Population declines on the Island of Misfit Toys

We won’t soon forget the millions upon millions of defective toys recalled in 2008 and 2007 due to lead hazards that can cause developmental problems, small magnets that can block or perforate intestines, and toxic chemicals that can put kids in comas. Consumers, as well as Consumers Union, lost confidence in the safety of toys in the marketplace. But a few items in the news recently gives us hope that things are turning around in Toyland.

At a town-hall style meeting in New York City's Times Square,  Inez Tenenbaum, Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, hailed the significant reduction in toy recalls this year. So far there have been 38 toy recalls, down from 162 in 2008 and 148 in 2007. Tenenbaum attributed the decline to increased enforcement at the ports, cooperation with other countries, consumer awareness and education, and compliance by the toy industry with new federal safety rules.

The new rules have tightened restrictions on lead, made formerly voluntary toy-safety standards mandatory, and required that toys for children under 12 be tested and certified before they're sold. “CPSC has worked hard this year to give parents and grandparents greater confidence that the toys they seek to purchase have enhanced safety protections for children,” said Tenenbaum. We agree.

Another factor that could boost consumer confidence is the Toy Industry Association’s Toy Safety Certification Program. Launched last month, the program adds an extra level of scrutiny to make sure toys are manufactured to comply with safety standards. Qualifying toys will eventually bear a safety certification mark. Although we don’t think the program requires enough randomized sampling of the final product, it’s a start. This week the association announced the first products that have been certified under the program including a Radio Flyer push toy.    
 
The third piece of toy news this week wasn't so cheery. The CPSC's annual report on toy-related deaths and injuries showed that toy-associated injuries are on the rise while fatalities have dropped over the past few years. There were 172,700 toy-related injuries that sent children under 15 to the nation's emergency rooms in 2008. That’s the highest injury level since 2001. But the number of fatalities for children under 15 has declined to 19 from 28 in 2006 and 22 in 2007, according to information the CPSC has collected so far.

With the busiest toy-buying season upon us, it's good to know that care is being taken to ensure that what's on the shelves is safe.—Don Mays

Animal-shaped outlet covers are a real dog

A concerned grandfather wrote to us recently to say that the family of his "toddler granddaughter" had been given some animal-shaped outlet covers that he suspected were more of a hazard than an effective childproofing device. The multi-colored plastic plugs "certainly would seem to be attractive to a toddler," he wrote. He also expressed concern about the package labeling that warned "Choking hazard, small parts."

Indeed, to the average adult, electric outlets seem mundane, but those mysterious slots in the wall are fascinating and dangerous to babies and small children. Our analysis of data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission indicates that there have been an estimated 8,000 electrical injuries to young children from 2000 to 2007 related to electrical outlets.  Many incidents involved small children sticking bobby pins, keys, fingers and toys into outlets. Fortunately, most of the consequences were minor electrical burns to the hands and fingers.

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents to use plug protectors for all wall outlets. So any product that covers those outlets would seem like a good idea, right? Not always.

Colors and shapes that attract little ones can have exactly the wrong result. Instead of keeping kids away from outlets, the bright, appealing figures of the DCI Product/Decor Craft Inc. animal safety covers described by our reader may tempt children to tug them out, creating both a shock hazard and a choking hazard.

We found the safety covers very easy to remove from some electrical outlets.  Even if your child couldn’t manage to pull the cover out herself, an adult could inadvertently forget to reinstall the outlet protector after, say, charging a cell phone. The cute shape and brilliant color could beckon a curious toddler.

In the past, we have rated other outlet protectors that were small enough to be choking hazards as Not Acceptable. These animal-shaped plugs may pose more of a hazard because they look like toys.

Our take:  We think the DCI Products Animal Plug Safety Covers present a risk to children and shouldn’t be sold. There are better ways to protect your children. For example, we've seen a spring-loaded outlet cover that is easy enough to use by adults but hard for children to negotiate.  -- Sue Booth

Jon minus Kate tempts fate

You’d think that a guy who thrives on attention would seek a bit less of it when he’s doing something unsafe. Especially when it also endangers his children. But no. Jon Gosselin, star of TV’s former reality show "Jon and Kate Plus Eight," didn’t seem the least bit concerned about putting one of his five-year-olds on an ATV. The fact that 20 percent of those killed by ATVs and 30 percent of those injured are kids must have escaped him.
 
Gosselin risked having his son become one of the 40,000 kids who are sent to emergency rooms each year in accidents related to ATVs. Plus, neither the elder nor the younger Gosselin was wearing essential safety gear—a helmet.
 
Children under 16 should not be riding on adult ATVs. Anyone who rides an ATV should don a helmet. And guess what single-rider ATVs were designed for. Yes, a single rider. That means one. 
 

To read more about the safest way to use ATVs, see the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s dedicated Web site.

