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A type of foldable soccer goal is being recalled after its maker, Regent Sports Corp., received reports of young children getting caught in the net. In one case, a toddler died after getting his head tangled.

The voluntary recall was expected to be announced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. It affects goals sold under the MacGregor and Mitre brand names that have nets with a 5-inch grid; those with a 4-inch grid are not included in the recall.

Last year in Texas, a 21-month-old boy tried to climb on one of the MacGregor nets from the back of the goal. He fell through the mesh, and the polyethylene cord contracted around his neck.

The toddler was in a fenced-in treeless backyard that contained only the soccer goal and carpet grass. By the time the mother realized what had happened, the cord around his neck was so tight, she was unable to pull his head back through.

She sent another child back into the house for a pair of scissors while she held her dying son's head, her hands straining at the cord.

"The opening that these nylon mesh nets have is simply too big," said Scott Wolfson of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. "There needs to be a 4-inch space, but there's a 5-inch space."

Federal officials probe whether products contain design flaw

From the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging parents and caregivers to stop using convertible “close-sleeper/bedside sleeper” bassinets manufactured by Simplicity Inc., of Reading, Pa. CPSC has learned that on August 21, 2008, a 5-month-old girl from Shawnee, Kan. was strangled to death when she became entrapped between the bassinet’s metal bars. This is the second strangulation death CPSC has learned of in the co-sleeper bassinets. On September 29, 2007, a 4-month-old girl from Noel, Mo. became entrapped in the metal bars of the bassinet and died. (Click Here to read the entire report.)

One of the most popular bassinets in America has been linked to at least two babies' deaths, and federal authorities are investigating whether the products have a deadly design flaw, the Tribune has learned.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which regulates most children's products, knew about the first baby's death within days after it happened last September in Missouri but did not recall the product. Then last Thursday, a Kansas baby died in a similar bassinet.

The deaths once again raise questions about the safety commission's response to deadly hazards, the subject of a Pulitzer Prize-winning Tribune investigation last year.

Because of the baby's death last week, the commission's staff is planning to seek an imminent hazard warning, a rare move that sidesteps a voluntary recall to more quickly alert the public of a potentially deadly product, the Tribune has learned. Such a move requires a vote by the commission.

Both deaths involved the Simplicity 4-in-1 Winnie the Pooh bassinet. But many other Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 models share the same design. Last year, Simplicity recalled more than 1 million cribs in the wake of a Tribune investigation that showed the commission waited years to warn consumers about the cribs' flaws, despite babies' deaths. The bassinets were not included in that recall.

Simplicity Inc. ran into financial trouble after the crib recall. SFCA Inc., a unit of Blackstreet Capital Partners, acquired the assets of Simplicity Inc. in a foreclosure sale in May. An SFCA executive declined to comment Wednesday.

The Simplicity bassinets consist of a metal frame with fabric sides. At least one of the fabric sides folds down so a parent can easily reach a baby when the bassinet is positioned at a parent's bedside.

Toy jewelry from Bead Bazaar's "It's A Girl Thing" line have been recalled due to excessive levels of lead.

Despite Recalls, Dangerous Toys Remain on Shelves

Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, has warned that dangerous and toxic toys are likely still for sale, because government product safety efforts are ineffective.

Tens of millions of toys and other children's products have been recalled in recent months, most because Chinese factories used lead paint. Lead can cause permanent brain damage. 

(Gentle Nurturing editor's note: See also the original story announcing the Simplicity crib recall by clicking here.)  

Recent reports of lead-tainted toys and other hazardous merchandise has led to concerns about the effectiveness of product recalls. Too often, critics say, news of a recall doesn't reach the owners of dangerous products.

Nicola and Chad Johns of Roseville, Calif., believe the nation's product recall system is broken. In April 2005, they put their 9-month-old baby boy, Liam, to bed in a crib. Everything seemed normal until the next morning, when Nicola went back to her son's room.

"I saw my son hanging from the crib," she said, "his neck basically caught at the mattress. So his chin was resting on the mattress and the rest of this body was hanging straight down."

