5 Baby Products That Parents Should Avoid
Every parent wants to keep their children safe, but sometimes it’s easier said than done. With so many products marketed for infants it’s hard to know which product is the safest bottle warmer or the safest baby crib mattress. That’s why it pays to do research on which products are safe such as the Kiinde Kozii bottle warmer or a Newton baby mattress. Read on to know which products you shouldn’t trust:
1. Infant bathtub seats
A big mistake some parents make is treating infant bathtub seats as safety devices and not safety aids. These are intended to be used only under the supervision of a parent. Unfortunately, this product has led to the drowning of many infants since it only takes a few seconds and just one inch of water for an infant to drown. This product leads many parents to feel a false sense of security, making it unsafe and meaning it should be avoided.
2. Crib tents
The American Academy of Pediatrics warns that crib tents are not a safe product to use and advises against the use of them. This is because crib accessories, like a crib tent pose an unnecessary risk to infant health and safety when they are unsupervised and sleeping. If the tent becomes detached or inverted it can result in the suffocation or strangulation of an infant so it should be avoided altogether.
3. Drop side cribs
Drop side cribs are prone to breaking and hundreds of infants have died as a result of this. If the dropside breaks it can become detached from one or more of the crib corners. This leaves a space for infants to wedge themselves and get injured, or worse get stuck and suffocate. It’s not worth the risk of injury and death to use this type of crib and so this product should not be used.
4. Baby walkers
Not only does this product not work as intended but it also poses an unnecessary risk to infant health and safety. Studies have shown that this device that is supposed to support infant development can actually impede it by making the infant rely on the walker to move around. In addition, this product can give infants access to unsafe areas such as staircases or help them reach unsafe things that are normally out of their reach. The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates around 2,900 emergency room visits as a result of this product for infants under 15 months.
5. Baby wipe warmers
Baby wipe warmers are linked with causing severe diaper rashes as a result of the warmer creating the perfect environment for bacteria and fungi to grow on the wipes. You will need to constantly clean the warmer to keep it clean enough for use and it just isn’t worth it as they are an unnecessary product.