wildly upset both that
Speaker 3: I had bought this. If I hadn't have looked into
Speaker 3: insurance and understood that I needed safety testing, I could
Speaker 3: have been selling these to the market like my Frankie
Speaker 3: was playing with them. Yeah, I didn't know that that
Speaker 3: could have killed her, Like that is horrifying.
Speaker 4: And that you could be profiting off selling someone something
Speaker 4: dangerous potentially.
Speaker 3: And you don't have to have insurance to sell toys.
Speaker 3: I just like dotting all the teas and crossing the Wait,
Speaker 3: that's wrong, crossing all the teeth. No, it was not I.
Speaker 3: But I could have just brought those in and and
Speaker 3: then sold them on Etsy, for example, without any business
Speaker 3: insurance or safety certifications and had no drama, and all
Speaker 3: of those parents would have bought those or their beautiful gifts.
Speaker 3: So people buy them as keepsakes. Imagine sending that to
Speaker 3: a friend and your friend's child suffocated. Like I had
Speaker 3: spent a lot of money. Again, assuming that the rattles
Speaker 3: would pass, I had ordered a large amount of each.
Speaker 3: I had five different colors, and then they have to
Speaker 3: test each of the colors because the silicon has different
Speaker 3: chemicals in it, so they want to make sure each
Speaker 3: of the silicon bowl colors are still safe for children
Speaker 3: and consumption in your mouth. And they didn't. And so
Speaker 3: I'd spent a lot of money on the rattles coming in,
Speaker 3: and then it spent a lot of money getting them tested,
Speaker 3: and then I couldn't understand. I didn't understand the safety
Speaker 3: regulations well enough to understand why it didn't pass. And
Speaker 3: then I went into a deep dive and spoke to
Speaker 3: my friend in insurance and we found that that rule
Speaker 3: it needs to be bigger than forty three, which it wasn't.
Speaker 4: It was just under Oh, so they just send something
Speaker 4: back and say it didn't pass, but they won't even
Speaker 4: give you reasoning as to why no.
Speaker 3: So I got an automated certain ungificate. It was so
Speaker 3: this poor man Joe. Shout out to Joe. I have
Speaker 3: emailed him so much in the last six months and
Speaker 3: I had to get him to try and explain to
Speaker 3: me why it didn't pass, which he did enough for
Speaker 3: me to understand where to find the answers. And that's
Speaker 3: when I found that in America, instead of safety toys,
Speaker 3: we have standards for up to thirty six months in Australia.
Speaker 3: In America they do zero to eighteen months, and then
Speaker 3: eighteen months to thirty six months. So as your child grows,
Speaker 3: their airways gets bigger, so the size that they can
Speaker 3: play with is become smaller.
Speaker 4: It's different what they can choke on when there are
Speaker 4: baby versus a toddler.
Speaker 3: Yes, if I had something small, Frankie has a tiny
Speaker 3: little throat, so that small thing could block her airways.
Speaker 3: That same small thing wouldn't block Billy's airways because she
Speaker 3: has a larger rope. So the American standard because it
Speaker 3: goes from zero to eighteen months, then eighteen months to
Speaker 3: thirty six months. If I sent my rattles back to
Speaker 3: the same testing company and had it tested under American standards,
Speaker 3: that passed that with these so I could have just
Speaker 3: got my safety certificate saying this is safe, and then
Speaker 3: it's not a legal requirement for me to put up
Speaker 3: the age, you know, the recommended age thirty six plus
Speaker 3: or zero plus, and I could have sold that and
Speaker 3: no one buys a rattle for a two year old,
Speaker 3: so I could be selling it online and saying, look
Speaker 3: it's been safety tested. My products are safe by this
Speaker 3: baby shower gift box. Oh it has a rattle, but
Speaker 3: that's not to use until the eighteen months.
Speaker 2: That blew my mind because I just thought, you're definitely
Speaker 2: done relying on the honesty and care factor of the
Speaker 2: manufacturer and someone who is importing goods to Australia, who's
Speaker 2: you know, working with us stuff. They're not going to
Speaker 2: change it. They've got inventory that they need to move,
Speaker 2: so literally they're just selling stuff being like, yeah, thirty
Speaker 2: six months past, but really everyone buying it is buying
Speaker 2: it for little little kids.
Speaker 3: Yes. What is actually terrifying now when I tell you
Speaker 3: and I kept this little nugget of joy just for today,
Speaker 3: is that the standard that I got my toys tested too.
Speaker 3: We're in a transition period in Australia, so at the moment,
Speaker 3: all products in Australia, every single toy now not dummy clips,
Speaker 3: that is sold on the market is under the Consumer
Speaker 3: Protection Notice of two thousand and three. So it is
Speaker 3: not a legal requirement currently to have any of your
Speaker 3: toys safety tested for anyone except for the dummy clips.
