Crib Bumpers No Longer Recommended by American Academy of Pediatrics
By Glinda
The American Academy of Pediatrics has advised that they no longer recommend the use of crib bumpers.
Yes, the ones people have been using for YEARS. Pretty much every single crib bedding set at BabiesRUs has a bumper.
Now, I’m not saying that there is no basis for the new recommendation, I’m sure there is. It’s just that all of a sudden, bam! Don’t use them anymore! They can kill! I’d heard various things throughout the years about crib bumpers, and when my daughter (briefly, like, two weeks) slept in a crib we had the breathable ones.
But the whole notion of the crib bumpers is to keep their arms and legs from getting stuck in between the slats, as well as in my daughter’s case, to keep her head/body from bumping against the slats and waking her up. Which she did constantly, which is why we started co-sleeping. She also would try to climb up on top of the bumpers, as they had to be stretched fairly tightly to stay on properly, thus resulting in something she could get her feet up on. Scary stuff, much scarier than the supposed risks of us rolling on top of her or something, which has never even remotely happened. When I sleep with her I am so hyper-aware of her presence that I barely even move.
Neither of my children did well in the crib, and luckily we had bought the convertible kind, because at least we got to use it as a head and foot board for my son’s big boy bed. Otherwise, total waste of four hundred bucks.
So if you aren’t supposed to use crib bumpers, I wonder what people are going to do? Will people pay for them but not use them? Or will all of these sets suddenly go on sale?
October 20th, 2011 at 4:07 am
In Australia they have been discouraged for years. Boo is 13 next week and I was urged not to use them before he was born.
Clearly here we are ahead of the times.
Or just AWESOME.
October 20th, 2011 at 11:45 am
Eh, I think people will still sell/buy them, because they’re pretty, but I also expect they will be plastered with all kinds of warnings to remove the bumpers before placing your child in the crib. You know, sort of the decorative throw pillow thing.
October 21st, 2011 at 2:25 pm
I just found out today that nuts are no longer prohibited for the under 2 set — in fact, now we are supposed to feed the babies nuts early to prevent food allergies! I suppose I can stop feeling guilty for letting the toddler eat nuts back when it was recommended against.
Can I just say I’m about to give up on recommended medical advice for healthy living? which is pathetic, as I’m a doctor.
October 24th, 2011 at 9:00 pm
Man, you guys ARE behind. Health Canada put out a statement against crib bumpers back in 2005. Actually, it recommends against any soft bedding for infants. So I didn’t bother with the fancy bedding sets. Anybody here who does is just wasting their money. I just bought some cute fitted sheets for his crib, and once he was old enough for a blanket, used a crocheted (air holes!) blanket in a complementary shade.
No, it wasn’t as lovely as the fancy sets in the dream baby rooms. But it was safe. I’ll save my money for a set he can appreciate when he’s a bit older.