Strollerderby : cribs

Furniture Industry Won't Suffer as Long As We Keep Making Babies

JeanneSager — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:02:00 GMT

Madison Avenue had it right all along. Sex sells. Well - sex that creates babies anyway. One of the brightest spot in today's floundering economy is apparently centered on the children's furniture industry.

That's the news out of the furniture trade show in North Carolina this week, where salesmen are celebrating an expected 23 percent growth in the industry through 2012. Why now, in the midst of a recession? Americans aren't just having more kids - they're giving their kids their own bedrooms. And individual bedrooms means not just additional beds but dressers, desks and other furnishings.

Parents aren't scrimping. They're buying $700 beds and $500 desks. "It's not the cheap stuff like the race-car beds. It's substantial stuff," Tom Liddell, a vice president of sales for California furniture company Powell told the Canadian Press. Not surprising? We're not outfitting the rest of the house quite as lavishly as we are our kids' rooms. At Powell, the kids division saw a 45 percent increase in the past year. The rest of the company's sales are "not that shining," Liddell says.

With a focus on ensuring our kids' bedrooms are safe, it's getting harder to scrimp on their furniture. Where our parents' generation passed cribs from family member to family member, we're worried about toxins in the paint and recalls on the hinges. We're putting more emphasis on greening the home, and we're uneasy about little hands getting caught in handmade toy chests. My daughter actually has my old dresser, with the drawer broken by my brother when we were kids, but the rest of her bedroom furniture was purchased fresh during my pregnancy. Buying a convertible crib was our nod to saving money, but we were wary of cutting any more corners.

Apparently, we weren't the only ones.

Image: Amazon

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New York State Lies About Infant Sleep Dangers

Miriam Axel-Lute — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:34:00 GMT

"Babies sleep safest alone."

If you're in New York state, you've probably seen or heard the TV or radio ads put out by the Office of Children and Family Services declaring this. If you're elsewhere, chances aren't bad that your county has launched a similar effort, trying to warn everyone not to sleep next to their babies no matter what.

They're well intentioned, trying to prevent tragic deaths of infants. But by applying a scientific double standard and by refusing to differentiate between safe and dangerous ways to cosleep these public health campaigns are promoting distortions of the more complicated truth that may have the side effect of increasing SIDS and accident deaths, both still much more common causes of death.

As I write in today's Metroland article "Babies Sleep Safest Where?," here are two of the central problems with saying "babies sleep safest alone":

(1) Babies who actually sleep alone, as in without an adult sleeping in the same room, have twice the risk of SIDS, according to the 2006 Sudden Unexpected Deaths in Infancy study. Even the American Academy of Pediatrics specifically recommends against putting infants to sleep in their own room. (If asked, OCFS isn't against room sharing, but they don't mention that not doing it is dangerous, and it doesn't bother them that their campaign slogan could easily be misconstrued as being against it.)

(2) The "Babies Sleep Safest Alone" campaign, and most of the other groups fighting bedsharing, are relying on numbers that don't sort out drunk babysitters who smoke next to infants face down on couches from breastfeeding mothers on a bed that has been carefully set up to remove safety hazards (or, of course, any of the shades of gray in between). They also don't have accurate numbers for how many people bedshare, meaning they can't translate numbers of deaths into meaningful, comparable death rates. And yet, they insist that sleeping next to an adult is always more dangerous than sleeping a crib, which is as silly as blaming crib sleeping per se for the deaths of infants who strangle on badly made cribs or suffocate on unsafe crib bedding. In fact, a case can be made that if done following all safety precautions, bedsharing actually has a protective function against SIDS, by regulating immature infant respiratory response. (In countries with low smoking rates and high breastfeeding and cosleeping rates, SIDS is nearly nonexistant.)

In the end, there are so many factors to weigh and so many different kinds of risks and benefits to balance that only parents can make the call. They should be helped with information about what makes infant sleep safe or not safe—in all locations—without being bullied into what what mother called "an uninformed choice." To be fair, campaigns like New York's do list some of these risk factors in their print materials, but on TV and radio and in headlines, they only say you shouldn't sleep next to your baby at all.

