Safety Guidelines For Children's Sleepwear

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is responsible for setting the safety guidelines for children's sleepwear. These CPSC guidelines apply specifically to the flammability standards of children's pajamas. All the kid's pajamas sold at OnlyPajamas.com conform to the CPSC's safety requirements. For your benefit, we've compiled some helpful information on the history and specifics of the CPSC standards.

History of the current CPSC guidelines

In a two to one ruling, the CPSC voted in April of 1996 to amend the Flammable Fabrics Act pertaining to children's sleepwear. The amendment ruled that sleepwear for children over 9 months must self-extinguish when exposed to a small, open flame. However, the CPSC allowed kid's pajamas for children 9 months and under to be made of flammable materials so long as they are "tight fitting."

The CPSC justified this change in a public statement: "The record compiled by the [CPSC] staff demonstrates that for many years there have been no injuries, either in the United States or Canada, associated with the single point ignition of the type of children's sleepwear that this amended standard will permit to be sold."

Despite this assurance, the National Fire Protection Association protested against the permitted use of flammable materials, citing the dissenting opinion of CPSC's Ann Brown that "the [current] sleepwear standards are working." Nevertheless, the 1996 amendment has remained in place.

Details of the current CPSC guidelines

The CPSC flammability guidelines for children's sleepwear feature strict clothing label standards to help parents make informed decisions. All children's sleepwear that falls under the snug-fitting exemption must carry a label that states "Wear Snug-Fitting, Not Flame-Resistant." Hangtags are also required that read "For child's safety, garment should fit snugly. This garment is not flame-resistant. A loose-fitting garment is more likely to catch fire."

The CPSC also offers the following assurances regarding flammable but snug-fitting kid's pajamas:

• They are less likely to come into contact with an ignition source
• Less air is available to feed the fire even if the cloth is ignited
• The close proximity of the skin acts as a 'heat sink' to retard the spread of fire

The CPSC advises parents to avoid the use of loose-fitting shirts as children's sleepwear, as such garments are associated with nearly 200 emergency room-treated burn injuries to children every year.

For information on children's sleepwear recalls or to contact the CPSC, visit www.cpsc.gov. A three-page summary of the CPSC's children's sleepwear regulations can be obtained at http://www.cpsc.gov/BUSINFO/regsumsleepwear.PDF.