Information from Health Canada Concerning Suspended Baby Jumpers
September 1, 2006
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Scope
The purpose of this document is to provide both information and recommendations concerning the safety of suspended baby jumpers (also referred to as "jumpers" in this document). This information is targeted for retailers, manufacturers or importers that distribute jumpers in Canada.
In an effort to reduce the number of incidents linked to the use of jumpers in Canada, Health Canada's Consumer Product Safety Bureau (CPSB) is issuing this information document wherein it is recommended that particular testing procedures be performed on jumpers, prior to their availability on the Canadian market. Additionally, this information document makes recommendations concerning the labelling of jumpers.
Suspended baby jumpers are also commonly referred to as "baby exercisers" and "baby bouncers." These products are designed to suspend a child in an upright position in a harness while the child's toes touch the floor, thereby allowing him/her to initiate a bouncing motion. Jumpers are designed to be suspended from a freestanding structure that is included with the product, or by a clamp from a doorframe.
Hazards
Between January 1990 through June 2005, CPSB has received 47 complaints related to suspended baby jumpers. Approximately two-thirds of the complaints describe a form of mechanical failure of one or more components. These failures include, but are not limited to, springs breaking, suspension straps fraying, bungee cords snapping, doorframe clamps failing, as well as clips, hooks and rings breaking. Resulting injuries include the child falling and suffering injury and/or the product falling on top of the child, thereby causing lacerations, bruising, eye injuries, and in one case, a skull fracture.
Recommendations
1.0 Product and Component Testing
Health Canada recommends that various jumper components, as well as the complete device, be subject to performance testing as an integral part of the product's development and production processes. Comprehensive performance testing of the fully assembled product is of particular importance, and testing should simulate reasonably foreseeable use over the entirety of the product's anticipated life-span.
1.1 Integrity Testing of the Complete Product
Either by manual means or by use of an automated process, the following test should be performed on an example of the complete product:
- suspend the assembled jumper from a doorframe, simulated doorframe or the freestanding structure that is sold with the product;
- in the seat, secure a weight that is a minimum of 10% greater than the product's maximum recommended usage weight; and,
- raise the seat to its un-weighted height, release it, and allow it to bounce until visually still.
The weighted bouncing cycle should be repeated such that, as a minimum, the product's entire reasonably expected life-span is simulated.
Note: After giving consideration to the following factors, CPSB considers that it is reasonably foreseeable to expect that a jumper will be subjected to five hundred thousand (500 000) bounces during its lifetime:
- user's age range;
- duration of continuous use;
- number of daily uses;
- likelihood of more than one user;
- "handing down" the product from child to child or family to family, and,
- input from manufacturers.
The jumper should subsequently be examined for any mechanical damage that could potentially lead to the user and/or the product falling.
Additionally, with respect to product integrity, Health Canada recommends that jumpers conform to the specifications outlined in sections 5.7 - Stability of frame, and 5.8 - Static strength, of the British Standard, BS EN 14036:2003, Baby Bouncers - Safety Requirements and Test Methods. Furthermore, as an additional means of rendering these products as safe as possible, it is also advisable for manufacturers and distributors of jumpers to refer to the above-mentioned standard in its entirety.
1.2 Components Testing
During the previously mentioned Integrity Testing of the Complete Product (Section 1.1), the reliability of each component in the jumper will be tested to a minimum of five hundred thousand (500 000) cycles. However, suspension springs used in jumpers have demonstrated a high rate of failure and accordingly, they should be tested to demonstrate that they will survive one million (1 000 000) cycles, where one cycle involves the spring moving from the unloaded position to the loaded position and then back to the unloaded position. This cycling should occur with the spring loaded to 110% of its maximum intended use load.
Components should be retested for performance when a part manufacturer's tooling equipment or production methods change.
Documentation of testing of components, as well as testing of the assembled product, should be available for review upon request.
2.0 Information and Instructions
Instructions and warnings regarding the assembly, installation and safe use of the jumper should be provided in both official languages and be easy to understand. These instructions should include, but not necessarily be limited to, the information in BS EN 14036:2003, Baby Bouncers-Safety Requirements and Test Methods,
Section 8 - Instructions for use, with the exception of item "m", and with the inclusion of the following:
- a statement that only a child's toes should be able to touch the floor when not bouncing;
- a recommendation that the product should be removed from its installed location when not in use and stored away (to prevent misuse of the product); and
- a recommendation that a child's time in the product is limited to fifteen (15) minutes per session (source: The Hospital for Sick Children of Toronto).
2.1 Labelling
The following information should be permanently displayed on the product, in both official languages, in a prominent location:
- a warning never to leave a child unattended in the product;
- the weight range and abilities of a child for whom the product is intended;
- the name and principal place of business in Canada of the manufacturer, importer or distributor;
- the model name or model number of the product; and
- the date of manufacture or a code mark that identifies this date.
2.2 Point of Sale
The following information should be provided at the point of sale, for example, on product packaging:
- the weight range and abilities of a child for whom the product is intended; and
- a statement regarding the dimensions and strength of a doorframe and wall suitable for the safe installation and use of the product (if applicable).
3.0 Other Considerations
A jumper should be designed such that, during its reasonably foreseeable use, no part of the product causes chafing, bruising, lacerations, abrasions, crushing or pinching to any part of the child's body.
If the product is sold with toys attached to it, or should toys be included with the product, these must comply with the safety requirements set out in the Hazardous Products (Toys) Regulations of the Hazardous Products Act.
Packaged jumpers must meet the requirements of Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and its Regulations, administered by Industry Canada.
Conclusion
Health Canada recommends thorough testing of fully assembled suspended baby jumpers, as well as testing of the individual components that comprise these products. The application of appropriate safety precautions, such as the testing and labelling described in this document, will help to reduce the number and severity of injuries to children placed in these products.
For your information,
Shannon Whittle
Project Officer
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