Parents not doing safety checks of children's products

More than 10 percent of Chinese families said their babies have faced dangers while using strollers, walkers and children's bicycles, according to a survey by the country's quality watchdog.

The survey, conducted by the Defective Product Administrative Center under the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and released on Thursday, also showed that 85 percent of parents did not conduct safety checks of strollers, walkers and bicycles before using them.

The survey, which polled 5,350 fathers or mothers of children between the ages of 3 and 12 in five cities across China, is aimed raising parents' safety awareness of children's products before Children's Day, which falls on June 1.

The survey also shows that 47.6 percent of parents were unaware that the country has a compulsory inspection system for these products and 69.4 percent of parents were unaware that the country has established a system for toy recalls.

Meanwhile, the safety index remains the most important issue for parents, followed by price and functionality.

Liu Jianxin, a senior engineer with the light industrial products and children's products test center with the Jiangsu Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, said the most common safety problem for strollers, walkers and children’s bicycles lies in the lack of strength in the materials used.

"Some children's bicycles use fragile materials and do not last after a long period of usage. Some even fall apart during the use process," he said.

However, the majority of accidents occur because parents fail to monitor their children while they use the products.

"There have been a number of cases when children using the walkers fall down the stairs," he said.