There are definitely times and contexts (a fair number of them even) when bedsharing isn't safe and a cosleeper crib or crib near the bed makes more sense. But there are also huge number of benefits to safe bedsharing, including increased breastfeeding success rates (which itself saves infant lives), so there are real losses to jumping to these extreme and inaccurate soundbites.

Unfortunately, the debate is getting so polarized and oversimplified that some child protective workers are being instructed to charge parents with neglect for cosleeping, period—while not being taught anything else about sleep risks, including SIDS. Way to drive bedsharing families underground and away from safety information they could use.

To come down off my high horse for a moment: I understand the passion here. The prospect of smothering your baby with your body* is more distressing to think about than the knowledge that babies sometimes die quietly and mysteriously in the other room. It's like how it's scarier to contemplate being the victim of violence than to think about car crashes, even though car crashes are the much greater risk. But the thing is, basing safety behaviors and public health campaigns on what's more emotionally wrenching to contemplate doesn't actually save more lives. You need to actually look at all the facts for that.

(Image from Babies Sleep Safest Alone video PSA.)

For more on the evolutionary history of human sleeping arrangements, and the social history of our belief that babies should sleep alone, check out the work of Dr. James McKenna.

*Which is itself overstated; most deaths in adult beds are from entrapment in the frame or by the wall, not by rollovers.

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Things Fall Apart: Simplicity Bassinets Recall Still Expanding, Awkwardly

Miriam Axel-Lute — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 20:30:00 GMT

Amazing how complicated it can be to identify an unsafe bassinet and get kids out of them. It was late August when the Consumer Products Safety Commission first issued a safety alert warning caregivers not to use Simplicity 3-in-1 or 4-in-1 "close sleeper" bassinets, because when the fabric is detached to place it in "cosleeper" mode and not reattached properly, there is a gap under a metal bar that babies can slip under and strangle.

This was a clear danger, directly responsible for two infant deaths (one of which ocurred nearly a year before the safety alert, which has also raised some eyebrows). So you get them off the market pronto, right?

Enter the complications: First, Simplicity went out of business, and SFCA, the company that bought it, get this, bought only its assets, but not its liabilities. Sweet deal, huh? Sound like a certain Wall Street bailout to you? Anyhow, SFCA assumes no responsibility, and won't issue a recall, so the CPSC has been having to do it piecemeal with retailers.

Meanwhile, it took until late September for someone to figure out that the exact same products were being sold under the Graco and Disney brands as well, and those ought to be included in the recalls.

And then they realized that it was only older models that had the problem, and newer ones have the fabric permanently attached and are fine. Oy vey. Consumer Reports has a video that shows the difference if you're not sure. And the news is still spreading, with one news report just yesterday.

In amongst all this, the ongoing bias against cosleeping (I'll have more on that in detail in a few days) rears its head again: This dangerous product got to market because no one has bothered to set specific safety standards for cosleeping products. And even Consumer Reports disappointingly turns around and in its video uses that as an excuse to recommend the use of regular cribs over cosleepers at all times, even though other cosleepers, and even the later models of this one, don't have this dangerous flaw. The problem here was, in the CPSC's words "metal bars spaced farther apart than 2 3/8 inches, which is the maximum distance allowed under the federal crib safety standard," not being a cosleeper.

Two lessons for safe sleeping: Follow instructions carefully, and if something looks dangerous, don't wait for a manufacturer or the CPSC to tell you it really is.

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Substance Abuse Causes Cosleeping!

Miriam Axel-Lute — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:45:00 GMT

The ridiculous things that get spouted about cosleeping just keep getting more ridiculous.

This quote from a Ft. Myer, Florida, newspaper really takes the cake though:

"Substance abuse is the leading factor in the harm caused to children. It's been linked to abuse and neglect, such as the cases of co-sleeping - where parents or other relatives sleep with children - which has led to infants suffocating."

OK, let's break this down:

Cosleeping while abusing drugs or alcohol is dangerous. Absolutely, no question, no argument.

But saying substance abuse leads to "cases of cosleeping, which has led to infants suffocating" is like saying irresponsible drinking causes cases of driving, which has led to fatal car crashes. It's nonsense that implies it's sleeping next to an adult, not the drugs (or anything else about the context), that's dangerous.

Safe sleeping depends on all kinds of things. Bedsharing can be safe. Cribs can be unsafe. And vice versa. The search for the universal right answer keeps us from making both safer and identifying when is the right time for each.

