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Until the government does a better job at protecting consumers' safety, Furer suggest people take the following steps to safeguard babies and children:

• Test for lead. It is a simple finger or toe prick. Lead accumulates in the body and can cause brain damage, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, behavioral problems, stunted growth, impaired hearing, kidney damage and even death. It can be removed but only if you know it is there. Call your doctor and ask if a lead test for your child has been performed. If not, schedule one. Even babies and toddlers should be tested.

• Call, write, e-mail, or forward an informative Web site (go to any search engine and type in "baby bibs and lead") to your contacts, especially to new parents in and out of the United States.

• Buy American-made products when you can and home test soft vinyl plastic baby items. If you don't test — throw them out. Lead is an invisible poison.

• After home testing, should you find lead in any baby or child item, notify the Center for Environmental Health (www.cehca.org) at (510) 594-9864, or (800) 652-0827. They want to know about it.

• Put pressure on your lawmakers to do something about the nation's unfair trade policies that discourage American manufacturing. Let them and the businesses you frequent know that saving a few pennies is not worth endangering our babies and grandbabies!

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