- CR testing flagged safety failures in five of 11 recalled models before the recalls were announced.
- Recalls can help protect people from safety risks, but they happen after a problem is found.
- A voluntary safety standard for toddler towers has been under development since 2024; a strong standard would proactively help families keep their children safe.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a recall of three toddler towers in the last week—bringing the number of recalls to 11 since Consumer Reports’ September 2025 investigation of toddler towers revealed widespread safety concerns. In the 10 months since that investigation, the CPSC’s recalls totaled 434,176 units. Across those recalls, the CPSC cited 141 safety incidents and 54 injuries to children, including contusions, cuts, splinters, and falls. Toddler towers remain a popular category with no finalized safety standard—voluntary or mandatory—meaning there are no requirements specific to the product that a manufacturer must meet before selling one.
Five of the 11 recalled models—sold under the brands Toetol, Cosyland, Boon, Sdadi, and Harppa—were products CR had already tested and flagged for tip-over risk, entrapment risk, or both. CR’s tests applied a 35-pound side load to measure tipping resistance and evaluated whether gaps in the product’s structure could let a child’s body slip through while trapping their head. Almost every one of the 16 towers CR tested had a safety issue.
“Toddler towers have become a household staple for many families, but right now it’s hard for parents to know which models are designed with safety in mind,” said Gabe Knight, senior safety policy analyst for Consumer Reports. “A strong voluntary safety standard would help eliminate some of the guesswork, which is why it’s so important for ASTM International to finalize the work currently being done. Once there’s a strong standard on the books, online platforms like Amazon can require sellers to prove that they meet the standard, and the CPSC can consider making it mandatory.”
CR is calling on participants in the ASTM International standard-setting process to finalize a strong voluntary standard, retailers to require proof of compliance before listing these products, and the CPSC to consider making the standard mandatory:
- Industry and the ASTM subcommittee: finalize a strong voluntary standard now. An ASTM International subcommittee has been developing a voluntary safety standard for children’s standing towers since 2024, meeting regularly, but has not yet finalized it. CR, an ASTM member, is urging the group to complete its work and publish a strong standard without further delay.
- Online marketplaces: require proof of compliance to sell. Once a strong voluntary standard exists, platforms like Amazon can require sellers to demonstrate that their products meet it before listing them—a step that would immediately raise the floor for a category where quality varies widely and no safety baseline is guaranteed.
- The CPSC: consider making it mandatory. A published voluntary standard would give the Commission a foundation to consider making manufacturer compliance mandatory, so that every toddler tower sold in the U.S. meets the same safety baseline, and the agency can take quick and effective action against noncompliant products.
Several companies whose products have been recalled told CR their products met “established safety benchmarks” for the category. But no finalized standard exists to measure against—which is precisely the gap CR advocates to be closed. Harppa, whose Nordi tower was recalled in the last week, told CR in 2025 it would adjust its designs “should ASTM or CPSC issue mandatory standards in the future.”
Until a strong standard is in place, CR advises caregivers shopping for a toddler tower to choose a heavier model with a wider, stronger base. Products with these characteristics generally performed better in CR’s safety tests. Consumers can report a hazardous product or a product-related injury to the CPSC at SaferProducts.gov.
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Media Contact: Emily Akpan, emily.akpan@consumer.org