More drop-side cribs recalled
There’s yet more proof that parents should avoid drop-side cribs at all costs. About 5,000 cribs sold under the names of Babi Italia Pinehurst, Bonavita Hudson and Bonavita Cabana have been recalled.
Authorities have received 33 reports of the drop-side detaching due to failure of the spring pin in the Babi Italia and Bonavita Hudson cribs. Two kids became entrapped and one child fell. For the Bonavita Cabana cribs, there have been 16 reports of the slats falling out of the rails or breaking. No children were injured in those incidents.
The cribs, made in Vietnam and China, were imported by LaJobi Inc. of New Jersey. The Consumer Products Safety Commission says that parents and caregivers should immediately stop using the cribs. LaJobi says that it will pay for technicians to perform in-home installations of a free retrofit hardware kit. Consumers should call LaJobi at (866) 688-9009 or visit the firm’s Web site at www.lajobi.com.
Repeated malfunctioning of drop-side cribs have caused numerous injuries and a few deaths. Major crib manufacturers have decided to stop making drop-side cribs, but tens of thousands are still on the market.
Yet another crib recall
Is every crib going to be recalled eventually?
The latest nursery horror story involves seven models of Jardine wooden cribs. Thirty-one families have reported the slats of their cribs breaking — two kids even became entrapped in the gap created by the broken slat. One child suffered bumps and bruises.
Jardine previously recalled 320,000 cribs in in June 2008 and 56,450 units in January. This time, 96,000 cribs are being recalled by the Taiwan-based company. The cribs, made in China and Vietnam, were sold at KidsWorld, Geoffrey, Toys R Us and Babies R Us stores nationwide from September 2005 through April.
Jardine is offering consumers full credit toward the purchase of a new crib. Contact Jardine at (800) 646-4106 or visit the firm’s Web site.
Companies to stop making deadly drop-side cribs
Malfunctioning drop-side cribs have caused numerous injuries and even a few deaths when babies’ bodies have slid through gaps in the adjustable railings. Finally, the major crib manufacturers have decided to put a stop to the hazard by banning such cribs altogether, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Millions of drop-side cribs, plagued by bad design and faulty or missing hardware, have been recalled in the past two years. But critics have said that crib companies had been too slow to take action. In an earlier Tribune report, parents said they complained to federal officials and crib maker Delta Enterprise for six years. At least three kids died in Delta cribs after being entrapped between the railings and mattress.
The new safety rules, which could take several months to implement, would mandate that all four sides of the crib be tightly attached to one another. The rules would be voluntary, but with the major crib makers on board, other companies tend to follow suit.
Portable play yards recalled after numerous injuries reported
At least 1,350 people have reported that one or more rails collapsed on the Rainforest Portable Play Yards, causing kids to fall or be entrapped.
About 200,000 play yards, made by Simplicity Inc. and SFCA Inc., are being recalled, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Thursday. Dozens of children have been injured, suffering bumps and bruises. There also have been reports of a broken nose, broken wrist, a mild concussion, a cut to the hand that required stitches and a chipped tooth.
According to the consumer commission, the manufacturers have been unresponsive to customer complaints on their hotline and Web site. Simplicity, which issued a massive recall of cribs last year, has gone out of business; SFCA Inc. purchased the company’s assets.
The portable play yards, made in China, were sold nationwide from January 2007 through this month. Specific model numbers are listed here.
Fisher-Price Inc. did not make the play yards, but is voluntarily assisting with the recall. Consumers should contact the company to get a replacement product. Call (800) 432-5437 or visit this Web site.
1 million cribs being recalled; support brackets can break
Should moms rise up and demand that the CEOs of crib makers sleep in their company’s products? Yet another crib recall was announced today — the third one this month.
This latest recall involves cribs from Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc. of British Columbia, Canada. At least 10 incidents of the crib’s support brackets breaking have been reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. In several of those cases, the mattress collapsed and created a gap between the bedding and crib rails. One toddler received bruises to his head. Another child became trapped in the gap between the mattress and drop side rail, but fortunately did not suffer serious injuries.
About 535,000 cribs are being recalled in the United States and another 500,000 in Canada. The affected cribs, made in Canada, China and Indonesia, were made in various styles and finishes and sold nationwide from May 2000 to January. Consumers should stop using the cribs immediately and contact Stork Craft to receive a free replacement kit, with new mattress support brackets, at (866) 361-3321 or on its Web site.
