Drop Side Cribs Banned!

If you are shopping for Baby furniture in the next little while, you will want to freshen up on the new laws going into effect surrounding drop side cribs.

Due to over 30 deaths and hundreds of incidents involving drop side cribs and suffocation and strangulation deaths and accidents, the U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission voted unanimously to ban the fabrication and distribution of drop-side cribs within the United States.

The CPSC acknowledged that, "drop-side cribs generally have a tendency to be less structurally sound than cribs with four fixed sides. Drop-side hardware is prone to break, deform or experience other problems during normal or foreseeable use. The older the crib, the more problems can be expected. When drop-side hardware breaks or deforms, the drop side can detach in one or more corners from the crib. If an infant or toddler rolls or moves into the space created by a partially detached drop side, the child can become entrapped or wedged between the crib mattress and the drop side and suffocate. Infants can also strangle in the “V” shape formed by a drop side that detaches in an upper corner."

While this ban is undoubtedly a huge step in the right direction to ensure the safety of babies, there are a few people, such as Nicole Brochu of the Sun Sentinel, who are asking why this ban took such a long time to come about? According to Brochu, "By the time the CPSC announced its all-out ban Wednesday on selling or manufacturing cribs with drop rails, prompted in large part by the Chicago Tribune's reporting, more than 11 million cribs had been recalled and at least 35 babies had died in their malfunctioning beds between November 2007 and April 2010.

The CPSC has a long and beleaguered record of lax safety oversight and sluggish response to complaints, and the drop-side crib debacle is the defining chapter in that history. But the crib ban, considered the toughest safety overhaul of cribs in history, is a promising sign that the recently revamped federal agency may finally be getting on the right track."

Thank goodness they finally got their act together.

What does all this mean for you?

I'll let the CPSC fill you in; "Advice to Consumers;

1. Check your crib regularly and make sure it has not already been recalled.

2. While CPSC staff cannot say that every drop-side crib is hazardous, based on investigations of incidents we have received, the agency believes that overall most drop-side cribs are more prone to mechanical failure than similar designed fixed-side cribs. In addition, older cribs may not meet current voluntary standards. Factors that contribute to safety problems in older cribs include:

3. The longer a crib is used, the more wear and tear on hardware and joints, allowing screws to loosen and fall out and plastic parts to flex and break.

4. Repeated assembly and disassembly increases likelihood that crib parts can be damaged or lost.

5. Wood warps and shrinks over time and glue can become brittle. This can lead to joint and slat failures.

Important Message from CPSC: CPSC reminds parents not to use any crib with missing, broken, or loose parts. Make sure to tighten hardware from time to time to keep the crib sturdy. When using a drop-side crib, parents should check to make sure the drop side or any other moving part operates smoothly. Always check all sides and corners of the crib for disengagement. Disengagements can create a gap and entrap a child. In addition, do not try to repair any side of the crib. Babies have died in cribs where repairs were attempted by caregivers.

If your baby is less than six months old and is not yet able to push up to his/her hands and knees, you can put your baby to sleep in a bassinet. Make sure your bassinet has not been recalled. Here’s a list. Also, you can use a play yard. Do not put additional bedding such as pillows, thick quilts, comforters or anything plush into your baby’s sleeping space. More babies die every year from suffocation in plush sleeping environments than from defective cribs.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov."