After nursery products were recalled at their highest rate in over a decade last year, parents of small children are expressing concern over the safety of products bought for their kids.
The finding was revealed in a new annual report from Kids In Danger, a nonprofit group which analyzed recall data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Burn and choking hazards were the reasons behind the majority of the recalls, though 25 of the 101 recalls involved children's sleepwear products that didn't meet federal flammability standards.
Many of the recalled nursery products violated the Safe Sleep For Babies Act that passed U.S. Congress in 2022.
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The top recalls from 2023 include Waterbeads, which are sold in toys and craft kits and have caused death due to swallowing, and small magnet toys, which can cause internal damage if ingested.
One product sold exclusively by Walmart: the Dorel Juvenile Group Cosco Jump, Spin & Play Activity Center, had the highest number of reported injuries at 38.
Several outdoor and sports products, such as electric bikes, scooters and hoverboards- were recalled for fire, fall and injury hazards.
Specifically, the lithium batteries in some of these bikes and scooters caught fire. Two deaths and several injuries were reported in this product category last year.
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“Babies and children are dying from products that you can find so easily on the market. And it isn't until the problem is discovered by consumers and reported to the [Consumer Product Safety Commission] that the CPSC really knows to remove these products from the market,” said Sahiti Pidaparti, Program Associate with Kids In Danger.
Pidaparti says it isn't necessarily a bad thing that the number of product recalls is going up.
"We've been seeing an increase in children's product recalls for the past few years. I think it's important to note that this could be a sign that the CPSC is actually working really well and that they are removing unsafe products from the market at a higher rate because their work output or whatever it is behind the the scenes changed, and they're just doing a lot more to get these products off the market," Pidaparti said.
In 2023, for the first time, the Consumer Product Safety Commission also began issuing recalls in Spanish. Last year, 64% of their recalls were translated, which Kids in Danger says needs to increase so all communities are aware of the risks associated with these products.
To see a full list of the recalled products from 2023, you can find it on page 23 of the Kids In Danger 2024 Report here.
