CPSC and Health Canada have announced a recall of 220,000 KidCo’s PeaPod and PeaPod Plus Travel Beds. Stop using these products immediately.
KID has been warning about this product since first learning last January about a death in December: a five-month old boy was found dead in the KidCo PeaPod Travel Bed. His face was against the wind resistant side of the product. We started warning parents and others about the dangers of this product – warning them not to use it until it was cleared as safe by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) who was investigating.
A few weeks ago Health Canada announced a warning against using this product for children under 1 because of the risk of a baby being caught between the mattress and side and suffocating. Now CPSC has joined them in announcing a recall of the product. According to the release, there have been at least nine incidents of children in distress in the product in addition to the death.
If you have this product, stop using it immediately. The recall announcement includes a ‘fix’ for the product that addresses the instability of the product walls and the thickness of the mattress. However, even with the fix, KID does not recommend using this product for infants. The safest place for an infant to sleep is in a crib or play yard that meets federal standards.
Please spread this warning to parenting groups, blogs and other networks of parents and caregivers. Many parents or grandparents might have recently bought this product (new or used) – thinking it looked ideal for upcoming holiday travel. We have to make sure they learn of the danger before they use the product. If you have been using it, please do not continue. The risk is very real.
When purchasing a product for your infant and toddler, look for a label indicating that it meets federal standards where they exist or the ASTM standard (voluntary industry standard) if there is not a mandatory standard yet. If it doubt, pass on the product until you confirm it has been adequately tested for safety.
Update: While the recall was announced jointly with Health Canada and CPSC, Health Canada is echoing KID’s warning not to use with a child under one and requiring a warning label to that effect be sent with the repair kit. We wish CPSC would do the same.
