Small portable sleep tents for infants and small children may pose a safety hazard, prompting the Consumer Product Safety Commission and KidCo Inc. to issue a voluntary recall of more than 220,000 PeaPod and PeaPod Plus Travel Beds. The safety commission said babies can potentially roll off the edge of the inflatable air mattress and become trapped between the mattress and the fabric sides of the tent and suffocate. The recall was prompted in part after a report that a 5-month-old boy in New York was found dead last year with his face pressed against the side wall of the tent. The cause of death was not determined, according to the safety commission. There are nine other reports in the United States and Canada of children who became trapped or were found crying underneath the mattress. The travel tents were made in China and sold at independent juvenile specialty stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com from January 2005 until now for between $70 and $100. The safety commission said the tents have a zippered side and an inflatable air mattress that fits into a zippered pocket underneath the floor of the tent. The tents fold into a round shape and come with a fabric bag for storage and transport. Consumers are being warned to stop using the tents, which come in a variety of colours and models, and contact the Libertyville, Illinois-based company to get a free repair kit.
