Carter’s baby bouncers

The reports, as CPSC published them

1. Seen by a doctor or nurse

   Made Jan 6, 2014 · , sent to the company Jan 14, 2014 · , published by CPSC Jan 30, 2014

   The product, in the report: Carter’s Wildlife Cuddle Me Musical Bouncer with brown border with giraffe animal print. It has an adjustable toy bar with a monkey, giraffe and elephant hanging from it. The bar has giraffe animal print on it and a green and giraffe animal print head support. It plays music and vibrates. The frame is tan and the base is brown.

   My 4 month old son was strapped in his Carter’s Cuddle Me Musical Bouncer-WIldlife Chair. I had placed him in the bouncer to calm him down. He had just drifted back to sleep when the chair collapsed to the carpeted floor. He screamed so loud when his head hit the floor. He was still strapped in when the fabric released from the frame. He cried for a little while. I tried to assess him to see if he had a head injury or anything like that. I also tried to keep him awake. I called his doctor to see what I needed to do. He is still acting normal but him seemed confused after it happened and he was a little bit lethargic.

   I saw some other reports on this product and things happening like this. I read to see what the maximum weight limit was and it was 25 lbs. My son doesn’t even weight 15 lbs. I think this product needs to be RECALLED and taken off the shelves. It is UNSAFE because it can collapse so easily. No parent should have to worry about placing their precious child in any baby chair and fear it harming their child.

   Model

   81343

   Where

   Jblm, Washington: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Age 0, Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Unspecified

   As this report names them

   Brand Carter’s, made or sold by Summer Infant

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Injury, Seen by Medical Professional

2. No one hurt

   Made Dec 2, 2012 · , sent to the company Dec 20, 2012 · , published by CPSC Jan 8, 2013

   The product, in the report: Carter’s® Wild Life Cuddle Me™ Musical Bouncer - Brown border with giraffes. Adjustable toy bar with monkey, elephant and giraffe. Giraffe print on strap and head support. Musical melodies. Brown base with cream frame.

   My 5 month old son was strapped in to his Carter’s Cuddle Me Musical Bouncer - Wild Life chair. I picked up the seat to turn him around to face me. Barely lifting the seat off the floor the chair collapsed in my hand about 6-8 inches from the floor. My son, still strapped in, fell backwards out of the chair (the fabric released from the chair’s frame) and he hit his head on the carpeted floor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He and I cried loudly for a short while. I checked him for signs of a concussion. He is still behaving some what normal, but is a bit lethargic. I am keeping him awake and called his physician!

   I have read other reports with the same exact incidents. This product says max weight limit 25lbs on the box, my son is only 18lbs. THIS PRODUCT IS UNSAFE BECAUSE OF IT’S ABILITY TO COLLAPSE EASILY!!!!!!! IT SHOULD BE RECALLED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES the report says never lift chair with baby in it, but i do not think parents will unstrap baby, take baby out to simply turn chair around 90 degrees.

   I WILL CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER TO EXPRESS MY CONCERNS!

   Model

   Model # 81343

   Bought from

   BABIES R US

   Bought

   May 30, 2012

   Where

   BROOKLYN, New York: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Age 0, Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   My Child

   As this report names them

   Brand Carter’s, made or sold by Summer Infant

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Incident, No Injury

3. Hospital admission

   Made Oct 2, 2012 · , sent to the company Oct 11, 2012 · , published by CPSC Nov 1, 2012

   The product, in the report: Carter’s Infant Bouncer Seat. 2008. The William Carter Company. Manufactured by Summer Infant Inc. Animal print with blue, green, brown, and red circles. Blue elephant, green giraffe. Brown border.