Speaker 3: So anything you.
Speaker 1: Go, she's in't a toy, it's not a toy.
Speaker 4: No, So half of the toys that are in my
Speaker 4: house could potentially be unsafe.
Speaker 3: Yes, because it's not a legal requirement to happen, as
Speaker 3: long as the business again goodwill you don't sell something. Well,
Speaker 3: some people might sell things that they know not to
Speaker 3: be safe. But again this is the As long as
Speaker 3: you have done your safety checks personally to check your products,
Speaker 3: or you've spoken to the manufacturer and they have said,
Speaker 3: oh yes it's safety tested, then you're allowed to sell
Speaker 3: it's not illegal to sell them. If you were then
Speaker 3: caught or something happened to a child, the HBLEC will
Speaker 3: stand in and they will basically you have to issue
Speaker 3: a recall notice and then destroy all the product that
Speaker 3: you have.
Speaker 4: Well like at the end of the day, it's basically
Speaker 4: just like a bit of a slap on the rist.
Speaker 3: Yes, generally speaking, it is a slap on the wrist,
Speaker 3: which is wild to me.
Speaker 4: I always would buy something for if it has a
Speaker 4: five plus or whatnot on it, but I feel like
Speaker 4: surely it should also be down to a parent's common sense.
Speaker 3: Currently, it's not a legal requirement to put on an
Speaker 3: age recommendation, so you'll see on lots of websites at
Speaker 3: the moment that there's no recommended age because it's not
Speaker 3: only requirement to do that.
Speaker 1: What are these websites?
Speaker 4: So I feel like I've never once seen a toy
Speaker 4: that didn't have an age requirement on it. So at Etsy,
Speaker 4: that's like for personalized crap, isn't it.
Speaker 2: There was a stage everyone's buying wooden toys and there
Speaker 2: weren't manufacturers in Australia that you could buy them from.
Speaker 2: So Etsy, I know a lot of people that bought
Speaker 2: like wooden toys from Etsy or a small business that
Speaker 2: isn't obviously doing their due diligence.
Speaker 4: Like I have to actually go and get this one
Speaker 4: toy to show you both, just.
Speaker 2: Because this was something that when you are sent in
Speaker 2: your submission and you were like, I'm horrified to admit
Speaker 2: that I would look at these age things and not
Speaker 2: think anything hadly of them. And I was so the same,
Speaker 2: and that's why I just went, oh my god, Like
Speaker 2: you know, I'm like, oh, they're just a guide, like
Speaker 2: how important are they? But it turns out that they
Speaker 2: are quite important if you are in fact using them
Speaker 2: as a business.
Speaker 3: Yes, so I Hi, that's pretty This was eighty dollars.
Speaker 4: But I bought it because he was obsessed with avacuses
Speaker 4: and I got his little name on it.
Speaker 1: These come out, yeah, so you just literally won.
Speaker 2: They come out and that's like bursting, really sharp and
Speaker 2: then the balls come off.
Speaker 1: Yes, so that is choking like And this was like
Speaker 1: eighty dollars, and.
Speaker 3: I remember you putting that up on your stories.
Speaker 1: I thought, I'm such a he was so.
Speaker 3: Mad that inspent eighty dollars on it.
Speaker 2: Hang on a minute, who wooden gifts and not being
Speaker 2: tested off itsy.
Speaker 1: I did not say that. I did not say that.
Speaker 4: I said the like little personalized stuff. I meant like toy.
Speaker 4: This isn't what it is a toy, but it's more
Speaker 4: like a decorative thing, is it.
Speaker 3: It's an advocus to play with.
Speaker 4: I put it up high because I figured out it
Speaker 4: was a final destination style toy waiting to happen.
Speaker 3: So I was a cramy for teacher. And in my
Speaker 3: head everything is based on intelligence and ability, like if
Speaker 3: you're in kindergarten, you may not necessarily be using scissors.
Speaker 3: In my head, when I bought things, I did it
Speaker 3: the other way. So my god son was eight and
Speaker 3: I was like, oh, I bought him this origamy, but
Speaker 3: it says three plus and I so embarrassed to me this,
Speaker 3: and I'm like, but surely a three year old can't
Speaker 3: do oragarmy like. But now that I understand that, it
Speaker 3: wasn't about that. It's about small parts. And some of
Speaker 3: them say three plus because it has small parts or
Speaker 3: some small parts have choking hazards. So it's much clearer
Speaker 3: on this labeling now. And the labeling from March is
Speaker 3: a legal requirement to have both the warning and the
Speaker 3: age recommendation, and the age recommendation has to match the
Speaker 3: legal lab safety report.
