Us parents want the best for our children. That being said, having kids is a very costly undertaking. This means that many of us either reuse hand-me-downs from older siblings, or generous offers from others, particularly when it comes to very expensive items. This can save a family hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in a time where every penny counts.
Here’s the kicker, sometimes items that were once very common in a nursery, or even trendy, can be dangerous for infants. Parents need to be particularly aware of the items they use every day with their new baby to ensure that they aren’t needlessly placing their child in harm’s way.
Reason enough for authorities to ban some of them for good measure. Here are a few such items and know why they have been banned:
1. Banned: Baby Walkers
Baby walkers provide babies the option to stand and walk before they are capable of doing so on their own two legs – they also typically delay motor development in our children, but that’s not the dangerous part.
But soon, many cases of babies tripping over stairs or crashing into stoves or electrical items were reported.
This is because babies’ legs are not sturdy enough to get a hold on the walker’s tiny wheels, making them spin out of control. This is why some countries strongly discourage the use of baby walkers. But they are completely banned in Canada.
2. Banned: Bath Seats
Bath seats are meant to help an infant sit up in a bath tub. The issue with these products aren’t the seats themselves but the false sense of safety they give to overtired parents. Sometimes these seats tip over and an infant can fall into the water and drown if a parent isn’t an arm’s reach away to prevent the fall.
The CPSC reported that there were 174 deaths and over 300 more ɑᴄᴄɪԀᴇптs involving the baby seats between 1983 and 2009. In 2010 the CPSC set forward new safety standards for the seats, so make sure that your baby bath seat is newer than 2010, or skip buying one all together and opt for a hard plastic baby bath tub and a bath time ritual where you never turn your back and keep one hand on baby at all times.
3. Banned: BPA Bottles
In 2010, Many nations, specifically Canada, France, Denmark, the European Union and China, have put a ban on bisphenol A (BPA) products because they are linked to numerous ailments including breast cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes, early puberty, obesity, hyperactivity, and heart disease.
BPA usage in baby products like bottles and sippy cups are particularly dangerous for small children because they’ve been proven to disturb the way that human hormones operate, essentially blocking normal hormone function.
4. Banned: Drop Side Cribs
Drop side cribs were the ultimate in convenience for parents. With the offer of no more bad backs or neck strains when bringing the baby in and out of their crib, they were an ingenious option to help tired parents everywhere. Unfortunately, they were not baby-proofed.
But the problem with this product are those underwires that facilitate folding of the tent for easy storage. Something that wraps up so quickly and tightly can easily wrap around your baby leading to easy suffocation or even strangulation.
5. Baby Powder
Baby powder seems so innocuous but it turns out some ingreԀɪᴇnts, namely talc, are quite dangerous. In a recent settlement, Baby Powder giant Johnson and Johnson was ordered to pay 417 million in damages to Eva Echeverria who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and claimed it was caused by decades of use of the baby powder (it was later tossed out by judges).
Her lawyer said, “There’s a problem all over the country with women using talcum powder on a daily basis for 10, 20, 30, 40 years.” At this point the science is not conclusive with some stuԀɪᴇs finding small to moderate cancer risk increases, but the stuԀɪᴇs involve women self-reported. Either way, why take the chance? Many women are switching to talc-free powder just to stay on the safe side.
6. Baby Sling Carriers
Parents love sling carriers because they are simple and cost effective ways of keeping the baby close to a parent’s body. You can get them in a number of colours and patterns, which is why they are so many fashionable parents’ first choice.
However, baby sling carriers apparently lead to suffocation of the baby if carried too close. There is also the risk of an older baby slipping out through the sling while napping.
7. What’s Next? Sleep Positioners
Parents want to keep their young babies on their backs, particularly since back sleeping has been linked to a prevention of SIDs in children who are too young to have appropriate head control. Sleep positioners are also called ‘nests’ or sometimes ‘anti-roll’ products and have been linked to putting a baby in a position that could possibly cut off their oxygen.
The FDA released a statement warning parents of how these products have been linked to more than 12 infant deaths when babies rolled from their sides to their fronts and stopped breathing. These products have been banned from eBay, with a statement released saying, “Following recent recommendations by US authorities, items of this nature will now be prohibited from being sold on our platform.”, but still unfortunately remain for sale on Amazon.
8. Crib Tents
Crib tents, also called tent mesh, were initially meant to safeguard a sleeping baby from bugs and insects. It was also used to protect them from pets who might venture inside the crib and hurt the baby.
But the problem with this product are those underwires that facilitate folding of the tent for easy storage. Something that wraps up so quickly and tightly can easily wrap around your baby leading to easy suffocation or even strangulation.
