Massive Recall

We recently purchased Roman shades for our three living room windows. I had been wanting Roman shades for quite some time, but quite frankly could not afford the outrageous prices most stores were asking for them. The week before MacKenzie came to join us we were walking around Target (in efforts to get her to come out) and saw brown Roman shades on clearance. It took several trips to several different Targets to collect the correct size and color (and one of them is still a slightly different brown from the rest...but it is very difficult to tell), but we got all three windows covered for about 30 bucks. We are happy for our shades and like the extra warmth they bring to our increasingly brown living room.

Recently however we read an article about a different brand shade being recalled. While these shades are different from ours we still looked at the article to see why. We then became frustrated with the reasoning behind the recall. I completely agree with the idea that a child could, theoretically, grab the shade cord and wrap it around their neck causing strangulation. However, where is the parent accountability factor? When will parents be held accountable for actually taking care of their child rather than simply recalling every device that has some contributing factor in the unfortunate death of a child. There are numerous devices in stores that one can purchase quite inexpensively that will take a cord, wind it up, and make it impossible for a child to get to. Additionally, one could also check on their child every once in awhile to make sure they aren't accidentally doing something that could be harmful to them. I realize that I am a new parent, but I would hope that I would check on my child who was playing with enough frequency that something like this would not happen.

Matt and I see the constant recalls of products (even though there are some products that need to be recalled) as more of a blame game that is becoming more and more prevalent in our society. I completely understand that if something happens to your child that you would want someone or something to blame, but is this really the way to go?

All of this being said...I will not be removing my Roman shades, but do hope that I can prevent this from happening to MacKenzie or any other child that comes into contact with my window coverings...