Child Guidance Recalls Wiggle Waggle Caterpillar Toys Due to Choking Hazard
Child Guidance is recalling Wiggle Waggle Caterpillar toys because small balls can detach and cause choking. One infant death and two choking incidents have been reported.
What this means for you
Our assessment, not the agency’s: severity 5/5 (Critical).
Highest-severity recall. The hazard can cause serious injury or death. Stop using the product now and follow the agency's instructions.
Our severity reasoning: The source text explicitly reports one death resulting from the choking hazard, which meets the rubric criteria for a Critical severity score.
Plain-English summary
Child Guidance of New York, a division of JAKKS Pacific Inc., is recalling approximately 1 million Wiggle Waggle Caterpillar toys. The recall was initiated because small balls attached to the toy can detach and pose a choking hazard to young children. The toys were sold at toy and discount department stores nationwide from May 1998 through June 2000 for about $13.
The Wiggle Waggle Caterpillar is a pull toy that plays songs and sounds, featuring five ball shapes on coil wire springs. The toy is green with yellow wheels and flashing lights. It is labeled for ages 12 months and up. The CPSC has received one report of a 5-month-old girl in El Paso, Texas, choking to death after a ball lodged in her throat. The agency also received reports of two other children starting to choke on a ball from this toy.
Parents and caregivers should immediately take these toys away from young children. Consumers can send the toy back to the firm to receive another toy of similar value, with the firm paying postage costs. For more information, call Child Guidance at (877) 586-1006 or visit www.jakkspacific.com/recall.html.
The recalled product
- Product
- Wiggle Waggle Caterpillar™ toys
- Category
- Consumer Product — Toys
- Hazard
Distribution
Distributed nationwide across the United States.
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