NaBloPoMo: Maclaren Stroller Recall

Nov 10, 2009

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Yesterday dozens of people sent me emails about the Maclaren stroller recall. I appreciate the thought, and I do hope that people continue to send me stories like this in the future because I do want to know. But here’s the skinny on this one: I’m just not getting it.

I have the Maclaren Techno XT. I’ve used this stroller every single last day the last 2 years. It’s been perfect for us. It’s lightweight and easy to use in the city. And it’s really durable. I haven’t once had to have anything replaced, not even a wheel. I’ve put this stroller though a great deal of work. No complaints here.

So, yesterday I’m combing through the articles that were sent to me, searching for the urgency. Some of the pages loaded, some did not due to too much traffic, but I eventually pieced together what I think this is about. My understanding is that it has something to do with a hinge. I read that 12 toddlers lost their fingers while mom or dad (or caregiver) was opening the stroller. And I looked; I looked long and hard at my stroller and I still have no clue what I’m supposed to be freaking out about.

So here’s my question: Is this a legitimate concern or is this another overhyped, hysterical reaction to 12 (albeit horrible) careless mistakes? Because in that case? I have seen a dozen kids get hit by swings on the playground. Better remove the swings too. And while you’re at it, recall all doors. Those pesky bastards are always catching a finger or two.

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Comments

7 responses to “NaBloPoMo: Maclaren Stroller Recall”

Anca

November 10, 2009

We purchased a Maclaren Volo for my 2.5 year old boy this past Saturday just because my cheap umbrella stroller bought a year ago had to be retired (it was done ;). Anyways while in the store we noticed some weird zipper-pockets on the sides covering the hinges and was trying to figure out what were those for. Only to hear about the recall yesterday and to realize that my stroller was already taken care of by the Babies R Us people (ahead of the recall).

Anyways come on people use common sense if you don’t know that you’re not suppose to open or collapse the stroller with your child in or around it than maybe you shouldn’t own the stroller in the first place.

The urgency they called for people to stop using the stroller immediately until they get those hinge covers is purely laughable I think.

Having said all that my stroller is awesome!

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Kate

November 10, 2009

A friend of mine called Maclaren and here’s what she said:

“Just an FYI….
I called Maclaren this morning to get the “hinges” that they are sending out as part of the safety recall. However, they did say that all strollers are totally safe to use but the CPSC has to tell people to stop using products during a recall. Maclaren encourages that everyone should use caution when opening or closing their strollers, as some children have stuck their hands/fingers in the stroller when adults have been doing this and thus, have been injured.Thought this info might help make the issue at hand a little clearer and not as alarming.”

I think the hinge covers are free, so I’m going to go ahead and order them. Otherwise, I’m not really worried!

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Amy

November 10, 2009

this is just like when there was a recall on bumbo chairs because babies were “falling” out of them. Turns out idiot parents were leaving their children on table tops unsupervised and they were chucking themselves off in protest. Sometimes I think parenthood should come with a course in common sense.

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Aisha

November 10, 2009

My parents had my youngest brother 10 years ago, and we had ‘the BEST stroller out there’ and a cheap umbrella stroller when he was 1-4. The fancy stroller (a Graco) had scary tough hinges that left all of us with bruised/cut up fingertips at some point. I feel like scary hinges are just par for the course. Plus, Iz was my parents fourth kid, so they knew to not let him play with the stroller while we opened it. It was the first big ‘no no that will hurt you’ we probably taught him.

I’d be curious to know the stories behind what happen to those toddlers. IOW, did it happen around a baby sitter, sibling, cousin – someone who didn’t quite know that they needed to watch a kid’s hands when opening their stroller? It’s really awful, but I also feel like this is a problem that’s been around for a while.

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Karen

November 10, 2009

This story was on the news this morning here in England. The Maclaren strollers sold here are apparently unaffected.

The thing I am interested in is what were the circumstances in which these small children were in any way able to get their fingers anywhere near the hinges, for them to become stuck in the first place. It seems more like human error than the strollers being the seriously dangerous items they have been made out to be.

Small children have a habit of putting their hands and fingers in and on everything they can find as they explore their world and while most parents and carers will do everything in their power to prevent their children getting hurt, sometimes an accident is completely unavoidable. It is awful that those few children had to go through such trauma but we can’t just ban or recall everything.

As a small child I split my lip really badly after falling on to concrete (running away from a wasp. I still hate them!) does that mean we should have rubberised pavements!

I catch my own fingers in doors all the time, at the age of 29. They are dangerous bastards but they do a bloody good job of keeping people and the cold out so I think I will just have to be more careful.

Which I think is what the real issue is in all of this. People just need to be more careful.

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Gwen

November 10, 2009

I have the Techno XT stroller which I have also been using very frequently with my 2 year old. I was also confused about how this injury could happen and I read a quote that said the reported accidents occurred when a consumer tried to close the stroller when the child was still in it. Which to me sounded crazy – how can you close or open an umbrella stroller – that essentially collapses – with a child in it!?

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Jonathan

November 10, 2009

From what I understand…

Kids occasionally stick their fingers near a hinge while mommy and daddy are opening/closing the stroller.

The pinching really hurts the fingers, and causes irreparable damage that results in an amputation.

So its not so much that the stroller is chopping fingers off, but the pinching action is very dangerous.

Last month I helped my GF with a rickety old ladder, and got a blood blister when it the hinge closed on my palm. I believe this stroller issue is comparable to that… except with children their bones and tissue are so delicate.

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