Six retailers are voluntarily recalling all Buckyballs and Buckycubes high-powered magnet sets that they sold. CPSC staff alleges that the magnets pose a substantial risk of injury and death to children and teenagers.

The retailers involved with today’s recall are:

• Barnes & Noble
• Bed Bath & Beyond
• Brookstone
• Hallmark
• Marbles the Brain Store
• ThinkGeek

These retailers have agreed to participate in the recall because Maxfield & Oberton, the importer of the magnets has refused to participate in the recall of all Buckyballs and Buckycubes.

CPSC began rulemaking in late August to address the serious risks posed by hazardous high-powered magnet sets.

In July 2012 CPSC staff filed an administrative complaint against Maxfield & Oberton after discussions with the company and its representatives failed to result in a voluntary recall plan that CPSC staff considered to be adequate to address the very serious hazard posed by these products. This type of legal action against a company is rare, as this is only the fourth administrative complaint filed by CPSC in the past 11 years.

If you bought these magnet sets from any of the retailers listed above, please contact the retailer for a remedy. All of the retailer contact information is included in this news release.

In 2012, CPSC staff has learned of about 500 incidents involving children and adults who were injured by single-load laundry packets like those shown above. Children have required hospitalization from ingesting the product due to loss of consciousness, excessive vomiting, drowsiness, throat swelling, and difficulty breathing (requiring intubation).

Do NOT let children handle laundry packets. Keep them locked up and out of a child’s sight and reach.

Read and Share this CPSC Safety Alert.

Infants and young children can roll off the edge of the inflatable air mattress, get trapped between the mattress and the fabric sides of the tent and suffocate.  CPSC is aware of a death of a 5-month-old boy who was found with his face pressed against the side wall of the tent. The cause of his death was not determined. CPSC and Health Canada are jointly aware of nine reports of children who became trapped in the product or experienced physical distress inside of it. Two of those babies were found crying underneath the mattress, which had not been inserted into the zippered pocket on the bottom of the tent.

KidCo will start shipping repair kits to consumers in December 2012, but you can contact the company today. Here’s specific information about which models are included in the recall and KidCo’s contact information.

If you have one, stop using it immediately until you have installed a free repair kit that includes a locking strap. CPSC and Summer Infant have received seven reports of incidents, including five reports of infants suffering head injuries—including skull fractures—from falls from this product:

Summer Infant Baby Bather

Here’s what happens: When you lift the bath product and baby together, the folding wire frame can suddenly disengage from the side hinge. Your baby can drop out of the bather. Baby bathers manufactured since July 2007 include the warning, “Never lift or carry the bather with infant in it.”

Four children between the ages of 2 weeks and 2 months old fractured their skulls in falls. One of those children required intensive care due to bleeding on the brain. A fifth baby had a bump to the head requiring emergency room treatment.

The recall to repair involves Summer Infant baby bathers with a small, nearly square blue or pink plastic base. Check this recall announcement for specific model information that will tell you whether your baby bather is included in the recall. Products sold since November 2011 are not included in this recall.

For additional information and to order a free repair kit designed to prevent the frame from suddenly folding if the bather is lifted with a baby in it, call Summer Infant at (800) 426-8627 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s recall page. The repair kit includes a locking strap and instructions.

Bumbo International Trust is recalling about 4 million baby seats. Stop putting your babies in these seats until you get and install a free safety repair kit from Bumbo. The kit includes a restraint belt with a warning label, installation instructions for the belt, safe use instructions, and a new warning sticker.

Without the restraint belt, an infant placed in the Bumbo seat can maneuver out or fall from the seat by arching his/her back, leaning forward or sideways, or rocking.

Here’s what the seat should look like before you use it again:

Bumbo Baby Seat with Restraint Belt

Parents and caregivers: ONLY use the Bumbo seat on the floor. Do not use this product to bring your baby eye level with you, such as on tables, counters, chairs, sofas or any raised surface — even with the belt. Never use the seat on raised surfaces. Don’t use it as a car or bath seat, either.

CPSC and Bumbo are aware of 19 reports of skull fractures from among at least 50 incidents of infants falling from Bumbo seats that were used on high surfaces such as a countertop, chair or table. These all occurred after a 2007 recall of the Bumbo seat to add a warning on the front of the seat that alerts caregivers not to use the seat on an elevated surface. Additional reports of falls and skull fractures were described in the 2007 recall.

In addition, we are aware of 34 injury reports—including two skull fractures—since the recall of babies falling or maneuvering out of Bumbo seats that were used either on the floor or at unknown elevations.

We have seen some recurring safety incidents involving strollers. One involves the opening between the grab bar or tray and the seat bottom. The other involves fingertip amputations.

