Child’s death prompts recall of play yards

WASHINGTON — Baby supply company Kolcraft Enterprises Inc. is recalling more than 425,000 play yards after a 10-month old boy was strangled, a government safety agency announced Thursday.

The boy was inside the company’s Sesame Beginnings Travel Play Yard and the restraint strap from the elevated changing table hung down into the main play area and strangled him, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The company is now recalling a dozen different types of play yards with changing table attachments that have that type of strap.

“These play areas have a serious design flaw that poses a strangulation hazard,” said CPSC spokeswoman Patty Davis. “A 10-month-old boy died after strangling on one of the recalled Kolcraft play yards’ restraint straps. We don’t want that to happen to any other children.”

Kolcraft spokeswoman Diane Steed noted that the changing tables did have warnings on them telling parents not to put a child in the play area when this attachment is on top.

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“We would stress to parents again: ‘Do not put your child in the play yard when the changing table is on top,”’ she said.

The play yards were manufactured in China.

One of the play yards, Contours 3-in-1, also features a rocking cradle attachment that sits on the top of the main play area. A child who rolls all the way to the side in the cradle could get stuck between the cradle and the mesh wall of the play yard. If there is a blanket or another material thrown over this wall, it could block the child’s mouth or nose and pose a suffocation hazard. The company has received 45 reports of children rolling to the side and getting stuck in this manner, but no reports of injuries.

The play yards were sold around the country between January 2001 and September 2007. To receive a free replacement strap for the changing tables and a free kit to secure the rocking cradle, call Kolcraft at 888-655-8484. In the meantime, consumers should cut the existing restraining straps from the changing tables.

For more information, visit http://www.cpsc.gov or http://www.kolcraft.com.

The recall includes various models of the following play yards:

• Kolcraft Travelin’ Tot
• Kolcraft Travelin’ Tot LTD
• Kolcraft Travelin’ Tot 3-in-1
• Kolcraft Travelin’ Tot 4-in-1
• Carter’s Lennon Travelin’ Tot
• “Sesame Beginnings” by Kolcraft Travel Play Yard
• Jeep Sahara SE Play Yard
• Jeep Sahara Limited Play Yard
• Jeep Sahara XT Play Yard
• Jeep Sahara Limited SE Play Yard
• Jeep Sahara Limited XT Play Yard
• Contours 3-in-1 Play Yard