Report: Some Day Cares Still Use Recalled Fisher Price Rock ’N Play Sleepers

One in 10 day care facilities have used a Rock ‘n Play or other sleeper months after the products were pulled because of infant fatalities, according to Consumer Reports (CR). The reason? Many were unaware the product had been recalled.

The Fisher-Price recall was met with much controversy. On April 5, the Consumer Product Safety Commision (CPSC) originally issued an initial warning to parents about how to properly use the Rock ‘n Play sleeper. The warning linked the products to reports of 10 fatalities of babies, but a later CR analysis linked the sleeper to 32 infant deaths between 2011 and 2018. Following calls for a recall from American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and grieving parents, CPSC and Fisher-Price ultimately recalled all Rock ‘n Play Sleepers.

The recall prompted following recalls later that month of nearly 700,000 similar inclined sleepers made by Kids II. Since then, lawmakers have even introduced bills in an attempt to ban the sale of inclined sleepers, but the recalled items are still being used in some child care centers. The first instance brought to CR’s attention was at a day care center in Philadelphia.

When Sara Landis brought her son to day care in June, she was shocked to see a Fisher-Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper in the infant room, she tells CR. Luckily, Landis’ husband, Adam Garber, works at US PIRG, a consumer organization, where he focuses on product safety. Landis called her husband, who then called their day care director to ask if she knew about the product recall. As it turns out, it was an honest mistake.

“Our day care provider, who cares deeply about the kids, was really confused,” says Garber. “She said she thought there had only been a warning about the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper and that as long as the product was properly used, and babies were buckled in, it would be fine.” The dad then explained to her that the alert was only the initial response released by the CPSC, and further investigation led to a full recall.

Since the day care provider never received the updated information about the recall, she continued using the product. The experience inspired US PIRG to conduct a survey to see how many other facilities missed the memo and are still using the dangerous items. The results revealed that one in 10 surveyed day cares are still using the products. The survey was conducted between June 20 and July 10, and involved more than 370 centers.

Garber tells CR that part of the mix-up could be due to the confusing messaging from CPSC and Fisher-Price. The initial warning made it seem like the product was still safe to use, but it wasn’t until a week later when the product was actually recalled. As a result, many still believed the sleeper was safe.

“Recalls don’t work well unless people get a clear and consistent message. And they especially don’t work well if manufacturers and the government fail to fully warn people about the risks of a product,” says William Wallace, manager of home and safety policy for CR.

CR also points out that CPSC continued to highlight out-of-date information long after the recall. On June 19, CR says under the “Latest News” section on the agency’s homepage, it still listed the April 5 alert, but not the recall itself. When CR asked the CPSC about this, a spokesperson said “we are looking into a redesign of our website so the most prominent recalls remain on the home page for a longer time. Recalls are always searchable whether or not they are on our home page.”

Following the inquiry, CPSC put information about the reclined sleeper recalls at the top of its homepage and updated the April 5 alert to include a link to the full recall that was later issued.

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