   I strapped my 7 month old son into the Carter’s Infant Bouncer Seat and set it at waist height on the dining room table to make it easier to feed him solids. After I was done feeding him, I picked him up in the infant seat (still strapped in), and went to move him to the floor. As I was moving him, and the seat was just below waist height, the infant seat collapsed. I lost my handling of the seat, and my son , along with the seat, fell to the floor. His upper body was not secured (there are no shoulder straps on the seat), and he hit the left side of his head on the hardwood floor. I picked him up immediately and after assessing his condition, I called the Seattle Children’s Hospital Nurse Line. The nurse instructed me to get him to the emergency room immediately. My son suffered a skull fracture and internal bleed. He was in the ICU for two nights, and released on the third day.

   Bought from

   Babies R Us, Washington

   Bought

   Jan 21, 2009, about then

   Where

   Bothell, Washington: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Age 0, Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   My Child

   As this report names them

   Brand Carter’s, made or sold by Summer Infant

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Injury, Hospital Admission

4. Death

   Made Apr 27, 2012 · , sent to the company May 8, 2012 · , published by CPSC May 22, 2012

   The product, in the report: Infant Bouncer Seat

   According to the baby’s father, this six-and-a half-month-old Caucasian male was in a portable reclining infant bouncer seat which was not soothing him, so the father picked up and lifted the child while still in the bouncy seat and moved him to face toward the television, which he thought would distract him from being fussy. During the repositioning the chair collapsed, and the baby slipped out head first onto his head onto the carpeted floor. Almost immediately he began to exhibit symptoms of a head injury, and the father called 911 on 2/24/11. He was transported first to a local hospital and then to a Regional Hospital Center for a higher level of care. Although the first hospital CT scan found only one skull fracture of the right occipital bone, the CT scan at the second hospital was read as having “multiple skull fractures.” When it became obvious that there was no intervention that could save the baby, the parents agreed to withdrawing active life support, and the baby expired on 2/25/12.

   Model

   Carter’s Wild Life Cuddle Me Musical Bouncer/81343

   Where

   Endicott, New York: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Age 0, Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Unspecified

   As this report names them

   Brand Carter, made or sold by Summer Infant

5. No one hurt

   Made Apr 5, 2012 · , sent to the company Apr 18, 2012 · , published by CPSC May 2, 2012

   The product, in the report: Carter’s Cuddle Me Musical Bouncer - Wild Life. It is brown with a giraffe design in the seat and the adjustable toy bar has 3 stuffed animal toys hanging from it inlcuding a giraffe, a monkey, and an elephant.

   The baby bouncer I had purchased was the Carter’s Cuddle Me Musical Bouncer - Wild Life. It claims on the box that it can support babies up to 25 pounds of weight. The seat is only attached to the base by a strip of [REDACTED]. I understand that the use of the [REDACTED] is for the purpose of having the fabric seat be removable so it can be washed. However, it detaches too easily, which leads me to my safety concern. My baby was only one month old and he weighed about 9 pounds at the time when I had him placed in the baby bouncer. The first few times I had him in there the seat was perfectly stable, but after a few more uses I noticed the [REDACTED] starting to detach the seat from the base. Every time this would happen I would just re-attach the [REDACTED]. However, one day, I had my baby sitting in the bouncer, and he was fine for a short period of time until the [REDACTED] lining on the top of the seat had snapped, and my baby fell backwards in the seat and was almost hanging upside down! Needless to say, he burst into tears! Fortunately, the bottom portion of the seat was still in tact, and he was buckled in, so he didn’t fall out completely. However, if this product is not sturdy enough for a nine-pound infant, than it is certainly NOT sturdy enough for a 25-pound infant! This product is not stable and the maximum weight requirement on the box is all wrong!

   Model

   Carter’s Cuddle Me Musical Bouncer - Wild Life

   Bought from

   Babies R Us, Texas

   Bought

   Dec 2, 2011, about then

   Where

   Unspecified: Home/Apartment/Condominium

   Who was involved

   Age 0, Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   My Child

   As this report names them

   Brand Carter’s, made or sold by Summer Infant

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Incident, No Injury

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources