What are durable infant or toddler products?
A durable infant or toddler product is a durable product intended for use, or that may be reasonably expected to be used, by children under the age of 5 years and is one of the following:
- full-size cribs and non-full-size cribs;
- toddler beds;
- high chairs, booster seats, and hook-on chairs;
- bath seats;
- gates and other enclosures for confining a child;
- play yards;
- stationary activity centers;
- infant carriers;
- strollers;
- walkers;
- swings;
- bassinets and cradles;
- children’s folding chairs;
- changing tables;
- infant bouncers;
- infant bathtubs;
- bed rails; and
- infant slings.
Are all durable infant or toddler products listed above subject to children’s product safety rules?
Eventually, yes. Currently, the Commission has issued children’s product safety rules for four of the product categories in the above list. By law, the Commission must continue to study and develop mandatory child product safety rules for the remaining products on the above list.
What is the consumer registration requirement for durable infant or toddler products?
In order to improve recall effectiveness, Congress has required that manufacturers of covered products:
- Provide consumers with a postage-paid product registration card with each product;
- Maintain a record of the names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and other contact information of consumers who register their products; and
- Permanently place the manufacturer name and contact information, model name and number, and the date of manufacture on each durable infant or toddler product.
These requirements are currently in effect and apply to all manufacturers of durable infant and toddler products listed above, regardless of whether a specific children’s product safety rule has been issued by the Commission for their particular product. Learn more about these product registration requirements.
What children’s product safety rules for durable infant or toddler products are currently in place?
To date, the Commission has issued requirements for the following durable infant or toddler products:
See the Resources section below for more information on these requirements.
What other durable infant or toddler products are scheduled for study and mandatory requirements?
CPSC does not publish the schedule but the public is provided with an opportunity to comment on each new proposed rule at the time at which it is proposed. By law, the Commission must consider comments received by the public during the comment period.
The best way to stay current on the durable infant or toddler product rulemaking schedule is to sign up for the following CPSC e-mail services:
CPSIA Mailing List: Distributes official Commission documents published in the Federal Register and other documents, as needed.
Small Business Ombudsman Mailing List: Distributes plain language explanations of certain Commission actions and provides occasional updates on Commission rulemaking and other activities.
Is third party testing and certification required for durable infant and toddler products?
Yes. For those durable infant and toddler products for which the Commission has already issued children’s product safety rules, third party testing and certification requirements are in effect. In the situation where new rules for durable infant and toddler products are being proposed or passed, the effective enforcement date for third party testing is generally 90 days after the Commission provides procedural notice to the testing laboratories. You should review each individual rule as it is released for precise dates.
Signing up for the email services described above will provide you the most up to date information on each new durable infant and toddler product rule.
Where can I learn more?
This page serves as the primary resource page for all information related to durable infant and toddler products.
Resources
This communication has been prepared for general informational purposes only and is based upon the facts and information presented. This communication does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice and has not been reviewed or approved by the Commission, and does not necessarily represent their views. Any views expressed in this communication may be changed or superseded by the Commission.