The Story of the Amputated Fingertips: Maclaren Stroller Recall

I've got a pretty unbelievable recall for you guys. Perhaps you've already caught wind of it, since it's pretty sensational. All Maclaren single and double umbrella strollers are being recalled for repairs. Due to finger amputations. FINGER AMPUTATIONS, people. Here's the official line:

The firm has received 15 reports of children placing their finger in the stroller’s hinge mechanism, resulting in 12 reports of fingertip amputations in the United States.

That sucks on many myriad levels. So yeah. If you have a Maclaren umbrella stroller that fits the requirements of the recall, please send it in before your child loses his fingertips.

You've got to feel badly for some of these designers of fancy baby items. I mean, kids will put various digits in anything, will put anything in various orifices, and it's really difficult, I mean really very difficult, to predict just what strange things will go down when a baby or toddler is involved. Believe me, I speak from experience. A lot of our conversations around the house go like this:

Me: "What...get that out of your mouth!"

J: "J eat floral wire!"

Or, you know, something like that. Kids are really weird. I feel no sympathy at all for companies who recall cheap crap because of lead paint violations, because that's just asinine. (I got a recall notice of a children's-sized chalkboard/dry erase board combo easel because of lead paint violations, and I didn't post it because the easel itself cost over $70. Who spends $70 on a toy easel that will get destroyed with real markers in a matter of days? I mean, really.) But I feel some real sympathy for Maclaren, and I hope they can sort this out and get away from any more controversy. Cutting off fingertips is something you might want to distance yourself from as quickly as possible.

Just a thought.