Walmart Children's Storage Rack and Hobby Lobby Halloween Baskets Recall

Two new children's products were put under recall this week by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. All details and color photos of the products may be found at their website. The products are listed below for your information - I am posting products that may affect children on my blog in hopes of helping parents prevent deaths and/or accidents with their precious children.

Jetmax International Ltd - 36,000 Boy’s and Girl’s Storage Racks with Canvas Totes
Hazard: The storage rack can tip over, posing an entrapment and suffocation hazard to young children. CPSC has received one report of a death involving an 8-month-old boy who was asphyxiated after he pulled on the storage rack and it fell over on him. The top rail landed on the infant’s neck. No other incidents have been reported.

Description: The storage rack is wooden with three levels and nine removable canvas totes. There are wooden handles on each side of the rack. The boy’s storage rack has natural color wood with red, yellow, green, and navy canvas totes. The girl’s storage rack has white colored wood with pink, yellow, lime, and purple canvas totes.

Manufactured in China

Sold at: Wal-Mart sold the storage rack under the brand “Home Trend Kids 9 Canvas Bin Boy’s and Girl’s Organizers.” Sold at Wal-Mart stores nationwide from August 2004 through July 2005 and Ollie’s stores nationwide from July 2006 through June 2007 for about $40.

Parent Action: Consumers should immediately stop children from using the recalled storage racks and contact Jetmax International to receive a free repair kit that adds stability to the base. For additional information, contact Jetmax at (800) 689-2168 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT, visit the firm’s Web site at www.jlwoodenmfg.com, or email info@jlwoodenmfg.com

Hobby Lobby Halloween-Themed Baskets
Units: About 10,000
By Hobby Lobby Stores Inc

Hazard: Surface paint on the bat, pumpkin and witch emblems attached to the baskets contain excess levels of lead, which violates the federal lead paint ban.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

This recall involves all 2007 Halloween-themed baskets with item number 5464201. The item number is located next to the price on the paper hangtag on the handle. The plastic baskets are either black or orange with two carrying handles. An emblem of a witch, bat or pumpkin is attached to each side of the handle. The baskets measure 3 inches wide by 6 inches long by 4 ½ inches deep.

Sold at: Hobby Lobby stores nationwide from August 2007 through November 2007 for about $1.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should take the baskets away from children immediately and return them to Hobby Lobby for a $2 exchange card.
Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Hobby Lobby at (800) 326-7931 anytime, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.hobbylobby.com

Did You Survive Halloween?

We managed to only be out treat or treating for less than one hour. Our oldest got amazingly tired really, really fast. We did visit the scary house of robot costumes again this year and they were running around with chainsaws after the children. The kids said they never want to go there again, and I believe I concur. After all, I'm not sure the chain saws weren't real! They did get a lot of candy in just one block though, enough to last a long long time. Older one went as "the devil" and younger one as "Hannah Montana". I won't miss the end of Halloween this year. After one party, two class parties and trick or treating - I'm done....and done in.

Since It's Halloween, What is Your Favorite Candy?

We'll all get to go through bags and bags of candy at some point today. Perhaps at the office bucket, or picking through the little ones' bags of loot....but you'll do it...and you'll be looking for the good ones!

You know what I mean! You want the candy that is your favorite - the one from your childhood that you loved best, or still do.

My top 5 candies:

• Nestle 100,000 bar - I've loved since I was little ( I guess they call it 100 Grand now)


• Reese's Peanut Butter Cups - The perfect marriage of flavor. Ironically, I don't eat peanut butter in any other form.


• Take Five (or is it Take One?) - any way a new favorite from the candy makers, love that pretzel, chocolate combo


• Hershey's Chocolate in any form


• Snickers - I almost said something else, but when I examined my behavior, I steal this from my children a lot at Halloween

What do you like (or like to steal)? I heard it said recently as asking your kids to pay the Daddy tax (perhaps Mommy tax) by giving a portion of their haul to the parentals. Let's see if we can get away with it.

Do You Let Your Kids Trick or Treat?

This coming week is Halloween (duh!) and it's off to find that street that is "candy heaven". Our current neighborhood, which is the one I grew up in, is not a good venue for trick or treating. There just aren't enough kids and the houses are really spread out. So we do the ghetto thing and get in our car and travel to find the "mother load street of candy".

We hit the jackpot in 2006 and will probably revisit it this year. The people in this neighborhood go all out. One of the houses is owned by a set and costume creator. He decks out the front of his home like something out of Universal Studios. Then, on Halloween, they debut the latest costume that they have designed, to spook the kiddies. I've never seen anything like it - so it's a big hit. They were featured in the newspaper last year, so here's the article. Maybe we'll see you there!