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The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally considered the first day of Christmas shopping. Named Black Friday by those who hope to turn their red-inked losses into black-inked profits, it is also a day marked by disconcerting images of discount hungry mobs breaking down doors for the best deals. This year, with the state of the economy still dismal, the search for deals is expected to be even greater. But parents shopping for toys to place under the tree should pay just as much attention to safety as to the price tag. Just last year alone, more than a quarter of a million children visited Emergency Rooms nationwide with toy-related injuries. The California Public Interest Research Group, or CALPIRG, has just released its 25th Annual Trouble in Toyland report, as a guide for parents this shopping season. Over the past quarter century, CALPIRG’s reports have led to at least 130 recalls. In addition to choking and strangulation hazards, the latest report also warns parents of toxic toys that continue to be stocked on store shelves. Despite the landmark Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act passed by Congress in 2008, according to CALPIRG, there are “tens of thousands of toxic chemicals that are still not regulated for the many uses in our children’s lives.”

GUEST: Jaafar Rizvi, Transportation Associate at CALPIRG

Find out more at www.calpirg.org, www.toysafety.net, and www.toysafety.mobi.