They are the kinds of products you buy for the joy and comfort of your child, never expecting they’ll cause injury or death. Yet, more products are having to be recalled due to safety risks than years past, and safety advocates fear news of those recalls are not reaching parents in time.
Elected leaders and child safety advocates spoke at Lurie Children’s Hospital on Tuesday, urging consumers to be aware of product recalls and advocating for regulators to enforce stronger safety standards.
“I think most Americans go shopping thinking someone, somewhere is protecting them from things that will kill their children or cause serious injury,” said Illinois’ Ninth District Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. “And, of course, we would all like to think that.”
The report found the highest number of recalls recorded in 2022 in nearly a decade, according to Nancy Cowles, the executive director of Chicago nonprofit Kids in Danger (KID).
“Last year had the highest number of recalls since 2013,” Cowles explained. “100 children’s products were recalled, over five million individual units.”
KID released its annual report, “Hidden Hazards: 2022 Children’s Products Recalls,” laying out important product recalls parents should know about and keep out of their homes.
To read the full report, click here.
One example highlighted in the report is the Pillowfort Weighted Blanket.
The blanket was recalled after the deaths of two young girls, ages four and six, who died from asphyxiation in North Carolina last year, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The blankets were sold at Target’s retail stores, and website.
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Target has advised anyone who purchased the blanket to stop using it, and immediately return it for a refund.
Cowles is calling on the Consumer Product Safety Commission to strengthen enforcement for online platforms and third-party sellers, who continue to make money off recalled products.
“Not enough is being done to alert families,” Cowles added.
A spokesperson for the Consumer Product Safety Commission told NBC 5 Responds in part, "CPSC’s E-Safe team scours the internet daily looking for recalled and defective products being sold online. In fact, we issued nearly 55,000 take down requests last year. This work will not end."
Parents and caregivers can help by reporting any unsafe products with the CPSC, the group that issues recalls. To learn how to do that, click here.