Speaker 2: That's good. So things are getting tighter, yes.
Speaker 3: But the mums and dads that are buying gifts that
Speaker 3: are more like me and think it's based on intelligence
Speaker 3: and ability, it's not. The three year olds still can't
Speaker 3: do our agami, but the two year old would choke
Speaker 3: on it.
Speaker 2: I'm not gonna lie. I just always thought that that
Speaker 2: was an ability thing. Like I knew it was a
Speaker 2: choking thing too. But if I'm looking at something that
Speaker 2: I deem not to be choky, yeah, and it's like
Speaker 2: four plus, I'm going, oh, that'll be fine. Sure.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: But sometimes it's also about ability. Like there was an electric.
Speaker 4: Card that I wanted to buy land but it said
Speaker 4: on an eight plus and I was looking at it,
Speaker 4: I was like, why is it eight plus?
Speaker 1: But it was because the actual remote there was hapes
Speaker 1: of different buttons.
Speaker 4: It wasn't just like two buttons, but it was still
Speaker 4: like a screw up for the batteries like it was.
Speaker 2: But do you think that actually was a safety thing
Speaker 2: over an intelligence thing.
Speaker 3: Battery operated toys they have a whole different set of
Speaker 3: safety standards.
Speaker 2: I reckon that would be down to the battery thing,
Speaker 2: because you know how how bad they are for kids
Speaker 2: when they swallow them.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but that's why they all will most toys.
Speaker 2: But what happens if a screw for us, They've got
Speaker 2: to say.
Speaker 1: I would love you to go home and have a
Speaker 1: look at how many battery are for any things?
Speaker 2: That she actually doesn't have any, mainly because battery means
Speaker 2: sound noise.
Speaker 3: Oh that's clever. I got Billy and elsadel that talks.
Speaker 2: Actually, Ruth's got two Juana dolls for Christmas that talk,
Speaker 2: so that we do. We've got some batteries stuff. Now,
Speaker 2: Is that all you wanted to say about the labels?
Speaker 3: Yes, So when the labels just be aware that it
Speaker 3: sounds really dumb. Because so I did a poll on
Speaker 3: Instagram after we talked, as in, after you'd said yes,
Speaker 3: let's do this podcast, because a lot of my followers
Speaker 3: and mums so they said, yes, I knew what the
Speaker 3: age grading was for, but about twenty five percent of
Speaker 3: responses was still like I don't know what you're talking about,
Speaker 3: or or I thought it was based on ability.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, good, So we're not alone Kate, you're alone.
Speaker 3: No, we do. I think as parents look at as
Speaker 3: you said, we look at something and we're like, Billy
Speaker 3: can play with this, like I mean crafting, Quip in crafting, it's.
Speaker 4: Me and she's old enough to do it, and she's
Speaker 4: into it, and oh my god, I'm so jealous.
Speaker 3: Oh it's only just started and it's great and it
Speaker 3: brings me so much joy. They all say three puss,
Speaker 3: So now she's actually three, but I did start that earlier.
Speaker 3: So it is up to a parent or care decision
Speaker 3: or like what they're going to give their child. But
Speaker 3: we also apply common sense naturally, like I'm not going
Speaker 3: to give Frankie some marbles to play with. I'm not
Speaker 3: going to give Billy marbles to play with near Frankie.
Speaker 3: But I would give Billy something to play with or
Speaker 3: Frankie something to play with that I deem safe.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's so based on the kids as well.
Speaker 4: Like I know some people wouldn't even think about, Like
Speaker 4: I'm a puzzler, and for the first couple of years
Speaker 4: of Lennie's life, I was banished with my puzzles. You
Speaker 4: have to use your caddy in private, you have to
Speaker 4: use your puzzle Caddy in private to puzzle. But now
Speaker 4: Lenny's three, but he's never once put anything in his
Speaker 4: mouth that shouldn't, so I have been allowed to make
Speaker 4: my way out.
Speaker 2: Rue has just started putting money in her mouth, and
Speaker 2: I was like, like coins, we don't have many coins,
Speaker 2: but we had some for some reason, and she never
Speaker 2: really put stuff in her mouth, And then she started
Speaker 2: putting coins, and I was like, I thought we were
Speaker 2: past that.
Speaker 3: It's funny though, as well, except that Ru has just
Speaker 3: started it. But when Billy realized that Frankie wasn't leaving,
Speaker 3: she started becoming little Billy, and Little Billy started wing
Speaker 3: and peing again, not in the toilet, but she also
Speaker 3: wanted a bottle, and she also wanted all the toys
Speaker 3: that Frankie was putting in her mouth. So if Frankie
Speaker 3: does something and picks it up, I'm like, Frankie, no,
Speaker 3: Billy will then copy it.
