Older Quattro Tour and MetroLite strollers pose risk of strangulation, entrapment
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.com4 infant deaths prompt Graco stroller recall
Seeded on Wed Oct 20, 2010 7:31 AM EDT (msnbc.com)
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What a relief! Get those things off the street! They're the ugliest things ever invented. And they practically mummify, entomb the kiddies that ride in them. How did past generations of infants survive without all that revoltingly ugly, grossly overpriced "safety" gear?
Having a 7 month old kid, I have to say, the amount of recalls on everything this past year has been absolutely frightening, particularly the crib recall.
How did past generations survive?
They didn't.
I can't believe what I am reading. THIS IS WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU PUT A MOMMY STATE IN CHARGE OF OUR SAFETY.....and everything else for that matter. 2,000,000 strollers sold, and there are incidents with .0002% of them and now their is a recall of all of them. These incidents were most likely USER ERROR.
This is a waste of time, money, and unnecessary worry among those who own these strollers. I got a good idea, we are $14 Trillion in debt, how about cutting some of the funds going to some of these crazy agencies recalling all of these products when the incident rate is 4 or 5 in 2,000,000. This is a perfect example of a MOMMY STATE trying to create our utopian society by trying to eliminate ALL RISKS in life.
I have used a Euro Graco Travel System for my daughter born in 2005 and my son born in 2009 and I can't even imagine how they could slip out and choke themselves!
First of all, until babies are at least 6 months old or can sit up on their own, they should be in the infant carrier and placed onto the stroller - strapped up. And second, who would put their baby in the stroller and not secure them with the straps? Come on people, it takes 2 seconds to buckle up the straps!! And you should never leave your infants unsupervised, so even if the buckles broke or came loose, you should be there to prevent anything from happening!
If you have children, their lives and safety are your responsibility and you have to protect them and keep them safe and stop blaming "things" for your irresponsibility!
Anna:
Young children who were in their Mother's womb actually find comfort being "entombed", if you will, in something.
I know Graco is trying to to the right thing, but baby stuff is all ready expensive now we are going to have to pay for this, I own one of these strollers and My kids have never been hurt by the stroller, maybe its cause i watch them, and if I see them slipping or messing around i stop them. the recall of baby items is getting out of control we always want to blame someone else for our mistakes
SO true, in other countries kids are getting killed in crazier ways, but this is America and little kids are big business. Getting money from moms who are suckers about total safety.
Yes, you said a mouthful!
The lack of parental accountability seems to begin at conception.
Funny, rod-shaheen, we cannot recall parents. Sadly, neglect and abuse has to reach such a sad extreme before any action is taken to protect innocent children.
One of the few advantages I have found of being an old man is that I can open my mouth, lay it out to parents who think they are parenting, and they do not feel threatened. I may hear from wife to husband; "what did that old f__— say? At least I said it and perhaps they may think about it.
Do they not watch the television? Most every day there is a story in America on child abuse, rapes, abductions, accidents? and too much more.
We as a people must speak our minds to those we consider to be "poor parents." To remain silent is also, I think, neglect.
The other day, at a small town fall festival, my wife and I watched some little kid, perhaps three years old, running down the street, by himself, headed towards the children's rides. No adult/parent in sight. I ran after the child. By the time I had reached him there was a woman who had picked him up into her arms. There was a man calling the cops, and another man flipping out his cell phone. Small Town America... where neighbors still look after neighbors and their children.
I returned to my wife who was watching some band try and play old time Rock n Roll. In rather short order I saw a man asking another small child "where is Billy?" The runners brother, and the child's father; no doubt in my mind.
That was my opportunity. I explained to this man, who was merely shrugging his shoulders, and trying to laugh it off the realities of life......
I don't know folks. Little girls wanting to have babies without a husband, without love, seems to have become acceptable behavior today.
It is all important that we say what is on our mind and say it directly, not in some post that will never be read by those who need it.
