Century Offers Cash Reward for Recalled Infant Swings

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Century Products Co., of Macedonia, Ohio, offered a $30 cash reward for the repair of each Lil' Napper infant swing. These swings were recalled in 1997 following reports of three deaths and one near strangulation from entanglement in the swings' shoulder harness straps. CPSC and Century have since become aware of a fourth death to an 8-month old infant girl in Texas.

The swings, which were manufactured by Century from 1991 through 1997, have shoulder harness straps that are placed over each shoulder and buckled between the infant's legs. If the straps on these swings loosen or are unbuckled, an infant can become tangled in the straps and strangle.

Despite a nationwide effort over the past 2 years to alert the public about this recall, Century believes that many of the 125,000 swings originally sold could still be in use. Century took steps to get the word out, including direct mail notification to thrift stores and notices in new infant and convertible car seats.

The recalled Lil' Napper infant swings can be identified by the following model numbers, located on the bottom of the swing's seat: 12-344, 12-345, 12-347, 12-475 or 12-476. The Century brand name is on the motor assembly at the top of the swing. Each swing has a plastic, two-position seat with a removable plastic tray. The sets are covered by either a vinyl or fabric seat pad. There are four white tubular metal legs supporting the swing.

The repair program is no longer available. Parents and caregivers should immediately stop using these infant swings and discard or destroy the product. For more information, consumers can call the company's customer service number at 800-345-4109. If you have one of these swings, however, Century is still offering the $30 cash reward to compensate for having to discard or destroy the product.

Consumers can also view a video clip about this recall (Transcript). It is about 13 megabytes long and the download time depends upon the speed of your Internet connection.