By Christine Frietchen on September 30, 2010 in
Fisher-Price and the Consumer Products Safety Commission today announced the recall of more than 10 million toys, play centers, tricycles and high chairs due to a wide variety of problems. Here's a rundown of what's affected, and what you should do if you own a recalled item. You'll need to check each product in order to decide what to do. With some items, Fisher-Price will send you a repair kit. For others , however, Fisher-Price will send you a comparable replacement product. The dates are particularly important. For example, Fisher-Price sold Healthy Care high chairs for more than seven years, but kept tweaking the design along the way. As a result, only Healthy Care chairs manufacturered prior to 2008 are involved in the recall.
Fisher-Price recall cheat sheet
Product: Certain Fisher-Price Tricycles
The danger: A protruding decorative key on the seat can injure children when they jump on the trike
More than seven million plastic trikes are included in the recall, many with cartoon themes like Dora the Explorer, Kawasaki, Thomas the Tank Engine and Barbie. Note that not ALL Fisher-Price tricycles are included. You want to look for a protuding fake key on the forward part of the trike's seat. the plastic key is about an inch tall. Models with a more flattened fake key that looks more like a dial are not affected. See the CPSC website for pictures and model numbers. Fisher-Price will send you a repair kit.
Product: Some Fisher-Price play mats made prior to 2008
The danger: Inflatable balls included with the play mats have a valve than can be a choking hazard.
Almost three million play yards and mats are included in the recall, all of them manufacturered prior to 2008. Note that the Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Kick & Crawl Gym included in our report on play yards is NOT included in this recall. If you own one of the affected models, remove the inflatable-ball toy from the item, but don't throw it away yet. Contact Fisher-Price for a replacement toy.
Product: Certain Fisher-Price Healthy Care, Easy Clean and Close to Me high chairs
The danger: Small pegs on the legs of the chair pose a laceration risk
On the nearly on million affected chairs, small pegs on the back of the legs are meant to store the tray when not in use. However, the CPSC reports that children can fall against the pegs, resulting in cuts and scrapes. Seven children required stitches. All Easy Clean and Close to Me chairs are affected, regardless of the date of manufacture. However, only Fisher-Price Healthy Cair high chairs made prior to December 2006 are included in the recall. (Check the product's date code on the label; if the fourth digit is "6" or lower, your chair is included in the recall.) Fisher-Price will send you a repair kit for the chair. Note that the Fisher-Price Rainforest High Chair included in our report is NOT affected by the recall.
Product: Little People Wheelies Stand 'n Play Rampway
The danger: The wheels can come off of some of the cars, posing a choking hazard.
Recalled are 120,000 play sets sold between April 2010 and September 2010. The wheels on the green and purple cars are the ones to check -- they are marked "Mexico" on the bottom but do NOT have a yellow dot on the bottom. Fisher-Price will send you replacement cars. Two reports of detaching wheels have been reported, but neither resulted in injury.
What to do if you have a recalled Fisher-Price product
Visit Fisher-Price's dedicated recall website; there you'll find instructions on exactly what steps you need to take to resolve the problem with your recalled item. Furthermore, the CPSC website includes the scarier information about injuries kids sustained due to the design flaws.