Parents are warned about weighted blanket products in U.S. department stores after two girls suffocated and died. America's retail giant Target issued a recall for about 204,000 Pillowfort's weighted blankets after death incidents of two children in North Carolina due to suffocation were reported, according to U.S. federal officials and Target Thursday.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reported that the kids who died were American toddlers, both girls, who were four and six years old. They were entrapped in the cover of the weighted blanket after unzipping it and crawling inside. They died due to asphyxia at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune last April 2022.
Other than the death cases, Target also received reports about two other children being trapped but were fortunately saved.
Pillowfort Weighted Blankets
CPSC and Target urged parents and consumers to stop using the recalled product immediately and contact Target for a refund.
Children's Pillowfort Weighted Blankets were said to be exclusively sold in Target department stores and online from December 2018 to September of this year.
Each blanket weighs six pounds and is deemed a safety risk as young kids and toddlers can be entrapped by unzipping and entering it, NPR stated.
It features a removable, waterproof, washable cover in eight different colors and prints selections and colors like unicorn white, space navy, pink, blue, gray, buffalo plaid red, blue constellation, and unicorn pink.
Parents who purchased the product can check the recalled item numbers online at Target.com or call 800-440-0680, where they will be provided with a prepaid return label to return the blanket either by mail or directly in any Target store.
Consumers will receive a refund of $40 in return.
CPSC further said that Target is also directly contacting affected consumers.
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Not safe for kids
According to The Bump, this is not the first time that weighted blankets have made the news.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) earlier this year released an update to its Safe Sleep Guidelines for the first time since 2016. It stressed the importance of steering clear from weighted objects of any kind, like weighted blankets, sleepers, and swaddles.
7News also reported that weighted blankets had been a popular Christmas gift in Australia this year due to the comfort they can provide to children, especially those with autism, ADHD, anxiety, and sensory processing disorders.
However, research by the National Library of Medicine stated that their effectiveness "is not yet clear enough to warrant clinical recommendation."
Moreover, Red Nose Foundation, an Australian infant and child death support charity, declared that they are not "safe options" for the young ones.
The foundation also cited two similar deaths that have occurred because of the weighted blankets. One is that of a nine-year-old Canadian boy who was wrapped "almost as a form of restraint." The second is that of a seven-month-old U.S. baby napping under a blanket half heavier than his weight.
"These two deaths highlight what can happen if a baby or child cannot remove the blanket if they need to. (The weighted blankets are) being marketed in clever ways that lead parents to believe they are a safe option for babies. They are not. If misused and on the wrong person, weighted blankets can be fatal," Red Nose Foundation warned parents.
