Grand World Recalls ‘Bobby Chupete’ Pacifiers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: ‘Bobby Chupete’ Pacifiers

Units: About 641,000

Importer: Grand World Inc., of Maspeth, N.Y.

Hazard: The pacifiers fail to meet federal safety standards. The pacifier mouth guard is too small, posing a choking hazard to infants and toddlers.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: This recall involves ‘Bobby Chupete’ pacifiers. The pacifiers have a ring-shaped handle and heart-shaped mouth guard with two ventilation holes. The nipple is made of latex. ‘Bobby Chupete’ and a picture of an infant are printed on the pacifier’s packaging. The pacifier was sold in aqua, red, white or yellow colors.

Sold at: Various retail stores nationwide from November 2004 through July 2009 for about $1.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumer should immediately take the recalled pacifiers away from infants and toddlers and contact Grand World for a refund or a replacement pacifier.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, call Grand World collect at (718) 326-7786 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.grandworldinc.com

CPSC Urges Parents and Caregivers to Stop Using “My Baby Soother”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging parents and caregivers to immediately stop providing “My Baby Soother” pacifiers to their children. The pacifiers were distributed by T & L Trading Corp., of Brooklyn, N.Y. The pacifiers failed to meet federal safety standards because the nipples can separate from the base easily, posing a choking hazard to infants and toddlers.

T & L Trading Refuses to Cooperate

CPSC is issuing this warning because T & L Trading has refused to recall these pacifiers.

About 16,500 “My Baby Soother” pacifiers were sold at grocery stores, delis, and discount stores in Bronx, Brooklyn, Broadway, and Coney Island of New York from August 2007 through July 2009 for about $1.

The “My Baby Soother” pacifier has a ring-shaped handle and a blue, pink, red, white or yellow heart-shaped mouth guard with two ventilation holes. The nipple is made of either silicon or latex. The pacifier package has the words “My Baby Soother” printed on the top and a picture of an infant on the background.

What Should You Do?

Distributors and retailers who purchased the “My Baby Soother” pacifiers from T & L Trading should immediately stop distributing the pacifier and call CPSC. Consumers should immediately take the recalled pacifiers away from infants and toddlers and discard them.

Recalled by Gromex Due to Choking Hazard

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Jaloma Pacifiers

Units: About 700

Importer: Gromex Inc., of Passaic, N.J.

Hazard: The pacifier mouth guard and the ventilation holes are too small and fail to meet federal safety standards. The pacifier could pose a choking and aspiration hazard to young children.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: This pacifier has a ring-shaped handle and a round-shaped mouth guard with two ventilation holes. ‘Jaloma’ is printed on the handle side of the mouth guard and the nipple has a gel-like liquid inside.

Sold at: Retail stores in New Jersey and New York from February 2008 through March 2009 for about $1.

Manufactured in: Mexico

Remedy: Consumers should immediately take the recalled pacifiers away from children and contact Gromex for a refund or exchange.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Gromex collect at (973) 458-9399 Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET.

My first child never wanted a pacifier. I tried at times to give her one, mostly because I thought it might calm her down and make my life slightly easier, but she really didn?t care for it.

When my second child was born, she was quite ill. When she was several days old, she was admitted to a Children?s Hospital because of intestinal issues. In order to prepare for the intestinal surgery in a few days, she was put on an IV to keep her hydrated. I was not allowed to feed her. I still remember how she would scream because she was hungry!

When I picked her up to comfort her, she?d scream louder and try to nurse. It was just horrible. I ended up letting her lay in her crib and trying to console her by rubbing her tiny little back because that was the best option I had at the time. One of her nurses suggested I try a pacifier to help calm her down. The pacifier worked! I was thrilled, but I remember thinking?what have I just done? I?d heard stories about how hard it can be to get a child to give up a pacifier.

I now have 3 other children. My third child liked to suck her thumb rather than use a pacifier. I thought this was a good thing, but actually it wasn?t. I found that a thumb can actually do more damage to your child?s teeth than a pacifier can! Of all of my children, it was hardest to get my 4th child to give up her pacifier. She kept it until she was 4 years old! However, we were also in the midst of a stressful family situation at the time. Perhaps that was her way of coping? When the situation resolved itself, she did give up the pacifier.

