Largest Crib Recall in US History: What You Should Do If You Own a Drop Side Crib
The largest crib recall in US history has been broadcast across many news channels and websites, with more than two million cribs being recalled from manufacturer Stork Craft. The crib recall is based on various — and often deadly – injuries resulting from the drop side aspect of these cribs. A drop side has been added to many cribs for a parent to have easy access to a child but, when not installed properly by the manufacturer, these sides can come loose and, by falling on a baby, cause strangulation or suffocation. According to the article linked above, five million of these cribs have been recalled over the past two years.
Although Stork Craft promises to fix this issue by sending owners free repair kits to fix or strengthen the hardware on these cribs, Consumer Reports questions owning a drop side crib at all. Stork Craft isn’t the only manufacturer of these cribs, and, according to Consumer Reports, all drop side cribs can create the same type of injury hazard. Their suggestion? Don’t buy a drop side crib. Instead, opt for a fixed rail design, as this type doesn’t have any large parts that could come loose and trap a baby.
If you own a drop side crib, two options exist at this point: Waiting for a repair kit from Stork Craft or purchasing a fixed rail model. Although cribs themselves can be expensive, purchasing a solid design reduces all of risks associated with a drop rail, such as large parts that can come loose and hardware that may have been designed poorly. As a baby may use a crib for almost two years, having a safe environment for sleeping is important. As, according to Consumer Reports, all types of cribs do not go through significant durability testing, having a design free of loose parts allows for a sturdy and stable environment for the baby.
How Much is TMI with Your Baby?
With YouTube and Twitter, you can post what you’re doing every minute of the day or video tape it and upload it. As a new parent, if you still Twitter or vlog, most of this may be focused on your child. While some may think that constant Twitter or Facebook updates about your children are too much information, especially for those friends who aren’t parents, where does social media cross the line in parenting? Should things like your baby’s bowel movements or colic be kept to yourself or should you share it amongst your friends, even if they don’t want to hear? As one woman recently recorded her first birth and put it online, what milestones of parenthood should be celebrated and which should simply be a personal matter?
In general, discussing things like teething and bowels can be done with other parents. But, if you plan on using the internet, such a discussion should be brought up on parenting message boards or parenting communities on Facebook or Twitter – not a status update. Although a milestone, such as your child’s first word, is fairly innocent, your child’s first tantrum isn’t. While the internet is seen as being a large broadcast rather than a private discussion, find places with like-minded individuals to talk about parenting issues, which are often message boards and online discussion groups.
Although parenting is seen as more special than a night of clubbing and beer drinking, imagine if one of your friends on Facebook adds a status update about getting drunk and vomiting and, worse, posts a video of it. Do you really want to know? Or, should he (or she) just simply keep the gross-out incident to himself without broadcasting it into cyberspace? Most, including your closest friends, would probably pick the former.
Baby Stroller Recall
Baby strollers have been in the news recently over a massive recall. As announced on many news programs the brand of stroller in question is Maclauren, which is sold generally through Babies R Us and Target. The main concern is that babies being put in these Maclauren umbrella strollers, both single and double models, have had fingers amputated over the past ten years. In total, about 1 million strollers are in recall from 1999 to the present. If you own a Maclauren stroller, the list of models can be found here.
Maclauren has been offering free hinge covers since the large amount of strollers were recalled. If you own one of the Maclauren stroller models listed in the link above, it’s advised that you stop using the stroller until the hinge guard arrives, or to stop using the stroller completely. While Maclauren is a popular brand for umbrella strollers, other manufacturers are on the market for baby strollers and one can be purchased from a manufacturer that doesn’t have such a high product recall. But if you like your Maclauren stroller and want to continue using it, wait for the hinge cover to arrive before using it again.
What do you do when a product has been recalled? In recent month, both these strollers, as well as baby swing sets sold at Toys R Us, have been recalled. In both of these cases, the manufacturer has a solution to fix the problem, be it a hinge cover or proper instructions for installing a baby swing. But if this isn’t the case, the best solution is to stop using the product, even if it hasn’t caused you any trouble. Although it may have not caused any trouble before, it could possibly in the future.
Suggestions for Putting a Baby to Sleep
One comment that many new parents have is that, as soon as the new baby is born, they can only sleep for a few hours at night. This, however, is never going to change. According to a Health Tip article in USA Today, babies really only can sleep for about five hours at a time, as a baby should be feeding every five hours. This, of course, doesn’t mean a baby will be sleeping for five hours at a time and parents may be waking up to their child’s cries every three hours while they’re trying to sleep. Although babies do sleep for 70 percent of their first year, this isn’t for 70 percent at a time during a day, and, instead, from three to five hour intervals during the day when a parent is awake.
The link above has additional suggestions for helping a baby sleep. As SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, is a concern, the crib needs to be free from choking and suffocation hazards. These could be things like stuffed animals, other toys, or, really, anything a baby could grab and put inside his or her mouth. The baby should also be on his or her back, instead of the stomach, to reduce SIDS.
A baby could move in his or her sleep, but not always, and one risk, especially for children under six months, is to form a flat spot on their heads from sleeping in one position too often. The solution for this is to position the baby differently each night, or at least turning his or her head on a different side, or using a pillow to keep a baby’s head from moving. Like stuffed animals, certain form pillows might be suffocation or choking hazards, so before choosing one, research how safe the product is first.
Can Car Seats be Dangerous?
A travel systems stroller has a car seat that comes out of the frame. Photo from Stroller.com
According to the article, the dangers from using a car seat come from leaving it on a table or soft surface, such as a sofa, and the car seat over turns with the baby inside. Even when the baby is properly strapped inside the car seat, it can still experience head injuries when the seat overturns. When the baby isn’t strapped in, more serious injuries result when the car seat turns over. Aside from quick and immediate dangers, keeping a baby in a car seat too long can result in weak or stunted muscle growth, as well as a flat head, or “container syndrome,” which results when a baby lies down too often. In addition, babies apparently have more difficult time getting oxygen when left in a car seat. Essentially, the less time spent in a car seat, the better.
Suggestions for using a travel system stroller include always keeping the baby strapped in the car seat portion and don’t carry the car seat for an extended period of time. In addition, keep the car seat in the stroller frame when not in the car, as the seat portion can overturn by itself and injure the baby.