The Dangers of Drop-Side Baby Cribs?

Answer 1

The Dangers of Drop-Side Cribs

Protecting children is instinctual for parents as they choose what to feed their children, what toys to play with, and nursery furnishings. While moms and dads do their best to make sure their home is a safe environment for baby and provide supervision as often as possible, sometimes the unexpected and unfortunate can happen.

A baby's crib is the most expensive and time consuming purchasing decision parents can make for their babies. Is it big enough? Are the rails high enough? Can baby fall out or get stuck? Is it solid and stable? Is it safe to buy a used crib or accept a hand-me-down from a friend or a relative?

It's an important decision because a baby spends more time in his crib than he does anywhere else in the house. Additionally, the baby spends this time largely unsupervised as Mom and Dad are sleeping in another room. While they undoubtedly have a baby monitor on to help them hear when baby is in trouble, sometimes, depending on the circumstances, hearing that baby is in trouble is still too late to prevent a serious injury.

This is why, beginning in June, drop-side baby cribs will be illegal to sell in the United States, even by private citizens at garage sales and flea markets.

The dangers of drop-side cribs have become well-known as more and more of them are recalled by the Consumer Products Safety Commission due to reported injuries and deaths associated with them. Drop-side cribs, while more convenient for parents to easily get their babies in and out of the crib, pose a risk to the safety of the baby sleeping or playing within.

The drop-side of the crib, when lowered, is often very flimsy and easy to move around. If you have a drop-side crib in your house, pull on the bottom and see if it lifts outward like a wing. If it does, your baby runs the risk of falling between the railing and the mattress, suffocating and becoming trapped, crushed or strangled.

If you have a drop-side crib, you should exchange it for a new, safer model crib from the manufacturer. However, inspect any crib provided at a hotel, and check the cribs at your child's daycare, if applicable, as they have 2 additional years to replace their drop-side cribs.