Those examples are obviously dangerous while magnets are not. A parent is going to leave their 2 year old playing with a loaded gun, but they might leave them to play with a bunch of magnets without realizing the danger.
Also, there are no warning labels on balloons, much less are they banned, but, as the OP points out, balloons are the #1 cause of child suffocation. It's clear here that these rules aren't being made based on any sensible cost-benefit regulatory consideration, they are just putting unnecessary burdens on new products and grandfathering in the old ones because this is the path of least blame/resistance.
For instance, the first result for "balloons" on amazon doesn't show any warning labels on the exterior package or the front of the interior bag.
https://smile.amazon.com/Kings-Deal-10color-Latex-Balloons/d...
(Maybe it's in small type on the back?)
EDIT: Was able to find this PDF, which says that latex balloons must be labeled if they are intended for children under 12. But presumably nothing is required if intended for adults. http://mohawkglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/labeling-...
Those examples are obviously dangerous while magnets are not. A parent is [not] going to leave their 2 year old playing with a loaded gun [...]
I amended your quote as you seem to have omitted a word by mistake. However, I have to disagree - lots of small children die or shoot others every year because the parents do allow them to play with a loaded gun. Sure they don't hand them a gun and say 'have fun Timmy,' but it's quite common for people to leave the gun accessible to children who then play with it. I don't recall how many kids die this way each year but it's far from zero. Given the wide popularity of guns, I'd think a lot more 2 year olds get shot than die or suffer injury from eating magnets.
http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/child-injured-kill... has pretty up-to-date raw data for anyone interested in analyzing this.
>they don't hand them a gun and say 'have fun Timmy,'
That is the distinction. These things are marketed as toys. The expectation is that they will be played with and probably by kids.
Regarding the warnings, almost every kids toy has these type of warnings. It is easy to get desensitized to them. A parent should still be aware of them, but it also means that in practice these type of warnings might not be enough to stop potential problems.
And for the record, I'm not saying these should be outlawed or anything. Just that the comparison to guns and fireworks or using those as a justification for a lack of regulation is silly due to the marketing and perceived danger of all three products.
I agree and think it's a mistake to put on so many warnings that tired parents, or stupid parents, or parents who can't read English well, or whoever, become so overwhelmed by the warning information that they just ignore it. But it's also a mistake to say 'well people don't pay attention to warnings so we'd better just take the product off the market.' That's just an absurd over-reaction.
'You can have fun with this' =/= 'Safe for kids to use unsupervised.' Or more bluntly 'fun' =/= 'carefree.' Lots of enjoyable things are also dangerous. At some point liability accrues to the person who willingly engages in the dangerous activity; manufacturers should clearly inform consumers about the existence of risk but should not be expected to actively insulate them from it under every circumstance.
And for the record, I'm not saying these should be outlawed or anything. Just that the comparison to guns and fireworks or using those as a justification for a lack of regulation is silly due to the marketing and perceived danger of all three products.
I don't think so. Guns and fireworks are often marketed irresponsibly from what I've seen, and while responsibility is a matter of opinion it's easy to find advertising materials suggesting that guns and fireworks can be employed for fun, so I hope you'd agree that that's a fact. It's definitely a fact that while in pursuit of said fun, people do stupid shit with guns and fireworks on a regular basis - every year a few people kill them,selves on the 4th of July doing some idiotic firework stunt, and the toll from gun accidents is higher again.
So look, while I agree that magnets are not as obviously dangerous as guns or fireworks in that they don't involve explosions, they're still dangerous and anyone over the age of about 12 who doesn't appreciate this is rather ignorant. When the magnets are sold with a large warning saying 'this is dangerous because you could die' and people choose to ignore than, then they're being willfully ignorant.
I don't understand the compulsion to make excuses for willful ignorance. Most households have several dangerous chemicals in a cupboard under the kitchen sink and it's well understood that you shouldn't let kids drink drain cleaner etc. etc. Why are parents expected to exercise reasonable judgement where firearms, incendiaries, chemicals and so on are concerned but the same level of warning isn't considered sufficient for some other products? It's a self-defeating position.
In America, you're not expected or even allowed to be completely responsible for your child's safety. You're told what to do and what not to do (no matter your own educated experience)... the state knows best, don't you know?
More and more, every time I hear the word 'simple' it's followed by some irrational bullshit. It's becoming my least favorite word.
The most accurate number I've found (compiled by the Associated Press) gives around 100 deaths per year from firearm negligence involving children.
That's 100 too many, but to put it in perspective, 70 children per year choke to death on small objects (like balloons or dice), and right around 700 per year drown in swimming pools.
The most important part to solving this problem is education.
There are far too many children that don't know that guns aren't toys, and that grow up never learning anything about gun safety, which isn't exactly the best way to encourage a culture of responsibility as adults.
We know that teaching teenagers about safe sex drastically lowers STD and unplanned pregnancy rates, and we should be doing the same thing with gun safety education.
I've seen the "do not swallow warnings" but I don't recall ever getting much of an explanation.
I think explanations of warnings are severely under rated. It's the difference between a warning someone might actually heed and one someone might easily dismiss as nannying.
I don't think it is sensible for government machinery to waste taxpayer money on inventing new ways of saving babies and instead let parents make those decisions. Parents care for their babies infinitely more than government and those parents who might be irresponsible might put children in harms way despite all regulations.
A good clear label indicating the harm is good enough.
Perfect accidentally correct typo. You meant "NOT going to", but your intent was wrong:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/05/01/toddl...
Or, according to the website, "a balloon, the #1 cause of child suffocation, a novelty everyone grew up with and often believe to be harmless."