Baby gear

• Babies need lots of stuff to stay safe and comfortable.
• Get a car seat and make sure you can install it correctly.
• Be sure any pre-owned items are cleaned and the right size.

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The best beds for babies are full-size cribs. Cribs are covered by mandatory federal safety standards.

In June 2011, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) banned the sale of drop-side cribs (cribs with sides that go up and down) because faulty or defective hardware and drop-sides that have detached from the cribs have seriously harmed or killed many babies. The new safety rules also require that a crib’s mattress support, slats, and hardware be stronger than in the past.

Shopping tips

• Buy a new crib if you can, as opposed to using a hand-me-down, or one purchased on craigslist.com or similar sites.
• Be sure the crib has sides that don’t move.
• Buy the crib mattress when you buy the crib. Make sure it fits snugly. Otherwise, a baby may get trapped in the space between the mattress and the crib. You should not be able to put more than two fingers between the mattress and the crib frame.

If you get a used crib, make sure:

• It doesn’t have drop sides that move up and down.
• It does not have any broken, missing, or loose slats, spindles, or hardware.
• Corner posts are less than 1/16 inch high (or more than 16 inches high). Otherwise, clothing could get caught and your baby could be strangled.
• The paint is not peeling or cracking.
• There are no splinters or rough edges.
• It does not have cutout designs in the headboard or footboard.

Safety tips

• Always place your baby on his back to sleep, unless your health care provider tells you not to.
• Dress your baby in a sleep sack or pajamas with feet to keep him warm, instead of adding a blanket or any loose bedding to the crib.
• Do not use an electric blanket or heating pad. A baby’s skin burns easily.
• Only use a sheet made specifically for a crib.
• If you feed your baby in your bed, put her back in her crib to sleep. Do not let her sleep in your bed.
• You could roll over on her, or she could fall off or suffocate.
• Do not put your baby to sleep on a sofa, waterbed, quilt, sheepskin, pillow, or soft mattress. He could fall or suffocate.

More safety tips

• To prevent risk of suffocation, do not use bumper pads or any type of soft bedding such as pillows, quilts or comforters in the crib.
• Do not use sleep positioners designed to keep a baby on his or her back. They can pose a risk of suffocation.
• Do not use bedside sleepers. These are baby beds that attach to or abut against an adult bed. They can pose a strangulation risk.
• For children under 2 years of age, never use a portable bedrail to prevent a child from falling from an adult bed.

For more information, visit Babies & Kids on the Consumer Reports website.

July 2011

Copyright 2011, Consumers Union of United States, Inc. All rights reserved. No redistribution allowed.