We have to be very careful today to whom we give our modest gifts. One group that my wife and I have supported for several decades is Focus Adolescent Services.
If we continue to leave the welfare of the children in the hands of the governments, on all levels, nothing will get done. Their solution has always been to toss more money at it, our money.
We agree... many laws are written to protect me from me ( for example seat belt law, etc) I want to be safe so I wear my seat belt, I watch my kids in there stroller, I don't put pillows in my sons crib as well as I don't leave him awake for long periods in his crib Its not a baby sitter.
Let's get to the core of the problem here. In the majority of the cases, the reality is, it's the parents who should be subject to a recall.
You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.
I don't doubt that there are a host of irresponsible parents out there. That is the way it is...you don't need a license to have a kid. But if you had even a tiny amount of knowledge on the recalls in the past year, you'd realize that the parents did everything right and ended up with dead kids. So if you are going to have a philosophy, base it in a non-dreamlike state of mind.
So it's Graco's fault the children weren't strapped in properly?
Most Graco strollers have windows in the canopies so whether it's up or down the parent should be able to see the baby at all times, right?
I'm a mom of four kids, with a Graco stroller . . . . YES it is the parents fault! How is your baby strangled to death in a stroller and you don't know? What the hell are you doing that you don't notice that? Are they leaving their kids in the stroller and walking off to do something? Mom's yakking on phone with her backed turned while baby's choking? If I'm pushing my kids in a stroller and they slip out, I know immediately what's happening. I think most of these recalls are ridiculous. Companies end up paying millions, because it's impossible to completely idiot proof baby products! Don't get me started on baby slings!
in this case you are completely correct. The babies are only at risk of injury if not properly strapped in. i used this stroller with DD and always have strapped her in. She's now 3.5 and i'm using it with DS, who will also be properly strapped in. oddly, my model is not under recall even though it falls into the model number and date parameters, but i have never felt it an unsafe stroller. This is like the McClaren recall for fingers getting pinched. The only time the finger would get pinched is when the stroller was being opened or closed and kids shouldn't have had their fingers there anyway
We have one of the strollers, I think it's an 08 model. When straps are properly adjusted and positioned , there's no way a kid could fall out. I hate children lost their lives but don't blame anyone but yourself.
Derek you are absolutely false. The vast majority of the time that there were problems with drop side cribs, the cribs had been taken apart and reassembled, often with missing parts.
Andrea:
No, but considering they developed the product it is their fault that they didn't develop a larger stroller opening between the stroller's tray and seat bottom in order to prevent entrapment and strangulation.
This development came about in 2008, because they knew of a problem. As stated in the article, the deaths occurred starting in 2003 and it has taken them seven year since then and 2 years since the redesign to recall older products.
Sounds to me like they finally figured out they didn't want another baby's death on their hands and decided to finally sacrifice company profit.
Personally, when I buy a product, especially for a child; I expect it to be properly tested and safe. Is that too much to ask for in your opinion?
Blah Blah Blah. Father of 3 kids here ... been heavily involved with the last 2 and am raising #3 as a "Stay at home Dad" ..... also a 20 year Law Enforcement Vet ..... I can tell you from experience that 99% of the time if investigated properly, these incidents will involve parental neglect of some kind (Not strapped in properly, product not assembled properly, other misuse of the product other than what it was intended for etc etc) and that it was parental improper actions (what I like to call Operator Headspace) and not product defect that lay at the heart of the problem. These results are not published and made noticeable as it isn't the politically correct thing to do. Villifying corporations and companies and their products, on the other hand, ARE in vogue if you know what I mean. Taking responsibility for ones own actions seems to be at an All-Time LOW these days.
Muerkier your exactly right. This country has become such as "its not my fault" country that we in for a world of trouble. Are we supposed to start recalling vehicles because the parents left their infant in it all day and they died as a result?
