A relatively popular baby product, Bumbo baby seats may go through a third recall. Could they be declared as dangerous as drop-side cribs? While parents now wait to hear if the supposedly-helpful baby seat is being recalled a third time, various consumer groups are requesting the Consumer Product Safety Commission to push the measure through. Although 4 million Americans have purchased Bumbos, the product from the South Africa-based company appears to have significant fall risks.

For parents unfamiliar, Bumbo seats were first recalled in 2007. The company claims parents were not using them correctly by placing them on elevated surfaces. The child, who wiggles around and potentially arches his or her back, falls out, hits the floor, and can experience a skull fracture. At the time, 28 fall-related injuries resulted in the recall of 1 million products. In response, Bumbo International put the following warning on all seats: “WARNING – Prevent Falls; Never use on any elevated surface.”

On the other hand, parents didn’t seem to get the message – or, more precisely, read the new warning. With Bumbos still placed on elevated surfaces, more children experienced injuries, and the CPSC issued a second recall in November 2011. The company, at the time, remarked that parents need to use the seat properly – on the floor, with the baby watched at all times.

Consumer groups, however, point out holes in this assertion, as some of the fall-related skull fractures did not occur from elevated positions. In fact, they claim, the babies were seated on the floor.

What do you think should be done about this baby seat? Should Bumbo redesign its product to be less fall-prone? Or should parents look elsewhere? If putting the child down for a few hours is a primary concern, several other baby seats, in better, if not safer, configurations are available.

Related articles

• Are Bumbo child seats safe? (necontact.wordpress.com)
• New Warning Issued For Bumbo Seats (lisabarger.typepad.com)

When a celebrity attaches his or her name to a product, be it vodka, a fragrance, or baby clothing, you wonder just how authentic it is – or if it’s simply part of a large branding strategy. Does having an associated celebrity name mean the item is somehow superior than, say, the standard item? While, at least in terms of fashion, the relationship gives the product an initial edge, it wears off at some point – particularly when a star’s power drops.

Jessica Alba is one of the more recent stars to attach her name to a product. In the past, we saw a proposed baby clothing line from Snoop Dogg and David Beckham, onesies sporting a quote from Kate Moss (“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”), and baby sheets from Saved by the Bell and 90210 actress Tiffani Thiessen. Alba, on the other hand, is introducing a line of eco-friendly diapers and other baby products under The Honest Co. Making its first appearance last week, Honest.com, the company’s website, started offering nontoxic, eco-friendly diapers, biodegradable baby wipes, and organic bath and skin care products.

For an actress who starred in television show Dark Angel and more recently in the Fantastic Four and Machete, such an endeavor seems odd; yet, in an interview with the New York Daily News, Alba talked about getting a rash after using baby-safe detergent. Upon researching the ingredients, she found that many weren’t organic, and while she found some truly eco-friendly baby items here and there, they were difficult to come by. To the newspaper, she explained:

“It was exhausting. I had a baby, I was working. I didn’t have time to go everywhere. And I get it. Everything has a green leaf on it or brown or beige. I’m like, just because it’s eco why does it have to be brown, beige, or have a green leaf on it?”

The Honest Co.’s eco diapers are not only nontoxic, but they also come in colorful patterns and are affordably priced. Aside from her new line, other green baby products can be found through Rattlecake and Dada Baby Boutique.

To use a family bed or to not use a family bed – it’s many parents’ dilemma. Yet, for all the praise about bonding that family beds receive, the negatives are a precipitous downside – one, in fact, that negates all benefits. Putting the parents, possible older children, and a new baby in a bed together is said to synchronize sleep cycles and help the baby rest better, but the CPSC speaks against it, citing suffocation hazards.

Yet, the negative facets rarely register on an individual’s radar until a tragedy is recounted in greater detail. South Carolina newspaper The State did such a piece recently. Describing the experiences of one family in Richland County, the piece goes onto discuss why cosleeping is hazardous for infants and the possibility that cases diagnosed as SIDS may, in fact, involve dangerous sleeping arrangements.

