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Show Family living room can be an accident zone for children submitted by Consumer Product Safety Commission The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the American Ameri-can Furniture Manufacturers have issued a national consumer alert about possible accidental death or injury to children who use or play on recliner chairs. In the last five years, CPSC has investigated or received reports of three deaths and two serious brain injuries to children playing on recliners. An estimated 24 million of 87 million American households have recliner chairs. Information available to CPSC about the accidents, although incomplete, leads the commission to conclude: The victims were between the ages of 12 months and 30 months. ... Injured children were unsupervised unsuper-vised by parents and were alone in the room at the time of the accident. They apparently were climbing or playing on the leg rest of the chair while the chair was in the recline position. The children were trapped when their heads entered the opening between the chair seat and , leg rest as their body weight forced the leg rest down. The commission suggests parents use appropriated precautions in preventing children from playing on recliners. Parents are urged to report accidents to CPSC, Washington, D.C. 20207 or call toll-free 800-638-CPSC. A teletypewriter number for the hearing impaired is 800-638-8270. |