Speaker 1: Oh my god.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's been a very long seventeen months of my life.
Speaker 4: But black, Yeah, are there any products on the market
Speaker 4: now that you like? If you're walking through the shops
Speaker 4: or whatnot and you just think, what the actual fuck?
Speaker 3: Not so much in the shops so generally speaking, bigger companies,
Speaker 3: they still haven't had them necessarily safety tested. But you
Speaker 3: can see things on the shelves that are generally age appropriate, yeah,
Speaker 3: or like warning labels, and probably even safer than that
Speaker 3: because they're not safety tested. So I got a soft
Speaker 3: toy and I actually read that when I started looking
Speaker 3: to this. So they went around the house and looked
Speaker 3: at all the tags on things and it's for six
Speaker 3: months plus and I'm like, but what would happen to
Speaker 3: a baby? Like to me, I was like, well, that's
Speaker 3: extra safe to me for a little soft toy for
Speaker 3: my kid to play with.
Speaker 1: Like they're erring on the side of caution, That's what
Speaker 1: I was trying to say.
Speaker 3: Retailers, Yeah, the big companies were generally just recolld the item.
Speaker 3: So in December there was a like sensory baby ball
Speaker 3: toy recalled from Kmart and in Halloween there was a
Speaker 3: battery operated toy recalled from the reject shop. So that
Speaker 3: still does happen. What I find terrifying about that is
Speaker 3: that we don't go into the physical shops anymore. We
Speaker 3: don't go into I mean we do, but eighty percent
Speaker 3: of my purchases are on Amazon. But you know, when
Speaker 3: I was little, I used to go to Castle Towers
Speaker 3: and there'd be the sign on the front service desk
Speaker 3: that would be like this product was recalled, and you'd
Speaker 3: like you'd visually see that sign saying that it's recalled.
Speaker 3: It's not an actual requirement if you don't have a
Speaker 3: list of the customers that bought it. All you need
Speaker 3: to do is a public notice. So you might post
Speaker 3: it on your Instagram or you post it to the
Speaker 3: atrix c website.
Speaker 4: But there's definitely going to be a percentage of people
Speaker 4: that bought it that won't see it.
Speaker 3: No, how would I know that K might record a toy.
Speaker 3: The only reason why I know that cameant recalled to
Speaker 3: toys because I've been reading the recalled products and tracking
Speaker 3: it on the website. I don't think other people do that.
Speaker 1: I actually did see the one about the km Art.
Speaker 1: I don't know how.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and then you've got your mums, who like you,
Speaker 3: share with your village. In stores, I find that they
Speaker 3: are on the side of caution with their age recommendations
Speaker 3: and safety warnings. Where I'm planning, there seems to be
Speaker 3: a real influx of toys that may not be safe
Speaker 3: are on online marketplaces, so it can be anything off
Speaker 3: Etsy that says they're handmade.
Speaker 4: And also like I guess kind of similar to Etsy,
Speaker 4: like small businesses that target you with their influx of
Speaker 4: Insta ads or TikTok ads or whatever. But yeah, it's
Speaker 4: just like they're just a random store. You've never heard
Speaker 4: of them before.
Speaker 3: What is a good thing is from the fifth of
Speaker 3: March this year, the transition phase from the two thousand
Speaker 3: and three Safety Standard to the twenty twenty three safety
Speaker 3: Standard will come into effect and it will be illegal
Speaker 3: to sell toys for children under thirty six months without
Speaker 3: land safety testing.
Speaker 2: Ooh, that's great, that's really great.
Speaker 3: The problem with that boat is that that doesn't mean
Speaker 3: every toy will just magically be safety tested overnight. Like
Speaker 3: it's amazing and I love it, and you can report
Speaker 3: to ahril C and there is now something to back
Speaker 3: you up legally, and you would hope that businesses start actioning.
Speaker 2: It because there'll surely be a grace period, right because I.
Speaker 3: Think that there already is a grace period. There was
Speaker 3: a transition phase for the last eighteen months. Eighteen months
Speaker 3: finishes in March, and it's on but if people aren't
Speaker 3: on top of it, if they've just gotten an Etsy
Speaker 3: stole and they've imported a bunch of stuff from China,
Speaker 3: they're just passing it on to the next person. They
Speaker 3: haven't got insurance, they haven't read all the safety just
Speaker 3: to make a buck, or just a lack of awareness.
Speaker 2: In your situation, you had done a lot of inde
Speaker 2: pendant safety checks and that you had chosen your you know,
Speaker 2: your supplies really carefully.
Speaker 3: And yeah, I was still wrong.
