Baby Product Safety Tips: Safety Alert

CPSC Document #5082

CRIB STRANGULATIONS AND SUFFOCATIONS

Cornerposts should project no more than 1/16 inch above end panel.
Decorative knobs present entanglement hazard to child climbing out of crib.
Remove the cornerpost extensions and discard them.

CRIB HARDWARE

Tighten all nuts, bolts, and screws periodically.
Whenever crib is moved, be sure all mattress support hangers are secure.
Check hooks regularly to be sure none are broken or bent. Open hooks may allow the mattress to fall.
Use a crib which meets Federal Safety Standards and Industry

Voluntary Standards for cribs and has a firm tight-fitting mattress.

CRIB TOY STRANGULATION

Remove all crib toys which are strung across crib or playpen area when your child is beginning to push up on hands and knees or is 5 months of age, which ever occurs first.

WINDOW BLIND OR DRAPERY CORDS

To keep cords out of the reach of children, use these devices:

1. Clamp or clothes pin

2. Tie the cord to itself

3. Cleat

4. Tie-down device

Keep cords out of reach of young children by tying or hanging the cord at or near the top of window coverings. Do not put a crib near window blind or drapery cords.

STROLLER ENTRAPMENT

NEVER leave a child unattended in a stroller because the child may slip into a leg opening, become entrapped by the head, and die.

BUNK BED ENTRAPMENT

Attach additional boards to the bunk bed to close up any space more than three and one half inches between the lower edge of the guardrails and the upper edge of the bed frame to prevent possible entrapment and strangulation.

Securely fasten supports to ledges of both beds with screws or bolts.

Supports can be provided by wood slats, metal straps, or sturdy wires.

TOY CHEST STRANGULATION/SUFFOCATION

A spring-loaded lid-support device can keep a lid from falling on a child's neck or from closing and trapping a child playing inside the chest. This device costs about $7.50 and should be used on all chests that store toys.

STRINGS, CORDS, AND NECKLACES STRANGULATION

Never tie pacifiers or other items around your child's neck.

SUFFOCATIONS

Infant Cushions

CPSC banned the infant cushions in 1992. Destroy any infant cushions still in consumers' homes.

Beds

Use a crib which meets Federal Safety Standards and Industry Voluntary Standards for cribs and has a firm tight-fitting mattress.

NEVER let infants sleep on adult beds because they can become trapped between the bed and the wall and suffocate.

Mesh sided Playpens and Cribs

NEVER leave an infant in playpen with SIDES DOWN. Infant may roll into space between mattress and loose mesh side, resulting in suffocation.

Plastic Bags

Children have suffocated when plastic bags (usually dry-cleaning, garbage, or trash bags) have blocked the nose and mouth and prevented breathing.

Keep plastic bags away from children. Do not use as mattress cover.

SCALDS

Anti-scald devices range in price from $15 to $75 not including installation. Anti-scald devices can keep water temperature below 120 degrees Fahrenheit to help prevent scald burns. Set water heater temperature at 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

FALLS

To prevent injuries and deaths with infant carrier seats, always use restraining straps and watch the child carefully, even when strapped in. Do not place carrier seats on soft, unstable surfaces.

Baby Walkers

Block off stairways and exit doorways. Avoid areas where there are uneven floors such as carpet edges or raised thresholds that may cause the walker to tip-over. Clear away objects on tables, countertops, or stove tops that a child in a baby walker might be able to reach. To avoid burn injuries, don't let a child use a baby walker near ranges, space-heaters, or fireplaces.

After putting a child in a baby walker, watch the child constantly because a child can move very fast in a baby walker.

CHOKINGS

Balloons and Marbles/Small Balls

Do not allow children under the age of six to play with uninflated balloons without supervision.

Immediately collect the pieces of broken balloons and dispose of them out of the reach of young children.

Keep small balls and other smooth round objects away from those who have a tendency to put such objects in their mouths.

Rattles

Take rattles, squeeze toys, teethers and other toys out of the crib or playpen when the baby sleeps to prevent choking.

DROWNINGS

5-gallon Buckets, Bathtubs, Basins, Showers, Toilets, Baby Bathtub Supporting Rings, and Diaper Pails

Keep small children away from buckets, toilets and other containers of water.

Supervise young children at all times in the bathtub.

Swimming pools

A swimming pool should have a fence or barrier surrounding all four sides with self-closing and self-latching gates. If the house is part of the barrier, all doors leading from the house to the pool should be protected with an alarm.

POISONINGS

Use the child-resistant closures that come on most medicines and household chemicals. Safety closures save lives.

- Safety latches for kitchen, bathroom, and workshop cabinets can help keep household chemicals and medicines locked up away from children.

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from the unreasonable risk of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, you can go to CPSC's forms page and use the first on-line form on that page. Or, you can call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or send the information to info@cpsc.gov. Consumers can obtain this publication and additional publication information from the Publications section of CPSC's web site or by sending your publication request to publications@cpsc.gov. If you would like to receive CPSC's recall notices, subscribing to the email list will send all press releases to you the day they are issued.

This document is in the public domain. It may be reproduced without change in part or whole by an individual or organization without permission. If it is reproduced, however, the Commission would appreciate knowing how it is used. Write the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Office of Information and Public Affairs, Washington, D.C. 20207 or send an e-mail to info@cpsc.gov.