Ten Children’s Products That Cause Tears, Not Fun
When you think of your childhood, you think of all those bliss, innocent memories filled with fun. A time defined by the music you listened to, the toys you played with and the clothes you wore. For some poor children, childhood will be remembered by life altering or near life altering injuries, some children don’t even get to live their childhoods and all because of seemingly safe child products.
Here, in no particular order, we have culminated a list of the ten most dangerous child products.
1. Target Storage Trunk
The American retail giant Target were ordered by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall nearly 350,000 woven storage trunk units, after cases of injury involving young children were reported. The lids of the trunks when closed, shut very quickly and suddenly, meaning an unsuspecting child can be harmed.
An 18 month year old girl suffered brain damage when the lid fell on her neck, which pinned her throated down against the rim of the trunk. The trunks were used as toy chests as they did not state any limitations of use or safety concerns, in total fourteen different models are up for recall.
2. Collapsing High Chairs
Graco Children’s Products Inc. is being made to recall over a million children’s high chairs, after hundreds of reports of collapses and children falling over in the high chairs, resulting in a total of 24 injuries to children. A Graco press release stated the product recall was down to screws loosening or falling out and also due to plastic brackets cracking causing the high chair to tip over.
Graco Children’s Products Inc. are offering a free repair kit to anyone with a faulty unit or people with a faulty model can get a full refund. The injuries caused by the hazardous high chair include bumps and bruises to the head, a hairline fracture to the arm and cuts and scratches to the body.
3. Simmons Kids Crib
Over two million Simmons Kids cribs distributed by several different companies have been recalled after multitudes of complaints claiming collapses of the cribs causing injury to babies. The majority of the cribs that came under scrutiny were drop-sides, these cribs have a sliding side so access to the baby for carers is easier however there is a gap in between the mattress and sliding side.
Cases of strangulation and suffocation have been attributed to the cribs that have been recalled, though there have been no deaths accounted for in this case, in the past babies have died as a result of a drop-side cribs. In this case though, one baby did suffer serious injury to the point of unconsciousness and was hospitalised.
4. Micro-Scooters
We all know about crazes in the playground like POGs, Pokémon cards and football stickers, but the turn of the millennium brought around a craze with much more sinister consequences than the frustration of finding that last football sticker to complete your collection.
After endorsements from such celebrities as Robbie Williams, Jude Law and Kylie Minogue, the Micro-scooter became a huge craze and every child wanted one. Problems first started with the folding mechanism used to easily store them, as children were trapping, cutting and even severing fingers.
Most kids ignored wearing safety protection on the speedy little scooters resulting in numerous reports of broken limbs, cuts and bruises. Arron Jennings, 9, was killed instantly in Liverpool when he was riding his scooter and he was hit by a Taxi, highlighting the dangers of Micro scooters as after picking up substantial speed you can end of up in real danger, very quickly.
5. Water Yo-Yos
Following on from the popular trend of a simple yo-yo, these modern and updated versions filled with water and made of gel, just like the classic version can be a potential danger. During the height of the craze, they were banned at numerous schools across the world due to injuries caused by the water yo-yos.
Children have suffered strangulation after the water yo-yos have become tightly wrapped around their necks, the plastic rope attached to the ball is extremely stretchy so it’s easily able to wrap around something repeatedly. Some people have suffered injuries as the ring used to hold the water yo-yo has snapped, causing the ball to shoot at unsuspecting on lookers.
6. Toxic Baby Bottles
North American environmental and health groups have called for baby bottles and other similar containers to be banned due to a toxic chemical used to make them. The chemical in question, Bisphenol A, is twenty five times higher than the legal safety limit in the products being called to be banned.
Bisphenol A can cause, even at extremely low levels, sex-hormone-imbalance effects, including breast and prostate cancer, early puberty, miscarriage, low sperm count, and immune-system changes. This is even more dangerous to children as immunity is very low and any biological imbalance has a huge effect on growth during youth.
7. Talcum Powder
Talcum powder has been a popular with parents with young children due to the seemingly limitless situations that the wonder powder can be applied to. Medical professionals have tried to completely stop using powders instead preferring ointments due to the health fears associated with powders.
The main threat from talcum powder is the particles, they’re so small that they can become airborne and inhaled extremely easily, many aspiratory related deaths in young children have been attributed to talcum powder. There is also strong links connecting talcum powder and cancer, though not 100% proven, it’s not something you want to risk on children.
8. Magnetix
Magnetix is a MEGA branded product and in March 2006 the Consumer Product Safety Commission ordered a full recall of every single Magnetix product, due to the small magnets being able to fall off easily and cause serious injury.
Fatalities and injuries have been caused by the magnets falling off the Magnetix, with children swallowing them, they can find their way into a small child’s intestines with the magnets attracting to each other. This can cause blockages or even perforations in the intestines which is life threatening, it has caused numerous deaths and huge amounts of serious injuries.
9. Nap Nanny baby recliner
A voluntary recall of 30,000 Nap Nanny portable baby recliners has been approved after a 4 month year old girl died with the Nap Nanny baby recliner being used in a crib, the child was found unconscious between the crib side and the Nap Nanny.
There have been numerous reports of other children, usually under 5 months old, falling off the side of the Nap Nanny, even though they were securely and fully strapped in, and sustaining injury. The primary use is on the floor and not inside cribs but no safety on the instructions on the Nap Nanny stated this.
10. Tots in Mind Playard Tent
Tots in Mind have been ordered to recall 20,000 of their Playard tents by the Consumer Product Safety Commission after the death of a 2 year old boy in December 2008. Clips attaching the dome tent to the Playard can be easily removed by young children, which can cause serious hazards.
If the clips are removed then a young child can become trapped between the metal frame of the tent dome and hard material of the Playard, this can cause strangulation or young children can climb over and fall out of the crib, this can causing bruising, bumps and cuts.
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