"child safety" news and stories

When I was between the ages of six and twelve, I begged my parents for an Easy Bake Oven every time a gift-giving holiday rolled around. I'd watch the ads that aired with the Saturday morning cartoons and long to be one of those girls, pulling my own, light-bulb baked cake out of the pink-flowered oven with the special removing tool. Alas, my parents always refused to buy me one, insisting that they were dangerous. I always thought that they were making excuses because they were just terrified of what would happen if I was allowed to have an oven in my bedroom.

Today my parents were proven correct, as Hasbro has recalled over one million Easy Bake Ovens because of a ruling by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which determined that "children could get their hands caught in the front opening and suffer burns." According to the CPSC, a voluntary recall for the ovens has been in effect since February. However, since then, 249 children have gotten their hands caught, 77 report burn injuries and one girl had a finger partially amputated.

The recall applies to ovens sold between May 2006 and July 2007. Hasbro has asked people to stop using the oven and to contact them at 1-800-601-8418 for details on how to return it and receive a voucher for a different toy.