If your child is 1 years old or younger, how strong is he or she? How well can he or she move? Even the most developmentally-advanced babies, however, find themselves trapped when a larger person in the bed rolls over or even accidentally lays an arm or leg across an airway. Because the child can neither move nor lift, he or she often suffocates.

Gary Watts, the Richland County coroner, quoted in the State piece mentions that more infant deaths may be attributed to cosleepin than previously assumed. In the event a child suffocates in the family bed, a coroner asks the caregiver to recreate the situation in order to rule out SIDS, which does not involve a dangerous sleeping arrangement. Aside from family beds, laying a baby to sleep on a couch or arm chair, in a crib with a comforter or pillow, or in a room with a dog are also considered sleeping hazards.

Some habits can be difficult to break, however – including cosleeping, which may have been used by families for generations. About this, Watts told the press:

“My grandmother did it, my mother did it, and I know I did it. But it’s unsafe. At some point, you have to realize it’s a danger to the infant. If you want to have a child in the room – put him in a bassinet beside your bed.”

When a child starts sucking or chewing on a toy, dirt, germs, and choking aren’t the only threats you need to be concerned about. A report from the Environmental Health Strategy Center released on December 13 shows that 650 name-brand products, including baby toys, contain hormone-disrupting toxic chemicals, such as BPA and NPEs. For baby products, such well-known toys as PLAYMOBIL figures and Chicco rattles are made with BPA.

While banned from baby bottles in some states, such as California, BPA can be found in items ranging from soup cans to receipts – and now baby products. BPA mimics estrogen in the body and can harm a child’s brain and behavioral development. In addition to California, 17 other states have enacted laws against such chemicals in products over the past decade, and a national measure, the Safe Chemicals Act, is in the works.

If it passes, the Safe Chemicals Act would override the Toxic Substances Control Act, which is now 35 years old and has never been revised. Once in place, the Safe Chemicals Act would require chemical manufacturers to disclose health and safety information for compounds and to control harmful substances.

While states are taking on this responsibility for now, companies, such as Johnson & Johnson, are addressing recalls pertaining to chemicals. According to the Associated Press, Johnson & Johnson announced in November that it is removing traces of chemicals from its baby products all over the world. The realization to change began in May 2009, when two possible carcinogens were found in the brand’s popular Baby Shampoo. Additionally, two dozen other products were recalled over two years. Although Johnson & Johnson is still improving, the brand mentioned it has removed phthalates from baby products.

Environmentally-friendly baby products are difficult to come by. Yet, removing chemicals from a baby’s space is crucial. Parents should be able to create such a space for their children, and hopefully the Safe Chemicals Act will allow them to do so.

No parent wants to lose a baby to SIDS. As a result, a market for SIDS-preventing baby products has sprung up. Recently, however, the FDA decreed that they have not approved any SIDS-preventing baby products. Parents, in response, should stop using them, while manufacturers should remove all claims on their packaging.

Most parents have come across SIDS-preventing or reducing baby products or may have even purchased them. If, on the other hand, you aren’t familiar with such products, the full scope of them involves wedges, sleep positioners, mattresses, sleep surfaces, bedding, pillows, and sleep tents. But, no matter the type of product, the concept is the same: the item is designed to keep the baby in a fixed position to prevent suffocation. Declaring them dangerous, the FDA mentioned in its statement that babies can slip out of these positioning products and end up suffocating. In fact, they state, 13 deaths resulting from SIDS-preventing baby products have occurred over the past 13 years.

Aside from parents, the FDA addresses manufacturers of such products. Because no claims can be supported thus far, the FDA requests that all statements touting SIDS-reducing properties, even from medical professionals, be removed from packaging until the product is cleared or approved by the government agency.