Photo: INFPhoto.com

This week in safety: Buggy recall hits bumps abroad

After recalling one million umbrella strollers in the U.S. earlier this week, Maclaren took a lot of heat for the way it handled the recall overseas where it also sells strollers—or pushchairs as they're called in England.

"The British company founded in 1965 by Owen Finlay Maclaren, the inventor of the “umbrella-fold” buggy, told non-Americans they would be treated differently," reported the Financial Times. "Instead of a formal product recall, it was simply issuing warnings to owners not to let children stick their fingers in the folding mechanism as they opened the pushchairs. Repair kits to cover the hinges would not be automatically dispatched to every Maclaren owner, as in the U.S."

And that was a glaring example of how not to handle a recall, wrote John Gapper on his business blog. Lessons learned in this recall, he wrote, are: Be prepared, empathize, be polite and don't discriminate.

The U.S. recall was made following reports of 12 fingertip amputations here. Since then there have been reports of at least two amputations in England, according to The Independent newspaper.

We will continue to watch and report on the Maclaren recall. Also in the news this week:

Five of the craziest Chinese drywall stories we've heard
Popular Mechanics
Almost a year after news began breaking about bizarre happenings related to Chinese drywall, numerous questions remain unanswered. There is no consensus on a remediation strategy, on who will compensate homeowners for damage or even on the specific chemical culprit causing the problems. Despite the lack of definitive answers, the investigation so far certainly hasn't come up short on strange anecdotes. Read more ...

E. coli outbreak traced to company that halted testing of ground beef
The New York Times
A deadly outbreak of E. coli has been traced to a large producer of ground beef that stopped testing its ingredients years ago under pressure from beef suppliers. A facility in Ashville, N.Y., owned by the company, AFA Foods, recalled more than 500,000 pounds of ground beef on Oct. 31 after it was linked to an outbreak that has killed two people and sickened an estimated 500 others. Read more ...

Each year, more than 20,000 children are injured by shopping carts
The Kansan
Falls from shopping carts are among the leading causes of head injuries in young children, with one- and two-year-olds having the highest incidents of shopping cart-related injuries in the U.S. While the shopping cart might seem like the safest place for a child in the store, simple safety precautions are necessary to ensure a quick trip for groceries does not end in injury. Read more ...

Which cities are the safest for pedestrians?
The Christian Science Monitor
Some of the most dangerous places to walk or ride a bicycle in America are in the South—in fast-growing metropolitan areas that have built their streets mainly for automobiles. In fact, four of the five worst metro areas for walking or biking are in Florida: Orlando-Kissimmee, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Miami-Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville. The other metro area in this group of five is Memphis, Tenn. Read more ...

Beyond Nokia chargers: A brief history of recent technology recalls
Network World
While there are plenty of products customers probably wish had been recalled (OK, it's time to stop piling on Windows Vista), Nokia's recall Monday of millions of faulty cell phone chargers got us thinking about other recent technology recalls. Read more ...

Toyota is sued over concerns of sudden acceleration
The Los Angeles Times
A lawsuit filed this week by two Los Angeles County residents claims that the majority of Toyota and Lexus vehicles made since 2001 contain defective components that can cause unintended acceleration. Read more ...

Don't miss these recalls

• 85,000 Homelite backpack blowers (leaking gas tanks)
• 115,000 Gehl’s HOT TOP2 nacho cheese and chili sauce dispensers (fire and burn hazard)
• 13,000 Gander Mountain hang-on fixed position treestands (fall hazard)
• 6,400 Easton Sports bicycles with EA30 stems (fall hazard)

Fingertip amputations prompt recall of 1 million Maclaren strollers

After getting reports of 12 fingertip amputations, Maclaren USA is recalling one million strollers, which includes every umbrella stroller of that brand sold in the U.S. for the past 10 years. The amputations occurred when the children got their fingers caught in the stroller’s hinge mechanism. According to Maclaren, at the time of the incidents the children were outside the stroller and a parent or caregiver was either opening it or folding it up. 
 
The strollers were sold at Babies 'R' Us, Target, and other juvenile product and mass merchandise retailers from 1999 through November 2009 for between $100 and $360. The recall involves all Maclaren single and double umbrella strollers including Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller.
 
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is advising owners of the strollers to stop using them and to contact Maclaren to receive a free repair kit—a zippered fabric cover that prevents a child from inserting his or her finger into the hinges.  Maclaren can be contacted at 877-688-2326 or by visiting the firm’s Web site at www.maclaren.us/recall.

Although all Maclaren strollers are certified by the Juvenile Product Manufacturers Associations to meet ASTM-International’s voluntary safety standard for strollers, we found a loophole in the standard. The standard addresses scissoring, shearing and pinching, but it only applies to situations where the stroller is in the manufacturer’s recommended use position—meaning unfolded with the hinges locked in place—to prevent injury to the occupant. Consumers Union, which sits on ASTM’s stroller committee, will work to close that loophole in the future.
 
