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.

Por las razones mencionadas a continuación, la CPSC emitió una regulación en julio de 2011 que cataloga como un producto peligroso a la mayoría de los cordones en la ropa de abrigo infantil para la parte superior del cuerpo. Lo cual significa que no deberías encontrar a la venta, y que tus hijos no deberían usar, chaquetas, sudaderas y suéteres con cordones peligrosos. En otras palabras, las prendas de abrigo infantil entre las tallas 2T y 12 o S y L no deben tener  cordones en el cuello o capucha. También son considerados peligrosos ciertos cordones en la cintura o parte inferior.

Verifica lo siguiente con los cordones de cintura:

Los cordones en la cintura de esta prenda y los cordones en la capucha de la prenda de arriba no deberían ser parte de la ropa de tus hijos.

• Los extremos de los cordones no deben sobresalir más de tres pulgadas (7.6 cm) al extender la prenda a su anchura máxima.
• No deben tener broches de ajuste de longitud, decoraciones o nudos.
• Están fijados de la parte trasera para evitar sean tirados hacia un lado.

El siguiente es el motivo:

Los cordones pueden enredarse en los juegos de recreo o en las puertas de un vehículo. La CPSC ha recibido 26 informes de niños que murieron cuando el cordón de su ropa se enredó en toboganes en un parque infantil, puertas del autobús escolar y otros objetos. Los cordones en la cintura y la parte inferior de la vestimenta que se atoraron en puertas u otras partes de autos resultaron en incidentes de arrastramiento.

En febrero de 1996, la CPSC emitió directrices (pdf en inglés), que fueron incorporadas a un estándar voluntario en 1997. A partir de que la industria comenzó a implementar el estándar, las muertes que involucran vestimenta con cordones en cuellos o capuchas disminuyeron en un 75 por ciento, y no ha habido muertes asociadas a cordones en la cintura o parte inferior de las prendas de vestir.

Aun así, se siguen descubriendo chaquetas, sudaderas y suéteres con cordones peligrosos. La CPSC ha anunciado más de 130 retiros del mercado de prendas con cordones, incluyendo 8 retiros en los pasados seis meses. Aquí están los del último mes. Por tanto, verifica la ropa de abrigo de tu hijo y sigue las instrucciones mencionadas en cada retiro.

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 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.

Las piscinas portátiles son económicas y fáciles de transportar, pero pueden ser tan peligrosas como cualquier otra piscina. La CPSC ha recibido un promedio anual de 35 informes sobre muertes en piscinas portátiles de niños menores de 5 años. Esto representa un 11 por ciento de todos los ahogamientos en piscinas en niños de esa edad.  Estas muertes se pueden prevenir. 

Ya sea que tengas o estés planeando colocar una piscina portátil en tu jardín,  recuerda que pasos simples salvan vidas. Las piscinas portátiles varían desde piscinas inflables pequeñas hasta aquellas de lados rígidos con capacidad de miles de galones de agua, las cuales desafortunadamente se dejan comúnmente llenas de agua y sin ser vigiladas durante mucho tiempo. Las piscinas portátiles necesitan las mismas barreras y cercas de seguridad para evitar que los niños las accedan que las piscinas tradicionales. No te olvides de vaciar y guardar las piscinas portátiles pequeñas cuando no estén en uso. Cubre las grandes. 

Los siguientes son algunas medidas de seguridad adicionales: 

• Instala una cerca alrededor de la piscina y pide a tus vecinos hagan lo mismo.
• Si no es posible instalar una cerca, usa piscinas más pequeñas que sean fáciles de guardar. Vacía la piscina SIEMPRE que no esté siendo vigilada y voltéala o guárdala.
• NUNCA dejes a un niño sin supervisión cuando esté cerca de cualquier piscina o spa.
• Si tienes una piscina de mayor tamaño, cúbrela y guarda las escaleras de acceso cuando nadie la esté usando o no haya supervisión de un adulto. Asegúrate que las cubiertas cumplan con las normas de seguridad actuales; pregunta si las desconoces.
• Instala alarmas en las puertas para alertar cuando alguien salga de la casa o entre al área de la piscina o spa.
• Enséñale a tus hijos a nadar, a flotar  y otras habilidades básicas en el agua que le puedan salvar la vida. Sin embargo, es importante recordar el que un niño pequeño haya tomado clases de natación no significa que no se pueda ahogar.

