Do You Think the Bumbo Recall Made Sense?

I don't think the issue is with the product but the people using them. A safety strap isn't going to help when someone puts it on the counter top or in the tub...people need to use common sense when using them.

Well, I've never owned one. Always seemed like they were just an extra and a waste of money. Like some others mentioned common sense would prevent all this recall stuff.

I think Bumbo's themselves are a waste of money. I never had one and didn't want one.

I do think that if children are being harmed because of a product then yes it should be recalled.

This is actually the 3rd recall for these, I believe.

You can't fix stupid. It says on the box to not put on a counter or table. Yet people do and kids get hurt and then its the fault of the product.

The issue was PARENTS!! It is written all over that dang thing, not to put the seat on high surfaces. All the injuries came from that. Well, duh!!! Common sense is illusive, these days.

Yes, waste of time. Sad, that parents don't take the warnings seriously. Even more sad, that the company has to pay for the parent's stupidity. The thing is, they have to do something. They are being sued. Even if it's for a stupid reason, there would be a bigger issue, if they just left it alone.

There is no product in the world that can be idiot proof.

I agree with Alexis. Now the seat will follow the kids over the side and add extra weight upon impact.

I sent a copy/link to the recall article to a friend of mine, though. Her daughter has one for her son (my friend's grandchild). I didn't send it so that they would order a belt strap though, I sent it because it reiterates that the silly things are not supposed to be used on raised surfaces--which I have seen the baby in, in pictures posted to FB. :(

I hope that everyone actually looks at the link Hazel has provided. I don't think that the South African company that sells this product is more important than our children, to be honest. Yes, they want to make money. But if our consumer protection groups NEVER took products off the market or issued recalls, companies would sell any and everything and making money would ALWAYS trump safety.

Some recalls may seem to be frivilous, but recalls in general serve a good purpose. A brain damaged baby costs millions of dollars over a lifetime. Ask the company's insurance companies how they feel about safety recalls. I'll bet they'd rather the companies do better research into their products so that they sell safer equipment than pay for hundreds of brain-damaged babies. And there WILL be hundreds if something isn't done.

Dawn

I think bumbos are a bigger waste of money than changing tables and Moses Baskets. By 6 months, most kids are sitting up by themselves. So you are going to pay money for a seat that they use for what, 3-4 months? It does not surprise me that kids fell over and cracked their heads. Either put your child on the floor with lots of pillows around them or in a secured high chair.

Umm... children falling over and suffering traumatic head injuries is a very real problem. Especially if that child has brain damage.

I'm sure that if your baby was one of the 33 skull fractures, you might have a different opinion. I am sure you would not want what happened to your child to happen to any other baby.

Bumbo has a history of chronic misuse. Bumbo had recalls in both 2007 and 2009.

My thinking is this: yes, people are supposed to use it on the floor, but they don't. As Megan C points out: you can't fix stupid. While I am not saying the well-meaning parents or caregivers were stupid, it's worth wondering why we need to keep a product around which poses such a potential risk to be misused. Or if, heaven forbid, a baby arches themselves over.

Something to think about: "However, even without an elevated surface, there have been issues. Throughout the years, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has received 50 reports of infants falling out of Bumbos that were placed on the floor; two suffered skull fractures and one had a concussion. "

This last is from this article:
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/7_on_your_s...

Hopefully, like the walkers of old (which killed children when they would roll off over the stairs), the end of the Bumbo will come sooner than later. I love kids and hate to see companies profit while ignoring very real potential safety issues. I have helped raise many a child without Bumbo seats, including my own... they've all been fine without something to prop them up. And no, I don't think straps are going to help. People can fool themselves into thinking this makes them safer, but it's an empty gesture on the part of the manufacturer, whom I don't believe cares about anything other than the money they make selling an unnecessary, developmentally-inappropriate product. Be mad at them, not the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

I think adding the safety belt is just going to add to the stats. Now parents that feel there was nothing wrong with its current state, using it on elevated surfaces or as a temporary babysitter will feel even more secure in their poor choices and leave the baby even more unattended. I have one and used it a few times with my first and second babys and I NEVER left them alone for even 2 seconds in it because they were both so strong that if they worked at it long enough they for sure would be able to wiggle out of it. I also always had it either on the floor with me or on the middle of our king sized bed again with me at all times. My second daughter is almost 6 months and hates the thing but even if I had heard about this recall earlier I would not have bothered getting the safety strap. Big waste of time and money imo

DD always sprung herself out of hers, and it was pointless to have one.

I think it's a great product IF USED PROPERLY. So many of these accidents would be prevented if parents used common sense. You're not supposed to put a Bumbo up high, on top of something, and then leave them unsupervised. Just like you don't let your baby sit in a walker on the 2nd floor of the house, or near the stove and then leave the room.

The problem is that parents look at these products as babysitters & don't use caution when using them. You can recall products all you want, but as long as parents are ignoring the manuals & incorrectly using them, kids are going to suffer and possibly die.

