Kolcraft Play Yard Recall: 1 Million Portable Playpens Recalled

About one million children’s Kolcraft play yards, commonly referred to as “pack n plays” or portable playpens, have been recalled due to a faulty latch that can come undone and cause the play yard to collapse unexpectedly.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has attributed at least one child’s concussion to the faulty design of play yards manufactured by Kolcraft Enterprises Inc. of Chicago. Overall, the company received 347 reports that the side of the play yard collapsed unexpectedly due to a faulty side rail latch. There have been 21 injuries to young children as a result, leading to the recall of one million play yards announced on July 8.

Kolcraft makes play yards under a variety of brand names. Recalled products include Kolcraft and Carter’s Travelin’ Tot play yards, Sesame Beginnings and Travelin’ Tot play yards, Jeep Sahara Play Yards, Contours Play Yards, Care Bare Play Yards and Eric Carle Play Yard with Activity Gym. A comprehensive list of the model numbers affected by the recall are available on the play yard recall announcement issued yesterday by the U.S. CPSC.

Manufactured in China, Spain and Italy, the play yards were sold at a number of national retailers, including Babies R Us, Wal-Mart, Kmart, Sears and Target, between January 2000 and January 2009.

The CPSC statement says that the side rail on the pack n plays can fail to latch correctly, causing it to unlatch suddenly when a child pushes against the rail and potentially causing the child to fall.

The recall is the second major recall of play yards for Kolcraft in the last two years. In September 2007, Kolcraft recalled 425,000 play yards after a child was strangled to death by a changing table restraint strap. Some of the play yards affected by that recall are also included in this one.

But Kolcraft is not the only company that has had problems with the popular portable play pens. In January, there was a recall of about 200,000 Fisher-Price Rainforest Portable Play Yards, manufactured by the now-defunct Simplicity, Inc., which also had side rails that could suddenly collapse. Several children received concussions and broken bones from the defective pack n plays.

In May, about 76,600 Eddie Bauer Sooth & Sway Play Yards were also recalled, due to the risk of suffocation from a defectively designed rocking bassinet feature.

The CPSC advices consumers to immediately stop using the play yards. Kolcraft is offering a repair kit to consumers who bought the play yard, but does not appear to be offering refunds.