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Do your research before buying children's products

An annual report from Kids in Danger found children's product recalls down to 97 in 2012, but the number of incidents, injuries, and deaths rose from 2011. Find out what products are commonly hazards for children.

    by Anna Nguyen
    Published 

The Peapod bed was one of 97 children's product recalls last year, the lowest number since 2004, according to an annual report from Kids In Danger last month.

However, the report found the numbers of incidents (up 49 percent), injuries (up 42 percent) and deaths (up 200 percent) associated with those products rose dramatically from 2011. There were 2,525 incidents reported prior to recall of 97 children's products. Almost 40 percent of the recalls involved injuries before the recall took place, a total of 232 injuries.

Additional findings of the Kids In Danger report:

  1. One third of the recalls were for nursery products such as cribs, strollers, and pacifiers, and high chairs.

  2. One product, the Flexible Flyer Swing Set, had 1,232 reported incidents before consumers were alerted to the dangers through the recall.

  3. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 8 infact deaths were reported in 2012. The products involved were the Nap Nanny or Chill Infant Recliners, the Peapod Travel Beds, the Tots In Mind crib tent, and the Pliko-P3 and Venezia Model Strollers.

  4. Sleep environment products continue to pose a significant hazard, with 7 deaths associated with these products.

KID recommends that parents:

  1. Check the products used with their children at SaferProducts.gov for recalls and injury reports and sign up for safety updates at KidsInDanger.org.

  2. Access KID's website on a mobile device to search for recall information while shopping or considering a second-hand product.

  3. Report problems with a product both to the manufacturer and to CPSC at SaferProducts.gov.

As for my Peapod bed, I now have a repair kit which has a thinner air mattress and braces to strengthen the sides of the tent. Reading the KID report has made me realize that I need to do some homework when buying for my kids.