Comment from Debra Stokes

Sir or Ma'am, I completely agree with the proposed rule that Certain Children's Clothing with Drawstrings are a Substantial Product hazard (Document ID CPSC-2010-0043-0001). I am a consumer and a mother of an infant and would not want him strangled because some manufacturer thought it was cute to put drawstrings on his sweatshirt. Even if the drawstrings are not near the child's neck they can still pose a great risk. When I was in elementary school, a girl in our school was killed because the drawstrings on her backpack got caught in the doors of the school bus as she was getting off the bus. The bus driver could not see that the girl's clothing was still stuck in the door and they drove away, dragging the girl under the bus and killing her as it went. I know the drawstring was on a backpack in that case, but I would not want a drawstrings from a child's pants or any other article of clothing getting caught in the same manner. The school district we were in stopped allowing drawstrings on children's clothing after that incident, and I think it would be a good idea to just make it a policy for everybody to follow. Thank you for your time and consideration. Respectfully, Debra Stokes