Photo by matsuyki.

Crib recall

Brett Singer — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 16:30:00 GMT

ParentDish has an item on a crib recall: apparently 320,000 Jardine Cribs have "slats and spindles [that] can break, creating a gap in which a baby's head could become entrapped." There have been 42 reported cases of this happening, although (thankfully) there are only 4 reported injuries, all minor.

The cribs are sold for anywhere from $150 to $450, depending on the model. I don't know if that's expensive or not, but it certainly sounds pricey.

Anyone with a Jardine Crib should visit this website that the company has set up to handle returns.

A big downside: a commenter on ParentDish points out that "it could take 3 weeks before you are able to get a voucher to get a new one. Where's the little one supposed to sleep?" That kinda sucks.

UPDATE: More info about the cribs and the recall, from people who own them.

image: ParentDish

Sale alert: NettoCollection Spring Sample Sale

Brett Singer — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:45:00 GMT

I have about as much fashion sense as a piece of lint with a perm (there's an image for you) and this extends to furniture. But even I can tell that the child furniture from NettoCollection, such as this super-stylish crib, is way cool.

If you want to upsize your baby's style quotient without breaking the bank, check out NettoCollection's annual sample sale. Baby furniture floor samples and accessories are 60% off (check the store for specifics, or click here for the official flier). The sale is going on today, May 2nd, from 11am - 4pm, May 3rd from 12pm - 4pm, and May 5th & 6th from 11am - 4pm. Go to the NettoCollection Showroom at 270 Lafayette Street (@ Prince St.) Suite 1204 New York, NY 10012 (click here for a map, which you shouldn't be embarrassed to use -- I've lived in New York all my life and I seem to get lost in Soho all the time.)

Here are two more images to whet your furniture appetite:

Also worth noting: CUB by NettoCollection is having a drawing for a free CUB Station in White. Visit cubkids.com, and click on "Spring Promotion" for details.

image: NettoCollection.com

Pregcellent: What Gear Do You Need?

Kelly Mills — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:34:00 GMT

There's a post on HuffPo about some fairly ridiculous gadgets for parents. You can get a fancy-pants baby timer for tracking your baby's sleep and nap and diaper schedule, presumably to help avoid the age-old question, "Crap, when did the baby last eat?" Of course, when I had a newborn I could barely dial a phone number, much less program a handheld device with four timers. And there's also the LENA System, which records conversations between you and your baby and analyzes them on a computer. I know I would not want to be caught on tape making annoying babbling sounds, but perhaps this is good practice for the kid should they ever come under government surveillance. But perhaps you own these things, and find them indispensable.

'Course this all raises the question: What exactly do you need? Anywhere from a dresser drawer and a couple diapers, to a pre-warmed sleigh crib and video monitor, depending on who you ask. Part of the problem is that it's hard to know what your baby will even like, and what you'll find easiest to use. My child abhorred the baby swing, and I found the metronome noise it made put me, not my kid, to sleep. However, our vibrating bouncy seat made three months of showering possible. Other could-go-either-way items include the special bed co-sleeping attachment or a crib; a frontpack (versus sling); white noise machines (try the vacuum cleaner in a pinch); diaper wipe warmers; and exersaucers. We got the most life out of our baby bjorn, our cheap-o folding stroller, and the high chair. But if I could have made one slightly more extravagant purchase, what would I have invested in? Screw the LENA System--I would have gotten a night nurse.

New Report on Crib Safety

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:23:00 GMT

According to a warning issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, I should be grateful I survived my infancy, where I slept every night surrounded by stuffed animals and homemade baby quilts. Citing incidents of children suffocating when lying face down on pillows or other bedding, the Safety Commission, speaking with the Associated Press, urged parents to keep cribs free of stuffed animals, pillows, and blankets.

