Bumbo Seat Recall

Bumbo has announced a voluntary recall on the Bumbo Seat. The Bumbo Seat Recall has been issued due to the fact that many children have suffered skull fractures when the Bumbo Seat has been placed at elevated levels. Bumbo has made the statement on their website: Bumbo Safety that the recall is voluntary and that they are going to stop selling the Bumbo Seat while they update their safety literature.

The Bumbo Seat Recall doesn't seem to focus so much on halting production of the product as it does on instructing parents how to use it properly. Time will tell however if the product will begin to be marketed again. There have been a number of head injuries related to misuse of the Bumbo Seat and we'll see if there are any lawsuits filed.

The new warning information that they are posting on the Bumbo Seat Website and will include in the Bumbo Seat Recall packaging includes the following text:

WARNING - Prevent Falls

Never use on any elevated surface.
Never use on a raised surface.
Never use as a car seat or bath seat.
Designed for floor level use only.
Never leave your baby unattended as the seat is not designed to be totally restrictive and may not prevent release of your baby in the event of vigorous movement.

One thing that I noticed about the Bumbo Seat is that it is recommended for babies as soon as they can hold their head up. They mentioned that this might be as young as eight weeks. I have had eight children, and I absolutely would never sit one of my babies in a chair like that at eight weeks. In fact, I usually wait until about 5-6 months before sitting babies upright for any length of time and I certainly never saw any lags in their development for it. Two of my children walked at nine months and the rest were all walking by one year old.

However, the Bumbo Seat has won awards and is used by therapists nationwide. Apparently, the only reason for the recall is due to parents using the Bumbo Seat improperly. Parents should always use caution and never leave their children unattended in any seat, high chair, baby walker, play center, or especially in the bathtub. It is important that parents understand that the Bumbo Seat is only for use on the floor and not at any elevated level whatsoever. There are over one million Bumbo Seats involved in the voluntary recall and there have been 28 reports of injury associated with the Bumbo Seat.

For more information, consumers can call 877-932-8626 or visit http://www.bumbosafety.com or http://www.cpsc.gov.