T is for Travel On The Go With Baby Build Your Own Travel System 3 & 4 Years ALL OPTIONS FOR Brand Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ALL OPTIONS FOR Rating Travel made easy with baby on board… Let's face it, your little passenger comes with a lot of baggage. Travel systems, strollers, car seats, carriers and other accessories are all part of the scene but lucky for us, today's smart designs and innovative materials mean new parents can travel lighter than ever before. You also have peace-of-mind knowing that Babies"R"Us only offers car seats that meet Transport Canada’s strict safety standards. See All Car Seats Graco San Marino Collection Consumer Reports, the often-turned-to resource for product reviews, recently published a list of five baby items that it deemed unsafe and advised parents to not buy.After all, if I were going to help a first-time mom with a gift registry at Babies “R” Us or Target, I’d tell her to avoid a wipes warmer, any newborn outfits with too many buttons (no matter how cute) and that cushy-pad thing that some moms put on grocery carts so their kids won’t touch the nasty, germy carts (just wipe it down
These products are a waste of money, I’d tell her. But CR‘s list included products often touted by moms who advocate Attachment Parenting and babywearing. And by the comments CR has received, it angered a lot of moms, including Laurel who wrote on CR‘s website: “I am floored. I’m embarrassed that I was duped into believing Consumer Reports was a good place to go for information. Maybe for dishwashers, but not for babies.” Or Jane, who wrote: “…(T)his blanket condemnation of co-sleeping and slings is unconscionable! Mothers have carried their babies in sling-like devices since the invention of clothing! Let’s talk about unsafe strollers, how many deaths from these? How about…deaths from cribs and playpens?…” But before getting riled, let’s look at the five products “not to buy for your baby.” 1) Baby bath seats: CR reported that 10 babies drown annually while using baby bath seats. “Nearly all of those deaths occurred when a parent or caregiver left the baby unattended momentarily.
The problem is that these seats, intended to make it easier to hold the baby in the bathtub, can give parents a false sense of security.” My humble take: It seems like the problem with baby bath seats has to do more with the parents or caregivers than the actual product (and I say this as a mom of two who has never owned a baby bath seat). Is it fair to blame the product because a caretaker left the baby alone in a bathtub? Two summers ago, in my region, several children died in inflatable swimming pools. The fatalities resulted because caretakers assumed the kids were safe alone for a minute or two because the water was shallow. Again, not the fault of the product. I think education about children and water safety would be better. Don’t leave a baby or young child alone in water for a second. 2) Crib bumper pads: CR cited a study that found 27 cases of baby deaths that involved bumper pads or “similarly padded bassinets.” This occurred primarily when “the infant became wedged between the bumper and another object or when the infant’s face was against the bumper.”
My humble take: Sound advice. Bumper pads were created so babies wouldn’t get bumps and bruises, but those are minor injuries compared to the risk of death. Also, if babies keep bumping into the crib railing, I think they’ll eventually learn to stop. For both my kids, the only bedding we bought were a mattress pad and a mattress sheet. Our crib looked stark next to those in parenting magazines depicting the perfect nursery, but so what? 3) Sleep positioners: “These devices are intended to keep infants on their back in a secure sleeping position,” CR reported. “But the youngest infants, for whom these are designed, are not able to roll over from their backs on their own, which makes this product unnecessary. The soft foam in the sleep positioners can pose a suffocation hazard and [CR‘s] medical experts don’t recommend them.” My humble take: This product probably was invented to make parents feel like they have some control over SIDS. But in reality, this product is superfluous and potentially dangerous.
And now the two most controversial… 4) Bedside and other co-sleeping devices: CR called co-sleeping dangerous and reported that bassinet-like devices “designed to go in between parents or alongside an adult bed don’t necessarily make co-sleeping with a baby safer.” For instance, two infants died after falling through an opening in the frame of the Simplicity co-sleeping bassinets, prompting the federal government to recall the product last summer. “Currently,” CR stated, “safety standards don’t exist for either co-sleepers or bedside sleepers. Until they do, we think the safest place for your baby to sleep is in a crib.” My humble take: I agree with CR but it has little to do with the product. After all, millions of cribs have been recalled due to infant deaths (here in October 2008 and here in September 2007, and these are only two examples). I’m just terrified of co-sleeping with my baby, particularly since the American Academy of Pediatrics and other organizations recommend against it.
And although I realize moms have shared beds with their babies for decades, and it’s a common practice (and considered safer) in some cultures, I just couldn’t do it. I’d never get any sleep because I’d be worried about my husband or I accidentally crushing or suffocating the baby. There’s also a selfish component to my opposition to co-sleeping. I don’t want to share my bed with my kids on a regular basis. Occasionally, like when there’s a thunderstorm or if there’s a special reason, fine. But all the time? 5) Sling carriers: CR reported that at least four babies have died in five years, and many more have suffered serious injury, as a result of sling-type carriers. “The incidents include skull fractures, head injuries, contusions and abrasions. Most occurred when the child fell out of the sling. As slings grow in popularity, so do the number of serious injuries. No safety standards exist for slings.” CR also cited a federal recall of 100,000 Infantino sling carriers in 2007.
My humble take: CR doesn’t really back up its statement that serious injuries are increasing due to increasing popularity of slings and other babywearing devices. The practice dates back centuries. It does concern me, however, that there are no safety standards; however, as with other baby products, some are safer than others. In this case, I do not agree with CR. I regret not babywearing with my baby boy. My 4-year-old daughter would have never tolerated it as a baby. She did not want to be held and would have cried until I got her out. But Ryan, who is almost 1, could be held all day. Even now, as he is crawling, cruising and exploring. I never bought a sling, however, because he was always a big baby, so I figured I’d be spending a lot of money for a short period of time. I’ll just hold him, I told myself. He’s already 26-27 pounds, and on the verge of walking, so babywearing doesn’t make much sense for us now. But I think it’s a brilliant idea, especially if you have more than one child.