Now that the kids have settled back into school, it’s time for parents to check in on them. It’s just what parents do. I love my Mom, I really do, but I can remember moving out for college and the frequency and depth of the interrogations about my well-being that started shortly thereafter. Long before the term “helicopter parents” was coined, it seemed my Mom had the world’s longest apron strings, and I would surely be tied to them for life.
As you are sourcing toys and child-appealing products in general, you likely haven’t considered the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) as your personal overbearing Helicopter Parent. Toys, games, and other child-appealing products that regulations keep out of the promotional product market is surely a good thing for everyone. But that’s not the view of a growing group of “Captain Mommy” and “Captain Daddy” advocates. One of the most vocal is Abby Schachter, an author who says “Uncle Sam is the worst Helicopter Parent in America.”
Schachter’s new book is called “No Child Left Alone: Getting The Government Out Of Parenting.” She became “Captain Mommy” after she says Pennsylvania state law prevented her child from being swaddled at daycare as she wished. “I was already used to having the rules piled on at my kids’ licensed day care, but when I was told that the one method that helped my child to sleep was banned, something changed. I stopped being a regular mom who was annoyed at a bunch of rules that conflicted with my private choices.” Schacter has a blog, CaptainMommy.com, and contributed an article to the Wall Street Journal after the recent huge IKEA furniture recall. “Does the government properly calculate risk when it considers whether consumer products are safe? No government agency – no matter how well-staffed, efficiently run or well-intentioned – can stop all harm from coming to all children at all times.”
Writing for the New York Post, Schachter says she is not alone in her fight. “When I went looking for stories of how the local, state and federal governments make rules and mandates for how to raise children, I also found a whole lot of moms and dads who are trying to fight back. There is a growing army of Captain Mommies and Captain Daddies out there. People who have run up against the overbearing and intrusive nanny state now planting their feet and deciding to fight back. Moms and dads have been arrested for letting their kids walk alone to the park or to McDonald’s. Uncle Sam has decided that every mother should breast-feed. Toys, games and kids’ products are banned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It is defining parents as perpetrators not as partners in the well-being of children.”
Korin Miller, a mother of two and self-described “psycho lifeguard mom,” takes a slightly more moderate view in an article for Women’s Health. “I know there are two ways to react to this news – freak out or try to be thankful for the fact that my kids seem to be doing alright. But I will try to keep this in mind: There are some not-so-anal people out there who raise kids, and they survive just fine. My mom loves to tell the story of how her ob-gyn told her to drink a glass of wine every night when she was pregnant with me for ‘stress,’ and I turned out OK… I think.”
When you’re sourcing for your kids, or your clients’, how big of a Helicopter Parent have you become? Is it really Uncle Sam’s job to protect them, and how much of the responsibility should you share?
Jeff Jacobs has been an expert in building brands and brand stewardship for more than 35 years, working in commercial television, Hollywood film and home video, publishing, and promotional brand merchandise. He’s a staunch advocate of consumer product safety and has a deep passion and belief regarding the issues surrounding compliance and corporate social responsibility. He recently retired as executive director of Quality Certification Alliance, the only non-profit dedicated to helping suppliers provide safe and compliant promotional products. Before that, he was director of brand merchandise for Michelin. As a recovering end-user client, he can’t help but continue to consult Fortune 500 consumer brands on promo product safety when asked. You can also find him working as a volunteer Guardian ad Litem, traveling the world with his lovely wife, or enjoying a cigar at his favorite local cigar shop. Follow Jeff on Twitter, or reach out to him at jacobs.jeffreyp@gmail.com.