Crib Recall Sends Parents Running to the Baby’s Room

Any day now Summer Garrett will be giving birth to a baby girl.

    The crib that she once used for her four-year-old son John Michael is already decked-out in pink for her daughter.

    But today’s recall by the Consumer Product Safety Commission is a wakeup call for Garrett.

  “I guess it’s like a win-win situation,” said Garrett.
  “I’m glad nothing happened with him, but I’m glad nothing happened before she got here so that it didn’t hurt her,” she said.

    The crib she has is not the Stork Craft crib recalled today (Nov. 24th, 2009) but News Channel 7 investigated her Simplicity model and found out it was recalled last year for a similar drop-side issue.

  While her Simplicity’s drop-side won’t stay up—the one on the Stork Craft model under recall becomes detached in a way that creates a dangerous space between the mattress and the side where a baby can get trapped.

    On both products, the hardware can also break or become deformed.  And there’s problems with unclear home assembly, like putting the brackets on backwards.

    “It didn’t show you how it was supposed to go and when I snapped it in they popped off.  And that’s why it won’t go up and down. It always stays down,” said Garrett.

    Penny Shaw with Safe Kids Spartanburg says even though drop-side cribs at hospitals like Spartanburg Regional are safe the recalls show parents should not have drop sides at home.   
  But that doesn’t mean you need to buy a new crib.

    “Get a repair kit that will make it immobile so it stays probably at a level that they (parents) can reach in and out,” said Shaw.

  “You don’t want the side to go up and down because you don’t want to be the reason that something happens to your baby.”

  Garrett plans to return her Simplicity model to Wal-mart where the chain is still offering store credit or replacements.

  If you own a Stork Craft crib – you can get the repair kit by calling: 877- 274-0277.

  Those Stork Craft cribs were manufactured between January of 2003 and just last month. 

  They were sold at major retailers like BJ’s Wholesale Club, Sears and Wal-mart, as well as online through Target and Costco.

    Nearly 150,000 Stork Craft cribs carry the Fisher-Price logo.

  Whatever brand your crib is, to figure out if it’s under recall just head to the Consumer Product Safety Commission website for a full list at:  http://www.cpsc.gov/cribs.html