This recall is rediculous its pure and simple parent stupidity. I see it all the time, Little Jose is playing with a plastic bag in the grocery store and shoves it down his throat. Another favorite, Infants in carseats that have the straps so lose that I can take them out without unstrapping them. I've called out multiple parents on this and have hust recieved blank "duh, I do this all the time and nothing has happened" look. Or, giving a barely 1 year old a massive sucker to stick in their mouth while standing in the back of a shopping cart. Double whammy on that one!!
Listen people we need to educate new parents, hospitals need to require parenting classes before releasing a child to the parents. So many of these deaths are highly preventable if more people step in and say something.
I had my infant daughter in her car seat not strapped in because we had been walking around the mall. I started getting her in the car when a woman pointed it out to me. I was highly embarrassed and felt awful but I was extremely greatful that she took the time out of her day to tell me I screwed up (very politly). I was in a wreck on the way home, I would have lost my daughter if that woman hadn't said something. I am blessed that that angel was sent to me that day.
If the worst happened I would have blamed noone but myself, Graco had nothing to do with my stupidity. So parents grow up and take responsibilities for your own dumb a$$ asctions!
Oh...just blame China whether these strollers are made there or not....just find some easy scapegoat as usual.....
Hey idiots read the instructions. It does state that the child shall be locked into the restraints so NOT TO CAUSE this. DAAAAAAAAAAA
GET AT LIFE PEOPLE................................
rod and audi5, you couldn't be more right!!!!
It is a proven fact. You can't legislate morality and you can't regulate stupidity. And yet, we continue to chose to attempt just that. It is unfortunate that children have died, but how can a child strangle to death in a stroller and the parents did not know? We blame the manufacturer and the parent is never held accountable. The old 60s song that says. "everything we think do or say is in the pill we take that day" is honostly starting to look like a reality.
Agreed. This recall business is getting out of hand and you can bet that the costs of this and other massive recalls will pass to you know who.
Duh, you think? So, the true fault lies with the parent "want-to-be's", a sad diverse group trying to pass themselves off as responsible parents, when in fact, they just get in the way and cost the rest of us money.
Stop whining every time a screw comes loose in your car, that might, just might have an effect on the continuation of your bloodline.
Now, I'm not circling the wagons on all you parents. Most of you get it, I feel and are not part of this rant.
You beat me to it. I was going to quote the same line. "if babies aren't strapped into the strollers properly".
Parents need to take a time out and pay attention to what they are doing. I know, we're all busy, but when it comes to the safety of your children you should find the time. I'm very sorry that babies have died, but I don't think that warrants recalling 7-year old strollers. Change the design on the new ones.
I was stopped at a stoplight the other day & saw a mother driving with her kid in a carseat in the back . Her light changed to red & she slammed on the brakes. The carseat kept going. It ended up on the floor of the backseat, after the kids face slammed into the seat in front of her. She had the kid strapped into it, but it wasn't attached to the seatbelt. What is wrong with people???
People are multi-tasking while driving now. I have seen that same woman talking on her cell phone while stuffing a horrible concoction manufactured by McDonalds in her mouth.
UNI-TASK WHILE DRIVING.
Multi-task at work where you can shave years off your life without killing off the rest of us.
Are you kidding me!!! The deaths were between 2003 and 2005 it is 2010 they are lucky no other babies were killed in the 5 years that have passed!
First, the kids weren't "properly" restrained. Second - no one NOTICED? What, you just leave the kid alone in a stroller, out looking at, what, the latest Coach handbags? Don't you pay attention to your kids? NOTHING is going to be completely safe, and you can't expect it to be. You need to WATCH them!
That is funny, I just was thinking about an incident I saw. The kid was not strpped in the stroller in a store, parents about 4 or 5 feet away looking at stuff not paying attention to the little girl. she stands up in the seat and looks over the back of the stroller. The little girl then plants her chin on the hard floor because the stroller tipped over. I felt sorry for the little girl. You know the store and that stroller manufacturer are both probably in a legal battle over the little girl getting hurt because of the parents neglect.
