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• Think Your Baby's Car Seat Is Safe? Think Again

  In a withering expose published this week, the Chicago Tribune unearthed safety tests whose results raise questions about the dangers posed by several popular car seat models. The findings, which resulted from tests conducted by the National HIghway Traffic Safety Administration to determine the comparative safety ratings of cars, not the car seats inside them, were never released to the public, however, and in some cases were unknown even to the companies that make the car seats. Yet as the Tribune points out, such information would be of great interest to parents, who have to make choices about which car seat to buy based on nothing but the marketing mantras produced and promoted by the companies that make them. After the jump: what happened when car seats were tested in actual cars.  Read More... Posted Mar 04 2009, 09:59 AM by Kate Tuttle with | with 10 comment(s) Filed under: Graco, car seats, Car seat safety, evenflo, car seat, car crash, car accident, chicago tribune, car, crash test, national highway transportation safety adminstration, nhtsa, ray lahood

• Things Fall Apart: 1 Million Cribs Recalled. Maybe Yours?

  I read about this and got chills up my spine. One million cribs recalled...entrapment...three babies dead. The recall of several models of Simplicity and Graco cribs (models listed after the jump) was announced yesterday by the CPSC, two years after a California lawyer alerted them when a nine-month old baby died in a faulty crib. Two years and two more deaths later, the cribs are being recalled. I understand that the recall process may be arduous (though manufacturers are free at any time to announce their own recalls), but how do you explain that to the parents of the two babies who died needlessly after the original report was made? Read More... Posted Sep 22 2007, 08:07 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: Graco, safety, recalls, death, things fall apart, simplicity

• Things Fall Apart: Graco Activity Center Blocks are a Choking Hazard

  The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission puts out bulletins for recalls almost daily. When they pertain to kid gear, we share them with you. Usually the recalls contain information about potential dangers and what the manufacturer will do to fix them. The scariest statistic of all, however, is the bit about what happened to kids who used the product. In this case, if you have a Graco Baby Einstein activity center, you will want to read this bulletin. Graco has received reports of 137 infants chewing off the plastic film covering that covers the soft stackable blocks (the triangle-topped stack in the photo) that are part of the activity center. Gagging and choking did occur. The soft block tower is a stack of three different shaped stuffed fabric blocks in red, yellow and blue. Pictures of apples, fire engines, ducks, bananas, birds and blueberries on the blocks are covered in plastic film. The soft blocks are one of nine toys that snap onto the tray of the activity center. Only model number 4635BEE with serial numbers 012705 through 063005, which indicates the manufacture dates of January 27, 2005 through June 30, 2005, are included in this recall. Model and serial numbers are located underneath the activity center’s tray. If you have this item, remove the soft block towers from your home immediately and contact Graco for a replacement.   Posted May 03 2007, 09:33 AM by Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) with | with no comments Filed under: Graco, baby einstein, recalls, things fall apart, activity center

• Designer Graco Stroller To Benefit Pediatric AIDS Foundation

  Designer/mom Cynthia Rowley has teamed up with Graco to create The Graco Mosaic "Be Fruitful" Stroller.  The stroller has been signed by 17 celebrity mothers, and will be auctioned off on eBay starting February 1, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.  The Mosaic stroller was first created in October 2006, to raise funds for the EGPAF.  It retails for $299 and again, 100% of the net proceeds go to the EGPAF.  You can order one for yourself, or an expectant friend, here.  You can learn more about, and enter, eBay's "Be Fruitful" auction here.  My first - in long line - of strollers was a Graco, and I hated everything about it.  But perhaps the production and functionality of the brand has improved since 2004 (?) - the design certainly  has.  Do you have a Graco that you are happy with?  If so, will you bid on the "Be Fruitful" piece?  Are you unhappy with your Graco, but willing to buy The Mosaic model, to benefit such a worthy cause?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Posted Feb 03 2007, 05:48 PM by Alisyn with | with no comments Filed under: celebrity, ebay, Graco, celebrity moms, stroller, elizabeth glaser pediatric AIDS foundation, cynthia rowley

• Video: Professor Product Pounds on the Graco Pack 'N Play

  Yes, he's a bit of a dork...but he's our dork. Babble today launched a new video segment called Professor Product, in which our intrepid lab rat takes a series of kid-related products for a spin. This week it's portable cribs, with the Graco Pack 'N Play emerging as the king of the pack.   Posted Feb 02 2007, 01:26 PM by thezeroboss with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: youtube, babies, Graco, video, infants, professor product, cribs

• RECALL ALERT: Graco Contempo Highchair

  U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (UCPSC), along with children's product manufacturer giant Graco, has announced a voluntary recall to repair 100,000 Contempo™ high chairs sold at various retaliers between Decmber 2005 and December 2006.  The high chairs may collapse if not fully opened and locked into place from the storage position prior to use; there have been 18 reports of this happening, including one that caused a bruise on a child's foot.  According to the  UCPSC: "The Contempo™ highchairs have an “A” frame design. The highchairs feature six height adjustment positions and three recline positions. The recalled highchairs have model numbers that begin with 3800, 3803, 3804, 3805, 3810 and 3811 followed by a three letter fashion code. Model numbers included in the recall include: 3800COU, 3800DRB, 3800FMT, 3800GGG, 3800GRM, 3800HEM, 3800JEN, 3800LEG, 3800MNS, 3800OWD, 3800SND, 3800TFE, 3800RIT, 3803HRL, 3804CNR, 3805BDA, 3810PEW, 3810PST and 3811PST. The model number and manufacturing date are printed underneath the snack tray of these highchairs."  They were sold at the following stores:  Babies “R” Us, Toys “R” Us, Target, Target.com, Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart.com, Burlington Coat Factory, Shopko, AAFES, USA Baby and others. If you own a recalled high chair, Graco advises that you ensure it is fully opened before placing your child in it (duh!), and you also may obtain a free repair kit by calling (877) 445-1312  or via their website. Posted Jan 19 2007, 02:19 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: child, Graco, recall, safety, high chair

• Consumer Reports Says Your Infant Car Seat Is Crap

  [Editor's Note:  An update to this article can be found here.] Consumer Reports recently tested 12 infant car seats and declared that most "failed disastrously." In fact, they could only recommend two (I'll wait while you get a pen and paper to write this down): the Graco Snugride with E-P-S and the Baby Trend Flex Lock, both retail for under $100. That's right, the hundreds of bones you just spent on a fancy Peg Perego, Maxi-Cosi, or Britax were a big waste of money. Eeeeh, not really, according to Estelle and Jean of Faggots on the Third Floor: Your seat is fine. Don't worry. Consumer Reports is full of shit, as always. Trust me, know one who knows car seats puts a lick of faith in anything CR ever says about car seats. The onslaught will begin all over the internet tonight. Stores will sell out of the seats they recommended. People will be scared that their child is destined to die in a crash because CR said their seat failed. As one tech so politely put it, "roll up the magazine and use it to start a fire."  As is to be expected, Britax responded by saying that they'd need to see details of the testing methods and results in order to address the article. Yadda x 3. They're using the classic "Deflection Defense" which I supposed I'd do too, if I were the de facto standard for safe carseats. Whatever you think about the report, infant car seats are often installed incorrectly and babies are placed in them improperly. I highly recommend you contact your local highway patrol, police department, or fire station to get your seat inspected. Information is available here.      Posted Jan 05 2007, 08:32 AM by Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: Baby Trend, car seat test, Consumer Reports, Graco, infant car seats, Britax