Cribs used for kids as many as four years ago were recalled earlier this year. Scores of toys have been recalled in past years. And most recently, Kolcraft has recalled one million play yards that have been sold for the better part of a decade due to a fault locking mechanism that can lead to falls from the safety device. All around us, products are being sold for years that are known to be dangerous and even defective, yet parents are often the last to know.
We are living in a world where it's hard to tell what's safe and what isn't.
How concerned should parents be?
Purchasing items for your children can't be avoided. Kids need a place to sleep, clothing and stimulating things to help them grow and develop.
Parents say that in the desire for children to have the best things, manufacturers sometimes let the buying public down. "Sometimes it’s the most educational toy, others the coolest outfit. But the one thing that I would never willingly sacrifice is my child’s safety. Why then, does it seem that manufacturers will do just that in order to make a bigger profit? It might be cheap labor, inferior quality materials or even shoddy workmanship. These reasons are simply unacceptable and make me furious that there are not ramifications. I feel that the manufacturers should start being held responsible for intentional negligence," says parent Lisa Sipes of CruiseOne (www.cruiseone.com/lsipes). However, she also says that some recalls are the result of intentional design flaws that manufacturers are quick to fix -- something she has experienced in the past with toys and bedding.
The number of recalled products make up a small, but significant, portion of the marketplace. Some of the world's most trusted brands have been involved -- which means that familiar brands aren't immune from faulty products.
Ensuring safety
It goes without saying that parents need to be diligent in ensuring that they only purchase safe toys and gear for their children. That means filling out product registration cards and keeping an eye out for recalls all the time. Check out our updated list of recalls involving children's products.
With the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), more protections are in place so that toys and baby gear will undergo more rigid testing procedures and ensure fewer recalls. (However, the law does have the unintended consequence of impacting smaller manufacturers who can't afford the stringent testing regulations, but that is an entirely different issue.)
Look for indications that a product comes from a verifiable manufacture that pays attention to safety laws. Director of Consumer Safety for Underwriters Laboratories (UL), John Drengenberg, says that parents should take a keen eye to toy packaging before purchasing anything. "Be wary of products in boxes or packages that do not offer the brand name, the product name and the manufacturer’s name with contact information for reporting problems," says Drengenberg.
Furthermore, he also says to keep an eye out for the UL symbol on toys with electronic components, which means that the product has undergone testing and met certain safety standards set by UL.
In terms of furniture, it's important to know what you are purchasing. "I would recommend that parents look for products made with sustainably forested wood products that use no VOC paints and coatings. Cribs should not have sides that come down, they should be stationary as with older cribs the sides can slide down when children are holding onto them, which can cause injury or death. With these specific items it is best to buy new, when buying used you have no way of knowing if that product has been recalled, how it was used or what the dangers may be," says Penny Schafer, owner of Taraluna, a Fair Trade, Organic & Green Gifts store found at Taraluna.com.
Details on the Kolcraft recall
The aforementioned Kolcraft recall happened on July 8, after there were 347 reports of play yard side collapses, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. In 21 of those incidents, children were injured. The impacted models include Kolcraft Travelin' Tot play yards, as well as similar models sold under the Carter's, Sesame Street, Jeep, Contours, Care Bear and Eric Carle brand names. The units were made between January 2000 and January 2009. Yes, for nine years.
For more details on the recall, check out the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website or Kolcraft.com. You can also phone Kolcraft at (866) 594-4208.
Read more on toy & crib safety:
- Buying used baby gear: What you need to know
- Safe play: Choosing safe toys for your child
-
How to create a non-toxic nursery for your baby
The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Wednesday a recall of one million Kolcraft Enterprises play yards, reported my WSJ colleague Melanie Trottman. The recall got me thinking about how often I rely on products, such as play yards and cribs, in which parents expect to be able to leave their children unattended, either for a short while or overnight.
As Ive written about before, certain infant products were godsends for my family because they allowed even a few minutes of hands-free respite from the 24/7 job of caring for a baby. The crib mobile, bouncer and exersaucer all entertained my son for a good 20 or so minutesoften long enough, in many cases, for my husband and me to wolf down dinner, do some chores around the house or to respond to a work call or email. (We facetiously called the latter product the neglectosaucer.”)
While my son, 17 months, has now outgrown that gear, his new favorite place to play is his crib, which he fills with toys and books and jumps around in like a trampoline, essentially turning it into a playpenand allowing me to take a shower or cook a quick meal. While no parent should ever leave their young ones in a playpen or exersaucer for hours during the day–although some babies sleep in playpens overnight when traveling–such products do provide a much-needed break for at least a short spell. (And, yes, we used some other nifty tactics to give us some respite, such as eventually turning off the baby monitor at night; other friends have admitted to using earplugs to help drown out heavy infant wailing, for sleep-training and tantrum-ignoring.)
The recall of the portable playpens, some of which include changing tables or bassinets, follows hundreds of complaints of collapsing sides and some reports of injuries. Diane Steed, a Kolcraft spokeswoman, told Ms. Trottman that out of the one million units to be recalled, the several hundred incidents of reported collapse is really a small number and there were no serious injuries.
The recall involves dozens of models, including Kolcraft Travelin Tot play yards and similar play yards with other brand names Kolcraft has licensed, including Carters, Sesame Street, Jeep, Contours, Care Bear and Eric Carle. The products were sold at stores including Babies R Us, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Sears and Target, from January 2000 through January 2009, retailing for between $50 and $160.The CPSC advises consumers to immediately stop using the play yards and contact Kolcraft or the agency for information on how to get a repair kit.
Readers, what gear or tacticssuch as playpens, exersaucers or earplugsdid you find most useful to give yourself a short break when caring for a young child. Have you ever had any trouble with products or injuries when leaving a child unattended for a short spell?
