What Should Families Know First?
Yes, infant travel beds have been recalled. In November 2012, KidCo recalled about 220,000 PeaPod and PeaPod Plus travel beds after one infant died and nine other babies were trapped or found in distress, because a baby can roll between the air mattress and the tent wall and suffocate. If you own one, stop using it and request the free repair kit. If your baby was hurt, keep the bed and contact a child injury lawyer before you repair or discard it.
What Infant Travel Beds Have Been Recalled?
The best known recall involves the KidCo PeaPod and PeaPod Plus travel beds, small portable sleep tents sold for babies from birth to about three years old. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall together with Health Canada. The beds were made in China and sold from 2005 through the recall at independent juvenile stores and on Amazon.com for roughly $70 to $100. KidCo said it had sold about 220,000 of them and that this was its first recall.
Why Was the KidCo PeaPod Travel Bed Recalled?
The hazard comes from how the bed is built. An inflatable air mattress slides into a zippered pocket in the floor of a dome shaped tent. If a baby rolls toward the edge, the baby’s head can lodge between the mattress and the tent’s fabric side, which can block breathing. The recall followed the death of a 5 month old boy in New York City who was put down for a nap in December 2011. There were nine other reports in the United States and Canada of children who became trapped or were found crying underneath the mattress. The cause of that death was not determined, but the pattern of entrapment led to the recall.
What Is the Remedy for the Recalled Travel Bed?
KidCo offered a free repair kit that adds a thinner replacement mattress and support brackets to strengthen the tent walls, so a baby cannot slide into the gap. Owners were told to stop using the beds until they installed the kit. Health Canada added that after the repair the PeaPod should only be used with children 1 year or older, and it does not recommend it for children under 1. The recall was announced on November 16, 2012 as CPSC release 13-043, and it covered about 220,000 beds in the U.S. and about 30,000 in Canada. Read the CPSC recall notice for the models covered. The kits began shipping in December 2012, so check whether KidCo still supplies them before relying on a repair.
How Do You Know if Your Crib Tent or Travel Bed Is Recalled?
Search the brand and model number in the CPSC recall database, and check the label sewn into the product for the model, manufacture date and manufacturer. Parents regularly ask about names such as Joovy Gloo, Phil and Teds, Baby Bjorn, Guava Lotus, SlumberPod and Brica. This page covers the KidCo recall only, so look each of those brands up directly on CPSC.gov or SaferProducts.gov rather than relying on a blog post. Sign up for CPSC recall alerts, and register new baby gear so the manufacturer can reach you. Our page on recalled baby products explains how recalls work and what help is available to families.
Are Travel Beds and Crib Tents Safe for Babies?
They can be, but only when used exactly as designed. Pediatric safe sleep guidance says a baby should sleep alone, on the back, on a firm flat surface with a snug sheet and nothing soft in the sleep space. With a travel bed that means using only the mattress that came with it, never adding extra padding or a second mattress, and never putting a baby to sleep on a surface that sags or leaves a gap at the edge. Soft sleep surfaces and gaps are why portable sleepers appear in so many suffocation reports. If a product fails that test, it is not safe even if no recall has been announced.
What Are the Warning Signs of a Suffocation or Entrapment Hazard?
Look for fabric walls that cave inward when you press them, a mattress that shifts or leaves a gap at the edge, a baby who repeatedly ends up against the wall, and any report of a baby found with their face pressed to the side. If you notice any of these, move the baby to a safe crib or play yard right away and stop using the product. Our guides on portable cribs and play yard injuries and crib accidents cover related hazards.
What Should You Do if a Recalled Travel Bed Hurt Your Baby?
Get medical care first, even if your baby seems fine. Do not repair, wash or throw away the bed, the mattress, the box or the instructions, because they are the evidence. Photograph the bed and where it was used, write down the model number, where you bought it and the date, and report the incident to SaferProducts.gov. Then speak with a lawyer before you talk to the manufacturer’s insurer.
Where can you learn more about recalled infant sleep products?
Our pages on infant death, suffocation, defective infant sleepers and child wrongful death cover related hazards and the help available to families. A recall repairs the product going forward, but it does not undo harm that has already happened, so report any incident at SaferProducts.gov.
How Can You Check a Joovy Gloo or Another Travel Bed for a Recall?
Use the exact brand, model, item number and manufacture information on the product label. Search the CPSC recall database and the manufacturer’s current notices. A search result about a recall does not establish that every product with a similar name is affected.
Joovy Gloo, KidCo PeaPod, Phil & Teds, Guava Lotus, BabyBjorn, Brica and SlumberPod are different products, not interchangeable models. Match the product to an actual official notice before treating it as recalled. This article documents the verified KidCo notice; it does not claim that the other brands were part of that recall.
Which Details Help Distinguish a Travel-Crib Recall From a Safety Question?
A recall notice identifies an affected product and a stated hazard or remedy. A general question about whether a travel crib suits a particular child is different. Read the product’s instructions and current official safety guidance, and do not assume that a portable tent is suitable for infant sleep because it resembles another product.
If a label or model number is missing, contact the manufacturer rather than guess. Keep photographs of the label and any recall correspondence with the product records.
How Can You Discuss a Travel-Bed Injury With a Lawyer?
If your baby was hurt or died in a travel bed, crib tent or other infant sleep product, our child injury lawyers can review what happened. Contact us for a free, confidential consultation.
