Watch for baby product recalls

In this article, you’ll find answers to questions like:

1. Where can I check for recalls?
2. Where else to check beyond my home?
3. How to report dangerous products?

Do you know that baby gear you used with older children may have been recently recalled because of serious safety concerns? Where can you go to get clear answers?

Thankfully, trained experts investigate accidents and test baby products that parents have reported for safety concerns.

Even if you no longer have a recalled item, a friend, babysitter or child care worker may still be using it and unknowingly putting other children at risk. Here are tips to keep all kids safer.

1. WHERE CAN I CHECK FOR RECALLS?

Visit the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to scroll through a continually updated list of recalled items, as well as read important news and helpful safety tips.

Parents and caregivers can subscribe to daily email alerts about infant/child recalled products.

2. WHERE ELSE TO CHECK BEYOND MY HOME?

Whenever you discover a recalled item, take a moment to think if you’ve seen it anywhere else your child may visit, says Kelly Powell, former program director of Safe Kids Palm Beach County.

“Just because an item is no longer in your home doesn’t mean a child is not in danger,” she says. “Don’t forget about babysitters’ homes, playrooms at your gym or place of worship, day care centers or even your friends’ garages.”

3. HOW TO REPORT DANGEROUS PRODUCTS?

The best way to protect other children is to report dangerous products, says James Butscher, one of three federal safety commission investigators covering Florida. Based in Palm Beach County, he visits hotels, furniture rental companies and resale stores to educate personnel and search for recalled baby items.

“When the public lets us know of a concern with an item, the commission can immediately investigate and send it to the National Product Testing and Evaluation Center so that someone else’s child isn’t unintentionally harmed,” Butscher says.

Parents and caregivers can call the commission’s hotline at 800-638-2772 or visit SaferProducts.gov to browse recalls and report an unlisted and potentially unsafe product in less than five minutes. Or call Butscher at 240-429-4036 or email him at JButscher@cpsc.gov.

• James Butscher, federal investigator, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

• Kelly Powell, former program director, Safe Kids Palm Beach County