A baby crib is the only place we will ever consider leaving our baby unattended. It is recommended that infants should sleep in cribs as suppose to with the parents to avoid sudden infant death syndrome. Though cribs are generally considered safe for infants but It looks like even some cribs are not safe for infants. Canadian based Stork Craft Manufacturing recalled more than 2.1 million drop side cribs, which is called as biggest crib recall in UD history. It was reported that four infants suffocated in drop-side cribs. The more surprising fact that grabbed my attention was that the sales of the cribs being recalled goes back to 1993, 16 years from now. Wow!
The US consumer Product safety Commission (CPSC) told that recall involved 1.2 million cribs in the US and almost 1 million in Canada. About 150,000 cribs produced by Stork Craft Manufacturing carry logo of Fisher-Price, one of the well known companies for products related to children.
More than 2.1 million drop-side cribs made by the Canadian-based Stork Craft Manufacturing are being recalled, the biggest crib recall in U.S. history, after reports that four infants suffocated in them.
What is the main problem with drop-side cribs?
The cribs made by Stork Craft had problems with their hardware, which is liable to break, deform or be lost after use. CPSC indicated that the problem can arise due to user also, if the user does not properly assemble the cribs. I think this could also be called as design fault in the cribs made by the manufacturer, which allows users to assemble in wrong manner. Due to these problems, the drop-side can detach and create a venerable space between the drop-side and the crib mattress. This space is dangerous as child can get trapped and can cause major injury or death.
Since when and where are these cribs sold?
These cribs have been in use since January 1993 until October 2009. The drop-side cribs were sold by major retailers including Sears, Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, etc. Typical cost for the cribs is between $100 to $400. The commission is urging parents to stop using the cribs until receiving a free repair kit from Stork Craft.
Why was this problem detected in 16 years after first manufacturing?
There have been complaints about the drop-side cribs for many years. From past two years more than 5 million of cribs have been recalled, which are associated with deaths of dozen of children.
What are measures taken to ensure safety of drop-side cribs?
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International is an organization that sets voluntary industry safety standards including disparate products as toys and steel used in commercial buildings. Recently, ASTM approved a new standard that requires four immovable or fixed, sides for full-sized cribs which essentially eliminated the manufacture of new drop-side cribs. CPSC is also thinking along the same lines to make cribs safer and could adopt the ASTM voluntary standard as a mandatory one, which would outright ban the cribs.
Like I mentioned before it is surprising for me that drop-side cribs have been in existence for past 16 years and have become a subject for recall now. I still question the decisions made in the past to keep this product in market in spite of the dozen of deaths reported earlier. As they say better late than never, I hope regulatory bodies will take action sooner with regard to safety of infants in the foreseeable future.
Healthy Parenting!
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