Your baby is here and you’ve got the nursery set up: the crib, the changing table, the baby monitor.

But wait. Is the baby monitor in a safe place? Does it have a cord near the crib?

If so, read on:

CPSC is warning parents and caregivers about the dangers of placing baby monitors too close to cribs, bassinets and play yards. Babies can and have been strangled by baby monitor cords.

Since 2004, CPSC has received six reports of infants who were strangled by baby monitor cords that were placed too close to a crib. In the most recent death—in March 2010—a 10-month-old girl from Washington, D.C., pulled a camera monitor into her crib and was strangled by the cord.

Regardless of whether your baby is mobile or standing, be sure to:

• Use a wireless baby monitor to avoid risk of strangulation, or
• Make sure the cords on your corded monitor are out of arm’s reach of your baby, and
• Check to make sure no other cords (on lamps, nightlights, radios, and window coverings) are near your baby’s sleep environment.

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Recent Infant Death in a Recalled Simplicity Wooden Drop Side Crib Raises Number of Fatalities to 11. Some of the Cribs include the Graco Logo and Winnie-the-Pooh Motif.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning consumers about the dangers associated with recalled Simplicity wooden drop side cribs manufactured by Simplicity Inc. and SFCA Inc., of Reading, Pa.  The firms appear to no longer conduct day to day operations. 

CPSC has recently been made aware of an additional death which occurred in September 2009 involving a 7-month-old child from Princeton, Kentucky who became entrapped in the crib when a part of it broke.  On July 2, 2009, CPSC issued a recall describing the death of an 8-month-old child from Houston, Texas who became entrapped and suffocated between the drop side and the crib mattress when a plastic connector on the drop side broke.  CPSC also is aware of an additional 25 incidents involving the drop side detaching from the crib. 

To date, CPSC has recalled over 2 million Simplicity wooden drop side cribs due to problems with the crib’s plastic hardware.  The plastic hardware can break or deform, causing the drop side to detach. When the drop side detaches, it creates a space between the drop side and the crib mattress.  Infants and toddlers can roll into this space and become entrapped which can lead to suffocation.   

Previous Simplicity crib recalls were issued in December 2005 , June 2007 , September 2007 , September 2008 , and July 2009 .

All Simplicity wooden drop side cribs have been recalled.  Some of the model numbers include but are not limited to:  4600, 4605, 4705, 5000, 8000, 8050, 8324, 8325, 8620, 8740, 8745, 8748, 8750, 8755, 8756, 8760, 8765, 8778, 8800, 8810, 8910, 8993, 8994, 8995, 8996. The recalled drop side cribs were sold in department stores, children’s stores, and mass merchandisers nationwide from January 2005 through June 2009 for between $150 and $300.

CPSC is reminding parents and caregivers to check their cribs to see if they have a recalled Simplicity drop side crib.  Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled cribs and find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their baby.  Consumers should not attempt to fix the cribs.  Consumers can also check with the retailer where purchased to receive a remedy.

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Maclaren USA is voluntarily recalling about 1 million strollers because of fingertip lacerations and amputations. This recall involves all Maclaren single and double umbrella strollers. The stroller’s hinge mechanism poses a fingertip amputation and hazard to the child when the consumer is unfolding or opening the stroller. 

The firm has received 15 reports of children placing their finger in the stroller’s hinge mechanism, resulting in 12 reports of fingertip amputations in the United States. The word “Maclaren” is printed on the stroller. The affected models included in this recall are Volo, Triumph, Quest Sport, Quest Mod, Techno XT, TechnoXLR, Twin Triumph, Twin Techno and Easy Traveller. They were sold at Babies R Us, Target and other juvenile product and mass merchandise retailers nationwide from 1999 through November 2009 for between $100 and $360.

Consumers should immediately stop using these recalled strollers and contact Maclaren USA to receive a free repair kit. For additional information, contact Maclaren USA toll-free at (877) 688-2326 or visit the firm’s Web site at www.maclaren.us/recall.