Speaker 2: And you were still wrong. So you know, there's there's
Speaker 2: like kind of like a bit of a span there
Speaker 2: of like obviously people who are evil, but we hope
Speaker 2: that they are a very small percentage. And then probably
Speaker 2: the majority of people are just you know, trying to
Speaker 2: do a side hustle, thinking they've done enough and really
Speaker 2: not understanding just kind of like how much testing should
Speaker 2: be done and things like that. So this also was
Speaker 2: going to apply to international companies though selling into Australia
Speaker 2: or is it still going to be that there'll be
Speaker 2: that loophole.
Speaker 3: So it has to be safe up to thirty six
Speaker 3: months under the safety standard. It's accepted if you have
Speaker 3: yours tested under the Australian Safety Standard, the International Safety Standard,
Speaker 3: the American Safety Standard or the European Safety Standard.
Speaker 2: Or so it's not and so or any.
Speaker 3: They basically are very similar. The only difference is that
Speaker 3: American one. So if I still got my rattle safety
Speaker 3: tested under the American standard, I could legally sell that
Speaker 3: in Australia as long as I put on eighteen months plus.
Speaker 2: I'm thinking there's an example that Kelly and I talk
Speaker 2: a little bit about in the lead up to before
Speaker 2: your interview, where I talk about a teether that all
Speaker 2: of my mother's group moms had. We all got them,
Speaker 2: and they were so cute and really aesthetic. It was
Speaker 2: like a wooden circle with these little rubber you know,
Speaker 2: prongs that came off and they had little bumps on them.
Speaker 2: And I always thought to myself, one of those things
Speaker 2: came off, it's hard rubber and it's exactly the size
Speaker 2: of their like airway.
Speaker 3: Have you looked at the agel for c Yes, because
Speaker 3: they feel.
Speaker 2: Like it got re called, didn't it because one of
Speaker 2: those things fell off. And I just thought I made
Speaker 2: a judgment call in that moment to be like, ah,
Speaker 2: she'll be right now. You won't like no, But I
Speaker 2: think parents are making those little decisions all the time,
Speaker 2: you know, the same thing, like with the knowledge of
Speaker 2: we're so heavily regulated, surely it would be okay. But again,
Speaker 2: I've got no idea where that tee that came from.
Speaker 2: That was the first moment where for me I was
Speaker 2: like WHOA. Like when I saw that recal come out,
Speaker 2: I was like Jesus.
Speaker 3: And did you see it come out?
Speaker 2: Though I only did because I think a toy shop,
Speaker 2: like an online retailer that I follow posted something on
Speaker 2: their Instagram or something like that, like, and I remember
Speaker 2: sending it to all the girls being like, oh, I
Speaker 2: knew there was something dodgy about my pa.
Speaker 3: I was right by.
Speaker 2: But that's the kind of thing Like I think that
Speaker 2: many parents listening right now will have an AHA moment
Speaker 2: or this conversation will spark an AHA moment about something
Speaker 2: that your kids maybe picked up and played with at
Speaker 2: some point.
Speaker 4: I yes, this conversation it's going to make people pay
Speaker 4: more attention.
Speaker 3: That's what I'm really hoping.
Speaker 4: I mean, what I'm taking away from these is actually
Speaker 4: thinking about what I'm purchasing. If I'm just buying something online,
Speaker 4: not from like a actual retailler.
Speaker 3: So we Billy Frank did their first market stare before Christmas.
Speaker 3: Was very exciting. No one was there, Oh my god.
Speaker 3: Yeah at Wanner's Bay. So I'm officially in one as
Speaker 3: Fay every three weeks. I'm a bit of a chatty Kathy.
Speaker 1: Well, there's nothing awkward about that.
Speaker 2: How many purchases have you made after having a really
Speaker 2: long conversation with someone and just being like, no, I
Speaker 2: have to purchase something like that's actually a good time.
Speaker 3: Yeah, this is true. Otherwise they just go and they're
Speaker 3: gone and I'm like, come back, I haven't told you
Speaker 3: about my first birthday party. There's an agreement that Amazon
Speaker 3: has in Australia that the toys that come in are safe.
Speaker 3: It's not necessarily that they are.
Speaker 4: It's a bit better though that maybe we're not making
Speaker 4: awful decisions.
Speaker 3: It's still not on yeah no, and it's sort of
Speaker 3: this agreement that they'll investigate it if it's not safe.
Speaker 3: Choice are fighting to get TAMU to agree to it
Speaker 3: and they're not.
Speaker 1: Oh my god.
Speaker 4: I just feel like we need to ban those sorts
Speaker 4: of places from being able to sell in Australia.
