Gov't sues 'Nap Nanny' maker, creator fires back online
UNDATED - The government has serious safety concerns with a popular infant recliner called the Nap Nanny. The product is blamed for five infant deaths since 2010.
But the maker of the Nap Nanny, a Pennsylvania company known as Baby Matters LLC, refuses to issue a voluntary recall.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is now suing to force Baby Matters to acknowledge the safety risks.
"The complaint alleges that the Nap Nanny Generation One and Two, and Chill model infant recliners contain defects in the design, warnings and instructions, which pose a substantial risk of injury and death to infants," the CPSC said on their website.
But the maker of the product disagrees with the complaint and said so in a long statement on the product's website.
"We do not believe the complaint has merit and stand behind the safety of our product when used as instructed," creator Leslie Gudel said in part. "The Nap Nanny should be placed on the floor with the harness secured."
The government bureaucracy is doing its best to create jobs...for lawyers.
Gives a new meaning to "Nanny State"
ABC in their story says they are out of business and laid off their work force of 22. they do not know if any suppliers will loose employees over this shut down.Â
Unfortunately, you can't protect the children from their really stupid parental units.
I really want one of those in an adult size.
Whatever happens, I hope they come out with an adult version, because I want one.
"At the time of the July 2010 recall, CPSC was aware of one death that had occurred in a Nap Nanny recliner and 22 reports of infants hanging or falling out over the side of the Nap Nanny even though most of the infants had been placed in the harness. Subsequently, despite the improvements to the warnings and instructions, the complaint alleges that additional deaths using Nap Nanny recliners have been reported, including one in a Chill model.
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The Nap Nanny is a portable infant recliner designed for sleeping, resting and playing. The recliner includes a shaped foam base with an inclined indentation for the baby to sit and a fitted fabric cover with a three point harness. Five thousand Nap Nanny Generation One and 50,000 Generation Two models were sold between 2009 and early 2012 and have been discontinued. One hundred thousand Chill models have been sold since January 2011. All were priced around $130."
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You'd like to think you can at least go into the other room for a sec if your kid is supposed to be strapped into something, but it looks like they should have had a 5 point harness, probably be no issues if they had.
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155,000 @ ~$130 ea = a lot of freakin cash (~201M), no wonder they're fighting it.
My wife and I used one for both of our kids when they were infants. Â The thing worked great and we never were concerned about injury or death because we only used it when our kids were small enough for it and not strong enough to flip it over. Â It was also pretty well wedged into their cribs so flipping was almost impossible. Â
Just look at the picture, does that infant look like it could flip anything over? Â The 5 kids that died, while tragic, is the result of improper use and parent neglect, not the company. Â If that were the case then every drunk driver could sue car manufacturers for their accidents.
I don't know how many of these were sold but let's just assume 100,000. Now, 5 infants have died since 2010 and someone has determined the unit was to blame. 5 out of 100,000 is 0.005%. 0.005% chance of death! Most likely the deaths came from improper use and irresponsible and inattentive parents. 300,000,000 people living in the US and around 40,000 die each year in auto accidents. That is a 0.014% chance of dying in a car accident. The onus lands on the parents to be responsible. A product can't be your 'nanny'.
According to the Nap Nanny website, this has put them out of business, so this might be a non-issue going forward. It also sounds like from the CPSC that the fault isn't with the product, it's with the inappropriate use of the product. Â
Some people don't know how to properly use things and tend to blame others when a bad outcome is realized. It seems to be one of those situations.  So sad - for everyone. Â
Do they make adult size ??
 @sargerator Seriously, kids get all the really comfy stuff.
@sargerator I would love one, it looks awsome. no more kink in the neck from sleeping on the couch.
Nap Nanny Vs Nanny State, aka Nanny VS Nanny . I bet 5 to one that some people using this don't use there brain. And SIDS can happen any time and Any where, Rich or poor. It is true SIDS can happen in Crib or any place that a child sleeps, this is why they recommend No blankets , pillows and stuffed toys in the crib.
And if you Stupid enough, Bottles too.
@lee986321 "Seat belts, to god-damned hell with seat belts! We have no seat belts. In fact, we don't need seat belts. I don't have to show you any stinking seat belts"
i see a molded pillow with a belt strap.. how the F did a infant die in that?.. I mean it would take a really irresponsible parent to screw that up.
 @iamright555 My guess is parents using them once the baby started rolling over or way pass the intended use period of a newborn and not securing the straps or putting it on counters tables and other stupid places.
They must have been rolling off those things and hitting their heads on the floor, poor babies