Thursday, October 25, 2007

File Under: Natural Selection

For those who did not catch the news today, it seems that there is now a recall on Bumbo seats. The recall stems from the fact that if you leave a child unattended in the seat, they can fall out of the seat if they arch their back or move vigorously. And if you leave the child in the seat on an elevated surface (like a table) and the child manages to wriggle out of the seat...get this...they might fall off the table. I know, I'm totally shocked by the reality of the force of gravity. Aren't you? I mean, it's not like they tell you any of this on the seat. Oh wait. They do.

I feel bad that kids have been hurt, because they are kids and should be protected. By their parents. All children's seats should be used under supervision. Period. Have I placed my child in a Bumbo on an elevated surface? Yep- and I never left his side. Have I left my child unattended ever? Yes- when I was sure that he/she was safe. Sometimes a gal has to pee, ok?

The thing that irks me about all of this is the parents that are suing Bumbo for their child's injury. To me, it is the equivalent of the lady that sued because she spilled coffee in her lap and it was hot. I know, coffee that was hot. There's a whole other world of wonder, huh? Look, I'm sure those parents feel horrible that their kids got hurt. But they got hurt because they parent made a mistake, not because Bumbo was negligent. When the hell are people going to take responsibility for their own actions? Did CYS investigate the negligence, or did everyone just see dollar signs and call the lawyers? I'd be curious.

Ok, rant complete.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My toddler pulled that stunt (arching to get out of the Bumbo) when he was a few months old. I was supervising as I should and caught the near escape. He only used the seat a few more times after that, as he continued to try to jump out. In spite of it, we've bought a second one so that our twins can attempt the same maneouver in a few months.

Personally, I think people are far too lawsuit-happy these days.

Anonymous said...

That coffee case always gets to me, but it's because of what the media has never said (though I'm kind of fogging on the exact details after all these years). They never said: 1. That MacDonald's deliberately kept their coffee at temperatures above the industry recognized standards because they thought it made the coffee taste better, even though they'd had multiple burn complaints; and 2. That the judge significantly reduced the award from millions to about $600,000, I think. I also think I recall that the woman was a passenger in the car and that she was wearing adult diapers, which caused her to have third degree burns. But it's always been portrayed as a frivolous lawsuit.

But the Bumbo seats? On a table? No extenuating circumstances there!