As far as proper positioning is concerned, what should a parent do? Parents need to stick with a basic approach: the FDA states they should put the baby on its back in an empty crib. Items like crib bumpers, stuffed animals, and other soft toys left in the sleeping area all pose suffocation hazards. Aside from what’s in the crib, parents should be aware of what’s around it – particularly cords. Babies may grab at monitor cords and can end up strangling themselves. To prevent this from happening, parents are advised to keep all cords at least three feet away from a crib.

While a brand often associated with celebrities, Bugaboo has been in the news for another distinction recently – a stroller recall. The Bugaboo Bee is the specific model being recalled. A front wheel sticks when swiveling, and when this happens, the stroller can tip over.

Unlike most stroller recalls, the Bugaboo Bee is still usable – just as long as the front wheels are locked to prevent tipping. For those that purchased the stroller between January and September 2011 and registered with the brand, Bugaboo will send out a repair kit to customers at no charge. If, on the other hand, you didn’t register, customers can fill out a request form for a kit. The repair kit will contain a wheel replacement set with metal bearing wheels to prevent non-swiveling.

The Bugaboo Bee experienced issues with its wheels nearly a year ago. Because of shimmying issue, the company replaced the Bee’s metal wheels with plastic. Some models on the market still have metal wheels, and if you own such a Bugaboo stroller and find that the wheels are shimmying, the brand will send out a washer ring set for fixing the problem.

About the recall and correcting the problem, Bugaboo released a statement to the press, stating:

“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and their children is paramount to Bugaboo. Previously this year we found that, although non-swiveling wheels affect the driving experience, we believed it did not affect the safety of the stroller.

“However, the latest safety assessment by an independent expert concluded, following further tests, that there is a small chance that the stroller’s front wheels could jam, which could make the stroller tip over.

“In light of this we believe that the safety profile of this product is inadequate and not up to our quality standard. We take this very seriously and therefore we immediately stop shipment and sales of the Bugaboo Bee.
[…]
“We believe that these metal bearing swivel wheels will be the solution to the non-swiveling issues some Bugaboo Bee customers are experiencing and remove any potential for tip-over and the risks associated with tip-over.”

Babies and toddlers like to explore, but curiosity can result in a child climbing onto furniture or touching an outlet. While parents should be watchful of their young children, they can’t observe a child every minute, and as a result, a home needs to be effectively childproofed. But the baby gates and outlet covers of years past are no longer effective, and homes now pose unique hazards. To address these and get you up to date on the latest parenting advice, the New York Times published a piece about new rules for childproofing.

Consulting experts, the author touches on a handful of points all parents preparing for a new baby, or a second child, need to address. Childproofing ideally should be done before a child arrives, and parents need to consider:

• Going cordless. Babies and toddlers want to touch everything, including cords. Cords, unfortunately, pose a strangulation hazard, no matter if they are on a baby monitor or power tool. While parents should have as few cords in a room a possible, those are present need to be at least three feet away from a crib.
• Children climb on furniture. To prevent falls or worse injuries, secure all furniture, televisions, and other large objects in a room.
• Outlet covers pose choking hazards. Parents, as well, may forget to put them back in after taking them out. As an alternative, install horizontal-sliding outlet plates.
• Viewing a space from the perspective of a child. What would a baby want to touch and put in its mouth? What could be a small – or large – hazard? Examine the space and check for any small objects that pose choking hazards. As a rule of thumb, if an object can fit through a toilet paper tube, it’s a choking hazard.
• Have a consultant examine your home. Because each property is different, yours poses unique hazards that even you may not be aware of.

When you’re a parent, finding safe baby furniture and toys is a challenge. While being “flame retardant” is a desired quality for baby products, especially for mattresses, the chemicals used are not. In fact, common chemical chlorinated Tris – found in both furniture foam and baby products – leaches out and ends up in dust around the home. You and your child, as a result, end up ingesting and inhaling it unwittingly.

