‘Choking risk’: Popular baby items recalled

Parents are being urged to keep baby products from a popular store away from their children after it was revealed that they pose the risk of choking, suffocation or death to young children.

Product Safety Australia (PSA) issued a recall for 10 baby items from Romper & Co on Friday after it found they either failed to comply or may not comply with the mandatory standards.

This comes after PSA recalled 9 children’s products from the brand last week, including toys, a teether, pyjamas, sunglasses and glove mittens, over safety concerns such as choking, eye damage and burns.

A recall notice was issued on Friday for Romper & Co’s beaded dummy chain, which is made up of silicone and woods beads, and comes in pastel colours, greys and black, as it fails to comply with the mandatory standard for baby dummies and dummy chains.

PSA said the dummy chain posed a “risk of choking, suffocation or death to young children if they put small or dislodged parts into their mouth.”

The dummy chain in question was sold over a three-year period, between November 26, 2020 and November 6, 2023 at Romper & Co, Little Loves & You Black, Small Store, Salt Bush Surf, Cheeky Little Bubs, Charleston Trading, Broome Thyme, Eclectic and Campus & Co.

A number of rattles and teething rings from the brand also have a risk of causing choking, suffocation or death to young children if they put small or dislodged parts in their mouths, and have been recalled.

The hazardous rattles and teething rings are:

- the wooden hand bell rattle (a wooden circular shaker toy with metal bells);

- the handmade rattle (a rattle made from rattan);

- the beaded teether (a wood circular teething ring with silicone beads attached); and

- the teether bracelet (a silicone bracelet with silicone and timber beads, available in neutral and sage colours).

They were sold between 21 December 2020 up until last week, 15 May 2024, at Broome Thyme, Campus & Co, Charleston Trading, Hamper Nation, Kinfolk Collective, Little Loves and You, Little Pine Cones, Logan and Roo, Romper & Co, Salt Bush Surf and The Little Toy Shop.

Hanging toys and baby bracelet jewellery have also been recalled over choking, suffocation and death fears to young children if they put dislodged or small part in their mouths.

The hazardous hanging toys are the “silicone star” and “nordic” hanging toys, which are made of wood and silicone beads and rings, with two white hooks.

They were sold between January 26 and November 8, 2023 at Romper & Co and Hey There Tallulah.

The recalled baby bracelets are:

- the mama and baby bracelets (a bracelet with gold beads and white beads with gold letters);

- the personalised pearl bracelet (a bracelet of pearls in white, yellow, and pink colours optionally with gold heart letter charm); and

- the beaded bracelet (a bracelet of translucent coloured beads and white pearls).

They were sold at Romper & Co between September 1, 2021 and April 11, 2024.

Anyone with the products is advised to stop using them immediately and keep them out of reach of children.

“Consumers should return the product to their place of purchase or contact Romper & Co to arrange a refund,” the recall notices advise.

Romper & Co is closing down, with its last day of trade on 31 May, according to its website.

Romper & Co was contacted for comment.