My youngest son is now 18 months old and we are weaning him from his pacifier which he used occasionally. Truly, he is so busy exploring his world that he doesn?t miss it during the day. At night, he still likes to have his pacifier and his favorite blanket. I am ok with this. Eventually, he will outgrow his blanket and his pacifier. Eventually, he will be potty trained too. When I get stressed, I need to remember to take it one step at a time and to remember that growing is a process, not just a series of tasks that need to be mastered immediately.

If your child uses a pacifier, there will be opportunities to give up the habit as he grows. Some helpful hints: resist the urge to give him his pacifier every time he cries or throws a temper tantrum. If you notice that the pacifier has fallen out of his mouth when he?s playing, let it out if he really could care less about it. In other words, resist the urge to use the pacifier as a crutch. If your infant doesn’t really like the pacifier, don’t force it upon him.

Have you used a pacifier with your children? When did your children give up their pacifiers?

I have never had a child die from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). A co-worker of mine did though. SIDS is defined as the death of an otherwise healthy infant that can’t be attributed to any other cause.

I knew that our son was healthy, but the fact that he was still at risk for SIDS was slightly terrifying to me. I especially worried since his older brother was stillborn and I just did not want to lose another child. I researched SIDS and tried to do my best to lower the risk factors.

I made sure he slept on his back, I didn’t allow friends to smoke in our house, I made sure to not overdress him at night, and I let him sleep in a sleep sack instead of using blankets. I also gave him a pacifier at night because studies showed that pacifiers did lower the SIDS risk slightly.

A new study published in a health journal states that the use of a fan may also help to prevent deaths from SIDS. Researchers are quick to point out that further study needs to be done on the issue, but this seems to suggest that air circulation and ventilation are an important factor in preventing SIDS.

Experts agree that the best way to help prevent SIDS is to put babies to sleep on their backs. It is also important to make sure that your baby is sleeping on a firm mattress and that he or she is not overheated when sleeping.

The recent study was published in October’s Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. The study involved 500 infants from over 11 counties in California and was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Whether you call it a binky, paci, pacifier, nub or any other cute name, there comes a time when you as a parent decide that the pacifier has got to go. Babies have an inborn need to suck. By the toddler age, many parents think it’s time to phase out the nub.

A lot of parents decide that the only way to do this is to go cold turkey. They throw out all the pacifiers in the home and don’t give in to their toddler’s pleas to give it back. Other parents decide to do this in a more gentle fashion, afraid of traumatizing their child. Remember that many toddlers use the pacifier as a source of comfort, so this may be an easier method.

What can you do to make the transition easier?

• Limit its use in the home. You can specify that it’s only for bedtime, or only for nap time.
• Make them feel proud to be a “big girl/boy”. “You’re doing so good using binky only in your room. You’re such a big girl now!”
• Make it a positive experience. Never threaten, punish them over the binky. Use a rewards system. You can give them a choice of a treat like candy or going watching a DVD and not using their binky that evening.
• Hold a farewell party for the pacifiers. It’s a great idea I read in a children’s book. Parents can gather all the binky in the house for the “Binky Fairy” to take away, leaving a toy, or some other treat in its place.

For those parents having a hard time phasing the binky out, relax. If the above steps don’t help the first time around, wait another couple of months and try again, or just let them wean themselves. Experts have agreed that the pacifiers won’t really do any damage until after 5 years old. Most children wean themselves off of them by then. Sooner or later, they’ll let the pacifiers go, with or without your intervention.

In today’s society, many parents believe in and wholeheartedly agree with the use of pacifiers for their children. They are known for helping to soothe a fussy baby, help a baby fall asleep and provide a sense of security, among other things. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics gives their stamp of approval to the use of pacifiers in a baby’s first year. Despite these assurances, most parents try to have their child do away with pacifiers by the time they start to walk, if not earlier.

As a child, I was inexorably attached to my pacifier, which I lovingly called “paci”. I”m afraid this attachment has affected my own son as well. My son just turned 20 months-old and unfortunately, shows no signs of wanting to give up “Mr. Sucker”. Luckily, he does not carry it around with him all day, but mainly uses it when he goes to bed at night. I am still afraid that it will ruin his teeth and maybe delay his speech development so I am currently concocting a plan to gently rid him of his habit.

It is a new situation for me because my first son, who is now 6 years-old, used a pacifier for five or six months at the most and then tossed it out of his crib, never to be seen again. Hopefully with the arrival of Baby #3, due in June, 2008, I”ll have figured out whether to even introduce a pacifier to him or her at all. I probably won’t be able to resist its use, but at least this time I will be better informed about both the pros and cons.