Read more Minor Troubles postings about crib safety here.
Recall alert: Crib slats could break
More than 56,000 cribs are being recalled because their wooden slats can break and create a gap that could entrap or strangle a baby. This is the second crib recall in six months by manufacturer Jardine Enterprises of Taiwan. In June, 320,000 cribs of other models were recalled for the same problem.
This week’s recall was prompted by 19 reports of crib slats breaking, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. In one incident, a 22-month-old child fell through the gap between the crib slats, but was not injured.
The recall involves three models of Jardine cribs made in China and sold between March 2004 and January. See the specific model info here. Consumers should immediately stop using the crib and contact Jardine for a full credit toward the purchase of a new crib. Contact Jardine at (800) 646-4106 or through its Web site.
Crib recalls have become a routine event. Lax regulation and poor manufacturing standards have made them the most dangerous product in the nursery. For previous Minor Troubles postings about cribs, click here.
Recalls: Cribs, snow globes, toy drums, jackets, candles
Don’t get too attached to some of those Christmas gifts. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a slew of recalls.
Cribs again confirm their status as the most dangerous item in a child’s nursery. At least one child has been diagnosed with lead poisoning after ingesting paint from a crib distributed by Munire Furniture Inc. of New Jersey.
About 3,000 cribs and 6,000 pieces of matching furniture may contain paint with dangerously high levels of lead. The Indonesian-made furniture features black finish paint with red paint underneath and was sold at specialty stores from April 2006 to November 2008. See specific model numbers here.
Consumers may receive a replacement coupon for new furniture. Call the company for more info at (866) 586-9639 or visit the firm’s Web site.
Two Jumbo Snowman Snow Globes have acted like magnifying glasses when exposed to sunlight and caused nearby materials to catch on fire, according to Hallmark Cards of Kansas City, Mo. No injuries have been reported, but the company is recalling the 7,000 items sold in October and November at Hallmark Gold Crown stores nationwide.
Consumers may return the globes for a full refund. Contact Hallmark at (800) 425-5627 or through its Web site.
About 2,800 Calypso steel toy drums are being recalled because the surface paints contain excessive lead. No injuries have been reported, but authorities say that the drums should be taken away immediately from any child.
The items were made in Trinidad for Woodstock Percussion Inc. of New York and sold via mail order catalogues, Web sites and retail stores nationwide for one year, beginning in 2006. Some might have been later sold again online or at secondhand stores.
Woodstock Percussion says it will give consumers a replacement drum and an additional $5 payment or credit. Call the company at (866) 543-2848 anytime, e-mail safety@chimes.com, or visit the firm’s Web site.
Manufacturers can’t seem to remember that jackets for youngsters are not allowed to have drawstrings, which can be a strangulation hazard. About 1,300 hooded jackets distributed by Foursquare Outerwear of Irvine, Calif., and sold at various stores nationwide from June to November are being recalled; no injuries have been reported yet.
Consumers should either take out the drawstrings or get a full refund. Contact Foursquare at (877) 327-4484, visit its Web site, e-mail the firm at info@theprogram.com.
Three candle-powered carousels have caught on fire because the candle holder on the item’s base is too close to the structure. No injuries have been reported, but about 1,500 of the products made in China and distributed by Gardener’s Supply Co. of Burlington, Vt., are being recalled.
The items were sold at Gardener’s Supply retail stores, by catalogue and online from September through November. They can be returned for a full refund. Contact Gardener’s Supply Co. at (800) 876-5520 or on its Web site.
Earlier crib recall might have prevented babies’ deaths
As far back as six years ago, parents complained to federal officials and crib maker Delta Enterprise that the cribs were breaking in ways that could trap and kill babies, according to a Chicago Tribune investigation published today.
In 2002, a mother in Oregon rescued her baby boy after his head was pinned between the mattress and drop side of his Delta crib. Two years later, another little boy wasn’t so lucky. The Long Island, N.Y., infant died when his crib’s railing popped off its track, trapping him between the railing and mattress. In 2005, a Georgia boy suffocated to death in a similar incident.