Let’s start with the opening. In some older strollers, the opening between the grab bar or tray and the seat bottom is less than 8 inches. This can be a big hazard for babies up to 1 year old. When a baby is not properly harnessed, his or her body can slide down through the opening, but their head and neck get trapped.

CPSC is aware of 30 deaths since 1980 in which a child’s head or neck got trapped between the tray or grab bar and the seat bottom.

Many companies have recalled older strollers because of this risk. For these recalled strollers, there is an easy fix. You simply call the company to get a free repair kit or a replacement piece that prevents a child from slipping through the opening.

Here’s a list of companies supplying this fix for the openings on their recalled strollers:

Graco Quattro™ and MetroLite™ Strollers

Peg Perego Venezia and Pliko-P3 Strollers

Tike Tech  Single City X3 and X3 Sport Jogging Strollers

Valco Baby Tri Mode Single and Twin Jogging Strollers

Zooper Strollers

In addition, owners of Bumbleride Indie or Indie Twin strollers with an adjustable bumper bar manufactured from January 2009 through August 2011 should never set the bar in the intermediate (car seat) position when a child is seated in the stroller.

If you’re about to purchase a used stroller, make sure the opening between the grab bar or tray and the seat opening is 8 inches or more. And check for recalls on SaferProducts.gov or on our Recalls.gov mobile app (for Droid) before you buy. It’s illegal to sell a recalled product.

Whenever you put your baby in a stroller, use the safety harness. This can prevent a baby from slipping and can save a baby’s life. Infants as young as a few weeks old can move around when they sleep. If a baby is sleeping in the stroller without the harness, he or she can slide down to the opening. This is one reason you should never leave a baby, particularly one younger than 12 months old, unattended in the stroller. That’s especially true if the stroller seat’s backrest is in the reclined or flat position.

* * *

Now, let’s turn our attention to fingers. CPSC is aware of at least 23 incidents of fingertip amputations in strollers between 2008 and April 2012 among children under the age of 5. In many cases, children 3 or younger suffered full or partial amputations when their fingers got caught in a hinge. In addition, adults have gotten their fingers caught, too. Amputations typically happen in one of several ways:

• You are using a stroller and a latch stops working, causing the stroller to unexpectedly collapse.
• A child is standing next to or begins to climb into the stroller while a caregiver is unfolding or opening the stroller.
• You lift a collapsed stroller, such as picking it up out of the trunk of a car. One side of the frame unexpectedly unfolds.
• Your finger gets caught in a hinge when you fold or unfold the stroller.

Several companies have recalled their strollers to give caregivers free hinge covers that block fingers from getting caught.

If you have or are buying one of these strollers secondhand, make sure that you have the hinge cover:

Britax “Blink” single umbrella strollers

CYBEX Ruby, Onyx and Topaz model umbrella strollers

Graco Passage™, Alano™ and Spree™ Strollers and Travel Systems | Video

Maclaren single and double umbrella strollers sold before November 2009 | Video

Kolcraft Contours Options three- and four-wheeled strollers

phil&teds USA sport v2 and classic v1 single-seat jogging strollers

Whenever you open or close a stroller or one of its parts, like the canopy, keep your child’s hands away. Here are a few suggestions:

• Hand the child a cup or toy to hold.
• Play “hands up” as you open the stroller and “hands down” as you open the canopy.
• Sing a counting song before your child can get into the stroller. “One, two, touch your shoe; three, four, stroller’s ready; five, six, time to sit.” Open the stroller while you are counting.

Tweet other ideas that promote stroller safety to @OnSafety and we’ll retweet some of our favorites.

Reader Note: Blog originally published on June 14, 2012. Updated July 24, 2012

Recall Roundup: July 2012

In this month’s CPSC Recall Roundup: Discovery Kids Lamps, Gabiano Collection pajamas and Chicco Polly High Chairs

Storified by U.S. CPSC · Fri, Jul 20 2012 12:55:55

“The pajamas fail to meet the federal flammability standards for children’s sleepwear posing a risk of burn injury to children.”

What does that line mean for a parent or grandparent buying pajamas for a child?

CPSC enforces a regulation that requires that children’s sleepwear to protect children from burn injuries if they come in contact with a small open flame, such as from matches, lighters, candles, stoves, ranges, space heaters and fireplaces.

The regulation was enacted in the early 1970s in response to children suffering burn injuries, which typically happened before bedtime and around breakfast. Today, CPSC rarely receives reports of sleepwear-related fires.

When you buy pajamas, you’ll see two types: loose-fitting and tight-fitting. Loose fitting pajamas must be flame resistant. That means that the fabric shouldn’t ignite near a small, open flame. And if it does ignite, it should stop burning.  Some loose-fitting items are nightgowns, loungewear, robes or any loose clothing intended to be worn mainly for sleeping.

