RECALL: Bumbo Infant Seat
Over four million Bumbo Baby Seats were recalled earlier this week after more than 20 skull fractures and 84 falls were reported.
The seats were sold online and at retailers, including Walmart, Sears, Target, Toys R Us and Babies R Us, from August 2003 through August 2012.
Bumbo International, the seats manufacturer, will provide owners with a repair kit that contains a “restraint belt” (strap) to secure babies into the seat. For more information on the recall program and repair kit visit the Bumbo Baby Seat website. Quoting a company spokesman,
"Children, especially infants who are learning to move around, can squirm out of seats. The restraint belt will help prevent children from getting out of or falling from the seat when it is used as intended: On the floor with adult supervision and never on raised surfaces.”
The mention of ‘raised surfaces’ is in response to the 2007 recall of one million Bumbo seats, put in place so the company could add warning labels about the risk of using them on tables or counters.
As the seats are only recommended for babies from the time they can hold their head up until they can sit unassisted, Nancy Cowles, executive director of the advocacy group Kids in Danger, questions the need for the seats at all. Cowles said, “It might be better-even with the fix-to pass on this product.”
According to company officials, a small number of seats already in stores may include the repair kit, but the majority will have the safety strap already attached.
