Message To Parents: Avoid Children's Clothing With Drawstrings
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) advises parents to avoid dressing their children in clothing that have drawstrings around the neck of the garment, including sweatshirts, jackets, and other such items. The drawstrings have the potential to catch on playground equipment, fences, tree branches and school bus doors, and strangle a child.
In the past two decades, the CPSC has received reports of 27 deaths and 70 non-fatal incidents involving the entanglement of children’s clothing with drawstrings, and they recommend that parents remove or cut all drawstrings from their children’s clothing to eliminate the hazard.
Since 2006, children's coats, sweatshirts and jackets with drawstrings around the neck or waist have been considered defective and have been automatically recalled, however several companies overseas still manufacture these items that are being sold in the U.S. As recently as August 6, 2008, nine companies were fined for selling children’s clothes with drawstrings, and in May of 2008, a two-year boy of San Jose, California died when the drawstring of his jacket got caught on a slide at his daycare center.
So parents be wise and avoid dressing your children in clothing with drawstrings. Because doing so may save their life.
For more information on children safety and other consumer product safety news, please visit: www.cpsc.gov.
