Just last week we posted on a Consumer Product Safety Commission recall regarding the Safety 1st Push N’ Snap Cabinet Lock. The recall was in response to 200 reports of the locks not working. Of those, there were 140 cases where small children were able to figure out how to work the locks and then gain access to dangerous household products. In three cases, kids ended up handling or swallowing window cleaner, oven cleaner or dishwashing detergent.
Of course for many, the idea of a child being injured due to a defective product is devastating. But sadly, the truth is that there are a number of products -- including children’s toys, bedding and car seats -- that are recalled due to safety issues. However, what is truly frightening is that many parents may never even hear of the recall and then continue to use the dangerous product.
According to the recently released Kids in Danger report, there was actually a decline in the number of recalls in 2011. However, even though there was a 24 percent decrease, injuries and other negative incidents actually rose 7 percent last year.
It turns out that part of the problem is most likely due to the fact that when a recall is announced, only between 15 percent and 30 percent of the products are actually sent back or fixed. Of course, there are some rather larger higher-profile recalls that make the news and end up having a larger send back rate, but many smaller recalls do not end up getting as much attention.
Additionally, it seems part of the problem is that when there is a recall, stores have a hard time always tracking down the purchaser to let them known about.
Because of this, parents are urged to sign up for e-mail alerts to learn about recalls through stores and to check online for any recent recalls.