Speaker 3: Also, Temo should be banned when you are awake at
Speaker 3: three I'm feeding a baby. Yeah, when it needs to
Speaker 3: be banned, it just needs to be banned between the
Speaker 3: hours of seven pm and seven am. I made many
Speaker 3: a purchase. So the one that I am worried about
Speaker 3: that is still being sold on the market is a
Speaker 3: timber rattle or a beechwood rattle that has been recalled.
Speaker 3: I wrote down the stats. It was wild like officially
Speaker 3: recalled sixteen times since twenty twenty by over thirty different businesses.
Speaker 3: So it's a really cute, aesthetically pleasing rattle that doesn't
Speaker 3: meet the forty three millimeter requirement. And you'll find that
Speaker 3: a lot of these companies that have had a recall
Speaker 3: no longer exist, but then they can pop up in
Speaker 3: it as a different company. One good thing is if
Speaker 3: it was recalled and I used the manufacturer ABC, then
Speaker 3: they would contact ABC and ask for all the Australian suppliers.
Speaker 3: I think is how it works, so they can actually
Speaker 3: work out who the manufacturers sent it to to do
Speaker 3: the recall. The ones to be careful a if you're buying,
Speaker 3: buy a small business, and I am a small business,
Speaker 3: so I'm not telling you to not buy from small businesses,
Speaker 3: Please come and buy my things. They are all safety testing.
Speaker 1: Safety testing is what.
Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, I've actually put my safety testing certificates on
Speaker 3: my website just so that people can see it, read it,
Speaker 3: they can see what it's tested for and that it's
Speaker 3: past safety testing. But a lot of people don't do that. Actually,
Speaker 3: I don't think any other company that I know of
Speaker 3: has posted the certifications. Sometimes they will have in like
Speaker 3: a little bracket that it's been safety tested to the
Speaker 3: Australian standard. Online business, small business amazing. I support them.
Speaker 3: I am one just asked if they've had their products
Speaker 3: safety tested if they act really dodgy and give you
Speaker 3: a run around answer that probably don't have the safety.
Speaker 1: Testing, And I mean, let's be honest.
Speaker 4: The thing is is that when you're shopping from a
Speaker 4: small business, you're generally paying a higher price because the
Speaker 4: business has so many more costs involved, and the cost
Speaker 4: of the units is so much more. Because you're paying
Speaker 4: for that higher price, it's because you're dealing with a
Speaker 4: smaller business. So you're well within your rights to ask
Speaker 4: those questions. So no one should ever feel embarrassed or
Speaker 4: like bad about asking those questions.
Speaker 3: So in the checklist I'm going to give you guys.
Speaker 3: Number one is basically see if it is safety tested
Speaker 3: to this standard. If it's not listed, then you just
Speaker 3: approach the company or the manufacturer and they should be
Speaker 3: able to give you a clear answer that yes, it
Speaker 3: was tested underneath this standard. As of March, it is
Speaker 3: a legal requirement for them to put on the warnings
Speaker 3: and the age recommendation on all toys or the packaging
Speaker 3: the toy is in, or any advertising. So if you
Speaker 3: looked up something on Kmart, it will say recommended age
Speaker 3: twelve months plus. That's from the safety certification, so you
Speaker 3: know that it has been safety tested and isn't appropriate
Speaker 3: for children under twelve months. I know we talked about
Speaker 3: we make our own judgments with our children, but these
Speaker 3: companies are doing the safety testing for a reason.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: So on my spop businesses, we'll circle back. If you're
Speaker 3: going to the markets, if they are handmade at the markets,
Speaker 3: just double check the length of the dummy clip or
Speaker 3: just give it a little pull and see if it's
Speaker 3: going to come Undone TAMU, obviously I would say, is
Speaker 3: ninety eight percent unsafe.
Speaker 1: Yeah, aware.
Speaker 3: And the other one that I found interesting. When I
Speaker 3: was researching, it was second hand stores. So we did
Speaker 3: a I call it my toy swap. So we've moved
Speaker 3: out of Sydney. I had no support here and on
Speaker 3: a Friday I used to walk Billy up to the
Speaker 3: Salvos and all the girls would hold her. And that's
Speaker 3: so I used to buy the toys. We'd play with them,
Speaker 3: then we'd take it and get a new toy in
Speaker 3: that time. They're secondhand toys. They don't have packaging, so
Speaker 3: I would have never known or thought about, oh, this
Speaker 3: is not appropriate for Billy to be playing with, like
Speaker 3: unless it was obvious. Like again, if it's a marvel,
Speaker 3: I'm going to go, don't play with that. But it's
Speaker 3: just being aware if you're buying something secondhand or if
Speaker 3: marketplace Facebook Marketplace, maybe google it first.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that is such a good point because.
Speaker 1: It's so such a good idea. Can I say about
Speaker 1: the second that's so smart.
