Kids In Danger

Kids In Danger (KID) was an American nonprofit child-product-safety organization founded in Chicago in 1998 by University of Chicago professors Linda Ginzel and Boaz Keysar. The organization was created after their son, Danny Keysar, died in an incident involving a crib that had been recalled years earlier. His death led his parents to establish an organization focused on preventing similar tragedies and improving the systems used to design, test, regulate, recall, and communicate about children's products. KID's work centered on three connected activities: education, training, and advocacy. It educated parents, grandparents, caregivers, and health professionals about product recalls and common hazards in the home. Its public guidance encouraged families to check recall information, inspect products already in their homes, and share safety information with other caregivers. The organization also published recall information and periodic newsletters covering developments in children's product safety. The products within KID's scope included cribs, toys, bathtub seats, bunk beds, car seats, carriers, costumes, crib bumpers, high chairs, safety gates, play yards, strollers, walkers, and other products used by infants and children. Rather than selling consumer goods, KID functioned as an information, research, and advocacy brand. Its website provided recall listings associated with the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission and offered practical advice for identifying and responding to hazards. KID also worked with product designers, engineers, manufacturers, retailers, policymakers, and allied consumer organizations. Programs such as Teach Early Safety Testing promoted the incorporation of safety testing into product development. Safe from the Start addressed child-product safety education for healthcare professionals, caregivers, and parents. The Debby Sayah Grandparent Outreach Project, launched in 2009, adapted safety information for grandparents and other family caregivers. Test It Now was designed as a grassroots effort to draw attention to unsafe practices, encourage policy change, and press for stronger regulatory performance. The organization's advocacy became particularly visible in debates over recalled and hazardous children's products. KID supported stronger federal rules for durable nursery products and contributed research used in discussion of the STURDY Act, legislation addressing the tip-over risks of unstable dressers. Its executive director Nancy Cowles also testified in congressional discussions concerning dangerous children's products and product-safety regulation. KID's work formed part of a wider consumer-safety movement that included the Consumer Federation of America and Consumer Reports. KID produced annual reviews of recalled children's products and specialized reports on topics including fire hazards, lead exposure, crib safety, and the effectiveness of recall communications. It also examined whether companies were using their own social-media channels to communicate recall notices. Its research and educational work helped connect individual product incidents with broader questions about corporate accountability, regulatory enforcement, and the availability of safety information. Kids In Danger closed its doors in December 2024. After closure, several of its projects moved to other organizations. The KID Design Safety Toolkit was transferred to the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization, while recall alerts continued through Reese's Purpose. The organization's closure ended KID as an independent operating nonprofit, but consumer-safety resources associated with its work remained available through successor and partner organizations.

Kids In Danger emerged from a personal tragedy and developed into a national child-product-safety advocacy organization. In 1998, University of Chicago professors Linda Ginzel and Boaz Keysar founded the group after their son, Danny Keysar, died in connection with a crib that had been recalled five years earlier. The circumstances shaped KID's central premise: a recall is ineffective if families do not learn about it, if hazardous products remain in homes or stores, or if manufacturers and regulators do not prevent similar products from reaching consumers. From its beginning, KID combined consumer education with institutional advocacy. It advised parents and caregivers to monitor recall announcements, inspect products in their homes, and communicate safety concerns to others. Its information work covered a broad range of children's goods, including cribs, toys, bathtub seats, bunk beds, car seats, carriers, costumes, crib bumpers, high chairs, gates, play yards, strollers, and walkers. KID's website provided recall listings associated with the Consumer Product Safety Commission and practical information about reducing risk. The organization also sought to influence how products were created. Its training initiatives addressed designers, engineers, manufacturers, healthcare professionals, caregivers, and parents. Teach Early Safety Testing encouraged product developers to incorporate safety evaluation before products entered the market. Safe from the Start distributed child-product-safety information through professional and caregiving networks. In 2009, KID launched the Debby Sayah Grandparent Outreach Project to address the important role grandparents play in caring for children. Test It Now used public awareness and grassroots pressure to promote better testing practices and stronger government oversight. KID's research program gave its advocacy a documentary foundation. It issued annual assessments of recalled children's products and produced focused reports on hazards such as fire and lead poisoning. Its work included a case study of the Playskool Travel-Lite Crib, supported by an ethics grant from the Kemper Foundation, as well as broader educational material and the book It's No Accident. KID also examined weaknesses in recall communication, including the failure of some child-product companies to publish recall information through their official social-media accounts. Public policy became a major part of KID's history. Illinois legislation enacted in 1999 generally prohibited the sale or lease of recalled children's products, and a later 2005 measure required the Illinois Department of Public Health to publish children's product recalls and connect users to federal recall information. In June 2007, Nancy Cowles testified at congressional hearings on dangerous children's toys alongside Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and other witnesses. The following year, federal lawmakers reached agreement on broader improvements to children's product safety. The resulting legislation included provisions honoring Danny Keysar and required stronger safety rules and testing for durable nursery products, including cribs. KID worked within a larger network of consumer and product-safety organizations, including the Consumer Federation of America and Consumer Reports. Its executive director Nancy Cowles was recognized with the Margaret Dana Award by ASTM International's consumer-products committee, reflecting the organization's role in child-product-safety advocacy and standards discussions. KID remained focused on transparency, accountability, preventive design, and public awareness rather than commercial sales. Its mission was commonly expressed through three activities: education, training, and advocacy. In December 2024, the organization closed its doors. The closure did not eliminate all of its work: the KID Design Safety Toolkit moved to the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization, and recall alerts continued through Reese's Purpose. These transitions preserved parts of KID's practical legacy while ending its operation as an independent nonprofit.

