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Children younger than 5 represent nearly 75% of pool and spa deaths, the latest U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission data shows. African-American and Hispanic children are at high risk. CPSC held a media event and Twitter chat on May 24, 2012, to promote water safety.  This address for this post is: http://www.cpsc.gov/onsafety/2012/05/poolsafely-drowning-is-leading-cause-of-child-deaths/ Regular readers of our blog may remember this child safety lock recall from March. Today, Dorel Juvenile Group is recalling two additional types of Safety 1st locks. The newly recalled locks are Safety 1st 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. This address for this post is: http://www.cpsc.gov/onsafety/2012/05/check-your-cabinet-and-toilet-locks/ Do you have an inflatable slide for your pool? If so, please pay close attention to this recall of the Banzai Inflatable Pool Slide. 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:
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. This address for this post is: http://www.cpsc.gov/onsafety/2012/05/death-severe-neck-injuries-prompt-pool-slide-recall/ 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:
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 in the past six months as of the publication of this blog. Here are some recalls from just the past month. So, check your child’s upper outerwear and make sure to follow the instructions on these recalls. This address for this post is: http://www.cpsc.gov/onsafety/2012/05/drawstrings-not-allowed/ Dear Dr. Addison Montgomery, On last week’s episode of “Private Practice,” we saw that you have a new baby. Congratulations on becoming Henry’s mom! As you’re learning, parenthood is life altering. You’re clearly a mom who researches and finds the best for her baby, even supplying breast milk from a milk bank. As an obstetrician, however, we would expect you to have researched the latest information about crib safety as well.  This screen grab from "Private Practice" shows baby Henry in his crib Those blankets and pillows in the crib have to go. Henry doesn’t need the cushioning. His baby needs are different than adult needs like yours. CPSC staff estimates that between 1992 and 2010 there were nearly 700 deaths involving children 12 months and younger related to pillows and cushions. Nearly half of the infant crib deaths and two-thirds of bassinet deaths reported to CPSC each year are suffocations from a baby being placed on top of pillows and thick quilts or because of overcrowding in the baby’s sleeping space. We are disappointed with the lack of research that went into creating Henry’s nursery, so allow us to help. We have a great video here that can teach you about how to put Henry to sleep safely. While you rightly placed Henry on his back, we did a double take through the TV for all the loose blankets and clutter in Henry’s crib. In Henry’s — or any baby’s crib — bare is best. As a respected obstetrician watched in millions of homes around the country, we expect better. Henry needs a firm, flat surface and nothing else. Even though the pillow in the back of Henry’s crib looks small, pillows are a big problem in cribs. Pillows can block babies’ noses and mouths and can cause them to suffocate. On average, there are 32 infant deaths each year on pillows used as a mattress or to prop babies’ heads. The majority of these deaths are to infants in their first three months of life, just like Henry. We’re guessing that you covered Henry with all those blankets in a well-meaning way, worried about his temperature. If his room is cold, dress him in warm clothes like footie pajamas. Do not use thick blankets. Babies can and do get their faces stuck in thick blankets and suffocate. Thanks for taking the time to read and learn about how to make Henry’s crib safer for him. We hope he starts sleeping through the night for you soon! Sincerely, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Children’s Safe Sleep Team This address for this post is: http://www.cpsc.gov/onsafety/2012/05/a-letter-to-dr-montgomery-on-private-practice/ |
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