The Dear Dr.MOZ Baby Blog

Dear Dr. MOZ,

I like to outfit my daughter in all things sports: apparel, cutlery, other baby accessories. My question is: Do these products go through the same testing as other baby products? Can we expect the same quality and safety from products we buy at the Raider Image as we can from the ones at Babies ‘r Us [sic]?? The GoodFather’s prompt response would be extremely helpful as football season is upon us!

Sincerely,

Brian in the Raider Nation

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Hello Brian,

I’m glad to hear that the Raider Nation is still going strong. I just assumed that they put it on hold until Plunkett decided to come back out of retirement. In any case, your safety questions are good ones…I can see that you are part of the GoodFather family.

As for your question, the same basic safety standards created to protect your baby with all infant products also apply to licensed baby gear. Unfortunately, we’ve seen many dangerous baby and toddler products slip through the cracks and end up in stores of all sizes including major chains like Babies “R” Us. Here are the GoodFather’s list of things to look for in your licensed NFL baby gear:

1) Avoid Trinkets: You’ll find a lot of plastic trinkets (cheap pacifiers, breakable sippy cups) emblazoned with team logos and they’ll be hard to resist. If you wouldn’t buy a baby product without the Raiders logo or any team logo (due to potential quality issues), just don’t buy it at all.

2) Functional Clothing: I love the NFL baby gear like Reebok’s Raiders Mesh Bib and Bootie Set because they are functional pieces actually made for babies.

Your football fan won’t wait for a TV timeout to make her bathroom breaks, so you’ll appreciate the snaps on the bottom for easy diaper duty.

3) Check for NFL Licensing Logos: One easy way to spot a low-quality team product is by looking for the licensing marks. An official NFL logo certainly doesn’t mean that it is guaranteed to be safe, but if the NFL trademarks appear counterfeit (or are totally missing) you can be sure the manufactures didn’t go through the necessary safety steps as well.

4) Check for Comfort: Some manufacturers go for the quick sale and put “looks” before your baby’s comfort. You’ll want to check the stitching on the “skin side” of all patches and embroidered designs to make sure that they won’t irritate your baby’s skin. Cotton fabrics will breathe better than poly-blends, and extra touches like rib knit cuffs and collars will help your little Raider make it to the end of the game.

Thanks for the great question Brian! Next time you see Al, tell him that the GoodFather would like to speak to him about his coaching staff.

The GoodFather
(to my home on DrMOZ.com)