Strollers are first on the list of nursery products that cause injury to children under age five.  A report issued last week by the CPSC reported 12,400 hospital treated injuries related to strollers and carriages in 2008.
 
Our Take: When using any stroller, make sure to keep your child well away while you are unfolding or folding it. Double check to make sure all locks are fully engaged and the harness system buckled before taking your child out for a stroll.—Don Mays

The five most hazardous products for babies and toddlers

Over the past few years millions of cribs, play yards and bassinets have been recalled because they pose a hazard to children. So we weren't surprised to see these three products—along with bath seats and car seats/carriers—on the list of nursery products most hazardous to children under five.
 
The list was just released by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in its annual report  “Nursery Product-Related Injuries and Deaths Among Children under Age Five.”  The report is based on hospital-treated injuries associated with nursery products during 2008, and fatalities for those products from 2004 to 2006.  The difference between the years covered for injuries and fatalities is due to the extra time it takes to receive and analyze death certificates following a fatality.
 
If there was any good news in the report it was that the statistics remain essentially unchanged from last year.  Unfortunately, there were 247 deaths—an average of 82 per year—between the years of 2004 and 2006 and more than 63,000 estimated hospital-treated injuries associated with nursery products in 2008.

The products that accounted for the most deaths in 2004-2006 were:

1. Cribs/Mattresses 31
2. Baby Baths/Bath Seats/Bathinettes 12
3. Playpens/Play Yards 11
4. Bassinets/Cradles 11
5. Infant Carriers / Car Seat Carriers* 8 (* excludes car accidents)

Our Take: There are far too many deaths and injuries associated with theses products. Although some products can pose inherent risks, better design and tougher safety standards can help mitigate these disturbing statistics. As required by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, we look forward to the CPSC’s writing of strong regulations for these products in the future, and hope to see strict enforcement of the regulations to make sure all products in the marketplace are in compliance. —Don Mays

Trick or treatment—don’t spend Halloween in the ER

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so it promises to be a big night for trick-or-treaters who may stay out later than usual. It’s a good night for fright and fun, but it’s also a big night for accidents. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of deaths among young pedestrians (ages 5 to 14) is four times higher on Halloween evening that any other evening of the year. Drivers should be extremely cautious on Halloween.

This Halloween I’ll be doing the following to keep my children and our friends and neighbors safe. Feel free to borrow these tips.

First, I’m making sure that the pathway to my front door is well lit and not strewn with wet leaves, flower pots, garden hoses, or any other obstacle that could cause a nasty fall.
  
My jack-o-lantern and luminaries will be lit with electric candles this year since real candles can set costumes on fire. 
 
I made sure my decorative Halloween lights have a UL-listed label on the cord. The one outside has the appropriate red UL holographic label, while the one inside the house has a green holographic label.
 
My kids think this is “lame,” but I’m taking the advice of one of our readers and doling out mini flashlights along with some candy. They cost me about a dollar each including the AA battery but it’s well worth it. If kids use them, drivers may be able to see them better in the dark, and all kids like flashlights. The Halloween flashlights I'm handing out are not the same flashlights recalled by Target. However, I cut the looped string off the lights I bought because I feared that could pose a strangulation hazard.  
 
My older daughter wants to venture out with a group of friends this year. She’ll be carrying a cell phone so that she can check in with me regularly. Both children will carry flashlights and identification.

We’re all looking forward to a night of fright and fun and staying out of the ER. Happy Halloween! —Don Mays

More Halloween safety tips

• DWI incidents spike on Halloween
• Hey kids, don't mess up when you dress up
• Trick-or-treat safety tips for pedestrians and drivers
• Hidden Halloween hazards
  
• How to choose a safe costume

Why a warning and not a recall on “My Baby Soother” pacifiers?

Earlier this week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued an unusual announcement when it urged parents and caregivers to stop using “My Baby Soother” pacifiers due to a choking hazard.  The pacifiers, distributed by T & L Trading of Brooklyn, NY, fail to meet federal safety standards because the nipples can separate from the base easily, posing a choking hazard to infants and toddlers. But, surprisingly, T &L Trading has refused to recall these pacifiers, despite the fact they are in violation of the law. 
 
About 16,500 “My Baby Soother” pacifiers were sold at grocery stores, delis, and discount stores in the New York City area from August 2007 to July 2009.  In lieu of a recall notice, the CPSC issued a press release warning consumers to immediately take the recalled pacifiers away from infants and toddlers and discard them. They also advised distributors and retailers to stop selling them. 
 
Our Take:  The CPSC must move quickly to force T & L Trading to recall this product. Once a product is  deemed an official recall, the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act makes it illegal to be sold.  That will help to get any unsafe pacifiers off store shelves. The terms of the recall should require T & L to contact each distributor and retailer that sold the pacifiers and to post notices to alert any consumers who bought them. And as opposed to the CPSC’s advice to throw the pacifiers away, consumers should send them back to the company (T & L Trading, 17 Meserole St., Brooklyn, NY 11206-1901) and demand their money back as well as compensation for mailing costs.  Although the pacifiers cost only one dollar, no company should profit from selling products that violate federal safety regulations.—Don Mays

After entanglements, three more companies recall shades and blinds

Almost one million roman shades and roller blinds were recalled today after three more children became entangled in the cords. Fortunately, the children were discovered before they were further harmed—unlike three other children who strangled on the cords of blinds and died. After those incidents 5.5 million shades were recalled.

In the recent incidents,  a 2-year-old boy climbed on a toy chest to look out a window and became entangled in the inner cords of a roman shade. His parents removed the cord which left a temporary red mark around his neck. A 20-month-old boy became entangled in the inner cord from a roman shade and was rescued when his grandfather heard his cries. In the third case, the mother of a 3-year-old boy found him crying with a cord mark that ran ear to ear on the front of his neck. Apparently, he was able to free himself after becoming entangled in the inner cord.

All three cases underscore the dangers of window coverings with dangling cords or chains. The hazard of cords on blinds has been well known for many years and recently the Consumer Product Safety Commission has become more aggressive about announcing recalls. Recalled today were:

• 533,000 IKEA roller blinds sold at IKEA stores nationwide from July 2005 through July 2009 for between $10 and $55.
• 364,000 Louis Hornick & Co. roman shades sold at Bed Bath & Beyond stores nationwide and online at www.bedbathandbeyond.com from August 2007 through September 2009 for between $40 and $130.
• 90,000 faux suede roman shades sold at Hanover Direct/Domestications and online at www.domestications.com and through catalog sales nationwide from January 2004 through December 2008 for between $20 and $40.

Check the recall notices for photos and refund information.

Baby deaths raise concerns about Infantino slings

On May 7th of this year, 6-day-old Derrik Fowler (at right) of Oregon died in an Infantino baby sling. His mother was carrying Derrik while she shopped, but when she went to remove her son from the sling, he had stopped breathing and turned blue. His father started CPR while his mother called 911. Derrik could not be revived. The manner of death was reported as accidental compression asphyxia/suffocation.
 
Derrik's wasn’t the first infant death in an Infantino sling this year. Three months earlier, a 7-week-old Philadelphia boy suffocated while being carried by his mother. She discovered that the child wasn’t breathing when she opened the sling to show him to a friend.
 
We know of at least seven babies who have suffocated in baby slings over the past 11 years.  The cause of other deaths in slings were undetermined or may have been misclassified as SIDS.  Additionally, we have reports of 37 infants who have been seriously injured in incidents with slings over the same time period.  Those injuries include skull fractures, broken bones, and serious bruises.
 
We have warned readers about baby slings before and put them on our list of products not to buy for your baby. The response: Strong criticism from advocates who believe that baby wearing is the healthiest way to transport a baby and builds mother-baby bonding.  But the growing number of fatalities and injuries associated with slings makes us even more resolute in our position on this product. We’re in no way opposed to baby wearing, but there are soft, wearable infant carriers that we believe are safer to use than slings.
 
Participants at last week’s ASTM-International meeting on sling carriers discussed the design of the Infantino “bag-style” sling and how it could contribute to suffocation and obstructed airways. That can happen for two reasons—either the baby’s face turns inward and becomes covered by the mother’s clothing or breasts, or the baby is placed in a position where the infant's head falls so far forward that the airway is closed off.
 
The ASTM sling committee is not alone in its concern about the Infantino design. Customer reviews on Amazon.com include a slew of comments about potential suffocation risks.
 
The Infantino Slingrider (at right) has been recalled in the past for breaking shoulder strap adjusters; it has not been recalled for suffocation hazards. We are writing to the Consumer Product Safety Commission to suggest another recall on this product before more children die.  
 
The label in the Infantino sling and on its box says that it “Meets or exceeds ASTM F2236.” That’s the voluntary safety standard on soft infant carriers, but that standard specifically excludes slings. There is no current ASTM safety standard for slings, so such labeling is very misleading. The warnings and instructions on the label also apply to regular infant carriers, and are inappropriate for slings.  We fear that those instructions could be misinterpreted and that a baby could be at risk as a result. Our calls to Infantino about its labeling have not been returned.

Our Take:  There may be safe slings on the market, but until ASTM adopts a safety standard that addresses the injuries and fatalities we’ve seen with these products, we’ll stand firm with our advice.—Don Mays