Wow, I couldn't agree with ya'll more! I know I am guilty of strapping in my kids to a stroller/high chair or anything that can keep them in lock down for a minute so that I could get something done, like mopping, but GOOD GOD! They were always in my line of sight and I talked to them/gave them snacks while they were in there, which was never more than 10 minutes. I have a neighbor lady who started to put her daughter in one of those big ol' strollers before she was even 6 months (should have been using the car seat attachment for a baby that small) and she rarely buckles her up. I've been around a few times to catch her from slipping out of the bottom. She also leaves her in there for long time. I guess some people get it, and others do not. The safety of your child is of the utmost importance... I know that I am an overzealous safety freak when it comes to my kids and they are probably gonna grow up thinking I was some sorta Nazi but hey, at least they will grow up. Maybe what we are seeing here is classic Darwinism in action...
With all the baby accessories being recalled all the time, who does their R&D Toyota?
So 4 deaths out of 2,000,000 strollers? That means you're baby has a 0.000002% chance of dying in this stroller. Well, let's not ignore the babies injured by the stroller. So 9 incidents total means your baby has a 0.0000045% chance of being injured.
Get a grip people. 19% of all American children are living below the poverty line. Tens of thousands of American children won't eat a single scrap of food today.
A number of years ago I was working in the safety industry and was interviewed by a reporter regarding a tragic incident where a 3 year old kid was killed when his parent put a bike helmet on him and let him play on the monkey bars at the local park. The helmet got caught up in the bars and the poor child was strangled. The crux of the argument was that the helmet straps should have broken away and of course the helmet manufacturer was to blame. My comment was that the bike helmet was not designed around a child playing on playground equipment and really the tragedy could have been avoided if there was some parental supervision.
Not to be crass, but if your kids play on monkey bars there is a good chance they are going to get hurt. Some parents seem to think that if you lock your kids into some piece of gear or strap a helmet on them it alleviates some parental responsibility. I think in some ways, product designed to keep us safe foster a mentality that I no longer have to think about my actions. I see this with cars and in sports like footbal. The more stuff that's added to keep the participant "safe" the less responsible people act.
Omma- You made some good points, but it will fall on many deaf ears considering the GOP does not care about children except when they are a zygote in their mother's womb.
I can't agree more with the intelligent comments made so far!
Enough parents are constantly putting their children at risk because they don't feel like putting the time in to make their children safe. Whether it's not strapping them into a stroller, a carseat or leaving them in a bath alone...it is the parents responsibility. How they can feel justified in complaining that their child has died (due to their neglect), is beyond me.
Personally, I think they should be charged with neglect as there is no reason that this happened. Poor, sweet, innocent babies.
I've got friends who, everyday, pick up their daughter from daycare, put her in the car in a completely unsafe manner. Mom puts her in the carseat, unstrapped and dad doesn't even have a seat!! Sometimes he puts her in the front!!!! What's the punishment? A $500 fine and 2 demarit points. Gimme a break- why are parents not punished for their neglect? How can they say they love their child???!!!
Shame on Graco for once again, designing baby strollers that have turned into death traps. Are they so money hungry that they forgot how to design strollers, high chairs, & cribs with safety in mind? I wouldn't buy anything with the name Graco on it.
I have this stroller. There isn't a darn thing wrong with it.
Until your baby or toddler is injured or killed......
No, it is the irresponsible parents who hire lawyers causing all the problems. Since I check on my kid from time to time, the possibility of strangulation is sufficiently close to zero that I will continue to use the stroller without fear.
I have one too and there is nothing wrong with it. What wrong is parents not using them properly and not paying attention to their kids.
mistyroses13 Shame on the parents not Graco! Its the parents responsibility to buckle their children in. From what I gather there should be a recall on the parents not the stroller. The stroller works and is safe if used properly. How many kids have suffocated while properly buckled in with this stroller?!