When Nicola pulled Liam out of the crib he wasn't breathing, and she feared the worst. She was right.

"We gave him CPR until the paramedics came," she said. "He was pronounced dead at the hospital. He was 9 months old."

To many, the story of the death of Liam Johns is indicative of a wider problem with America's recall system.

The crib that killed Liam was made in China by Pennsylvania-based Simplicity, Inc. It is also marketed under the Graco brand. Like many cribs, it had one side that could drop down to make it easier for parents to reach their baby. But in this crib, that drop-side came loose, allowing Liam's neck to get wedged between the side and the mattress.

Liam's death prompted Nicola and Chad Johns to file suit against Simplicity, Inc. They argued that a design flaw and unclear assembly instructions created the deadly hazard. Their lawyer, Charles Kelly, alerted the Consumer Product Safety Commission of the danger.

Kelly says he was astonished at how long it took the CPSC to respond to the case.

Tests on 1,200 children's items revealed that more than one-third contained lead and other potentially dangerous chemicals such as mercury, cadmium and arsenic.

The study, directed by the Environmental Health Project of the Ecology Center in Michigan, also found that jewelry products were the most likely to contain high levels of lead.

Other items, such as bedroom slippers, bath toys and card-game cases were also tainted, some with as much as five times the standard safety level of lead. One Hannah Montana card-game case, for instance, had lead levels of 3,056 parts per million.

The study was conducted to spur government officials to take action against tainted toys. Millions of toys, most of them made in China, have already been recalled in 2007.

According to a CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) press release, Boppy has issued a voluntary recall of some of its slipcovers made to fit over the popular crescent-shaped Boppy pillow. The Boppy pillow is designed for use during nursing as a support, as well as for an infant or maternity support pillow.

This recall comes in two parts. There is a choking hazard due to the zipper pull on some of the slipcovers. The zipper pull can break away, posing the danger of choking if an infant places the pull into the mouth.

Also, the paint used on some of the zippers contains high amounts of lead, violating the federal standards for lead paint.

Slipcovers recalled due to choking hazard were sold at discount department stores nationwide from July 2006 through September 2007 for between $15 and $17. Slipcovers recalled due to lead paint were sold at discount department stores nationwide from February 2007 through September 2007.

No injuries have yet been reported, but consumers should stop using these products immediately and contact The Boppy Company for a replacement product.

For information on identifying and/or exchanging the recalled slipcovers, The Boppy Company has provided a 24 hour recall hotline at (800) 687-1651 for the choking hazard recall or (888) 713-3916 for the lead paint recall. They have also provided an recall information page on the firm's Web site at http://www.boppy.com/re/.

At "Toys R Us" stores located throughout the country today, activists came together to educate parents on the toys that the store stocks and also to apply pressure to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR). According to SEIU, KKR owns a major stake in Toys R Us and also Dollar General. In the past year 800,000 toys have been pulled from the shelf in an effort to prevent children from being exposed to toxins. Gatherings took place in cities such as New York, Orlando, Houston, Atlanta and St. Louis.

Many companies have launched a proactive public relations campaign in the wake of the toy recalls, but activists say this is not enough. According to SEIU, the underlying problem of these tainted toys has not been addressed. According to SEIU, the source of these many tainted toys is the 'bottom line".

Manufacturers need to make toys at a lower cost and in order to do that certain things must be cut. Since the cost of the process (IE painting a toy) cannot be cut, the cost of materials must be cut. Therefore cheaper materials must be found and utilized. This methodology increases the risk that unsafe toys will make it into the hands of innocent children.

WASHINGTON -- Some 1 million foam baby seats sold by Target Corp, Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other large retailers are being recalled because of reports of young children falling out of the seats, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Thursday.

The safety agency said it received 28 reports of young children falling out of the seats, including three who suffered skull fractures because the seats had been placed atop tables.

