Mail Them In: Infant Product Recall Cards Can Save Lives
BOSTON (CBS) - We've all seen those product registration cards when we open up something we just bought. They often end up in the trash with all the packaging.
But when it comes to products meant for children, filling out these forms can truly be a matter of life or death.
Laura Hauser will never get to see her son Ethan grow up. Four years before he was born, a recall notice was issued for the portable crib he died in. "It fell in a V and his neck got trapped, and he actually asphyxiated, suffocated, and died," she explained.
WBZ-TV's Paula Ebben reports
The crib was used when the Hausers obtained it, and they never learned that it had been recalled.
Each year, millions of children's products are recalled because of safety defects. Many families never know, until it is too late.
A new Federal law now requires companies that make "Durable Infant and Toddler Products" include a pre-stamped post card with every crib, play yard, stroller, and similar baby products they sell.
Parents just fill in the contact information and mail the card. They also have the option of registering online.
The new law is named after Danny Keyser. He died in a day care center's portable crib. It had been recalled five years earlier, but no one at the center knew.
"Kids in Danger" is an advocacy group created by Danny's mother to encourage safer products for children. Nancy Cowles is with "Kids in Danger" and wants to let parents know the information they provide is not shared. "The law that put this product registration program in place makes it illegal for companies to use that information any other purpose."
Laura Hauser wishes she had access to a simple registry like this one. "That's so important for parents to do that," she said about signing up. "I can't say enough that I wish we had this when Ethan was around, and this playpen had been pulled from the market, and someone had sent in that card."
For more information about this law and other product recalls, visit the following links.
www.cpsc.gov
www.kidsindanger.org
www.wemakeitsafer.com
www.keepingbabiessafe.org