Tight-fitting pajamas fit close to a child’s body. The fabric does not need to be flame resistant because of how it fits. Tight-fitting pajamas do not ignite easily, and if the pajamas ignite, they do not readily burn. You should always see a label on these pajamas telling you to wear them snugly.

CPSC tests children’s sleepwear in our product testing lab. Here’s what happens with sleepwear that meets the standard versus sleepwear that doesn’t:

If you own any of the pajamas recalled, take the pajamas away from your children. Contact the recalling company for a refund, exchange or store credit as described in the recalls.

The newly recalled locks are Safety 1^st cabinet slide locks and toilet locks.

They look like this:

Dorel Juvenile Group (DJG), the company that makes these locks, has received 278 reports of cabinet locks and 110 reports of toilet locks that did not adequately secure cabinets and toilets. In one reported incident, a 13-month-old swallowed small, toxic beads from a craft kit.

You can find detailed information on how to identify the recalled locks here.

The cabinet locks were sold at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Great Beginnings, Home Depot, Target, and Walmart from January 2005 through April 2010. The toilet locks were sold at the same stores from January 2000 through March 2009. Both locks were also sold on Amazon.com through April 2012.

If you have these locks, don’t rely on them to keep children out of cabinets and toilets. Contact DJG at www.djgusa.com or toll-free at (877) 416-8105 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday for a free replacement lock. While you are waiting for free replacement locks for cabinets, immediately store dangerous items out of reach of children. While waiting for a replacement toilet lid lock, keep the lid down to prevent access and consider placing a latch on the bathroom door that is out of reach of young children.

The slide is specifically for in-ground pools. Here’s what it looks like:

A 29-year-old Colorado mother died after fracturing her neck going down this slide. She hit her head against the concrete edge of the pool when the slide partly deflated. CPSC and the firms recalling this slide are aware of two other serious injuries that have happened in a similar way:

• A 24-year-old man from Springfield, Mo., became a quadriplegic
• A woman from Allentown, Pa., fractured her neck.

About 21,000 of the slides were sold at Walmart and Toys R Us from January 2005 through June 2009 for about $250. During use, they can deflate. When this happens, the person on the slide can hit the ground underneath and become injured. The slide is also unstable and can topple over and has inadequate warnings and instructions.

The recalled slides are vinyl with a blue base, yellow sliding mat and an arch over the top of the slide. Hose water can be sprayed on the slide’s downward slope from a nozzle on the arch. The words “Banzai Splash” are printed in a circular blue, orange and white logo that is shaped like a wave on either side of the slide.

We urge you to stop using this slide immediately and return to Walmart or Toys R Us for a full refund.

For additional information, from Walmart, call (800) 925-6278 between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s website at www.walmartstores.com. For additional information from Toys R Us, call (800) 869-7787 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday and between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday, or visit the firm’s website at www.toysrus.com.

Look at your child’s jackets, sweatshirts and sweaters. See nothing unusual? Now, look again. Do they have drawstrings?

For reasons we show below, CPSC passed a rule in July 2011, designating most drawstrings in children’s upper outerwear as hazardous. This essentially means that you shouldn’t see for sale, and your child shouldn’t wear, jackets, sweatshirts and sweaters with dangerous drawstrings. That means no neck or hood drawstrings for upper outerwear in sizes 2T through 12 or S through L. In addition, certain waist or bottom drawstrings are considered dangerous.

These waist drawstrings and the hood drawstrings above are what you should not see on your child’s clothes.

With waist drawstrings, there are three things to look for:

• When the clothing is at its fullest width, the drawstring should not hang out more than 3 inches.
• There shouldn’t be any toggles or other attachments on the drawstring.
• The drawstring must be stitched into the back so that it cannot be pulled to one side.

Here’s why:

Drawstrings can catch on items such as playground equipment or vehicle doors. CPSC has received 26 reports of children who have died when drawstrings in their clothes got tangled on playground slides, school bus doors and other objects. Waist and bottom drawstrings that were caught in cars and buses resulted in dragging incidents.

CPSC first issued guidelines on drawstrings in February 1996. These were then incorporated into a voluntary standard in 1997. Since the clothing industry started following the voluntary standard, deaths involving neck or hood drawstrings  decreased by 75 percent and there have been no deaths associated with waist or bottom drawstrings.

Still, we continue to see jackets, sweatshirts, and sweaters made with drawstrings that are dangerous. CPSC has issued more than 130 recalls involving clothes with drawstrings including 8 recalls between November 2011 and May 8, 2012. Here are some recalls from  just the past month (as of publication of this blog). So, check your child’s upper outerwear and make sure to follow the instructions on these recalls.

If so, you should keep reading. The Safety 1^st Push ‘N Snap Cabinet Locks are being recalled because young children can open the locks and get access to the cabinets.

Dorel Juvenile Group, the company that imports these locks, has received 200 reports of locks that did not adequately secure cabinets or were damaged. Three children who got into the cabinets swallowed or handled dishwasher detergent, window cleaner or oven cleaner and were observed and released from emergency treatment centers.

You can find detailed information on how to identify the recalled locks here.

Stop relying on these recalled locks to keep children out of cabinets immediately and contact the company at www.djgusa.com or toll-free at (866) 762-3212 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday for a free replacement lock. While you are waiting for a free replacement lock, immediately store dangerous items out of reach of children.

Similar Recalls:

• Child Safety Latches and Outlet Covers Recalled by Prime-Line; Screw Breaks Can Allow Unintended Access
• The First Years® Recalls American Red Cross® Cabinet Swing Locks; Latches Can Fail to Prevent Access by Children

Today, we are announcing a voluntary recall involving about 1.7 million Bosch-branded Tassimo T Disc single cup brewers and certain Kraft espresso T Discs, due to a burn hazard to consumers. We are urging you to stop using these recalled coffee makers and espresso discs and take advantage of the free replacement part and espresso T Disc refund programs.

Here’s what the coffee makers look like:

A 10-year-old Minnesota girl was one of 37 reported victims of second-degree burns from the coffee maker’s spray. The girl had burns to her face and neck and was hospitalized. There have been 140 reports of incidents in which the coffee makers sprayed hot liquid, coffee grounds or tea leaves onto consumers.

Either “Bosch” and “Tassimo” or “Tassimo Professional” are printed on the front of the coffee makers. They use small plastic disks, called “T Discs” that are filled with coffee, tea, milk, chocolate or syrup to brew drinks. This recall news release gives you a list of recalled model numbers and additional details.

Some of the Kraft Foods-made espresso T Discs that fit in these coffee makers are also being recalled because they can become clogged and spray hot liquid and coffee grounds during or after brewing. The 4 million recalled packages of T Discs are 25 types of Gevalia, Maxwell House and Nabob branded espresso T Discs used in Tassimo coffee makers. This recall news release tells you how to identify the recalled T Discs by codes listed on the packages. [LINK TO KRAFT RECALL] Kraft reports 21 incidents involving the recalled T Discs, including four reports of second-degree burns. One injury involved a 2-year-old girl from Canada who received second-degree burns to her face.

If you own these recalled coffee makers or the recalled espresso T Discs, stop using them today. Contact Tassimo through their website at www.tassimodirect.com/safetyrecall or by calling toll-free (866) 918-8763 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. Tassimo will send you a free replacement “T Disc holder” for the coffee maker and a full refund for the T Discs.

Are you putting your infant in a Bumbo seat that looks like this, on an elevated surface? If so, STOP and read this warning.

NEVER put a Bumbo baby seat on a table, countertop, chair or other elevated surface.

ONLY put an infant in a Bumbo seat if it is on a floor.

Infants placed in Bumbo seats can escape from the seat by arching their backs, leaning forward or sideways or rocking. Infants age 3 to 10 months old have suffered serious head injuries—such as a skull fracture or concussion—from falling from a Bumbo baby seat when this happens.

CPSC and Bumbo International are aware of at least 45 incidents in which infants fell out of Bumbo seat while it was being used on an elevated surface. These incidents happened after an October 2007 voluntary recall of the product to add a warning on the front of the seat against use on elevated surfaces.

Since the recall, CPSC and Bumbo International have learned that 17 of those infants, ages 3 to 10 months, suffered skull fractures. These incidents and injuries involved both recalled Bumbo seats and Bumbo seats sold after the recall with the additional on-product warnings.

CPSC and Bumbo International are also aware of an additional 50 reports of infants falling or maneuvering out of Bumbo seats used on the floor and at unknown elevations. These incidents include two reports of skull fractures and one report of a concussion that occurred when infants fell out of Bumbo seats used on the floor. These injuries reportedly occurred when the infants struck their heads on hard flooring, or in one case, on a nearby toy.

At the time of the 2007 recall announcement, CPSC was aware of 28 falls from the product, three of which resulted in skull fractures to infants who fell or maneuvered out of the product used on an elevated surface.

CPSC and Bumbo International are now aware of at least 46 falls from Bumbo seats used on elevated surfaces that occurred prior to the 2007 recall, resulting in 14 skull fractures, two concussions and one incident of a broken limb.

About 3.85 million Bumbo seats have been sold in the U.S. since 2003.

A look at YouTube shows babies sitting in the seats on all sorts of unsafe surfaces: tables, bathroom counters, kitchen counters and couches and even in a kiddie pool. These are NOT safe ways to use this product.