Stroller Tags Solve A ‘Touchy’ Problem

By Nancy K. Crevier

It was a “touchy” subject for new parents Eric and Lauren Margulies, as well it is for other new parents: how to keep strangers from handling their babies.

When the Margulies’ twins, Carson and Dean, were born in the spring of 2009, they were ten weeks premature, and barely over three pounds each. Carson and Dean spent six weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit in a Raleigh, N.C., hospital, where Newtown native Lauren and her husband have made their home. During that time, said Ms Margulies, every visit meant scrubbing up and donning sterile gowns before they could hold their children. When the time came for the babies to go home, doctors cautioned the parents that they would need to be careful that the tiny twins were not exposed to germs that could easily sicken them.

“They weren’t trying to scare us, just remind us that children take longer to recover from common colds and illnesses,” said Ms Margulies. “There are very few medications that can be used for children under the age of 2, and when kids are sick, it’s an issue for the parents, as well. You can’t get out,” she said. “The best option is to keep the kids healthy.”

But the Margulies encountered what many parents of young children find: people love babies, and they love to touch babies.

“Strangers love a newborn baby,” said Ms Margulies, “and it’s tough to say something to someone who is actually very endearing, and complimenting your baby. I didn’t have the guts to say ‘Stay away from my babies.’”

She knew from talking to other new parents and from online parent chat rooms that she and her husband were not alone in their concerns of keeping their children free from outside germs.

Last fall, when the H1N1 flu gave them one more thing to be fearful of, Ms Margulies came up with what she believes is a friendly solution to the problem.

The idea for Touchy Tags, Ms Margulies’ line of BPA and Phthalate-free rubber tags, was sparked. Available in pink or blue (with a gender neutral color coming soon), the two-sided round tags caution “Love, Not Germs,” on one side, and “Are Your Hands Clean?” on the other. The tags attach to a baby carriage, stroller, or car seat with a colorful ribbon fastened with Velcro. “They are the perfect answer to the constantly asked question ‘How do I ask someone to not touch my baby?’” said Ms Margulies.

Because older children also adore a baby and love to “run right over to touch the baby,” the tag is also there so that parents of those toddlers and preschoolers will remind them not to touch.

Strolling Carson and Dean about Raleigh, Ms Margulies has found that people respond well to the pink and blue tags hanging off of the carriages. “The tags spark a discussion, and I don’t worry that people will think they are rude,” she said. As a matter of fact, the comments she has most often received are “Where did you get that tag and where can I get it?” and “I wish the had had something like that when my kids were babies.”

“I was confident that with the proper verbiage the tags would be seen as friendly. It is something I kept in mind at design time,” said Ms Margulies. “It’s just one more helpful step when you have a baby,” she added.

Touchy Tags was launched this past Memorial Day weekend, and 11 retailers and hospitals in the Raleigh area carry them now, said Ms Margulies. The tags are also available online at touchytags.com for $7.99 per tag. Bulk orders can also be placed online for Touchy Tags, and the tags are available for customizing. “They have been more successful than I thought they could be,” she said.

For the parents of twins, naptime is a sacred time, so she is currently working on the design of a front door tag to deal with yet another dilemma for parents of young children. “I think it will say something like, ‘Knock Softly. Baby Sleeping,’” Ms Margulies said.

For more information, or to order Touchy Tags, visit touchytags.com.