Speaker 2: I buy a lot of stuff secondhand off Facebook Marketplace,
Speaker 2: and I'll never up the recommended age. I don't like,
Speaker 2: I'm thinking of that thing that like the.
Speaker 4: Little to be fair, you buy things that you've already
Speaker 4: researched and want for her because she's at that age
Speaker 4: and then you look on Facebook marketplace.
Speaker 1: To be fair, I'm going to give you.
Speaker 2: But I have a specifically the age thing, and I
Speaker 2: think that's something that I will now add.
Speaker 3: I don't look at the age thing like I feel
Speaker 3: like maybe I definitely should have been looking at the
Speaker 3: age thing and not been like they don't have the
Speaker 3: fine Modus goods fund.
Speaker 1: I have always looked at the age thing.
Speaker 4: But that said, I would use my judgment though then yes.
Speaker 3: Okay, so these are the things that I would recommend.
Speaker 3: The three things that I would urge parents to do.
Speaker 3: I check the packaging or tag for the statement saying
Speaker 3: that it meets safety stand Australian safety standards. If you're
Speaker 3: not sure, asks the brand directly. Responsible businesses should be
Speaker 3: able to provide proof with no dodgy or vague answers.
Speaker 3: One thing that would be mandatory from March which have said,
Speaker 3: is to display the age recommendation based on the safety
Speaker 3: testing results. And then I've written down just for me
Speaker 3: and key. Remember that age recommendations aren't about intelligence or ability.
Speaker 3: They're based on They're based on potential hazards for that
Speaker 3: age group. So it's always best to follow them for
Speaker 3: safety's sake. I feel so silly saying that, because I like,
Speaker 3: I feel like that's something I should have known.
Speaker 4: No, I feel like if generally we're very few fifty
Speaker 4: and then we find that the audience is very fifty
Speaker 4: to fifty, So I'm going to say that I'm not
Speaker 4: just trying to make you both feel better. I reckon
Speaker 4: fifty percent of people probably are the same.
Speaker 2: Well as you said, if it's like a marble or
Speaker 2: there's something like really obvious about it being you go, oh, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2: But if I'm looking at something that's like three plus,
Speaker 2: I'm like, she's two and a hulfe, She's right fine, Like,
Speaker 2: but like, I think you are making those observations. But
Speaker 2: if something that you're looking at doesn't look particularly, you know, alarming,
Speaker 2: you are disregarding that really like the right, I.
Speaker 3: Say, did you look at that rattle and go, oh,
Speaker 3: that's too small?
Speaker 2: No, I thought the original rattle, yeah beautiful. I was like,
Speaker 2: I didn't think it was too small. In fact, I
Speaker 2: both Charlie and I sat down with Charlie to look
Speaker 2: through everything. I would have given that to rue, and
Speaker 2: I'm pretty sure we have a rattle that's that size
Speaker 2: that she didn't have, which I need to check when
Speaker 2: I get home.
Speaker 3: This is the point that speaking of this like this
Speaker 3: is where I got stuck. Is lastly checked. The toy
Speaker 3: doesn't have any loose parts or stitching, which I think
Speaker 3: we do naturally, but all the parts exactly that we
Speaker 3: come or small parts that fit inside the cylinder of
Speaker 3: a fifty cent coin. But it's actually bigger than that.
Speaker 3: A fifty cent coin is thirty two mil. And what
Speaker 3: they want it bigger is that a forty two mel.
Speaker 3: But it's not twenty cents anymore. At least think about
Speaker 3: a fifty cent coin, except no one will know what
Speaker 3: a fifty cent coin is because we all play with
Speaker 3: our phones. Then it just says in the end, it's
Speaker 3: just trust your instincts. If something feels off, ask questions
Speaker 3: and make sure they're safe and tested. If they are unsure,
Speaker 3: don't give it to your child. If you're unsure, don't
Speaker 3: buy it. If the business can't give you a clear
Speaker 3: and concise answer, I also wouldn't buy it. And I
Speaker 3: say this like I am a small business, and I
Speaker 3: don't want anyone else to come out and be like, oh,
Speaker 3: she's just saying this to put down other small not
Speaker 3: to put down other business. But it's not it's not.
Speaker 4: Make you're right here, anyone that says that you're not.
Speaker 4: You've talked about also that a lot of big Australian
Speaker 4: retailers are following the rules more so than small businesses.
Speaker 4: You're absolutely not saying don't shop at other businesses, only
Speaker 4: shop at me.
Speaker 1: You're saying, yes, I do happen.
Speaker 4: To have these products, but these are the things that
Speaker 4: you need to look out for in general. Yes, and
Speaker 4: also fuck these small businesses but aren't doing their due diligence.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I just ask That's all I can say, Like,
Speaker 3: have a look if it doesn't have the age recommendation.
