The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced three large recalls of children’s products. The first is inflatable baby floats—shaped like turtles, ducks, power boats and other figures from distributor Agua- Leisure Industries. These were recalled after 31 reports of the seats tearing and dropping young children into the water. So far no injuries have been reported. The floats were sold between December 2002 and June 2009 at major retailers, drug stores and discount stores nationwide. Federal officials say customers should stop using the items immediately and contact Agua-Leisure by calling (866) 807-3998 for a full refund on recalled floats.
The second recall was initiated by the CPSC rather than the manufacturer, and is for more than 400,000 Simplicity drop side cribs. This is the second recall for these cribs because the plastic hardware on the side can bend or break causing the drop side to detach. So far three young children have died from suffocation after the side collapsed and they fell into the gap between the detached side and the mattress. Simplicity is now out of business, so the CPSC is negotiating directly with retailers to take back the recalled models and either replace them, refund the purchase price or give consumers store credit. The products were sold nationwide between June 2005 and June 2009 for between $150 and $300. Parents are urged to check not only for recalled Simplicity cribs, but for a variety of recalled Simplicity products. For more information, call (800) 638-2772.
The third recall announced by the CPSC is a voluntary recall for Kolcraft play yards sold under the following names – Carter’s, Sesame Street, Jeep, Contours, Care Bear and Eric Carle. The play yard’s side rail can fail to latch properly, allowing the gate to unlatch unexpectedly when a child pushes against it and pose a fall hazard to children. So far 347 reports of the side collapsing have been received with 21 injuries to young children documented. The products were sold by internet retailers and stores nationwide from January 2000 to January 2009 for between $50 and $160. Consumers should immediately stop using the play yard and contact Kolcraft for a free repair kit. Their toll-free number is (866) 594-4208.
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