Are Crib Bumper Pads Safe?
Monday April 18, 2005
Crib bumper pads are a very common baby product, and parents often use bumper pads thinking they are increasing the safety of their child's crib. However, many groups are now recommending that parents skip the crib bumper, saying the need for crib bumpers has passed and that using these products may actually put children at greater risk for suffocation or death.
Comments
i think thats true in some cases, but my baby is 4 months old, since she was 2 and half months she’s been turning and hitting her head on the bar and has woken up screaming and crying and also he legs have been dangling in between the bars and actually has hurt her self that way……so what would be your suggestion then? to still keep the bumper pads off?
I think that once your child is past the risk of SIDS, at around one year of age, then it’s OK to have bumpers. But until then, to reduce the risk of death, these health and safety organizations are saying “No Bumpers.” There are still injuries that can occur, like you mention, but those injuries are slight when compared to death. In the article I linked to, Corley mentions that the reason why we ever used bumpers in the first place was because of unsafe cribs… the slats were so far apart that babies’ heads became entrapped. Now, with safer crib regulations, they aren’t really needed for the original purpose and so now they serve more as decoration. Bumpers are still on the market, today, so ultimately the decision is up to parents… you have to weigh the risks and benefits. I used them with my son, but given what I know today, I wouldn’t.