Mommage

Car Seat Recalls, Shockingly There Are Many

Just because we have not heard of any recalls recently must mean that all is well, right?  Wrong!   I was browsing recalls this morning and was shocked to see not only a tremendous number of car seats with some sort of a recall, but also other child related items.  There is children's jewelry and lip gloss sets recalled because of what else LEAD EXPOSURE.  There is a children's toy box that has been recalled due to a latch allowing the lid to come down to quickly causing the strangulation death of a 22 month old, etc.

The moral of this story is that there seems to be so many recalls that we are not hearing about all of them, or the shock factor is gone and we just tune out if it is reported on the news, always check for yourself.  You can check cpsc.gov or recalls.gov to see all recalls for yourself in almost every category that you can think of.

--Contributed by Renee

Magnet Set Recall

Check your kids toy boxes or closets.  This is a recall specifically regarding Magnetic Building Sets distributed by Battat.  These sets were sold between 2005 and 2007 at various retailers.  There have not been any reports of death or injuries, but there have been reports of small magnets falling out of the building pieces.  If a child swallows more than one magnet it can be fatal or cause serious injury.

Knowledge is power so check and see if there are any toys containing magnets (that may fall out of a larger piece) among your childrens toys, also check if any individual pieces containing magnets can be swallowed whole.

--Contributed by Renee

Vaccine Recall

This is a recall by Merck Manufacturer.  The vaccines in question are COMVAX vaccine protects against haemophilius b and hepatitis B, a virus that can cause liver disease (2 lots affected).  Also affected is PedvaxHIB is a vaccine that protects against infection with haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), the bacteria that causes meningitis, pneumonia, and blood stream infections (11 lots affected).  Click here for more information.

--Contributed by Renee

Recall

Another recall.  This one involves toys and beads sold by Dollar Tree.  What is the recall for this time?  Do you even need to ask?  Excessive levels of lead!  Quick, guess what country these toys were made in.......okay brace yourself......CHINA!!  Are you shocked?  Yeah I didn't think so.

--Contributed by Renee

W.A.T.C.H.

World Against Toys Causing Harm is a non-profit consumer group that is dedicated to doing the right thing by our children even when the government does not or cannot.  W.A.T.C.H. has released their list of hazardous toys for 2007, amazingly only one item on the list has been recalled (Diego).  The other items are still in production and available for sale.  The concern about the other items is the possibility that these items while appropriate for older children can have disastrous unintended results if used by younger children.  The basic premise of this list is that these toys have issues which can make them unsafe in some circumstances, BUT parents need to do their due diligence to make sure their children are safe.  Common Sense can go along way!

--Contributed by Renee

Recall--Children's Wooden Storage Rack

Children's Wooden Storage Rack sold at Wal-Mart and Ollies.  This time an 8 month old child was killed. 

--Contributed by Renee

cross posted on ShopperCast

Recall of Aqua Dots

When I heard about the recall of Aqua Dots on the news, my heart stopped.  I am not familiar with this particular version of the toy, but when my daughter was young, our favorite family craft activity was making magnets with Perler Beads.  The colored beads are arranged on a pegboard to form a pattern or picture, and then fused together using the heat of an iron,
as opposed to the water used with Aqua Dots.

I immediately looked at Perler's website to see where its beads were made and if they had anything to do with the recall.  I still have many of the magnets on display in the house, together with lots of leftover beads, and although my kids are too old to accidentally ingest them, it would worry me to have the beads around.

To my relief, I found the following message from Perler:

Consumer Alert - Bumbo "Baby Sitter" Seats

One million foam baby seats manufactured by Bumbo International and sold by Target, Wal-Mart and other large retailers, are under voluntary recall from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

Twenty-eight children have fallen out of these baby seats when they were set up on elevated surfaces; three of these children sustained serious head injuries.

These products were sold from August 2003 to October 2007 for approximately $40.00 each.

If you own one of these items, contact Bumbo International to obtain new warning stickers and instructions NOT to place this item on any elevated surface.

Bumbo International has temporarily suspended sales of this item until the warning labels can be updated.

--Contributed by Deb

Voluntary Recall Of Infant Cold Medications

McNeil Consumer Healthcare, Novartis Consumer Health and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals voluntarily recalled 14 products from drug store shelves on Thursday.  The reason for the recall is an issue that has been debated among the medical community for many years.  Many of these products have the word "Infant" in the title, however, they are not really intended for infants, they are intended for children two and over.  The last time I checked two was a toddler.  There has been great argument in the same circles regarding whether these medications 1) actually worked in children that young,  2) if they can cause serious side effects including but not limited to severe hallucinations and agitation, seizures, high blood pressure, and heart and breathing problems that can be fatal in rare cases and 3) can cause accidental overdosage due to many products having the same ingredients, so that parents are accidently and unwittingly overdosing their children .

Yet Another Lead Based Recall--Attention Boy Scouts

544,000 more products from China (shocker) recalled.  Included in this one are Pirates of the Caribbean and Baby Einstein products.  The recall also includes Totally Me! Funky Room Decor Set decorating kits imported and sold by Toys "R" Us Inc. and a variety of wooden toys imported and sold by KB Toys Inc.

Also just announced Boy Scout Badges recalled also for lead paint.

--Contributed by Renee

Cross posted at ShopperCast