WASHINGTON (CN) - The Consumer Product Safety Commission wants to beef up the testing of infant swings to make sure they are strong enough to stand up to repeat usage.
Under current standards, infant swings are tested by dropping a 25 pound weight onto the seat of the swing 50 times. If any part of the swing breaks or changes in a way that makes it less supportive of an infant, the swing fails the test.
The CPSC wants to change the number of drops to 500, because in its own tests that was when the least robust of the swings showed signs of failure.
Statistics gathered by the CPSC show that 25 percent of all injuries reported in infant swings were from a broken, detached or loose part.
The CPSC also proposes to increase the amount of weight used in static load testing - which measures the sag that results from weight in the seat - by 5 pounds to simulate the normal sag likely in a cloth bottom seat. The swings would then be loaded with three times the manufacturer's recommended weight.
If the seat's deflections change by more than 4 inches, the swing would fail the test.
Seat failures accounted for 16 percent of all reported injuries, including one fatality.
The public has until April 25 to comment on the proposed testing standards.
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