This year, with foreclosures and unemployment rates soaring, more people will focus on discount prices when buying boys for their children and grandchildren. The harbinger of this season may have been when a Wal-Mart employee was trampled by the crowd entering a store at 5 AM on the day after Thanksgiving.  Others in the depths of economic pain may shop at Goodwill or consignment stores for used toys.

Whether toys are new or used, before giving a beloved child a low priced toy, one should check for product recalls. The U. S. Consumer Products Safety Commission maintains an online listing of all toy hazard recalls since 1975.  A couple of minutes checking this list could help prevent a lifetime of regrets.

Ken Shigley is a seasoned trial lawyer practicing statewide  in Georgia,  He has long had a particular interest in safety issues related to children.  A Certified Civil Trial Advocate of the National Board of Trial Advocacy, he has been listed in the Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers, as a "Super Lawyer" (Atlanta Magazine) and among the "Legal Elite" (Georgia Trend Magazine).  He is currently Secretary of the 40,000 member State Bar of Georgia.