Trust me, I’m the last person who will tell you to turn your nose up at free, used stuff. But when it comes to baby products, such as toys and strollers, moms need to be very choosy in accepting hand-me-downs. Safety standards and technology change often, and components of certain objects can rapidly degrade over time.

ShopSmart magazine, put out by Consumer Reports, offers sage advice when it comes to keeping babies safe:

Visit

www.recalls.gov

to be sure none of your gear has been recalled for safety reasons. When buying used items from a classified ad or an online auction site, be sure to ask the seller for the brand name, model number and year it was made so you can check for a recall. You will also want to know if the product comes with its instruction manual and all its original pieces. And be sure to ask about its history of use, even while knowing you may not get the whole story.

Check used clothes for loose buttons or threads and turn down anything with a drawstring. All three pose choking hazards.

Nix anything with loose pieces, chips, cracks, splinters or rough or sharp edges.

As long as there is no mildew or mold present, ShopSmart declares used baby tubs “probably fine.” Be sure to check foam-lined tubs closely for a mildewy smell.

The magazine warns of serious drowning danger when it comes to bath seats, bath rings or inflatable tubs that fit inside a regular adult tub.

Don’t accept a car seat that is more than six years old. If it has ever been in a crash, even without being damaged, send it to the landfill.

Otherwise, if it has its original parts, labels and instructions, and you’ve tested it to be sure it fits your child and your car, it looks like you’ve scored yourself a car seat!

Skip strollers made before 2007 and those that don’t feel sturdy in a test run.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has long been warning about the hazards of drop-side cribs—the kind most of us slept in as kids—and the style will probably be done away with soon. Last year, 11 babies died in one model, even after it had been recalled.

If you can’t find a crib with fixed or fold-down sides, make it your big splurge and buy new. Also, avoid cribs made before 2000 and be sure the mattress (preferably a new one) is a tight fit.

High chairs should have a five-point harness to keep a squirmy kid from climbing out of the top and a post in the crotch to keep him or her from sliding out the bottom.

Say, “No thanks” to play yards (what we used to call play pens) if they were made before the year 2000 or if they have dangling straps, such as from a changing table that fits over the top. Be sure it has its original mattress, mesh holes smaller than a quarter inch and is free of rips.

Any toy that fits through a toilet paper roll is a choking hazard for kids under three years old.

Spooked by lead recalls? Home lead-testing kits are available online starting at $9.

Share your money-saving tips on the MoneySmart blog at

www.BuffaloNews.com

/MoneySmart. You can also

e-mailmoney@buffnews.com

or call the Money- Smart consumer hotline at 849-4618.