1 post tagged “bumbo”

There was a voluntary recall of bumbo seats announced a couple of days ago.

According to the recall, the back of the existing bumbo seats say:

The new warning sticker will add:

I know, I know, I've read the lists of stupid product warnings ("do not use hair dryer while in bathtub," that kind of stuff), so I shouldn't be surprised.  But really.  "Never use on a raised surface.  Designed for floor level use only.  Never leave your baby unattended."  How is any of that unclear? 

So yes, I'm generally in agreement with all of the people shaking their heads over this one.  However, there are two qualifications.

First, I don't have the box for the bumbo that I'm using since we're borrowing it, and I'm an inept googler, so that I can't find an image online, but further reading suggests that perhaps there were deceptive photos on the box or website that may lead parents to believe that it can be used on a table or chair.  The warning itself is clear, but for people who can't, or don't read, it may be confusing. 

Second, and this is more damning, imo, is that the warning label on the seat itself doesn't seem all that permanent.  My chair was used by two babies.  I'm not sure how much use the first baby got out of it, but mine did not use it much.  Either way, 18 months after purchase, the warning should be more legible than this:

So while I still don't see what all the fuss is about, I can see how changing the photos on the box and website would be a good idea, and how providing new warning label stickers (that hopefully will not fade or fall off) would be smart.

But again - the warning on the box is clear, the warning on the seat was clear when it was bought (which is when you're most likely to read it anyway, I know that I don't go around re-reading warning labels on my baby's stuff 3 months after he started using them), and most of all, common sense should prevail over any warning label or lack thereof.

I find myself wondering a little about things like how you go about filing a report an injury complaint, how much trouble you must go through to tell the world that you ignored the safety warning on the back of the product, how many of the parents made the complaint in a sincere attempt to avoid similar accidents happening to other children, and how many parents made the complaint feeling furious and blaming the company for the fact that they themselves didn't heed the warning.

This isn't an attempt to beat up on the parenting skills of those 28 children mentioned in the recall who climbed out of their bumbos and injured themselves.  I have trouble picking on someone whose baby suffered a skull fracture.  I admit that I used it on our kitchen counter many times.  Here, look (and although for this photo it was up there just to snap a photo, there were many other times he was in the bumbo on an "elevated surface" because I wanted him there):

I just want to say that I liked the bumbo.  Yes, I was disappointed when H figured out how to get out of it at 5 or so months old, but it may be a personality thing.  I know other kids who didn't even attempt to climb out of it until they were almost a year old (I suspect my daughter would have been the same, had I had one for her).  Either way, I enjoyed having it for the 2-3 months that it worked for us. 

Here's the baby boy's first attempt to get himself out at 4 months (he had no success on this day):

And here he is at just over 5 months, having perfected the bumbo escape (these photos capture the 4th or 5th time he'd done it, and by this point I'd put him in it mainlyjust to see him get out):

And, since this is just about the most unorganised entry ever, I'll just add this thought here at the end - is the phrase "there's no such thing as bad publicity" applicable to baby products?  I can't help but think that with a recall like this, where it's not a weakness of the product itself, but rather the marketing and usage, is this just all a sort of free advertising?