babble » blogs » Strollerderby
Strollerderby
Pacifiers Recalled. Are Any Baby Products Safe to Buy?
With so many cribs and other baby products being recalled, parents no longer know what is safe to buy.
Just this week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), announced a voluntary recall of close to 45,000 Kariño Baby Pacifiers distributed by Antonio Flores.
The Commission determined that the pacifier fails to meet federal safety standards and could pose a choking hazard.
Why are products that are sold to children not tested before they’re put on the market? And are there any products that are safe to buy these days? What’s a parent to do?
USA Today recently wrote about how the government is trying to ensure product safety and let parents know what products are okay to buy.
CPSC chair Inez Tenenbaum says the agency is working to “clean up the marketplace” and renew parents’ confidence in baby products. The agency has already established new federal standards for baby walkers and bath seats, and is formulating crib standards. They will soon set standards for high chairs, booster seats, gates, play yards, stationary activity centers, bassinets and cradles. Um, why didn’t anyone think of this until now? Well, they did…
In 2008, Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which was intended to limit recalls and ensure safety for cribs and other baby gear. But, clearly, something isn’t working because it seems that every day we hear of another baby product that is being recalled.
Last month, the CSPS voted to ban drop-side cribs after they were implicated in a number of infant injuries and death. But many parents are now wondering what to do with their drop-side cribs. Are they safe to use?
Here’s your answer: If you have a drop-side crib that has been recalled, stop using it and contact the manufacturer. If your drop-side crib hasn’t been recalled, it is safe as long as you stop lowering and raising the sides. And most importantly, don’t buy second-hand cribs.
The good news is that once the new rules for cribs and other baby products are in place, baby gear will have to be independently tested to make sure they meet the new standards. Again, seems like a no-brainer, right?
But banning dangerous cribs or recalling products doesn’t necessarily eradicate the problem. According to Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, fewer than 5% of consumers responded ot the 2007 recall of 1 million Simplicity cribs.
Many families use secondhand cribs which are purchased online or at garage sales. Those cribs may have been recalled and may not have all of their original hardware.
Now that so much manufacturing is done outside the USA, Tenenbaum says her agency is investigating foreign companies as well.
Tenenbaum’s advice to parents? Be informed and judicious about your purchases. ”If a child’s necklace is $5, you have to wonder what is in that necklace,” she says. “We hope that all parents will say to themselves, ‘Should I really buy this?’ ” In other words, buy fewer things of better quality.
Are you concerned about all of the recent recalls of baby products?
Photo: flickr/Chris Moseley
Go Back To Strollerderby
18 Comments
[...] Babble (blog) [...]
Safety Recalls – News and Updates » Blog Archive » Pacifiers Recalled. Are Any Baby Products Safe to Buy? – Babble (blog) commented on Jul 23 10 at 3:56 am[...] the recall of the Nap Nanny has you wondering just what baby products are safe to buy, you aren’t alone. The CPSC says they are working to ensure product safety and [...]
Nap Nanny Recall | Strollerderby commented on Jul 26 10 at 11:10 am[...] the recall of the Nap Nanny has you wondering just what baby products are safe to buy, you aren’t alone. The CPSC says they are working to ensure product safety and [...]
Nap Nanny Recall | Strollerderby commented on Jul 26 10 at 11:10 am[...] the recall of the Nap Nanny has you wondering just what baby products are safe to buy, you aren’t alone. The CPSC says they are working to ensure product safety and [...]
Nap Nanny Recall | Strollerderby commented on Jul 26 10 at 11:10 am[...] the recall of the Nap Nanny has you wondering just what baby products are safe to buy, you aren’t alone. The CPSC says they are working to ensure product safety and [...]
Nap Nanny Recall | Strollerderby commented on Jul 26 10 at 11:10 amPlumbLucky commented on Jul 22 10 at 11:55 amOn the Simplicity crib recall issue, I have to wonder “5%…at which point? When Simplicity was still in business? Or at the point which Simplicity was out of business, previously not included cribs were in cluded, and attempts made to return the darn thing to the point of purchase were usually futile?”
bob commented on Jul 22 10 at 12:48 pmI think safety is in our own hands. Doing your own testing isn’t as hard as it looks, though. Just take whatever object you are considering and try as hard as you can to kill yourself with it. If you die, don’t buy. See, it’s even easy to remember.
Laure68 commented on Jul 22 10 at 1:07 pmOne thing to remember is that our standard for safety is getting much stricter, so it is not that things are less safe than they used to be, but that we tolerate less risk. This is a good thing, but I think often people get the idea that things are becoming less safe. Instead of being concerned, I am grateful that things for kids are becoming more safe.
Also, people should be careful in thinking that a higher price necessarily means better quality. I remember a while back when toys were tested independently for lead, and Melissa and Doug had some of the highest lead counts.
PlumbLucky commented on Jul 22 10 at 1:21 pmWell, there’s that (@Laure68), then there’s the “everything is made cheaply and not to last anymore” factor too. My parents still have the (dropside) crib that they used for my sibs/self. Sturdy metal hardware. The bumpkin’s dropside crib? Cheap $h!t plastic hardware.
Laure68 commented on Jul 22 10 at 2:14 pmThat is a good point, but that old crib probably doesn’t meet today’s safety standard either as far as spacing of the slats. It is possible to still get good stuff today. We got a Pali crib on a clearance sale and it was really well made and very solid.
I’m also thinking more about toxic substances. Everything had lead in it in the old days.
bob commented on Jul 22 10 at 2:50 pmI think this was the carseat my parents used to use:
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f308/pramrider/1971CarSeat.jpg
Laure68 commented on Jul 22 10 at 3:39 pm@bob – lol! What a great contraption. In all honesty, that was probably the ultimate in safety at the time. We didn’t even use seat belts in the 70′s. If I remember correctly, I learned about how important they were and had to convince my parents to start using them.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Jul 22 10 at 4:50 pmWell, as long as they aren’t recalling my boobs, I’m good for a few months…
bob commented on Jul 23 10 at 9:19 amMistress: To be on the safe side (since they aren’t JPMA certified) be sure not to leave you baby alone with your boobs.
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Jul 23 10 at 9:50 amROFL, Bob. I’ll do my best…
Linda Woody, JPMA Public Relations commented on Jul 23 10 at 3:08 pmI just reviewed information distributed by the CPSC, and the actual number of infant deaths associated with drop side cribs is 32 over the past 10 years. Some great safe sleep tips are also posted at cribsafety.org.
paulabernstein commented on Jul 23 10 at 4:39 pmThanks for the clarification, Linda. I’ve changed the post accordingly.
Adriana commented on Nov 23 11 at 12:12 pmPart of our problem in this is buying imported stuff. Back in October of 2007 I had a recall notice sent to me about something I bought and registered. So I decided to see if I had any thing else that was recalled. To my surprise 7 different items in that same day … totaling 405,200 items. All made in China. In that month there was another 784,150 items on recall that totaled more then 1 Million items. Then add the 1 million cribs 6 weeks earlier and in a 6 week span you have more then 2 million items recalled … ALL MADE IN CHINA. In that 6 week span there was also 405 items recalled that where made in the U.S.A. Out of all the countries we import from, China is out larges and also our largest Recall. But it’s not just Toys, Aluminum water bottles, Key chains, clothes (because they where painted with lead paint)!
Granit our import market is way to large. But we did it to our selves.
Personally I would rather go up to some state side woods craftsmen have him build me a crib for 400-500 then have my babies die from a piece of crap made in China furniture.
Add your take:
Note: Babble is a supportive, diverse community. We encourage a range of opinions,
but any unduly hostile comments will be removed.
Comments are delayed up to 15 minutes
Lori Garcia 
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
The Walt Disney Company supports Babble as a platform dedicated to honest, engaged, informed, intelligent and open conversation about parenting. However, the opinions expressed on this site are those of individual parents/writers and do not reflect the views of Disney. In addition, content provided on this site is for entertainment or informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or safety advice.
18