Butterfly Safety

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Beco Butterfly Safety Information Alert

The following safety information applies to all Beco Butterfly carriers from the January and February print lines, including:

Addison | Ava | Cameron | Carnival | Ethan | Joshua | Mia | Pony Express | Sophia

If you purchased a Beco Butterfly in one of these prints before late March 2008, make sure to read and understand the following information on how to lift your child safely in the carrier.

There is a potential fall hazard when the Butterfly is not handled properly. The Beco Butterfly is a multistage baby carrier and as such must be adjustable to a wide variety of children's sizes. For this purpose, the design utilizes various side release tension buckles and tension slip-locks.

Improper Handling of the Shoulder Straps May Lead to a Fall

While putting the carrier on, with baby already seated in the carrier, one or both of the side release tension buckles, which connect the top of the seat with the shoulder straps, may release the tension on the webbing, which may result in the seat dropping suddenly lower. When this move is unexpected, both the parent and baby can get scared and baby could fall out of the carrier.

This sudden release is caused by creating an angle between the webbing and buckle; this angle is created when the shoulder straps are held BY THE BUCKLES themselves or VERY NEAR by them.

Always Hold the Shoulder Straps at the D-Ring Level

This issue can be entirely prevented simply by holding the shoulder straps at the D-ring level. This will create the exact opposite of the issue, that is, when holding the shoulder straps further away from the buckles, the buckles and the webbing running through them will align, the tension will increase, and the webbing will stay tight the way it should.

The Beco Butterfly is safe when used properly. The instructional DVD does show the proper handling, but does NOT show the potentially hazardous handling. We regret that our video and other instructional material did not bring more awareness and attention to this potential issue. All carriers shipped as of February 18 include this important information in the form of a printed flyer. The pictures and text from that flyer are reproduced below.

Further Notes and Suggestions

I suggest that you use one hand to pick up both shoulder straps at the D-ring level, and the other hand to support your child from behind. Also, if you are an experienced babywearer and are familiar with the "Santa toss" method of getting your child on your back in a soft structured carrier or mei tai -- do NOT use the Santa toss to get the Butterfly on your back. That is not an appropriate method to use with this carrier. Instead, please use the hip scoot method as demonstrated in the instructional DVD.

This link explains the design changes on the unaffected Beco Butterflies from March 25 and forward

RIGHT WAY

MAKE SURE TO HOLD ONTO THE SHOULDER STRAPS AT THE PLASTIC D-RING LEVEL. THIS WILL ALIGN THE BUCKLES WITH THE WEBBING AND INCREASE THE TENSION ON THE BUCKLES SO THE WEBBING STAYS TIGHT.

WRONG WAY

DO NOT HOLD SHOULDER STRAPS AT THE BUCKLE LEVEL! THIS WILL CREATE AN ANGLE BETWEEN THE WEBBING AND BUCKLE AND DECREASE THE TENSION ON THE WEBBING, WHICH WILL THEN RELEASE, CREATING A RISK THAT BABY MAY FALL OUT OF THE CARRIER