Simplicity cribs being recalled

About 400,000 China-made cribs manufactured by Simplicity, Inc., have been recalled because they can potentially put babies at risk of death or injury by suffocation. The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission made this announcement today, and has said consumers should stop using the cribs immediately. The commission reported that the plastic hardware on the crib can break or bend, causing the drop side to detach and create a potentially deadly gap for babies.

An eight-month-old infant from Houston, Texas, died after becoming wedged between the mattress and a defective drop-down side of the crib. The cribs were sold at various retail stores around the country between January 2005 and June 2009. The Commission has said cribs should be returned to the store where they were purchased.

Parents should not only perform a safety check on any crib being used in their home, but those in use at child care centers as well to make sure cribs being utilized are safe.