Eating should never be a dangerous experience for an infant. Messy, sure, but not dangerous. That’s why new parents spend a significant amount of money in “baby-proofing” their homes, from padding on the sharp corners of coffee tables to adding locks on the lower cabinets in the kitchen to tying back the cords on window blinds. With those extra efforts for safety, consumers often become accustomed to the idea that baby items that are manufactured and sold with a child’s safety in mind should be the least of their worries. Don’t get too comfortable, parents.
Atlanta-based Graco Children’s Products, Inc. has announced the recall of more than 89,000 wooden high chairs in the U.S. and Canada, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Sold between September 2007 and December 2010, the Graco Classic Wood Highchairs have been responsible for at least 58 reports of defective seats that could become loose or even detach from the base. As of this announcement, Graco has received reports of children falling as a result of this defect, and while the extent of injuries among American children has been mild bumps or bruises, one Canadian child has suffered a concussion.
Consumers could have purchased these seats for $130 at a number of major retailers, including Babies R Us, Burlington Coat Factory, Target and Walmart. The affected model numbers are 3C00BPN, 3C00BPN TC, 3C00CHY, 3C00CHY TC, 3C00CPO and 3C00CPO TC, and the number can be located on a tag applied to the bottom of the chair. Graco has urged anyone who has purchased and is using one of these chairs to stop immediately and contact the company at (800) 345-4109 to order a free repair kit.
Falls continue to be the number one cause for injuries to children under the age of 5 in the home, and according to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 8,000 children are treated in emergency rooms each day in the U.S. That’s more than 2.8 million kids per year that are affected and hurt by preventable injuries, which should remind parents that there are no shortcuts in safety, even a company’s product guarantee.