Five major retailers have agreed to stop the sale of crib tents and play yard tents made by the now out-of-business Tots in Mind.

Along with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the retailers have announced a voluntary recall of more than 330,000 crib tents and play yard tents that can pose strangulation and entrapment hazards. 

Why it’s being recalled: CPSC is warning parents and caregivers who own these products that infants and toddlers are at risk of serious injury or death due to strangulation and entrapment hazards presented by these products. Tots in Mind recalled the play yard tents in July 2010 and offered a repair kit that is no longer available. The company is no longer in business and has stopped all sales. CPSC staff urges parents and caregivers to stop using these crib tents and play yard tents immediately. Do not attempt to repair these products.

In 2007, a two year old boy sustained a catastrophic brain injury when the crib tent affixed to his crib tent inverted and the product’s broken rod trapped him at the neck. The remaining 25 reports to CPSC involved inverted crib tents-entrapments between the tent and the crib/play yard or failures of the tent fabric and zippers. Three of these 25 reports also resulted in injuries; in one such case, a parent reported finding her child turning blue and entrapped between the product and the top rail of the play yard.

Since Tots in Mind, Inc. is out of business, retailers who sold these products have stepped up to offer refunds or store credit to consumers. The crib tents and play yard tents can present an entrapment and strangulation hazard to infants and toddlers if the dome portion inverts inside the crib or play yard, or if the product becomes partially detached from the crib or play yard. The recalled products were sold at numerous retail stores including Bed Bath & Beyond/Buy Buy Baby, Burlington Coat Factory, Toys R Us/Babies R Us, Walmart and online on websites including Amazon.com, for between $60 and $85.

Photos of the recalled products and labels:

Consumers should contact the store listed below where the crib tent was purchased to receive either a refund or store credit, depending on the retailer. If consumer is unsure of where the crib tent was purchased, see return policy for individual retailers below on their website:

• Bed Bath & Beyond / Buy Buy Baby [bedbathandbeyond.com or buybuybaby.com or (800) GOBEYOND]
• Burlington Coat Factory [burlingtoncoatfactory.com or (888) 223-2628]
• Toys R Us/Babies R Us [toysrus.com or babiesrus.com or (800) 869-7787]
• Walmart [walmartstores.com or (800) 925-6278]

View the full recall on the CPSC’s website here.