La Jobi / Graco Crib Recall

Recently La Jobi (the manufacturer of many Graco cribs) issued a recall for 217,000 Graco branded cribs sold between February 2007 and March 2010.  Nine crib styles and multiple models are being recalled.  I actually have a Graco Lauren Crib at my parent's house in NJ and received both a letter and an e-mail regarding the issue.  Let me tell you how thrilled I was--however I knew this was coming.


The problem? The plastic hardware that connects the drop side to the crib is (and I already knew this)  really crappy and unstable (not their words, mine).  These are their words: "The drop side hardware can break or fail, allowing the drop side to detach from the crib. When the drop side detaches, a hazardous gap is created between the drop side and the crib mattress in which infants and toddlers can become wedged or entrapped, posing a risk of suffocation and strangulation. In addition, children can fall from the cribs when the drop side detaches or fails to lock."  Nice, huh?  Well,  a year ago when we bought the crib we noticed the issue and locked the crib rail so it could not be lowered but as my hercules baby gets stronger and stronger I am worried she'll just push the whole front off.  Sooo, while I'm not thrilled with the issue, I am glad LaJobi and Graco are offering a retrofit kit to immobilize the side of the crib.  Also, they contacted me via e-mail and snail mail so I give them props for that.  Took me months to find out that my stroller was recalled last year.  


All of the cribs listed in the recall are fairly inexpensive.  I could say you get what you pay for (and in some respects that's true--this crib is hardly as solid as my crib here), but I have seen high end stuff recalled as well.  Last year another well known crib manufacturer had to issue a recall and stop selling cribs for a few months to remedy some safety issues.  So it happens to even the best of them. 


So in the event you have one of these cribs, please contact La Jobi at 1 888 842-2215 to receive a retrofit kit.  They also recommend that you stop using the crib until you receive the kit.


Here are more details, along with the list of crib names and model numbers:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10212.html