Baby Carrier Recall

My new little one is already 15 pounds! I do get nervous about carrying him around in the baby carrier. I feel like he could get really hurt if the handle broke. I basically have to swing him up in the minivan to get the thing inside because it is so heavy. So this story made me worry a little. I usually take my kids out of the baby carrier by six months. So I only have two more months of this. I don't like switching them to the other car seat either. Then you have to wake them up every time you go somewhere. I guess it's a trade off. Although, it seems a little ridiculous that we would have to worry about the handle of the car seat breaking off!

Here's the recall:

(this link has the model numbers) FROM CPSC: WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of product: Dorel Infant Car Seat/Carriers

Units: About 447,000

Manufacturer: Dorel Juvenile Group Inc., of Columbus, Ind.

Hazard: When used as an infant carrier, the child restraint handle to the seat can loosen and come off, posing a fall hazard to infants.

Incidents/Injuries: Dorel has received 77 reports of the child restraint handle fully or partially coming off the car seat/carrier resulting in at least three injuries to infants including bumps, bruises and a head injury.

Description: This recall involves Safety 1st, Cosco, Eddie Bauer and Disney branded infant car seat/carriers with the following model numbers and that were manufactured from January 6, 2008 through April 6, 2009. The model number and manufacture date are located on a label on the side of the car seat/carrier. They were sold with Travel Systems. The stroller portion of the travel system is not affected by this recall.

Sold at: Department and juvenile product stores nationwide from January 2008 through December 2009 for between $120 and $220.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should not use the handle of the car seat/carrier until the repair kit has been installed. The product can continue to be used as a car seat when properly installed in the vehicle. Contact Dorel Juvenile Group to receive a free repair kit.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Dorel Juvenile Group at (866) 762-3316 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.djgusa.com/safety_notice

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Hidden Danger you need to know

We have a warning for parents that you may have not have heard before. A toddler in Northern Illinois is recovering from second degree burns on his hand and you will be surprised how he got them. HOI 19's Jen Christensen talked to the family and doctors to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to your child.

One and a half year old Alex Gove of Northern Illinois suffered second degree burns on the top of his hand after touching the rotor of his parent's minivan. Alex stuck his hand through the wheel well, which is right at eye level, and touched the rotor.

Peoria mom Molly McKenna heard about the accident and contacted HOI 19 news. Molly McKenna said, "Yah, something you just don't think about. It's shocking. Your kids touch a million things. You baby proof your house. You can't baby proof the community, so you have to be really vigilant."

We wanted to know how hot the rotor gets, so we had a technician at Midas test the cars that came in that had been on for about 20 minutes. Surprisingly, the average temperature was 220 degrees. Skin burns at just 124 degrees. Emergency room physician Dr. Jason Stringer from Methodist Medical Center said, "Really you don't have to drive very far and they get very hot, absolutely you can get second, third degree burns." Dr. Stringer says this isn't the first time he has heard of this happening.

He said, "A child's skin is pretty sensitive to begin with and doesn't have a lot of the calluses and things that adults have so i think they are more likely to be injured by those kinds of things. so yah, it's a potential danger."

It might be a good idea to squat down to the height of a toddler and check to see which area's of your vehicle are the biggest danger. Dr. Stringer says the hood of the car and the exhaust could also burn little hands if the car was recently on. Molly said, "You don't think about your kids touching the parts of the car, but when they're real young like her and they use things to lean up against for balance, you have to be really careful about what they actually touch." Molly's telling everyone she knows about the danger, hoping awareness will keep her daughter and other kids safe near the car.

Dr. Stringer from Methodist Medical Center says the biggest danger he sees with vehicles are kids who are not properly restrained in a car seat and kids being hit by a car because the driver failed to look behind the car before leaving.

As many of you know, I have a toddler this same age. I didn't realize the rims on vehicles are more open now than they used to be and you can easily stick your hand in and touch the rotor on most vehicles. I usually keep him right next to me when I get him out of the car. Now I get all the items out first and then get him out of the car so he's not standing right next to the hot rotor. Have you ever heard of this?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.