 Vea los videos de la campaña Piscina Segura, Diversión Asegurada para aprender más sobre cómo pasos simples salvan vidas.

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

Calling all moms, dads and kids of all ages in the Washington, D.C., region. Join us at our ScienSafety! booth at this year’s USA Science and Engineering Festival.

The free festival is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 28, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 29, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW, Washington, D.C.

At our booth (booth #727!), kids will work with CPSC engineers on a hands-on demonstration on toy testing. They’ll learn first-hand how our scientists and engineers determine which ages a toy is appropriate for.

So, bring your kids to meet and play with us. They, and you, will learn how to play it safe.

Cada año, más de 150 personas en Estados Unidos mueren intoxicadas por el CO producido por algunos productos del consumidor, y no debido a incendios. Conoce los síntomas de intoxicación y recuerda las acciones preventivas que deben llevarse a cabo en cada hogar para prevenir la intoxicación por monóxido de carbono:

• Instala alarmas de CO en tu casa. Asegúrate que éstas funcionen con baterías o que tengan baterías de respaldo en caso de un apagón eléctrico.
• Nunca operes un generador portátil dentro de la casa o del garaje, aún cuando las puertas y ventanas estén abiertas. Solamente usa generadores en exteriores y lejos de la casa.
• Jamás uses estufas, hornos o secadoras a gas para calentar tu hogar.

Visita nuestro Centro de información sobre el monóxido de carbono y aprende más sobre cómo evitar que el asesino silencioso aceche en tu hogar.

Portable pools are affordable, transportable, but can be just as dangerous as any other pool. CPSC has received an average of 35 reports of deaths of children under the age of 5 in portable pools each year. These pools account for 11 percent of all pool drownings for children that age. You can prevent these deaths.

If a portable pool, either large or small, is in your plans or already in your yard, put Pool Safely’s simple steps into play. Whether the pool is a small blow-up pool or a thousands-of-gallons type with rigid sides, portable pools are often left full of water and unsupervised. Just like in-ground pools, portables need barriers and fencing that keep unsupervised children out. Empty and store small portable pools when you are not using them. Cover larger ones.

Here are some general safety tips:

• Fence portable pools and encourage your neighbors to do the same.
• If you can’t fence the pool, use smaller, easier to store portable pools. Then, empty the water ANY time you are not supervising the pool and turn it upside down or store it away.
• NEVER leave a child unsupervised near any pool or spa.
• Cover larger pools and put ladders away when adults are not supervising or using the pool. When you buy the pool cover, ask at the store if it meets the latest standards.
• Install door alarms that will alert you when someone leaves the house and enters the pool or spa area.
• Teach children to swim, float and other life-saving basics. But do NOT consider young children “drown-proof” because they have had swimming lessons.

Simple steps save lives. Find more Pool Safely steps and safety videos at PoolSafely.gov.

Runners start the Frederick County, MD, Crib Crawl 5K on April 7, 2012.

This isn’t just any 5K. It’s a 5K for Safe Sleep. And it’s something you can replicate in your own community.

The photo above is from a recent 5K run in Frederick County, Md. The organizers called it the Crib Crawl 5K. Their mission? Raise money to purchase safe cribs for families who can’t afford a crib or bassinet.

Jackie Whalen, of Frederick County Child Protective Services, tells us that about 10 children died in sleep-related fatalities in Frederick County from 2008 through 2011.

“All the children died sleeping with adults in beds or in places that had too much bedding,” Frederick County social services administrative assistant Melissa Myers told the Frederick News Post.

This is a problem nationwide. Of the hundreds of deaths associated with unsafe sleep environments during the past 20 years, many involved pillows and cushions. Nearly half of the infant crib deaths and two-thirds of bassinet deaths reported to CPSC each year are suffocations because of pillows, thick quilts and overcrowding in the baby’s sleeping space.

The Frederick County deaths sparked the child welfare department to embark on a safe sleep education campaign in the county. “I was inspired by our prevention efforts, the passion of our staff members about Safe Sleeping and have always wanted to have a 5K involving child welfare issues,” Jackie Whalen told us.

If you’d like to organize Safe Sleep efforts in your community and need free materials, you can get them from us. Here are some ideas:

• CPSC Video on YouTube: Safe Sleep for Babies — Learn How
• Bare is Best: Safe Bedding Practices for Infants
• Hidden Hazards for Babies on Adult Beds
• More Safe Sleep Safety Guides

Esta semana, la Comisión de Seguridad de Productos del Consumidor de Estados Unidos (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC) se une al National Safety Council (Consejo Nacional de Seguridad) en la conmemoración de la National Window Safety Week (Semana Nacional de Prevención de Caídas desde Ventanas). La Comisión insta a padres y a cuidadores de niños a estar consientes de los peligros de dejar las ventanas abiertas cuando hay niños presentes.

