CPSC Warns Consumers of Dangers with Toy Chest Lids

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) knows of children who died when the lids of toy storage containers fell on their heads or necks. The CPSC also reports incidents of permanent brain damage. Parents and caregivers of young children should check the chests and boxes in their homes.

In a 2014 news release, the CPSC said it had reports of 34 deaths since 1996 involving children younger than 18 and storage or toy chests.

What Is the Hazard?

Many of the deaths involved products made as toy boxes or chests. Children have also died in other containers used for toy storage. The CPSC lists trunks, footlockers, decorator cubes and blanket chests.

The CPSC says suffocation has happened too. Some children climbed into storage containers such as cedar chests to play or hide. They became trapped inside.

The CPSC says accidents typically happened in these ways:

• A child used the chest to pull up, and the lid fell from its open, upright position.
• A young child tried to open the lid alone.
• A child reached over and into the chest when the lid dropped. The lid either hit the child's head or trapped the child's neck between the lid and the edge of the chest.

In its 2014 release, the CPSC also said lid supports on older toy chests can fail to stop a lid from closing suddenly.

What Should You Do?

1. If you are shopping for a new chest, consider an open chest or bin with no lid. The CPSC says these do not present the risk of a falling lid.
2. Chests with lightweight, removable lids also do not present the risk of a falling lid, according to the CPSC. The same is true of chests with sliding doors or panels.
3. If you choose a chest with a lid that opens upward, look for one with a lid support that holds the lid open in any position where it is placed.
4. Check the support yourself. Make sure it truly keeps the lid from falling.
5. If you already own a chest or trunk with a freely falling hinged lid, the CPSC recommends removing the lid completely to avert possible tragedy.
6. Another option is to install a lid support that holds the lid open in any position.
7. Once a support is installed, check it often to make sure it works. Some supports may need to be adjusted or tightened from time to time so they keep holding the lid open.

Source:https://www.cpsc.gov/safety-education/safety-guides/toys/cpsc-warns-consumers-dangers-toy-chest-lids