EU to Set New Safety Standards for Child Care Products

June 13, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS

One new standard will ensure that window and balcony door locking devices are fully "childproof." The second new standard is for nursery bathing articles - for example, bath seats for very young babies - where the standard will improve the stability and safety requirements and impose new clear warnings for care-givers.

The new standards are part of a much broader drive to update safety standards on a range of child care products across the EU, where currently there are no EU standards or existing standards do not cover all the risks.

The European Commission (EC), working with EU member states, is in the process of updating safety standards for a range of child care products. Proposals for additional standards for nursery products will be brought forward over the coming year, including, for example, on high chairs, booster seats, cots and mattresses.

EC Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said, "It is for each parent or carer to judge how best to manage the safety of their children. Our concern is that for parents who do want to use these products, they must be safe. Instructions must be very clear, products must really be childproof if they say they are, and products must withstand all necessary safety tests. These products are used to take care of our most vulnerable consumers, there is every reason to be extra vigilant when it comes to safety."

"Childproof" Locking Devices for Windows and Balcony Doors
These safety devices are designed to reduce or prevent accidents by blocking the opening of a window or balcony door to a certain limited position, and by "childproofing" the lock so it cannot be opened by a child less than four years old.

Accidental falls from heights, such as windows or balconies, represent a leading cause of death or brain or skeletal damage for children younger than five years.¹ In the Ile de France region in France, between May and September 2005, 67 such falls were registered. In Denmark and Sweden, between 20 and 60 cases are registered every year.

Data from 1996 to 2003 indicates there were 79 accidents per year in Greece, 130 per year in the Netherlands and 25 accidents per year in the United Kingdom.² Each year in the United States, 15 to 20 children under 10 years of age die, and more than 4,000 are treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries related to falls from windows.³

Between 2005-2007, a joint project was carried out by Austria, Denmark and Norway to evaluate the safety of locking devices for windows and balcony doors. The results found that several models were disengaged by a child, despite the childproof claim, while other models collapsed, broke or did not withstand the ageing test. All the models tested did not contain some of the required basic instructions.

The proposed EU standard will introduce new requirements to test a product's child resistance, its structural integrity throughout the expected lifetime, and its resistance to ageing and exposure to weather conditions. The standard will also require the provision of clear instructions and information to users.

Baby Bath Articles
Currently, there are no EU standards for baby bath articles. A limited number of national provisions exist, for example, in France. The U.S. currently has a standard for bath seats. For bath tubs and stands, a standard is at the early stages of development.

There is extensive evidence worldwide of accidents and injuries in early childhood associated with nursery products. For example, in the U.S. in 2007, there were an estimated 62,000 emergency department treated injuries associated with nursery products among children under five years. Because of these concerns, the EC carried out a study i 2007-2008, following consultations with EU member states, which identified nursery products that pose particularly serious risks to infants and young children - and for which there are either no safety standards or the existing standard does not cover all the risks.

These products include:

• Bath seats for babies - products that help keep the child in a seated position during bathing.
• Bathing aids - products often used for very young children that allow the child to be held in a lying position during bathing.
• Baths and bath stands - products for babies up to one year old, which have become extremely popular and are increasingly used by consumers.

The main reason for accidents involving baby bath products is a false sense of security felt by adult users who assume that these products are safety devices and who therefore are more likely to leave a child unattended in the bath.

The EC's study also raised concerns about stability requirements. Accidents have also occurred when a care-giver is present: products collapsed, detached from the surface or were accidentally opened by the child. The vigilance of the care-giver remains critical, as drowning can occur in a very short time.

Figures from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released in February 2009,⁴ indicate that 90 deaths of young children using baby baths or bath rings occurred between 2003 and 2005. Another 78 children drowned in the bath between 1989 and 2003 in the U.K.,⁵ while 123 deaths from drowning and 182 near-drowning incidents were registered in the U.S. between January 1983 and April 2005.⁶ The average age of the victims is between 5 and 10 months.

The proposed new standard will introduce improved stability and resistance requirements - to minimize the risk of "tipping over" if the child leans in any direction or tries to stand or push the product. It will also require clearer and more visible warnings and instructions to consumers - on the package, on the product and at the point of sale.

What next
The EC's proposal goes to the European Parliament for a one-month scrutiny period and then to the College of Commissioners for a formal decision. A mandate then goes to the European Standardisation Committee (CEN) to start work on new product standards, which can take more than two years.

For more information, see the Report on Consumer Rights for Safe Children's Products.

¹ World Health Organisation - European Report on Child Injury Prevention, 2008.

² Commission de la Sécurité des Consommateurs, France Avis relatif à la sécurité des fenêtres et balcons (10/05.)

³ U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Consumer Product Safety Review, volume 5 (2000).

⁴ http://www.cpsc.gov/library/nursery07.pdf.

⁵ Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, U.K.

⁶ U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Bath Seats, September 2006.

Source: European Commission (EC).