January 2, 2026 – A recent incident report highlights a severe safety risk associated with the Demdaco Mermaid Friends cloth book, following an incident where a 6-month-old baby nearly strangled on a toy string attached to the book. The incident underscores the critical importance of evaluating toy designs for potential strangulation hazards, particularly for infants.
Product Details
Incident Overview
On December 4, 2025, an incident was reported involving a Demdaco Mermaid Friends cloth book. A parent described leaving their 6-month-old baby unattended for less than a minute in a play space with the product. The Mermaid Friends book is a “busy book” featuring soft pop-out toys, one of which is a starfish designed to make sounds. This starfish is connected to the book by a short, shoelace-like string, reportedly less than a foot long.
During this brief period, the baby managed to get the string wrapped around her throat. The incident occurred when the baby reportedly fell back onto the book and pulled on the attached starfish toy as she rolled. The parent returned to find the string around the baby’s neck, resulting in a visible red band, described as a “shoelace cloth burn,” around her throat, indicating the force with which the baby had pulled to free herself or while struggling. The parent expressed grave concern, emphasizing the danger of the string’s length and the potential for severe strangulation had they not returned promptly. The book reportedly had a cloth tag but no clear warnings or age limits were recalled by the consumer.
Safety Concerns
The incident involving the Demdaco Mermaid Friends cloth book raises significant safety concerns, primarily related to strangulation hazards for infants.
- Immediate Dangers: The most immediate and severe danger is strangulation. Even a relatively short string, when wrapped around an infant’s neck, can quickly cut off airflow, leading to loss of consciousness, brain damage, or death. The reported “red band” around the baby’s throat confirms the immediate danger posed by the string. Infants lack the motor skills and cognitive ability to free themselves from such a situation.
- Long-Term Risks: If a strangulation incident is not fatal, it can still result in severe and long-lasting consequences, including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (brain damage due to lack of oxygen), developmental delays, seizures, and other neurological impairments.
- Who Might Be Affected: Infants and young toddlers are most vulnerable to this type of hazard. Their limited dexterity, inability to understand danger, and propensity to explore objects by putting them in or around their mouths and necks make them highly susceptible to strangulation risks from cords, strings, and loops.
- Design Flaw: The incident suggests a potential design flaw where the length of the string, even if seemingly short, is sufficient to create a loop capable of encircling an infant’s neck. Lack of prominent warnings or age restrictions further exacerbates the risk, as parents may not be aware of the specific dangers.
What Consumers Should Do
Consumers who own the Demdaco Mermaid Friends cloth book or similar products should take immediate action to ensure the safety of children in their care.
- Immediate Steps:
* Immediately remove the Demdaco Mermaid Friends cloth book, or any similar toy with attached strings or cords, from any environment accessible to infants and young children.
* Do not allow children to play with the product until it has been confirmed safe or alternative, safer models are available.
- Check for Affected Product:
* Inspect any Demdaco brand cloth books, particularly those titled “Mermaid Friends,” for attached components secured by strings or cords.
* Measure the length of any such strings. Even short strings can pose a risk if they can form a loop around a child’s neck. The CPSC recommends that cords on toys intended for children under three should be no longer than 6 inches.
- Prevention Measures:
* Regularly inspect all toys for loose parts, strings, or cords that could pose a strangulation or choking hazard.
* Always supervise infants and young children, especially when they are playing with toys that have any attached components.
* Follow age recommendations and warning labels on all children’s products. If no age recommendation is provided and a product has strings or small parts, exercise extreme caution for infants.
* Consider cutting off any excessively long strings or cords from toys if they are not essential to the toy’s function, ensuring no new hazards are created in the process.
- Reporting Procedures:
* Report any incidents or concerns related to this product or similar items to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) at www.cpsc.gov.
* Contact DEMDACO directly to report the incident and inquire about product safety.
Manufacturer’s Response
DEMDACO has responded to the incident report with “Yes,” indicating acknowledgement of the report. Further details regarding their investigation or potential actions are not yet publicly available.
Legal Help Available
If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective product or suffered property damage due to a product malfunction, you may be entitled to compensation. The experienced product liability attorneys at Farzan Law understand the complexities of defective product cases and can help you navigate the legal process.
Contact us today for a free consultation: 424-325-3112
Our legal team has successfully represented clients in product liability cases involving defective appliances, automotive defects, medical devices, and consumer products. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you don’t pay unless we win your case.
Note: This information is based on incident reports provided by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. If you find information that is incorrect, please contact us immediately so we can correct the post to reflect accurate information.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is not intended to be legal or medical advice. This article is based on publicly available incident reports. The incidents mentioned have not necessarily been independently verified or adjudicated.