Según datos de la CPSC, cada año mueren alrededor de ocho niños menores de cinco años de edad por haber caído desde una ventana, mientras que otros 3 mil niños llegan a las salas de emergencia en Estados Unidos. En promedio, uno de cada tres niños, alrededor del 34%, requiere hospitalización tras haber caído por una ventana.

Así que, vea este video. ¡Tómese cinco minutos para enterarse cómo prevenir que alguien en su hogar se caiga por una ventana!

La dirección para esta entrada de blog es http://www.cpsc.gov/onsafety/2012/04/piense-en-seguridad-antes-de-abrir-una-ventana/

If you don’t remove that film, or don’t even realize it’s on a toy, your child could find it before you do. They could mouth it and gag, or even choke on it.

That’s what reportedly happened to two young children playing in their Fisher-Price Luv U Zoo Jumperoo bouncy seats. The mirror on the toy comes with a plastic film cover on it. A Washington state family told a Seattle TV station that they didn’t realize the plastic was on the toy until their son gagged, couldn’t breathe and eventually coughed it up.

In the middle of the plastic film that arrived on this type of toy examined at CPSC was a separate clear sticker with a big red X. The X sticker can pull off without grabbing the plastic film on the toy mirror. On one side of the plastic film is an arrow that points at the X. Again, a parent can pull the arrow off without pulling off the plastic film.

If you see the film on a mirror or other product without an arrow or “X” to guide you to remove it, you might not even realize that the plastic cover is there. So, take an extra look at your children’s toys. Are there mirrors or scratchable surfaces that seem like they should be shiny but aren’t? If so, look for a thin piece of plastic, remove it and throw it away.

This piece of plastic on a child's toy is thin and difficult to notice if you've removed the arrow. Remove plastic like this from all items that you give to your young child.

Other “grown-up toys” like cellphones, video monitors and even stainless steel appliances, have similar plastic film coverings. In all cases, don’t let the “new toy” distract you from carefully removing and discarding the film if you have a small child in your home.

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

Esta semana se celebra el 50º aniversario de la Semana Nacional de Prevención del Envenenamiento. Un aniversario de oro es momento de reflexión.

En los pasados 50 años, ¿cuáles han sido los logros más importantes en la prevención del envenenamiento?

Ha habido un disminución del 92% en la tasa de mortalidad infantil por envenenamiento en estas últimas cinco décadas. Hace 50 años, más de 400 niños morían por envenenamiento anualmente. Hoy mueren alrededor de 36 niños cada año.

Los centros de control del envenenamiento informan que los venenos más comunes son los cosméticos y productos del cuidado personal, los medicamentos para aliviar el dolor, y los productos de limpieza. Cada año, más de 4 millones de personas en los Estados Unidos llaman sin cargo a la línea de emergencia Poison Help hotline al (800) 222-1222. Y una docena de huevos cuesta en Estados Unidos alrededor de $2.50.

Tal vez el precio actual de los huevos no es razón para celebrar, pero sí lo son los logros alcanzados en la prevención del envenenamiento accidental.

іAyude a salvar vidas!  Vea este video y adopte las medidas de seguridad para proteger a sus seres queridos.

іFeliz aniversario a la Semana Nacional de Prevención del Envenenamiento!

This week is Poison Prevention Week’s 50^th birthday. Like we often do on birthdays, it’s time to reflect on where we are today.

So — where are we?

In the past 50 years, there has been a 92 percent decline in child poisoning deaths. More than 400 children died each year from poisonings 50 years ago. Today, about 36 children die each year.   Poison control centers report that the most common poisons for children are cosmetics and personal care products, pain medicines and cleaning substances. More than 4 million Americans call a Poison Control Center on the national toll-free hotline (800) 222-1222 each year. And a dozen eggs costs about $2.50.

You might not think the price of eggs is worth celebrating, but the progress made in preventing unintentional poisoning definitely is.

Help us to do even better during the next 50 years. Take a look at these easy steps you can take to prevent unintentional child poisoning. Poison prevention starts with you.

Happy birthday, Poison Prevention Week!