Infant Playpen Recall

From LoveToKnow Baby

You'll purchase lots of items for your baby as he grows and changes. Some of these purchases will be minor, while others will be major purchases. A common purchase that many parents look for is a playpen. Playpens are great to use, but some playpens have been deemed dangerous, and recalls have been issued for those.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's website is the place to go when searching for any type of recalled product. When you visit this site, you'll see a list of product recalls. Each item typically lists the reason for the recall, along with the following information.

Name of Product-This should include the common name along with the company name.
Unit Number-This is the number of units that are on the market or have been sold.
Manufacturer-The manufacturer's name may be totally different from the product name.
Hazard-This section will tell the consumer what is wrong with the product.
Incidents/Injuries-This section will give the amount of reports, incidents, and injuries that have occurred surrounding this product.
Description-This section usually gives a visual description along with the model and serial numbers.
Sold At-This section will give the types of stores that usually handle this product, the dates that this product was stocked and/or sold, and the approximate amount of the product.
Manufactured At-This section tells the country in which the product was manufactured.
Remedy-Some recalled products actually have kits which can be requested to fix the problem.
Consumer Contact-This section will list the numbers and/or Web sites that can used to contact the company about the product, refunds, and/or remedies.
Picture-There is often a picture of the product on the recall page, too.

Sometimes recall warnings are also issued on products. These warnings give the product name and problem, along with information regarding the product and what to do.

Dorel Cosco Infant Playpen Recall

About 102,000 Cosco "Zip n Go", "Okie Dokie", and "Carters" playpens that were manufactured between May 1995 and December 1997 have been recalled. Plastic tabs which are used to lock the rails can break or become loose over time. This could cause the playpen to collapse and risk entrapment and suffocation. The model numbers involved include 05-361, 05-362, 05-363, and 05-364. These numbers are found on the metal frame near a corner or on the bottom of the playpen. These playpens were typically sold at toy and children specialty stores across the nation, and JC Penney stores sold the "Okie Dokie" brand exclusively.

Baby Trend and Baby Express Playpen Recall Warning

The Baby Trend and Baby Express "Home and Roam" playpen have been listed as having recall warnings. While the playpen may appear to be locked properly, if it is not in the locked position, the playpen could collapse causing suffocation or strangulation. Consumers should make sure the playpen is locked securely and contact Baby Trend at 1-800-234-1879 for corrective action. Approximately 65,000 of these were sold across the nation from 1992 to 1993.

Protruding Rivets Playpen Safety Issue

Some playpens have been recalled because they have protruding rivets, which are similar to nut and bolt fasteners but aren't removable, that can cause a child's clothing or pacifier ribbon to snag, risking strangulation to the child. The following companies offer remedies for these hazards:

Graco and Bilt-Rite Play Yards- 1-800-345-4109
Evenflo Play Yards- 1-800-490-7549
Gerry Play Yards -1-888-366-3828
Kolcraft Play Yards-1-800-453-7673

The following play yards should be destroyed immediately. There are no remedies for these products, and the companies are out of business. If you have one of these recalled infant playpens, you should not use it.

Pride Trimble Corp.
Pride-Trimble Inc.
Strollee

Keep up-to-date on product recalls, including those for infant playpens by periodically visiting the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's website.