It's hard to imagine a time when parenting happened without the super helpful aid of a baby gate. Children were able to wander to and fro, unhindered by waist-level foldaway gates across doorways meant to keep them from all manner of danger (falling down the stairs, escaping outside). While baby gates are most certainly helpful, they need to be in good working condition to be used properly. Which is why it's important for parents to check that theirs is not one of the Madison Mill baby gates that were recalled.
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission confirmed on Wednesday that Madison Mill, an Ashland City-based housewares company, has recalled two of its foldaway baby gates. Both products were recalled in the United States and Canada for potentially hazardous conditions, according to the CPSC:
A young child’s neck can fit into the “V” shaped opening along the top edge of the gate, posing entrapment and strangulation hazards to young children. Also, young children can pass under the gate allowing access to restricted areas, such as stairs.
A representative for Madison Mill, Tom McKelvie, told Romper this week, "There have been no incidents/injuries/lawsuits related to these products in all the years we have been manufacturing them."
The products were both foldaway expandable safety gates; The exact models included in the recall are:
Madison Mill 23 Foldaway Gate (extends to 3 ft.)
Madison Mill 25 Foldaway Gate (extends to 5 ft.)
Parents and caregivers are advised to immediately discontinue use of these products and contact the company for a full refund.
Around 25,000 of these safety gates were sold in the United States, with a further 68,000 sold in Canada. The gates were sold from January 2013 to May 2017 at Do It Best and other independent hardware stores for between $20 to $25. If you have one of these gates, you should discontinue use immediately.
This is not the first time Madison Mill has had to issue a recall for its safety gates; In October of last year, Health Canada recalled the KidCo Angle Mount Wood Safeway safety gates and Madison Mill Foldaway Gates. While there were no incidents reported at that time, Health Canada recalled the two products because they did not comply with Canadian safety standards.
The safety gates included in the most recent recall are wooden, with a V-shaped opening at the top.
For more information, contact Madison Mill at 877-220-4705 from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday, or visit its website.