The Stroller Recall Parents Need to Know About

A dozen reports of children losing their fingertips in hinge mechanisms triggered the voluntary recall of about one million Maclaren strollers Monday.

Parents who own Maclaren umbrella strollers can fix the hinges with a free repair kit. Click here for a list of the recalled models and instructions on how to get the free repair kit.

The strollers, which were marketed as “the world’s most safe, durable, innovative and stylish,” were manufactured in China and have been sold in Target (TGT), Babies 'R' Us, and other retail stores since 1999. The recall affects “essentially every stroller that Maclaren has sold in the U.S. for the past 10 years,” says Don Mays, the senior director for technical policy and safety at Consumers Union. As with many recalls, consumers don’t have to stop using the product; the strollers will be safe to use if consumers get the free kit, which includes covers for the hinges, Mays says.

Of course, these strollers are hardly the only product to be recalled because of child safety concerns. And recalls have been on the rise, with 563 products recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in fiscal 2008, 19% more than the previous year, according to the Consumers Union. Children’s products made up two-thirds of that total. Parents can find updates on recalls involving products for school-age children at a new web site created by Consumer Reports, the National Parent Teacher Association and the National School Board Association.

The number of recalled products could quickly become overwhelming, with hundreds of announcements every year. Here are a few examples of recalls and warnings issued just in the last couple of weeks:

Dublin Energy Solution Roman Shades from Louis Hornick & Co., Inc. and sold at Bed, Bath & Beyond, were voluntarily recalled after two reports of near-strangulation when children got the shades’ cords wrapped around their necks, according to the CPSC. Similar risks have prompted recent recalls of Faux Suede Roman Shades from Whole Space Industries and three types of Roller Blinds from IKEA.

Young Artist Easels, from McPherson’s, have been voluntarily recalled because of what the CPSC called high levels of lead in the surface coating of the chalkboards. The easels were manufactured in China. In 2008, more recalls were issued for lead than for any other hazard, and 81% of all products recalled were made in China, according to the Consumers Union.

Adventure Playsets Wooden Play Sets have been voluntarily recalled because the lumber in the monkey bars can rot over time, according to the CPSC. The recall was issued after more than 1,400 reports of problems, including 16 injuries. Other models of the play set were recalled in 2006 because defective bolts could cause the structure to come apart.

Jelly Belly 7.5 ounce cylinder-style packages of 49 Flavors jelly beans were recalled because the packages didn’t list peanuts and peanut flour among the ingredients, the company said. Similar allergen-related recalls have been issued recently for almond cookies made for Dean & Deluca, which omitted butter on their list of ingredients, according to the Food and Drug Administration, and Meijer Cream of Mushroom Soup, which omitted eggs, according to the Food Safety and Inspection Service at the Department of Agriculture.

My Baby Soother pacifiers distributed by T & L Trading and sold in the New York City area were the subject of a warning from the CPSC when the company refused to issue a recall despite the choking hazard posed by the pacifiers, which come apart easily. The CPSC says parents should take these pacifiers away from children immediately.