It has nothing to do with Graco...it has everything to do with parents who can't or won't take care of thier children.
I agree with everyone here that the recent recalls of baby products, amongst other products, is pretty frightening,
I guess less government probably would not be such a great idea since the manufacturers' of all products, food, medicine, etc. would not be subject to any regulations or oversight resulting in no recall when defective dangerous products are sold in our country. Perhaps it is exactly what is needed for those that think less government is a great idea. It would be such a shame to go that far backwards, but might be what is needed to get the point across that less government is not a better way.
By the way, if you can afford it or get gift buyers to pitch in, the one really great investment for baby is a Bugaboo stroller. They are simply the best quality.
Did you miss the part of the article that said the parents failed to properly strap their children into the stroller? All the government regulation in the world isn't going to fix the stupidity of people who ignore the obvious. Strap your kid in and they can't slip under the tray to begin with. Pay the least bit of attention to your child while he or she is in the stroller and even if you skipped step A, there's a pretty good chance you'll notice your kid is falling out of the stroller and correct the situation (hopefully taking that extra 2 seconds to buckle him in this time) well before you'd ever get to the point of strangulation. Unless you plan to assign a government agent to every child in this country to ensure their parents are following proper safety procedures at every turn, I hardly think more government is going to put a dent in this problem.
Remember always take advantage of a crisis,lawyers and the court system can make a bunch of money, the parents wont get sqat it was thier fault anyway.But the courts and lawyers will make out very well.Just like States suing tobacco companies.Smoker got the cancer States and lawyers got the cash.Shouldn't be an issue anyway you smoke you could die everyone knows this.
Keep your idiotic liberal crap thinking to yourself! So when exactly should the parent take responsibility? According to you, never! Stupid people are having children and then blaming others for their problems!! Take care of your own children! Do you leave you DD or DS in their Bugaboo by themselves?? Unbuckled?? If so, then you too are asking for a tradgedy to happen! But then again, at the cost of a Bugaboo, I would expect that thing to automatically stap the baby in!! It is horrible that these innocent children had to die because of their negligent parents, but it's not Graco's fault!
MAYBE PEOPLE SHOULDN'T TAKE ON THE RESPONSIBILITY OF HAVING A CHILD IF THEY CAN'T READ THE INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO USE A STROLLER!!!!
So Cal I was being a smart azz I'm not a lib, I was poking fun at Rohm Emanuel he is to one that said that.Actually he said "never let a good crisis go to waste". I agree with you a 100%, If your comment was for me lol.I have had to kids and a babysiy my grandkids,I never take my eye off of them I realize what can happen,I'm actually paranoid about it.
JC- oops, I meant to direct the comment to babina. :)
I have this stroller system and it has worked perfectly for our daughter. With 3+ years of experience using it, I am totally at a loss as to how anyone could get hurt in one of these, let alone killed. What were these tots doing? What were the parents doing? It is a perfectly fine stroller. There is only so much you can do to design out user error and user negligence.
THE WEBSITE DOESN'T PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO FIND THE MODEL NUMBER!!! THE WEBSITES E-MAIL SERVER DOESN'T ALLOW MESSAGES TO BE SENT TO GRACO!
That is the last Graco product I will ever buy! Where is the CONSUMER PRODUCTS SAFETY COUNCIL when you need them??? Too much money spent on so called "National Defense" and tax breaks for the wealthy and not enough on the important things like education, drug safety, product safety, environmental safety. These scum make huge profits by selling poorly engineered products and then they EXPECT US TO ASSEMBLE IT OURSELVES!
FORCE all manufacturers of products to be used by children to PRE-ASSEMBLE them.
Scum? Are you kidding? A stroller company is scum because four pepople coulnd't pay attention to their kids or follow instructions?
And if you have trouble with assembly, most of the stores that sell these things will assemble it for you for a small fee. But since my wife and I as new parents wanted to save a few bucks, we assembled ours all by ourselves. Took less than an hour. If you know the difference between a wrench and a screwdriver, you can do it without any trouble.
Oooh! Great plan! Between the ridiculous size of the packages and the obscene amount of packaging materials, you're going to triple the cost of these items if you insist on shipping pre-assembled. Not to mention the environmental impact of producing all that extra material! What kind of liberal are you to suggest such an environmental nightmare?
Peed Off Dad sounds like you need some education if you don't know how to follow instructions to put a stroller together. What ever happened to parents being responsible and actually watching their children? It's people like you that try to sue companies to make a buck because you can't use your brain and actually buckle your kid in a stroller!
If you chose not to put it together yourself or are not able to...the store will do it for you...This is a parent issue, not a Graco issue.
Especially since the damn thing is 95% assembled at the factory, all you have to do is put the wheels on, and it's not the wheels that were killing the kids. It's the parents failing to secure their children properly thats the problem, not Graco...
And WHERE were the PARENTS as their kid was getting strangled ???
I have had one of these since the early dates of the recall. So, for those of you that are railing on Grayco, let me ask this question. The report states that if the child is strapped in properly, this will not happen. It is a simple system that has a "T" shaped strap in the middle that goes between the legs and a strap on each side that comes around the waist to snap in to the "T". How is it Grayco's fault that parent's can't figure this simple system out. To me, it is even easier than strapping them in a car seat as you don't have the shoulder straps to deal with. Seriously, if you can't figure this strap out, you have no business having kids. It is not Grayco's fault because you can't/don't strap your child in. You are the parent. BTW, if you are not bright enough to figure it out by looking at it or reading the instructions, go to a store that sells it and have them show you. They are more than happy to do it.
Lol! Touche my friend. If Graco is manufacturing strollers that last this long than I clearly made the wrong investment when purchasing my Evenflos (yes plural, because by the time my first child outgrew hers, it was too badly beat up for my second - the wheels on these things suck - why don't you recall this problem all you stroller manufacturers!).
you would think no one has one, but Im sure if you check some yard sales.... I was reading graco recalls today it was a bit ridiculous recall carseats from 1995 they will provide a new car seat, maybe thats why my new car seat cost 150. bucks cause i didnt save my car seat from my 15 year old. I believe in the 5 year expiration date. I dont feel that I should be buying people new things cause they dont get rid of things.
audi - That's what happened with a lot of the cribs that were recalled too. Parents bought cribs at yardsales or reassembled cribs that they'd used with previous children without realizing that parts were missing. I'm currently shopping for my first child due in January and it's expensive but definitely worth it to buy new.
it is beyond me how a small child strangles to death in this stroller i happen to own the brown one bought it back in 2005 when i had my 6th child the saftey belt has to be stapped on both sides of the child at the hips the safty seat part comes up between the legs like a diaper if you will theres no way to fall through this device it also has a see through top so you can look at the child at all times provided youre around to do so never had a problem a great product.
I agree with alot of these people. Where are the parents. How can you not see that you child is not properly in their seat or slipping is out of it. Parents need to be parents and pay attention to the child and what he or she is doing. Sad people have to blame a company or product for their lack of ability to watch their child.
Of course it is the stroller company's fault. If you sell anything to anybody it is your responsibility to see to it that they use your product properly. If they fail to use your product properly and somebody gets hurt, they will sue you and you will pay through the nose. Additionally, the government will come after you because you did not anticipate the stupidity and or laziness of the person to whom you sold your product, which means you did not do "due diligence" in researching the people who might purchasethe product. Therefore, you are scum, as someone posted above. Isn't all this obvious?
They make these recalls b/c parents are idiots. Who's fault is it that they weren't strapped in properly? And where were the parents while the kid was strangling? That's not something that happens instantaneously. It takes minutes for a kid to strangle like that. Alot of things can hurt you if not used properly. That's why they have instructions and warnings.