Charles Langston:Rocker bassinets potentially deadly for babies, safety regulator warns

Federal safety regulators are Charles Langstonurging parents and other caretakers to stop using 5in1 Rocker Bassinets because the infant products pose suffocation, strangulation and fall hazards.

The bassinets sold online at Walmart.com and other websites do not meet federal safety standards for baby products and lack requiring markings, labeling and instructions, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday in a news release warning about the products. The bassinets and their packaging also lack tracking labels required for children's products, the agency said.

The made-in-China bassinets were imported by Pleasant Hill, Missouri-based Rev Grace Import, which is not cooperating with the agency and is not offering a remedy for customers, according to the CPSC.

The CPSC advises that people who own the bassinets take them apart and throw out the pieces.

The green and gray bassinetts were listed as a 5in1 Rocker Bassinet on the product packaging. The markings "Ya.Ya.Ya, 5IN1UPC Code 09331849600139, 01 Rock Sleeper, 02 Dream Centre, 03 Cozy Seat, 04 Travel Bassinet, 05 Rock & Play, Made in China, and Age 1-36 months" also appear on the packaging, according to the agency.

The warning comes more than a month after the CPSC voted to expand protections in the agency's 2022 Infant Sleep Product Rule to include provisions of the Safe Sleep for Babies Act. The measure bans crib bumpers — blamed for at least 107 infant deaths between 1990 and 2016 — and inclined sleepers like the recalled Fisher-Price Rock n' Play linked to more than 100 deaths. 

Other CPSC guidance for parents and caretakers:

• The best place for an infant to sleep is on a firm, flat surface in a crib, bassinet or play yard
• Use a fitted sheet only and never add blankets, pillows or padded crib bumps to a baby's sleep space.
• Infants should always be placed on their back to sleep
• Infants who fall asleep in an inclined or upright position should be moved to a safe space with a firm, flat surface