Here’s an important note if you own a drop side baby crib. As of earlier this week, the Consumaer Products Safety Commission is recommending that parents stop using all drop cribs immediately due to safety concerns.
This follows on a voluntary recall by Pottery Barn Kids of 82,000 cribs sold since 1999. You can see the complete list of recalled Pottery Barn Kids models here.
Drop cribs have one side that moves on rails to make getting your baby in and out easier. While that’s certainly a back-saving design, it turns out that drop cribs can trap the baby, causing potential strangulation or suffocation. When hardware on these types of cribs breaks it can detach the drop-side which creates a space into which the baby can become entrapped. When the drop-side detaches the wee one can also fall right out of the crib – another serious safety hazard.
It doesn’t take hardware breakage to cause problems like this. Age-related wear and tear as well as incorrect assembly have led to dozens of safety incidents.
While Pottery Barn Kids may be the highest profile crib manufacturer to recall drop-side cribs, they are not alone. Other similar recalls include LaJobi Inc., owned by Kid Brands Inc.; Bexco Enterprises Inc.’s Million Dollar Baby unit; Jardine Enterprise Ltd.; Simmons Juvenile Products, and Child Craft Industries Inc.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission is in the process of updating its overall safety standards for cribs which – unbelievably! – have not been updated since 1982. Meanwhile, be sure to follow the CPSC’s advice and stop using a drop-side crib if you have one.
