Furniture Is Not What It Used To Be

On Thursday, Bayside Furnishings of San Diego announced the recalling of 9,350 LaJolla Boat and Pirates of the Carribean Twin Trundle beds. The company’s decision follows a terrible accident in which a 22-month-old boy died; a toy chest’s lid fell on his neck and strangled the baby.

The furniture began to be commercialized back in January 2006 at Costco, Costco.com and numerous furniture retail stores. The prices ranged from $700 to $1,400.

According to Scott Wolfson, Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman, this wasn’t the first toy chest-related accident. In 2005, a child died by suffocating inside a chest and in 2001 two other children died in similar circumstances.

So far, about 10,000 beds have been sold nationwide. Those who have already purchased the furniture can contact Bayside, a Whalen division, at (877) 494-2536 or on the company’s website, for finding out how they can receive the free repair kit coming with replacement lid supports.

It seems current safety standards, although quite comprehensive, are still not good enough. According to the law, toy chests must not come with a lock, they are required to have ventilation holes and hinges that prevent the lid from dropping.

Last year, one million cribs were recalled by the safety commission, after the death of 9-month-old Liam Johns of Citrus Heights. The little boy’s death was connected to a problem of the Graco crib his parents were keeping him in.