The Recall Desk
SevereCPSC·99009·Announced 1998-10-15

Playwell Recalls Xylophone Mallets Due to Choking Hazard for Infants

Playwell Toy recalled xylophone mallets because their small ends can block young children's airways. One infant suffered severe brain damage.

What this means for you

Illness, injury, or structural failure has been reported. Stop using the product immediately and contact the manufacturer for a refund or repair.

Our severity reasoning: The recall involves a choking hazard that caused severe brain damage in an infant, meeting the criteria for significant injury reports.

Plain-English summary

Playwell Toy Inc. is recalling approximately 200,000 individually sold xylophones, 150,000 Little Ones Infant three-piece musical gift sets, and 1,800 Little Ones Infant five-piece musical gift sets. The recall involves the mallets included with these instruments, which have rounded ends smaller than the 1.75-inch standard for small balls. These mallets can become lodged in the throats of young children, blocking their airways and potentially causing death.

CPSC and Playwell Toy are aware of one serious injury involving a 6-month-old baby girl who suffered severe brain damage when a mallet became stuck in her throat. The affected products were sold at Target, Kmart, and Right Start stores between February 1996 and August 1998. The xylophones are mostly white with a red button and yellow handle, featuring red, yellow, green, and blue metal bars and red mallets.

Because Playwell Toy is out of business, no remedy is available. Consumers should immediately take these mallets away from children under 3 years old and discard or destroy the mallets.

The recalled product

Product
Little Ones Infant five-piece musical gift set xylophones
Manufacturer
Right Start
Category
Consumer Product — Toys
Hazard

Distribution

Distributed nationwide across the United States.

Related recalls

Same hazard · choking

See all →