The European Union (EU) recently approved a new toy safety directive which states that children younger than eight are not permitted to blow up balloons.
Even more ridiculous, all children under the age of 14 are banned from blowing on whistleblowers, the favorite party favours that uncurl a long paper tongue when the whistle end is tooted.
Both rules are designed to prevent swallowing and choking.
Other Big Brother rules in the legislation include restrictions on how loud toys such as baby rattles and musical instruments are permitted to be.
Even teddy bears did not escape unscathed. Â Stuffed toys meant for children under 3 will have to be washable to prevent young children and babies from exposure to dirt and disease.
Even simple coloring books were regulated along with anything played with by children under the age of 14.
Paul Nuttall of the European Parliament’s consumer safety committee, calls the EU legislative world a “kill joy”.
He went on to say:
“… this is crackers but I’m sure children are banned from using them too. Â EU party poopers should not be telling families how to blow up balloons.”
British toy manufacturers are concerned that the new regulations will drive up the price of toys due to required warning labels and safety tests.
A spokesman for the European Commission defended the new toy rules as necessary to prevent any parent’s worst nightmare and that the safety experts knew best.
One official put it this way:
“You might say that small children have been blowing up balloons for generations, but not anymore and they will be safer for it.”
My question is where will it all end?
For example, just because a teddy bear is washable doesn’t mean that it will actually be washed. Will the EU see fit to pass another rule to require parents and caregivers to wash them too? If so, how often? How hot should the water be? Is there a certain type of soap that must be used?
These types of restrictions and rules are an ever tightening noose on the throat of a society becoming increasingly dependent on its “Government Family” for direction regarding even the most mundane of everyday decisions.
This is the type of inconsistent mess that occurs when government tries to legislate personal and parental responsibility.
Source: Â Children to be Banned from Blowing Up Balloons Under New EU Safety Rules
Here’s an idea, how about if parents actually pay attention to what they’re children are doing ALL THE TIME, yes, I said ALL THE TIME. If they did there’d be no need for more nanny government crap like this. Yes, btw, I do have kids, they were allowed to play with balloons and they lived to be adults! CRAZY!!
Well, of course they have to mandate all this stuff because we are too stupid to know better. All these years of dumbing us down so they have to tell us what to do, and don’t forget how lawsuit crazy everyone is. It is always the manufacturers’ fault when bad things happen because we can’t take responsibility for our own actions.
Seriously? Goodness
There is no limit to the rules and restrictions a tyrannical government will impose on the people. Our founders knew this well, which is why they created the Constitution, a document which is routinely ignored by our government and the courts.
Where will it end ? When, in the words of one congresswoman, the government has exerted complete control over “every aspect of life”.
The United States Supreme court once recognized a “right to be left alone”. We need that right to be enforced, or we will have no choices left. All freedom gone.
Staring at walls is officially sanctioned. SO fun, kiddies! Wheeeeee!!
I would like to see some stand alone statistics involving fatalities or near fatalities involving party blow favors then I would like to see the comparison with something like children falling off playground equipment.
They’ll be banning playgrounds next !
It’s just so ridiculous. How long before they tell us what foods we can and can not feed to our children? The government can not mandate common sense.
I just saw on the news last week that Denmark made a “fat tax”, it is the 2nd country to do so.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/10/02/denmark-imposes-fat-tax-in-effort-to-limit-unhealthy-foods/
This is step 1 for these countries, next they will ban them altogether!
Well if dishonest corporations did not manufacture and distribute unhealthy foods /products sprayed with pesticides and grown GMO’s in the first place. The need for BIG pharma to medicate such people would not occur and big government would not be necessary.
But you cannot trust even a box of cereal to have all the ingredients listed on the label that are in the box.
Minute portions of chemicals are not labeled. So who exactly is wrong here?
We have lost our sense of social responsibility for each other. Not as in “socialism” but as in we care more about ourselves than the next guy.
We have lost the most basic care about others and believe only what we hear on faux news.
LOVE your last sentence! Bravo–well stated and oh, so true! I think the 20th Century classics, Brave New World and 1984 need to be resurrected to get people thinking about the potentially ridiculous place we will end up if we don’t halt this insanity now! Excessive government control has already been tried and proven a failure, which is why so much of the world became “free”. How quickly we return to the mud!
well, I think I’ll just give up my kids and let the state raise them, they obviously know how better than me.
That blows…
I believe it’s time I buy that island I’ve been looking at where I can actually decide for myself what happens and stop having big brother look over my shoulder 24/7…