chicagodads

No, it wasn’t really. It wasn’t a monsoon taking away some child’s father. Nor thousands of people trapped under the rubble of an earthquake. Or a volcano smothering a Pacific Island in its violent and ruthless wake.

It was of a bassinet. Made by the same company that made my daughter’s crib. The crib, we found, had some defective pieces which made it difficult to set-up straight. The company then (I think it was late last year) had called for a recall of the defective parts, but I don’t recall if we needed to or didn’t.

The bassinet (which I honestly never understood the need for, but I guess if you don’t have a lot of room… I don’t know. Somebody tell me why there is such a thing as a basonet) has an opening around the base that a child’s head can fit through, plus, apparently, some straps and whatnot.

Two babies died during the course of this year died by hanging themselves on this contraption. Yeah, that news is pretty horrible on its own. What made it horrible news (or rather, explotative news) is the fact that they showed a rendering of what this hanging would look like.

Here’s another kicker to this story, the manufacturers will not recall it, but Walmart (which, generally speaking, I detest) is pulling the model. Not, apparently, buying back any defective models that it sold to its consumers, but, one small step at a time, eh?

To finish his story on the show I watched (Chicago’s WMAQ at 4:30 Newscast), the reporter then opined that “Well, it seems like such an obvious thing, looking out for gaps in the base.” To her credit (and I’m forever obliged for her quick-wittedness) the anchorwoman (who has gotta be a parent) retorted that, “Well, you see a sign or a product for babies and you automatically assume that it’s safe.” You know, that the manufacturers and retailers would check, recheck, and quadruply inspect every facet of every device. You may be wrong.

 That should be the case.

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