While chlorinated Tris was once removed from baby pajamas in the 1970s for fear of cancer, the chemical is still practically omnipresent through furniture and other flame-retardant items. As a result, creating a chemical-free environment for your child is difficult and expensive. California, however, is considering adding the common flame retardant to its state list of carcinogens.

With the toughest regulations for flammability, California enforces its the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, or Proposition 65. Proposition 65 is in place to prevent cancer- or birth defect-causing chemicals in the water. Chemicals that meet Proposition 65’s requirements for carcinogens end up on an annual list.

The EPA and CPSC have both declared chlorinated Tris a carcinogen, and the chemical has been associated with cancer in factory workers and lab animals. Manufacturers, on the other hand, don’t think that this is enough evidence to warrant labeling chlorinated Tris a carcinogen. If the chemical ends up on such a list, all products containing it, when sold in California, will come with a warning label, one similar to those added to cigarettes or alcohol.

How does this affect you as a parent? As you might have found, finding baby products free of synthetic flame retardants is not easy. At the same time, you want a safe and chemical-free sleeping area for your child. If the chemical ends up on California’s list, identifying such products will become easier for parents.

If you own a B.O.B. jogging stroller, stop using it. Announced a few weeks ago, B.O.B. jogging strollers were recalled by both the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada.

439,000 models of single and double strollers manufactured between November 1998 and November 2010 in both countries are being taken off shelves, and parents should stop using them immediately. While no deaths resulted from the stroller, these models all have an embroidered patch, with an Ironman® or Stroller Strides® logo, added to the canopies, and the patch can come loose and turn into a choking hazard. So far, six cases of children putting the patch in their mouths, and two of them involved choking or gagging but no injuries.

The recent recall, however, is not the only time in 2011 B.O.B. strollers were cited for safety hazards. Back in February, 357,000 of these strollers were recalled over the canopy drawstring, which posed a choking hazard at the time.

At the moment, all such B.O.B. strollers are being taken off shelves, and selling them is illegal. Parents, if you’re confused, can find pictures of the recalled parts from February and October on a site by B.O.B.

B.O.B. is cooperating with CPSC in fixing their strollers and identifying the problem. CPSC goes further by requesting that owners check the manufacturing date on the stroller and stop using the model altogether. B.O.B., they go on, will have a kit available for removing the patch.

If you’re a parent with one of the recalled B.O.B. strollers, what do you do? First things first, stop using it until the patch is removed. But, considering the company has already gone through two recalls this year, purchasing another jogging stroller is also an option. If, however, you own a secondary stroller and want to keep your B.O.B. jogger, wait until you can obtain a kit and use the other model in the meantime.

Children not carried correctly in slings have greater chances of suffocation. Yet, supporters of babywearing tout its benefits, including better bonding between mother and child. So, what should you pay attention to?

Some parents still are not aware of the risks of using slings. Australia had its first sling-related infant death recently, and as a result, the Australian Competition and Consumer Committee (ACCC) issued a safety warning. According to newspaper The Age, a mother was carrying her 2-day-old boy in a sling under her clothing and noticed he went cold and stopped breathing. As a result, the ACCC is also developing safety standards for baby slings.

Slings and other similar baby carriers are popular alternatives to strollers. Nevertheless, carriers in which the baby faces forward to pose some risks, and a few basic points need to be kept in mind. A child should never have his chin and chest touching and his mouth or nose should never be covered. The New York Times’ Motherload gives some more points to watch for:

• A baby in a sling must be in the same position as in your arms once you let go. A baby should never move away from the parent once in the sling.
• A parent should be able to kiss the baby’s head without bending his or her neck.
• The carrier needs to be tight enough so that no space is between the parent and baby.
• A baby’s face must always be visible.
• Parents should not feel back or neck pain when using slings. Otherwise, the carrier is being worn incorrectly.

If you need better visualization of how to put on and wrap a baby in a sling and how to carry your child, watch the video below for a few babywearing methods: