Fisher-Price recalls more than 2 million infant swings after 5 deaths
Fisher-Price is recalling more than 2 million Snuga Swings sold nationwide after the suffocation deaths of five infants, the company and the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced on Thursday.
The recall involves all models of the swings sold at Amazon, Target, Toys R Us, Sam's Club and Walmart from October 2010 through January 2024 for about $160. About 2.1 million of the recalled swings — manufactured in China and Mexico — were sold in the U.S., and roughly 99,000 in Canada. Another 500 were sold in Mexico.
Distributed by Fisher-Price, a brand owned by Mattel, the recalled swings were involved in the deaths of five infants, 1 to 3 months old, when the products were used for sleep, between 2012 and 2022, according to the agency. In most of those cases, the babies were not restrained and bedding materials were added.
Consumers should immediately remove the headrest by cutting the tether and the body support insert from the seat pad before using the swing for awake-time activities. Fisher-Price is offering a $25 refund to those who remove and destroy both.
If the swings are used for sleep or if bedding material is added, the headrest and body support insert on the seat pad can increase the risk of suffocation.
Consumers can call Fisher-Price toll-free at 855-853-6224 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, or go online at www.service.mattel.com and click "Recall & Safety Alerts" or go to www.service.mattel.com/us/recall.aspx, for more information on the recall.
The remedy was condemned as "woefully inadequate and insufficient to prevent future infant deaths," by Consumer Reports.
"There should be a full refund, and Fisher-Price should be urging people to throw away these swings," William Wallace, associate director of safety policy at the consumer advocacy group, said Friday in a statement.
"The CPSC can't easily force companies to issue a strong recall — typically, the agency can only get companies to carry out recalls that are voluntary and on the terms that the company agrees to. This is an absurd and dangerous reality. Congress should pass a law bolstering the CPSC's ability to force companies to carry out strong recalls, especially in cases like this where children have died," Wallace added.
The recall is not the first by Fisher-Price involving products that proved deadly for babies. About 100 deaths have been linked to the Fisher-Price Rock 'n Play sleeper, first recalled in 2019.
Parents and caregivers should never use inclined products, including rockers, gliders, soothers and swings, for infant sleep and should never leave babies in the products unattended or with bedding material due to the risk of suffocation, according to the CPSC.