Federal safety regulators have issued an urgent recall of roughly 25,800 Elmo silicone teethers sold across the United States and Canada after reports that small black pupils can break free and choke infants.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission flagged the Skip Hop Baby Sesame Street Elmo Silicone Teethers under recall number 26-739, warning parents to stop using the product immediately and keep it away from children. The problem centers on the black pupil pieces attached to Elmo's eyes, which can separate from the teether, especially when the toy has been frozen, a common practice parents use to soothe teething pain. A detached pupil becomes a small part that a baby or toddler could swallow or choke on.
Four consumers have already reported the eyes coming apart. No injuries have been reported so far, but the CPSC classified the recall as urgent given the age of the children who use the product.
The recalled teethers were sold at Carter's retail stores and online from January 2025 through March 2026, carrying a price tag of about $12 each. Approximately 22,660 units were sold in the United States, with another 3,177 sold in Canada. The teethers were manufactured in China, imported by The William Carter Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and distributed by Skip Hop Inc of New York.
Parents can identify the recalled product by checking for model number 9R263210, printed on a red tag attached to the side of the crayon box packaging. Anyone who owns the teether should contact Skip Hop to receive a refund in the form of a gift card, along with instructions for safely disposing of the product. That gift card can be used at Carter's, OshKosh B'gosh, and Little Planet stores.
Carter's markets itself as a retailer of children's apparel, accessories, and baby gear. The company's wide retail footprint means the recalled teethers likely reached households across the country, not just in a handful of markets.
The specific failure mechanism matters. The recall notice makes clear that the black pupil pieces are most likely to detach when the silicone teether has been frozen. Freezing teethers is standard advice in many parenting guides, which means the product was failing under exactly the conditions families would be expected to use it. That gap between intended use and actual safety performance is the core of the hazard.
A $12 teether shaped like a beloved children's character is the kind of product parents grab without a second thought. That makes the recall all the more important to publicize. Small detachable parts and infant mouths are a combination that does not leave much margin for error.
The CPSC has been busy this year. The Elmo teether recall follows a pattern of federal action against children's products and everyday consumer goods that turned out to be dangerous. In one recent case, the agency warned parents to stop using a Chinese-made slide playset after a toddler died.
The Elmo teether is only the latest in a run of children's product recalls that should concern any parent paying attention. More than 121,000 children's squeeze toys, the "Funkee Monkee" squishy toys made by Canadian company The Orb Factory, were recalled after being sold at Walmart and Ollie's Bargain Outlet over possible asbestos exposure. Separately, an urgent national recall targeted TikTok-viral fake Squeezy Dumpling toys over what regulators called a severe chemical risk.
All three products were aimed squarely at small children. All three made it onto store shelves and into homes before the hazards were caught. The pattern raises a straightforward question: how are these products clearing import inspections and retail vetting in the first place?
The problem extends well beyond the toy aisle. The CPSC recently recalled 1.5 million Ocoopa hand warmers after hundreds of burn injuries and one death. In another action, the agency pulled more than 121,000 Galanz retro refrigerators off the market following 34 fires and a fatality. And a Cuisinart grill brush recall ballooned to 3.6 million units after bristles broke off and consumers swallowed sharp metal wires.
Each case follows the same arc: a product manufactured overseas, sold widely through trusted American retailers, and pulled only after consumers discovered the danger themselves. Four families reported Elmo's eyes falling apart before regulators acted. No parent should have to run quality control on a teether.
The CPSC's instructions are direct. Stop using the teether. Take it away from your child. Contact Skip Hop for a gift card refund and safe disposal guidance. The model number to check is 9R263210, found on a red tag on the crayon box packaging.
Parents who bought the teether anytime between January 2025 and March 2026 at a Carter's store or online should assume their product is covered by the recall.
When a product designed for the most vulnerable consumers, infants who put everything in their mouths, fails under normal use, the system that let it reach the shelf failed first.