But a recall wasn’t seriously considered until a girl in Georgia asphyxiated in a reassembled crib with a missing safety peg in 2007. Earlier this year, a boy in Florida died when a peg jammed. Although the Consumer Product Safety Commission sent investigators to each report, officials only saw the pattern of crib dangers after creating a database this summer.
Finally, in October, Delta recalled a record 1.6 million cribs. But in the recall annoucement, only the last two deaths were mentioned.
The family of six-old-old Bobby Cirigliano of Long Island told the Tribune that Delta should have used his death as an early warning. “If Delta would have acted in 2004 when they found out about my child’s death, these other kids would be alive today,” said father Robert Cirigliano, who is suing the company for wrongful death.
Jennifer Patzkowski, the woman who managed to save her baby from death, had filed a complaint with the safety commission in 2002. She said that when she called Delta, “the representative was defensive and denied that there could be a problem with the crib,” a commission investigator wrote in a report.
Company spokesman Jack Gutt declined to comment to the Tribune about the Patzkowski’s case. In a statement, he said, “When properly assembled, our cribs are perfectly safe.”
Consumer advocates say that cribs have become the most dangerous item in a baby’s nursery. See previous Minor Troubles postings about other crib recalls and safety tips here.
Killer cribs: current standards inadequate to prevent deaths
Cribs have become the most deadly product in the nursery. Last year, the Consumer Product Safety Commission investigated the deaths of nine babies caused by crib entrapment and hundreds of problems that involved injuries and near-deaths. In the last two years, the government has recalled 3.6 million cribs — more than in the previous 30 years.
Why are cribs so unsafe? Most of them are now manufactured overseas, and quality control standards vary, according to an investigation by the Chicago Tribune. Cribs have also become more complicated, with some able to be converted into beds for toddlers and adults. But the more complex a crib, the more things can go wrong. Parts can wear out or get lost when they’re reassembled.
CPSC staff recently told commission bosses that the current voluntary standards on cribs “are inadequate to prevent entrapment deaths and injuries of young children,” according to documents obtained by the Tribune. They are urging regulators to issue tougher, federally mandated rules. In September, Toys “R” Us became so fed up with all the crib recalls that it announced tougher standards for any cribs sold in its stores, which include Babies “R” Us.
Even after a crib is recalled and a problem is fixed, other safety issues persist. This is true for the parents who responded to last month’s massive crib recall by Delta Enterprise. They received a repair kit to fix the drop rails, but the mattress platforms can drop and create a gap to entrap and strangle babies, the Tribune reported.
Nine-month-old Sabrina Myhra nearly died when one end of her crib mattress collapsed on Oct. 24. The stabilizer bars, which hold the crib together and support the mattress platform, were installed upside down — a common mistake.
When Cari Myhra ran into her daughter’s room, she saw the little girl clinging to a crib sheet to avoid getting trapped between the mattress and crib frame. “She was screaming, trying to pedal her legs, trying to climb up,” said Myhra, of Stillwater, Minn. “For a couple of weeks after it happened, it was hard to get her to lay down. She’d cry so hard like she was petrified.”
An investigator with Consumer Product Safety Commission is looking into Myhra’s case. CPSC is seeing similar incidents of cribs that are designed so that parents unwittingly assemble them in hazardous ways. The agency has told crib makers to change the product so that the cribs won’t function if railings and supports are installed improperly.
Meanwhile, parents might want to heed these safety tips for all cribs.
More than 1.5 million cribs recalled
Delta Enterprise is recalling 600,000 drop side cribs for repairs due to equipment failure, and 985,000 drop side cribs to replace missing safety pegs. At least two eight-month-old babies have suffocated to death because of the defective cribs, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
For more information on exactly which cribs pose a hazard, and what to do if you have one, click here.
There have been so many crib recalls within the last year that the feds issued new safety tips for all cribs on Tuesday:
1. Parents should not use any crib with missing, broken or loose parts.
2. Hardware should be inspected from time to time and tightened to keep the crib sturdy.
3. When using a drop side crib parents should check to make sure the drop side or any other moving part operates smoothly on its track.
4. Always check all sides and corners of the crib for disengagement. Any disengagement can create a gap and entrap a child.
5. Do not try to repair any side of the crib without manufacturer approved hardware or with tape, wire or rope.
6. Putting a broken side up against the wall does not solve the problem and can often make it worse.
