Kids in Danger (KID), a nonprofit organization that protects children by fighting for product safety, recently released four new masterclasses. The new courses, which are part of the KID Design Safety Toolkit, are designed for businesses and entrepreneurs that create children’s products. 

The masterclasses provide information, case studies, and insight from industry experts concerning children’s products and designing for safety. The four courses discuss Sleep, At Home, Play, and Out & About categories, and focus on how to create and design safe products for each one. Leading experts in each specific area will teach attendees about design hazards pertaining to each category — including cribs, furniture, toys, and strollers — and how to mitigate those hazards. 

“As someone who is a researcher in infant death, I consider this Toolkit to be a ‘must-do’ for anyone who is currently designing and manufacturing, or wants to design and manufacture, any product that might be used for infant sleep,” says Rachel Y. Moon, MD, Pediatrician and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome researcher at University of Virginia School of Medicine. 

“There are so many products out there that, at first glance, seem like great ideas, only to find down the line that they are not appropriate for an infant to use during sleep, because of the specific characteristics of infants that need to be considered. After all, babies and children are not small adults. There are very unique considerations that need attention when creating and manufacturing products for this age group,” she continues. 

The new courses are add-ons to the original 2022 Toolkit, which is a general design safety course. To access the four new courses, users must complete the general course, which is approximately three to four hours. The Toolkit also includes downloadable resources. 

“The KID Design Safety Toolkit provides an in-depth curriculum that is essential learning for those developing children’s products,” says Don Mays, founder of Product Safety Insights. “This free online course can change the thinking of designers and help them understand essential product safety beyond that covered by regulatory compliance requirements.”

Learn more about the free courses and Toolkit at kidsafetytoolkit.org.