While 2009 hasn’t quite turned out to be the Year of the Recall the same way it was in 2007, we still like the the idea of an easy way to check for safety recalls of children’s toys and other products. In fact, the Babysitter Balance from Baby Bjorn (shown), a bouncy seat we fell in love wtih late last year, has just today issued a voluntary safety recall because some small metal pieces have been found in some padding and could potentially cause scratches.
There have been no injuries reported but as a testament to the company’s commitment to safety and its own reputation, they’re asking for owners of the seat to contact Baby Swede and return it for inspection.
If you want to keep abreast of recalls like this, Parents.com has done a bang-up job with their Toy and Product Recall Finder which is way easier to search than the CPSC site–you can search by category, time period or product name. And it’s certainly prettier than the CPSC site too.
Of course before you click over (especially you panicky types!) it’s good to keep in mind that not all recalls are life and death situations, nor have they all caused injuries. The recent Bugaboo Bee recall requires a repair kit for the brakes (which I hesitate to admit I rarely use). And the Warm Biscuit sleepwear recall, in my opinion, is kind of BS because it’s about how they are not coated with toxic chemicals that allow them to meet US government standards for flammability. But for true hazards like violation of lead paint standards, baby toys that present choking hazards, or the ubiquitous hooded sweatshirt with drawstrings that cause a strangulation hazard, the recall finder is a pretty smart resource for parents to bookmark. –Liz
To stay up to date on toy recalls hit the Parents.com Toy and Product Recall Finder. For more info on the Babysitter Balance recall visit Baby Swede.
EDITED TO ADD: It’s come to our attention from a reader that the recall finder on Parents is not as immediate as the actual CPSC recall site and can be at times up to a month behind. In which case it seems like a great site to look up past items (and we still think it’s pretty) but it’s not ideal for breaking news.
