No "Easy-Bake"

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's a lesson Hasbro might learn now that it's recalling a million Easy-Bake ovens. The new pink and purple models that look like a range oven do not use light bulbs, but heating elements. The new design allows children to put their fingers inside the oven and get caught. The unit does have a spatula device that is supposed to be used, but serious accidents have happened. The company first issued a repair program that included a part that could be placed over the oven opening. Since implementing the part in February, there have been nearly 250 reports of kids getting their fingers caught, including 77 burns and more than a dozen of them serious. One 5-eyar-old girl even had part of her finger amputated as a result of her burn. Because this is a design issue, consumers are asked to take the ovens away from children and contact Hasbro. The company can be reached toll-free at (800) 601-8418 , or at the firm’s Web site at www.easybake.com. Oven owners will be given vouchers for another Hasbro toy. Children should already know ovens are NOT toys. Although I can see how these injuries could happen, I wonder whether these children were being supervised. I can remember using my own Easy-Bake as a child. It was a yellow model that cooked with a light bulb. Although I have a vivid memory of baking unsupervised, I knew that the oven was hot. Most toddlers learn the "Owee Hot" lesson early in life, so I can't imagine why youngsters wouldn't realize that touching was off limits. It's a hard lesson to learn the hard way.
- Liz Fabian