CPSC is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about it by visiting SaferProducts.gov

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Are your window coverings safe?  Over the weekend, a young child from Damascus, Maryland tragically strangled in a window covering. About once a month a child dies from a window cord strangulation. In recent years, CPSC has recalled more than 5  million window coverings.

Today, we are urging parents to examine all window coverings in their homes. Make sure there are no accessible cords on the front, side, or back of the product. CPSC recommends the use of cordless window coverings in all homes where children live or visit. Watch the video, download our new Safety Alert, and let’s prevent these tragedies.

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Halloween is approaching and before the ghosts and goblins take to the streets in search of candy treats, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is providing these safety tips to prevent injuries related to burns from flammable costumes. Candle flames and flammable costumes can be a dangerous combination. Costumes made of natural fibers such as cotton are extremely flammable and it can be very dangerous if they come in contact with an open flame. It is important to use inherently flame-resistant fabrics such as nylon and polyester when making kid’s costumes. Flame-resistant fabrics will resist burning and should extinguish quickly. When shopping for costumes and accessories such as beards, wigs and masks, look for the label flame resistant and flame retardent. By following these simple safety tips, you can ensure that this year’s holiday is a safe one. You can find out more about Halloween safety, including Halloween-related product recalls, at www.cpsc.gov.

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The end of the outdoor swimming and pool season doesn’t mean the end of drowning dangers for young children. After pools, more children drown in bathtubs than in any other product in and around the home. Children can drown in only inches of water in bathtubs, baby seats or bathinettes, buckets and pails, landscaping or yard products, and other products found in and around the home. The majority of reported in-home drownings and non-fatal submersion incidents in homes involved children younger than 2 years old. See CPSC’s staff report on young children’s drownings and non-fatal submersion incidents in homes.

Parents need to know that water anywhere is a potential drowning hazard to children. A lapse in supervision by caregivers is the leading cause of preventable children’s in-home drownings. Never leave young children alone, even for a moment, near any water.

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Hello, I’m Inez Tenenbaum, Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. In my first hours as Chairman, I spoke frankly to families and consumers across the country. I said that as the leader of this important safety agency, I was committed to creating an open and transparent CPSC. We have kept our word. But now we are taking our commitment even further with the launch of CPSC 2.0. CPSC 2.0 is all about letting you know what’s going on at CPSC and gives you an opportunity to participate in the safety discussion.

I’m very excited to announce that you’ll now find us on a new CPSC blog site we’re calling “OnSafety.”  You can also find us on Youtube, Twitter and Flickr. These are terrific tools that I plan to use frequently to keep you up to date on what’s happening on issues that affect you directly. These sites are for the moms, dads, grandparents and others who want to protect themselves, their homes and those they care about.

I’ll do my best to keep you up to date by posting here frequently. You’ll also see on our new site a video series: “The 60 Seconds of Safety.”  If you have a minute to spend with us, you may learn something that’ll keep you safe for a lifetime. And I want to hear from you – I want to know what’s working for you in keeping your families safe and if there’s something you’d like to see on this site. CPSC stands for safety, especially the safety of children. Together, we can take safety to the next level.

Inez

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Almost weekly, we see news reports about horrible accidents involving young children and furniture, appliance and tv tip-overs. The force of a large television falling from tipping furniture can be staggering.  A 50 lb. TV falls with about the same force as child falling from the third story of a building. That kind of impact can kill a child or cause severe injuries. About 16,000 (mostly young children) were treated in emergency rooms for tip-over related injuries in 2006, that’s about four times more injuries than from exposed electrical outlets. 
      
Unfortunately, many parents are unaware of the deadly danger of this hidden hazard. Parents should include securing TVs, furniture, and appliances in their childproofing efforts. The most vigilant, safety-conscious parent can’t react quickly enough to save their child from falling furniture – even if they’re in the same room. The simplest solution is to install hardware/devices that anchor furniture to a wall – they’re inexpensive, easy-to-install, and are on-duty 24 hours a day.  For young children whose home is a playground, it’s the best way to prevent a tip-over tragedy.