Unfortunately, you can't recall stupidity. I mean, what next? A recall on bikes, scooters & skateboards? Plenty of things have risk, especially when misused. So, what, we recall everything that is potentially dangerous, now?!! Give me a break. How about some personal RESPONSIBILITY!!!!!

My child was able to push herself completely out within seconds of being placed in one. I never liked them and did not buy one. They were not safe for her. My nephew sat very well in his and loved it.

It's all about kids safety...worth any extra money it costs in my opinion.

BTW...I watched the news last night and it was not 50 reports. It was like 136 (I think that was the number) and something close to 40 were skull fractures!

Yes it's dumb. Alot of dumb recalls.

Is this a voluntary recall, or a required one?

Voluntary recalls aren't generally done for safety reasons - not entirely, anyway. Most likely, someone in the legal department got in touch with someone in accounting, and they did the math and determined that it would be cheaper to do the recall, than to be sued.

This is what happens with cars, anyway. A part fails on a car, the company pays for damages when an accident occurs. Parts fail, anything mass produced is going to have an error every once in a while. But, so many likely accidents = so much money. When the likely payout for accidents becomes higher than the cost of the recall, you get a notice in the mail saying that you have to take you car to the dealer, because there is a possibility that part xyz might need to be replaced.

If you think that sending out safety kits to everyone who wants them and all the rest will raise prices, imagine what a lawsuit would do.

I'm just curious what your threshold for action by the safety commission would be? I know that 50 out of 4 million doesn't sound like a lot, but if I were one of the 50 parents, I guess it would be a big deal to me. I totally understand that you can't guard against people being negligent, careless, or just downright stupid, but I personally feel ok with the idea that the Bumbo company is concerned enough about the safety of even those 50 babies to re-engineer their product. The reinvestment in their product design is probably worth it to them if it shows their customers that their children's safety is of the utmost importance to them.

When something like this is used for another purpose than what it is meant for the ones who have had an accident should be held accountable not the product...I was at a shower and the mama to be received one as a gift from her friend and the elders there had no idea what it was well the friend and another girl were talking that is what so and so uses in the sink,my mind was like what their not meant for bathing.So no I don't plan on calling the company for a repair kit my baby spends a total of 10 mins in the Bumbo while i'm right there playing with her,I plan to use this when she begins cereal and drinks from her sippy since my wooden high chair is too big yet for her

Yes the recall makes sense to me. Why not recall them? They recall toys that are clearly marked for 6 and up, because some parents don't supervise their children well enough and the younger siblings swallow the small parts of the older child's toy. I don't know how many times my son has been disappointed at toy recalls, because some parent doesn't read about the age limit on the box or set up rules for where older siblings can play with their toys. Recalls of baby products and older children's toys are never fair to the responsible parent. To make matters worse, irresponsible parents come back and sue the company and ruin it for the rest of us. The company of Bumbo has to take action, to keep from getting sued or to be able to defend themselves if they are sued. Suing a company can put them out of business, then you don't have any of the wonderful products they make. On the other side....I never used a bumper seat for my son; even though, I've had the wonderful opportunity to use one when I was little at a restaurant. The restaurant my parents took me to had the best one ever and I thought it was so cool. It looked like a deep red vinyl movie seat with a seatbelt. It was really heavy too, so I couldn't lift it or tilt it. For my son, we always used a high chair and never put him in it unless we were sitting right next to him. (Guilty of not strapping him in, but he was never a wiggle worm to begin with.)

I think you might have a different opinion if your child was one of those 50.
So yes the expense is worth it.

We never owned one. I just didn't see the usefulness of one and we had so many other things to use instead (bouncer, swing, etc.). That being said, the only place I would have ever put one is on the carpeted floor of my house. But then, I'm a person who uses my common sense. Especially when it involves a baby.

Of course its a waste of money. When was the last time the government got involved in a market place issue that it didn't cost the consumer much more than it is worth.

It costs roughly $2 to give someone on government assistance a single roll of toilet paper. (yes you have to consider the cost of wages, and benefits of the people giving out public assistance and the very expensive buildings they work in and their fantastic retirements.)

Good luck to you and yours.

Ya ever been sued? That is the why in a nutshell.

I didn't have a bumbo with my daughter, but it was a life saver for my son. It was the only way I could ever set him down to do anything because he wanted to sit up and the bouncer laid down too much. He had gerd so that was a part of it. I think the recall is pretty silly, even if you put the seat on a surface the baby can still throw him/herself back and flip it over. My guy did this on the floor and the bumbo didnt' come off of him, so it was still doing its job; he was just too tall for it. Such a sad day!

We use our Bumbos. They have been one of the best products we've owned. We even feed the baby in it.

Yes, they can tip. My kids have. The floor was soft, though.

I wonder about those cushion booster seats for eating that just get placed on the chair? Those are a little scary. We use ours but in the middle of the bench seat. It's like a Bumbo (sort of) but meant to be placed on a chair. They don't really stick to it (when dirty or as they age especially). There is no seatbelt, either.