Drawstrings can be a hazard on kid’s clothes; the dangling strings are too easily caught on anything from school bus doors to playground equipment. In the past 20 years there were 23 deaths due to garment drawstrings becoming entangled, and 64 non-fatal incidents, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Many outer garments have been recalled for this hazard. You can check the recalls list at www.recalls.gov. Before you send your student off to school, be sure to cut any drawstrings from jackets and hooded sweatshirts.
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Also be aware that a jacket or backpack can camouflage a child who’s walking to or from school, waiting for the bus, or crossing a street or parking lot. Consider putting reflective tape on backpacks, jackets, and other outerwear.
Make sure your kids have the correct footwear for gym class. That means no Crocs or flip-flops. Sneakers are your best bet, and are also the safest for running around at recess time. And we recommend staying away from sneakers with wheels (also known as Heelys), no matter how much your child begs for a pair. Because of safety hazards, many schools have banned them.
Before you buy anything, read our suggestions for how to save on back-to-school shopping.
See our previous posts on school safety. Next up: School playground safety.
—Maggie Shader
23 deaths due to garment drawstrings? 23 over 20 years is not enough to promote drawstrings as a danger. And this article does not give enough evidence to conclude that drawstrings are the very issue that caused the deaths. Eliminating drawstings cannot make any one person safer because there are many other circumstances that can occur that make up the total conclusion. What next? Having kids go to school naked? That wouldn't be any safer because of "different" liabilities. That fact is for every measure taken, another type of liability take into affect. Look at the school children's clothing in the U.K. and Europe. They do not have clothing that is any safer, just different or the same as ours.
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