Baby monitor warning for parents

Seven children have died from strangulation in the last decade from baby monitor cords

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A safety alert for parents -- a product in many nurseries has a hidden risk and that's prompted the federal government and manufacturers to take action.

There is a new baby monitor warning coming from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

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Lisa Rushton and Charley Pereira couldn't take their eyes off of baby Savannah, enlisting the help of a video baby monitor to keep tabs when a caregiver wasn't in the room.

"Where it was placed at the time, Savannah was unable to reach it," her mom Lisa Rushton said. "But she reached a milestone 24 hours before the accident occurred."

Baby monitors are aimed at protecting children, but there's a potential hazard that wouldn't even occur to most caregivers.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said at least seven children, including baby Savannah, have died in the last decade as a result of strangulation from baby monitor cords.

"Children are curious," CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said. "They'll reach out if they can get it within their grasp and that cord ends up around their neck and strangling them."

So the CPSC and the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association are urging parents to keep baby monitors out of reach. Never put them inside or on the edge of a crib or playpen, preferably more than three feet away.

"That's not just true for electric line cords on monitors," Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association's Rick Locker said. "That's true for drapery cords and window blinds and any other corded equipment around the nursery. Keep them out of the child's reach."

Also part of the effort, warning labels to affix to baby monitor cords and other corded devices, so that any caregiver is reminded to place it far from baby's grasp to avoid future tragedies.