Speaker 3: Asked because it is a legal requirement. They have to
Speaker 3: have a recommended age for their toys and for the
Speaker 3: children under thirty six months.
Speaker 2: That was really, really informative and insightful. I think both
Speaker 2: of us are walking away from this convo feeling a
Speaker 2: little bit more educated on what we should and shouldn't
Speaker 2: be looking.
Speaker 3: I think that's just you and me.
Speaker 2: Key, Yeah, Kelly's all I read, except for the batteries, which.
Speaker 3: We're all going to have to look up. This car
Speaker 3: now batteries.
Speaker 2: They are new purchases, and I shall be putting some
Speaker 2: celotape over that thing so it can't be opened.
Speaker 3: Well, Billy's Elsa is not a new purchase, and it
Speaker 3: is from a marketplace, so probably extra unsafe.
Speaker 2: I'm doing the best weekend.
Speaker 4: I think that, No, it's not like this wild crazy story,
Speaker 4: but it's actually so much more important than a wild
Speaker 4: crazy story, like this.
Speaker 3: Is the sort of thing so important.
Speaker 1: It's just so like we need to know these things
Speaker 1: and we don't, So that's right. I think it's so good.
Speaker 3: If you're worried also with something or something, guys, please
Speaker 3: report it to the agriple seat. You can report it
Speaker 3: anonymously if you have pictures of it breaking, put pictures
Speaker 3: in and they have to investigate that. Even if that
Speaker 3: company isn't fined or the only ramification is that they
Speaker 3: recall it, they're still recalling it and no other child
Speaker 3: will have that toy. And I followed that ageable seat
Speaker 3: on Instagram too, and they don't seem to be putting
Speaker 3: up the well. I couldn't find pictures of product recalls
Speaker 3: and it's such a weird. That's weird. As my advice
Speaker 3: but is keep an eye or if you're bored, or
Speaker 3: if you're doing a three a M feed, just keep
Speaker 3: an eye on what has been recalled because you might
Speaker 3: have been gifted that toy, so you're not following them
Speaker 3: on Instagram or on social media so you won't see
Speaker 3: their public recall.
Speaker 2: When it comes to your kids, like, we have to
Speaker 2: protect them and parents are tired, they're new parents, they
Speaker 2: might not know, like you're just trying to do the
Speaker 2: best you can. We need to have these little kind
Speaker 2: of checkpoints in place in a country that is so regulated.
Speaker 2: It's insane to me that it's taken this long.
Speaker 3: I can't believe it's not illegal and hasn't been illegal
Speaker 3: to sell toys that aren't safety tested.
Speaker 2: That blew my mind. It's like, okay, cool, so we're
Speaker 2: just selling death traps. That's great, lovely, Well, thank you
Speaker 2: so much for coming on.
Speaker 3: Kay.
Speaker 2: We loved so yeah, and we're stoked that you are, yeah,
Speaker 2: taking this up as your little passion project to bring
Speaker 2: awareness to safety and regulations of toys in Australia for
Speaker 2: our little kiddos to remain safe.
Speaker 3: I really just want people to buy safe toys for
Speaker 3: their children. Also, I sell bibs. Yes, so esthetics. We
Speaker 3: have beautiful bibs and I've designed one for the Australian
Speaker 3: climate that still covers your clothes.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, well, thank you Kate so much for that interview.
Speaker 2: I feel a lot more prepared and informed and educated.
Speaker 2: Kelly probably feels about the same.
Speaker 1: The information was very interesting.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Yeah, it won't make my purchasing decisions any different, but.
Speaker 2: But it might help a few of you out then. Also,
Speaker 2: I think also when you're purchasing things for other people
Speaker 2: as well.
Speaker 4: Especially I love buying like personalized things from Etsy or
Speaker 4: from the markets.
Speaker 1: It definitely has changed.
Speaker 4: The way I'm sure for sure that was pretty something
Speaker 4: about its small businesses.
Speaker 2: But but yeah, we can still still put the ones
Speaker 2: that are you buy closing stuff totally things that aren't Toky.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for joining us today. I remember
Speaker 2: you can share the pod on your socials. This is
Speaker 2: an important episode, so I encourage you to share far
Speaker 2: and wide and let us know what you think and
Speaker 2: what you want to hear. We would love your feedback.
Speaker 2: As always, you can tag us at key Reese and
Speaker 2: at Kelly Underscore mccaren and at e SSR dot pod
Speaker 2: on Instagram.
Speaker 4: This episode was produced by myself, Kelly McCarran key re Cells,
Speaker 4: with audio production by Maddie Joanna See you next week.
Speaker 1: Shitter is Bye Bye