OnSafety is the Official Blog Site of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Here you'll find the latest safety information as well as important messages that will keep you and your family safe. We hope you'll visit often!

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Play Yards: What Parents Should Know

By CPSC Blogger on September 21, 2011

Because of deaths and injuries associated with play yards, CPSC has started drafting mandatory safety standards for them. In fact, earlier this month the commissioners at CPSC voted unanimously to move forward with proposed rulemaking aimed at making play yards safer than ever before.

Play yards have been involved in about 50 deaths and about 2,000 non-fatal incidents, including 165 incidents that resulted in injuries such as cuts and bruises since November 2007. The majority of the infant deaths were 1-year-old or younger. New standards are aimed at reducing the risk of injury and death.

To protect your baby, know the risks. Deaths associated with play yards included children who climbed out of the play yard and drowned in a nearby pool. Caregivers should remember that play yards are meant for children who are less than 35 inches tall and who cannot climb out of the play yard. 

Other play yard deaths include entrapment from a collapsed play yard, strangulation from a looped strap hanging in the play yard and a child found entrapped between an unfolded mattress pad and the play yard floor liner.

Consumers should be especially careful about play yard attachments. Changing tables and bassinet attachments must be carefully installed. CPSC has received reports describing how the corner of bassinets detached from the frame of the play yard. Caregivers are reminded to review warning labels and instruction materials carefully when assembling play yards and play yard accessories, like bassinets. 

About 90% of incident reports describe the collapse of the play yard’s side rail. If the side rail collapses, a child can get their neck entrapped in the collapsed side rail, lose their footing and strangle. Side rail collapses also are dangerous because children can escape and may be injured outside the play yard.

Unfortunately, even a new federal standard can’t fully protect your baby from an unsafe sleep environment, so it’s up to you to keep the environment free of suffocation hazards.  The primary cause of play yard deaths is babies being placed in an unsafe sleep environment full of soft or extra bedding, such as pillows, quilts and comforters. Always remember a bare environment is best! 

Another leading cause of death is infants being placed face down. Babies should always be placed on their backs in a safe sleep environment such as a crib or play yard that meets current standards.

Caregivers also should ensure that play yards are placed away from window blind cords or computer cords that can fall into the play yard and strangle children inside.

To keep your baby safe check CPSC’s website for play yard and other nursery product recalls. Visit www.CPSC.gov/cribs for additional resources and safety information and sign up to get e-mail notification on recalls.

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This address for this post is: http://www.cpsc.gov/onsafety/2011/09/play-yards-what-parents-should-know/

A Baby’s Bath – What You Need to Know

By CPSC Blogger on September 8, 2011
The right way to bathe your baby: Always within arm’s reach.

The right way to bathe your baby: Always within arm’s reach.

A few inches of water. A short lapse in supervision.

That’s all it takes for a child to drown.

Maybe mom, dad or the caregiver left the bathroom to answer the phone. Maybe they left to get a towel. Maybe an older sibling was left to watch a younger one.

These are some of the reasons bathtubs are the second-leading location, after pools, where young children drown.

A new report from CPSC shows that there were 431 in-home drowning deaths involving children younger than 5 years old from 2005 to 2009. The majority of the victims were younger than age 2. Most of the incidents (a startling 83 percent) involved bath or bath-related products.

You can prevent these drownings from happening. Here’s how:

  • NEVER leave young children alone near any water for ANY amount of time. EVER. As we mentioned above, young children can drown in even small amounts of water.

 

  • ALWAYS keep a young child within arm’s reach in a bathtub. If you must leave the room, take the child with you.

 

  • Don’t leave a baby or young child in a bathtub under the care of another young child.

 

  • Never leave a bucket containing even a small amount of liquid unattended. Toddlers are top-heavy and they can fall headfirst into buckets and drown. After you use a bucket, always empty it and store it where young children cannot reach it. Don’t leave buckets outside where they can collect rainwater.

 

  • Learn CPR. It can be a lifesaver when seconds count.
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This address for this post is: http://www.cpsc.gov/onsafety/2011/09/a-baby%e2%80%99s-bath-what-you-need-to-know/

Stop Using Pourable Gel Fuels

By CPSC Blogger on September 1, 2011

The use of pourable gel fuels in firepots is dangerous. These fuels pose serious flash fire and burn hazards. Stop using them!

These hazards are why 9 manufacturers and distributors are recalling pourable gel fuels. Another manufacturer, Napa Home & Garden recalled its pourable gel fuel products in June 2011. If you own pourable gel fuel, contact the company that makes or distributes the gel fuel for a refund and information on returning the fuel to them. Some manufacturers are working on their recall programs and will have more information available soon.

CPSC scientists and engineers have studied gel fuel and have found that dangerous fire and burn risks can result from the fuel’s use with firepots.

CPSC is aware of 65 incidents involving gel fuels resulting in 2 deaths. To date, CPSC knows of 34 victims who were hospitalized with second- and third-degree burns to their face, chest, hands, arms or legs.

All consumers need to be aware of the serious fire and burn hazards that can occur from refilling already lit firepots with gel fuel. Because firepot flames can be hard to see under certain circumstances, a consumer may not realize that the firepot is still burning.

Flaming fuel can splatter onto people and objects nearby.

It is difficult to put out a gel fuel fire. “Stop, drop and roll” does not work on gel fuel fires. These fires are difficult to extinguish with water. Patting the fire off of someone can spread the gel and the fire onto the person trying to put out the fire. These fires can best be put out with an ABC- or BC-rated dry chemical or dry powder fire extinguisher.

Again, if you own pourable gel fuel, stop using them. Do not try to fix pourable gel fuel bottles with homemade remedies or replace the fuel with other flammable materials. Return the gel fuel to the company.

If you have an incident with gel fuel, report it to CPSC on SaferProducts.gov.

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This address for this post is: http://www.cpsc.gov/onsafety/2011/09/stop-using-pourable-gel-fuels/