Consumer Reports Picks 5 Baby Gifts Never to Buy Again

Aaron Burgess — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Sling carriers! Oh, how we speak of them here at Droolicious. And while we're talking new baby products, we've also covered our share of bath seats, bumper pads and sleep positioners -- all items that, thanks to a new blog post from Consumer Reports, we may never look at the same way again.

In the post, titled "Five products not to buy for your baby," CR focuses on the potential safety hazards behind all of these commonly purchased items. While some of the products -- bedside sleepers, for example -- were singled out because of specific death-related safety recalls, the false sense of security many such products give to new parents ended up being more the focus with others.

Take, for example, this eye-opening excerpt about slings: "Over the past past five years, at least four babies died and there have been many reports of serious injury associated with the use of sling-type carriers. The incidents include skull fractures, head injuries, contusions and abrasions." Granted, a majority of these injuries occurred when the little ones slipped out of their slings, but the post brings up an interesting point about the need for widespread sling-carrier safety standards.

You tell us: Does this news have you cautious, or are you keeping that sling and bath seat on your registry? [Consumer Reports]

Pre-Holiday Reminder to Check the US CPSC Recall Site

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:04:00 GMT

Not to seem xenophobic or anything, but it seems fair to assume that the more incoherent a toy's packaging is, the more likely that toy is to end up on the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's Toy Hazard Recalls site. And, you guessed it, this toy TV from Los Angeles-based company-no-one's-ever-heard-of OKK Trading was recently yanked for violation of the federal lead-paint standard.

If you haven't already bookmarked the CPSC's recall pages (see below) or signed up to receive recall alerts, now is a good time to do it. Though we're not seeing as many life-threatening toys from major manufacturers as we were last year, there's still plenty of time before the holidays.

US CPSC Recalls and Product Safety News (main page)

Toy Hazard Recalls

Infant/Child Product Recalls (Not Including Toys) [RSS Feed]

droolicious : product recalls

Consumer Reports Picks 5 Baby Gifts Never to Buy Again

Pre-Holiday Reminder to Check the US CPSC Recall Site