• 2024

  Organization closes

  [1]Kids in Dangeren.wikipedia.org

  KID closes in December, with selected projects transferred to other product-safety organizations.

• 2019

  Research contributes to STURDY Act advocacy

  [1]Kids in Dangeren.wikipedia.org

  KID's recalled-product research is used in support of proposed federal action on unstable, tip-over-prone dressers.

• 2009

  Grandparent outreach begins

  [1]Kids in Dangeren.wikipedia.org

  KID launches the Debby Sayah Grandparent Outreach Project.

• 2008

  Federal nursery-product safety reforms advance

  [1]Kids in Dangeren.wikipedia.org

  Federal legislation strengthens safety requirements for durable nursery products, including cribs, with provisions named for Danny Keysar.

• 2007

  Nancy Cowles testifies in Congress

  [1]Kids in Dangeren.wikipedia.org

  KID's executive director participates in congressional hearings concerning dangerous children's toys and product safety.

• 2005

  Illinois recall-information requirement

  [1]Kids in Dangeren.wikipedia.org

  Illinois requires its public-health department to publish children's product recalls and link to federal recall information.

• 1999

  Illinois adopts children's product-safety legislation

  [1]Kids in Dangeren.wikipedia.org

  Illinois passes legislation addressing the sale or lease of recalled children's products.

• 1998

  Kids In Danger is founded

  [1]Kids in Dangeren.wikipedia.org

  Linda Ginzel and Boaz Keysar establish KID after the death of their son, Danny Keysar, in connection with a previously recalled crib.

A nonprofit child-product-safety advocate connecting recall information, preventive education, professional training, research, and public-policy advocacy. KID positioned safety as a responsibility shared by manufacturers, designers, regulators, retailers, parents, and caregivers.

• Consumer safety information

  Recall Alerts

  KID's recall-information work helped parents, caregivers, and other consumers identify children's products recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The service formed part of the organization's broader effort to make recall information understandable and actionable. After KID closed, recall alerts were distributed by Reese's Purpose.

• Professional training resource

  KID Design Safety Toolkit

  A resource intended to help product designers and engineers incorporate child-safety considerations into product development. It reflected KID's preventive approach, emphasizing safety before products reached consumers rather than relying only on recalls after an incident. The toolkit moved to the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization after KID closed.

• Education program

  Safe from the Start

  An educational program for healthcare professionals, caregivers, and parents focused on children's product safety. It extended KID's information work beyond direct consumer communications by engaging people who advise or care for children.

• Design and engineering training

  Teach Early Safety Testing

  A KID initiative aimed at designers and engineers who create children's products. The program promoted early safety evaluation and encouraged product developers to treat safety testing as part of the design process.

• Grassroots advocacy

  Test It Now

  A public-awareness and advocacy program intended to draw attention to unsafe product practices, encourage policymakers to act, and press the Consumer Product Safety Commission to improve its operations.

• Research publication

  Annual recalled-product reports

  KID's annual reviews compiled and interpreted recalled children's products to help the public understand recurring hazards and weaknesses in the recall system. The reports also provided evidence for policy advocacy, including debate around legislation addressing furniture tip-over risks.

• 2009The Debby Sayah Grandparent Outreach Project

  United States

  KID created an outreach effort focused on grandparents, recognizing them as a major group of caregivers who needed accessible information about recalls and children's product hazards.

  Outcome. The project expanded KID's audience beyond parents and professional caregivers; a later standalone outcome is not specified.

  Source
• Test It Now

  United States

  A grassroots campaign promoting public awareness of unsafe children's-product practices and advocating stronger testing and regulatory action.

  Outcome. The campaign contributed to KID's broader public-policy and regulatory advocacy; a separate measurable outcome is not specified.

  Source
• Safe from the Start

  United States

  An education campaign and program for healthcare professionals, caregivers, and parents that promoted safer use and greater awareness of children's products.

  Outcome. It formed part of KID's continuing education work; a distinct campaign outcome is not specified.

  Source

• 2024

  Close the organization and transfer selected projectsOther

  Background

  Kids In Danger ended its independent operations in December 2024.

  Action taken

  The organization closed and arranged for the KID Design Safety Toolkit and recall-alert work to continue through other organizations.

  Aftermath

  The International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization took over the toolkit, while Reese's Purpose distributed recall alerts.

  Source

• 2019

  Use recall research to support furniture tip-over legislationStrategy

  Background

  KID's annual recalled-product research documented continuing concerns about children's product hazards, including unstable dressers.

  Action taken

  The organization used its research in support of the proposed STURDY Act.

  Aftermath

  The report was cited in advocacy for federal action concerning tip-over risks; the source material does not specify the final legislative outcome.

  Source

• 1998

  Founding KID around prevention, education, and advocacyStrategy

  Background

  The death of Danny Keysar after exposure to a previously recalled crib highlighted weaknesses in recall communication and product-safety enforcement.

  Action taken

  Linda Ginzel and Boaz Keysar established a nonprofit focused on consumer education, professional training, research, and public-policy advocacy.

  Aftermath

  KID developed into a national child-product-safety organization and participated in legislative and regulatory debates.

  Source

1. 1Kids in Dangeren.wikipedia.org