7.5 million Baby Shark bath toys recalled. Kids suffered genital and rectal injuries
Nobody puts their child in the bathtub with the thought they’ll be lifting them out for a trip to a hospital emergency room. That’s why Zuru recalled recalled 6.5 million Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Sing & Swim Bath Toys and one million Junior Mini Baby Shark Swimming Bath Toys after kids suffered painful injuries.
The exact problem, as described in Thursday’s U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall notice: “When using the recalled bath toys, particularly in a bathtub or wading pool, a child can slip and fall or sit onto the hard plastic top fin of the shark, posing risks of impalement, lacerations and punctures.”
The notice says Zuru knows about 12 times children fell or sat on the full-size Baby Shark toy, “resulting in impalement injuries, lacerations and puncture wounds, including to children’s genital, anorectal and facial areas. Nine of the incidents required stitches or medical attention.”
No incidents have been reported with the Mini Baby Shark bath toys.
This involves toys sold at Walmart, Target, Walgreens, CVS, Dollar General, Family Dollar, H-E-B, Meijer, T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, HomeSense and Ross brick-and-mortar stores and several online outlets, including Amazon.com.
The full-size Baby Shark bath toys, which came in blue, pink and yellow and were sold alone or in packs of three, sing and swim in the water. On the bottom is raised lettering telling the consumer this is model No. 25282 with a date code that starts with “DG” and is followed by the year/month/day. Recalled toys have a date code from DG20190501 through DG20220619.
The mini bath toys swim, but don’t sing. They were sold individually or in packs of two. Their bottoms have model Nos. 7163, 7175, 7166 or 25291 and a date code from DG2020615 through DG2023525.
What parents and guardians should do now
Zuru is offering refunds as prepaid virtual Mastercards, $14 for the bigger bath toy, $6 for the smaller toy.
First, Zuru asks customers to cut the tail fin on the full-size toy — bend it on the mini toy — then contact Zuru at its recall website to register for the refund. With a permanent marker, put “recalled” and the code you’re given during registration on the toy’s body. Then, upload a photo of the toy to the website.
To reach Zuru by phone, call 833-820-0839, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Eastern time.