The warning accompanied a recall of 24,000 cribs manufactured by Munire Furniture. It was determined that the mattresses couldn’t be lowered far enough to prevent children from crawling over the railing. I'm not sure how this official determination was made, but it seems pretty obvious judging from this photo that I would never want to leave a child with any mobility alone in that bed. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

As for the prohibition against blankies and cuddly kuala bears, keep in mind that we’re not talking a major epidemic here: there were less than one hundred deaths related to crib gear between 2002 and 2004, and many of those resulted from broken railings or ill-fitted mattresses. Personally, I can’t imagine telling the 18-month-old I care for, who frequently comes to me trailing his blankie and saying, “I want to be cozy,” that he was just going to have to cozy up by his lonesome in a bare crib. (Thomas also repeatedly refers to himself as “T-Bone.” I mean, he’s a caricature of cuteness. Sometimes I wish he would tone it down just a notch.) If you have a firm mattress that is well fitted to the crib—you should not be able to get more than two fingers into any gap, said the safety officials—and a functioning railing, you should be able to rest assured that your baby is, well, resting assured.

Things Fall Apart: The Longest List Yet

Karen Murphy — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:32:00 GMT

See what happens when I take a week off from this feature? Aqua-Dots. That's what happens. I could have had fun with that one. But that's not all. No, there's Curious Gearge. Again. And ducks, LOTS of ducks. And cars. And tops. And sunglasses. And folding chairs (just go with it). And wagons. And robots. And cribs. Something for everyone! And here's the gory details:

Curious George Plush Dolls. I love me some George, but I'm not liking the lead factor. These 12-inch plush dolls came in various outfits remininscent of the Village People and have plastic faces, and have been sold for aboout two years now. Full refund available.

Duck Family Collectable Tin Wind-Up Toys. Yeah. Covered with lead. Cute, though! Sold since January for about 8 bucks, and you can get a refund or replacement item.

Dizzy Ducks Music Box. I like ducks, but not this much. Take these back, please! Sold since March for about $12, and like the duck family (same importer) you can receive a refund or replacement item.

Pull-Back Action Dollar Store Cars. From the dollar store; do you need to know more? Sold in 4-packs of Super Wheels or 2-packs of Super Racers. Whatever.

Winnie-the-Pooh Spinning Tin Tops. Sold waaay back in 2003. Which means your kid's been sucking on that lead-laden handle for four years. I just thought I should point that out. You can get your $12 refunded or pick out another lead-covered toy, your choice.

Yellow Dollar Store Kid's Sunglasses. Sold for, well, a dollar. At you-know-where. Go ahead, ask for your refund, I dare you. But only for the yellow ones.

Folding Chairs . Kids could sit on these. Well, they could! Like next week, at the kid's table at Thanksgiving. Right? Am I right? But these chairs, they collapse. So you will not want that. They were sold at office supply stores for about $30 from August 2005 through July 2007. If you have some you can get a free repair kit.

"Big Red" Wagons. Sold at Northern Tool & Equipment for about $60 from July 2007 through September 2007. They're metal with removeable wooden sides. Lead paint. Get your replacements while they're hot!

"Robot 2000" Battery-Operated Tin Robots. Twelve inches tall with a red light on its head. I kind of want one. Sold for the oast year for about $25, you can get a refund or replacement toy.

Wendy Bellissimo Collection Convertible Cribs . Imported by Bassetbaby for Babies 'R Us, sold from July 2005 through October 2007 for about $500.The bolts at the top corners of the crib can come loose and create a severe entrapment hazard. You can get a free repair kit.

That's it. I'm tired now.

Crib Bumpers: Just Say No

Karen Murphy — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:26:00 GMT

I hate crib bumpers. Oh, I get what they're good for. They're good for ~~keeping precious babies from bumping their precious heads~~ babies to use to amuse themselves, either by untying them and sucking on the strings so they're all spitty or by untying them and piling them up in the crib in order to use to effect an escape. I've always said that crib bumpers were bad news and now I've managed to make the New York Times listen.

The power I have, it's incredible.

Because there's a new study that claims that the risk of death due to crib bumpers outweighs the benefit. In the 10 years from 1995 to 2005, 27 babies died from strangling on those damned ties on crib bumpers. Mine were far too short for any but the most pencil-necked baby to strangle on, but apparently 27 were longer than that.

However the Juvenile Products Manufacturing Association claims that "the Consumer Product Safety Commission had assured the group that 'there was no direct causal connection with properly made traditional crib bumpers and any risk of fatality' and that the new study might therefore 'contain inaccurate conclusions and data.'" But of course, they would say that. Being so impartial and all.