The baby seats, made by Bumbo International of South Africa, sold for about $40 each from August 2003 through October 2007. Retailers that sold the product also included Sears Holdings, Kmart, Toys "R" Us, USA Babies, it said.

The round Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats are 15 inches in diameter and made of molded polyurethane foam that wraps around a child.

Consumers should contact Bumbo to obtain new warning label stickers and instructions for the recalled baby seats and should never use the infant seat on a table, countertop, chair or other elevated surface, the agency said.

On its Web site, Bumbo said it temporarily stopped selling the baby seat until safety packaging can be updated. "The Bumbo Baby Seat is safe when used properly, but we have voluntarily agreed to update the packaging to ensure there is no confusion about the safe, proper use of the Bumbo Baby Seat," the company said.

The baby seat is designed for infants who are six weeks old or able to support their own heads, up to an age of about 12 to 14 months or about 22 pounds, Bumbo said.

A photograph of the recalled product and other information was posted on the agency's Web site at: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08046.html.

Special flashback bonus video: Protesters took to the streets of Southampton last month to ask residents there to rally for more tax breaks for one of their neighbors: buyout king Henry Kravis. On Monday, protesters rallied outside of Toys "R" Us, which is partly owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Kravis' private equity firm.

Parents, child safety advocates, and activists protested in front of the West 57th Street headquarters of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, which owns part of Toys "R" Us, to call on the buyout firm to adopt a strict code of conduct for its suppliers to ensure that more toys tainted with lead paint do not wind up on store shelves.

"With all the dangers that parents must protect their children from today, we cannot add to that the additional worry of whether toys are safe," Congresswoman Nydia M. Velazquez, (D-NY) said in a statement. "It is crucial that parents feel confident when buying products for their kids, and KKR must take ultimate responsibility for the quality of merchandise sold in their stores. Anything less is completely unacceptable."

Chanting "Toys "R" Toxic", the demonstrators said buyout firms, such as KKR, need to put safety before profits and take measures to ensure that tainted toys don't wind up on store shelves as they did throughout the summer.

Simplicity brand cribs made in China are recalled following reports of three infant deaths and entrapment; suffocation concerns.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- About one million Chinese-made, Simplicity brand cribs are being recalled after three infants died and seven were trapped when the drop side of cribs detached causing a dangerous gap, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Failures in the crib's drop side are due to a combination of hardware and design flaws that allow consumers to unintentionally install the drop side upside down. This installation could weaken the hardware and cause the drop side to detach from the crib, creating a gap that could lead to the entrapment and suffocation of infants.

One 9-month-old child and one 6-month-old child died in cribs using older-style hardware that had the drop-side installed upside down.

The commission is also investigating the death of a 1-year-old child in a Simplicity crib with newer-style hardware in which the drop-side was installed upside down.

The safety commission is also aware of seven infant entrapments and 55 incidents involving the cribs.

Two incidents were also reported involving cribs with drop-sides that were correctly installed, though the upside-down installation greatly increases the risk of failure, the commission says.

The cribs, which were made in China, were sold in department stores, children's stores and mass merchandisers nationwide from January 1998 through May 2007 for between $100 and $300.

The affected cribs include the following models: Aspen 3 in 1, Aspen 4 in 1, Nursery-in-a-Box, Crib N Changer Combo, Chelsea and Pooh 4 in 1. The recall also involves Simplicity cribs Aspen 3 in 1, Ultra 3 in 1, Ultra 4 in 1, Ultra 5 in 1, Whitney and the Trio using the Graco logo.

The recalled cribs have the model numbers 4600, 4605, 4705, 5000, 8000, 8324, 8800, 8740, 8910, 8994, 8050, 8750, 8760, and 8996, which can be found on the envelope attached to the mattress support and on the label attached to the headboard.

Consumers with recalled cribs, which use older hardware, can contact Simplicity immediately for a free repair.

As an immediate precaution, the Consumer Product Safety Commission urges that consumers with cribs using old or new hardware make sure that the drop-side is installed right side up and is securely attached to the tracks in all four corners.