Moms, listen up! This week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) once again called for the redesign of popular baby seat Bumboto encourage the manufacturer to make the chair safer for kids.
Why all the fuss? Though over four million of them have been sold in the U.S., the Bumbo seat has also been linked to multiple incidents that resulted in child injuries. With connections to 33 skull fractures–including two that occurred on the floor, the recommended spot for the seat–members of the CPSC believe parents should think twice before purchasing or sitting their baby in the model.
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The seat was initially recalled in 2007, after which a label warning that the model should not be used on raised surfaces was added. Since then, the CPSC reports that babies have fallen out of their seats while on a high surface at least 45 different times.
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This begs the question–does the faultiness of the seat fall on the design or the parent’s inappropriate method of using it? Personally, I feel like while a redesign of the chair couldn’t be a bad thing, it seems like a large part of the blame lays squarely on the parent’s shoulders. If the seat specifically says it should only be used on the floor, then why would you put your baby in danger by putting it on a raised surface? Any kid positioned on a high platform, whether sitting or not, has a higher risk of falling than while being on the floor. If you feel like you need a seat that can be settled on places other than the floor, then just buy another chair! I'm not trying to excuse the fact that some accidents have occurred while the Bumbo seat was used appropriately. However, the vast majority of the reported cases happened while it was being used on a raised surface and I think that the only people who can be faulted for that are the parents who put them there.
What do you think of the Bumbo seat? Is the design faulty or is it just being used in the wrong way?
Image via US Consumer Product Safety Commision