So while the numbers are relatively small (less than 3 babies died per year of the study), are you willing to take that chance that your baby isn't the one in a zillion?

Yeah, me neither. Which is why the bumpers came off after the second baby.

Things Fall Apart: NettoCollection Cribs Recalled

Karen Murphy — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 11:57:00 GMT

In the maelstrom of the media-whipped frenzy that the recent toy recalls have become, we forget about how the recall system has worked in the past, how it operated until this whole thing got so far out of hand and we began to feel that manufacturers were playing fast and loose with our safety and our good will.

Not so. We have forgotten that the majority of recalls of products that affect our kids are voluntary, made by the manufacturer who is desperately trying to make things right and protect us, the consumer, not out of fear of reprisal but simply because it's the right thing to do.

NettoCollection is recalling two of its cribs, the "Moderne" (model #NC-136) and the "Loft" (model #NC-140) because there's a possibility the side rail spindles can separate from the top rail, causing a strangulation and entrapment hazard. Only these model numbers, with production date codes of 09/03 and 02/04 (model number and production date code information is printed on a label on the crib end panels) are included in the recall, totaling about 400 cribs.

If your crib is affected, you can contact the NettoCollection toll-free at 800.996.3886 or via their website.

Crafty: Sweet Modern Crib From Ikea Hacks

Patti — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 12:28:00 GMT

For design-conscious parents on a budget, finding a decent looking crib is a near impossibility. Even parents with more cash to throw at the problem may balk at spending a ton of dough on something that will only be used for a short time. This Ikea Hack might be the answer to your prayers if a stylish crib eludes you. You could probably get fairly creative with cutout designs on the end panels, but keep safety in mind: little hands and feet can get stuck in the darndest places.

Babble Talk: Luxe Crib Round-Up, Including a Round Crib!

Karen Murphy — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:25:00 GMT

As always, you can rely on the intrepid Babble review crew to roll out the best when it comes to cool baby stuff. I've never even heard of most of these cribs, let alone thought about dropping up to $1300 on one! But hey, cribs are hand-me-downable, aren't they? So if you have three kids, that's only a little more than $400 per kid: a veritable bargain!

However, Babble's pick remains the stylish-yet-affordable Cosatto Slotti (say that three times fast!) at a very reasonable $250. And there's always the Ikea Tassa, which for $140 and some gnashed knuckles from the assembly process can be more than serviceable. My personal favorite, though, is the oval Stokke Sleepi Crib: it's portable and convertible into both a bassinet and a toddler bed, which makes the $750 price tag look like a steal.

Bunkbed Cribs: No, Really

Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 13:32:00 GMT

Are you kidding me? A double-decker crib? Why didn't they have these back when my twins were born?

We found this over on apartment therapy, but you can buy them here for $649.99.

Wait a minute. $649.99? I think I paid more than that for each of my cribs. Maybe not, I don't remember exactly, but I know they were in the $500-$600 neighborhood each. Hmph. Now I don't know weather to feel ripped off or be concerned for the safety of the babies in these cribs. This website says it meets Federal and OSHA safety standards).

Do you any of our readers have one of these or know anyone who has one of these? I'd love to know what you guys think.

It's My Kid in a Box: Cool Cardboard Crib

Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 17:04:00 GMT

Greg Allen of Daddy Types (and Babble) is a pro at tracking down the most unique baby products in the world. His latest find is no exception. Check out this "baby crib" from Album di Famiglia. It's made out of heavy-duty cardboard (think TV box) and set on casters for port-a-crib portability.

The crib is pretty fun to look at, and for a moment you can let yourself imagine all the ways you'd use it with your kid (wicked 360's), but then you peruse the DaddyTypes' comments and your buzz is instantly killed.

The cardboard crib is only available in Europe, so anyone worried about it not meeting US safety standards, let me save you the trouble: It doesn't.

[Photo credit: Thierry Bouet]

Video: Professor Product Pounds on the Graco Pack 'N Play

thezeroboss — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 18:26:00 GMT

Yes, he's a bit of a dork...but he's our dork. Babble today launched a new video segment called Professor Product, in which our intrepid lab rat takes a series of kid-related products for a spin. This week it's portable cribs, with the Graco Pack 'N Play emerging as the king of the pack.