Dropside cribs outlawed..

Morgan - posted on 12/16/2010

I have never had a problem with my stool its non slip as I said and I only use it maybe once a month because my daughter can stand up, like I said it was only a suggestion. I really dont get why any one would still use one. What is the acceptable number of dead babies before we stop using them?? Should we wait until we have at least 1000? 5000?

Liz - posted on 12/16/2010

Morgan-You don't see how using a stool to pick up a baby out of their crib is dangerous. People fall off stools everyday, yes even the nonslip ones. They have been "banned" in Washington not Montana so I'm not too worried. I did not half ass the assembly, the mattress fits in the crib nice and snug with no gaps, and it seems safe to me.

We can only do so much and many of us have to take whats available. I cannot go spend $200 or $300 on another one especially when a huge part of the problem with crib fatalities is poor assembly.

Morgan - posted on 12/16/2010

by the time I dropped my crib down my daughter was sleeping through the night and I have a no slip stool, I cant see it being a hazard unless your drunk. I think it is far more dangerous to use a "banned" crib then to use a stool to lower you child into a crib thats safe.



and I never said I was a better mother I was giving you an idea.

But do whats best for you

Shannen - posted on 12/16/2010

I think Australia sells dropside cots more than these solid ones you are all talking about.
My old cot (mold destroyed it) Was a metal one which was probably so old it wouldn't have met any safety standard. Never had any problems and would have still been using it now except it got ruined.
The new cot. Mmmmm not sure if i should put this on here but anyway, It is second hand and didn't have any of the screws and bolts it needed to assemble it when we got it. The cot was free and the bolts cost us around 30 bucks we sanded it back and painted it. It works as well as any brand new cot. There is no gaps between the cot itself and the mattress which is where the ssues start. Also there is no way in hell my child even at 2 could get the side down.

Liz - posted on 12/16/2010

I never liked the ones that you pick up the side a little to drop it down, my oldest figured it out pretty fast. The crib I have now is 20 years old and very sturdy and the side releases by pushing in a pedal underneath and everything is made from metal instead of cheap plastic.

Shauna - posted on 12/16/2010

When i was pregnant i went to a demonstration of a company selling a crib called baby tenda..... they have doors on the outside to put your child in, it works with people with disabilities. Also i saw on a show "little people" were using these cribs for their children.

Shauna - posted on 12/16/2010

I dont use a Drop Side Crib. Too many recalls, just b/c your next door neighbors kids didnt get hurt doesnt mean its not going to happen to you. I dont know the details of why so many are being recalled and dont care to read into, i simply bought one that wasnt a dropside and frankly i think its alot more attractive crib anyways. The Childcare i work at uses dropside cribs and i do agree---- they are tougher than heck to drop down!!! so i dont know how a child would make it fall down.

Just my personal opinion money doesnt matter when it comes to my childs safety and if its being recalled stupid reason or not, something has happened and several times for it to be recalled. Im not going to risk it.

Anika - posted on 12/16/2010

I wouldn't trust myself in the middle of the night standing on a stool to get my baby. IMO that's more dangerous. I'm sure more accidents have happened falling off a stool than cot incidents.

~♥Little Miss - posted on 12/16/2010

Well what can I say Morgan, you are just a better mommy than me. :)

Morgan - posted on 12/16/2010

I am also 4'11 and I have a solid hard wood crib, I use a step stool and have no problems reaching my daughter that way :)

~♥Little Miss - posted on 12/16/2010

Dude...I have 2 *gasp* yes 2 dropside cribs. One for home and one for grandma. I am freaking SHORT! 4'11". I would not be able to reach my child. if the bed is on the lowest setting with the side down, i can only reach if my kid is sitting up! Yes you all can laugh.

Julianne - posted on 12/16/2010

do you think if they made stronger clips then they wouldn't need to ban them?

Anika - posted on 12/16/2010

I don't think you can get a cot in NZ which isn't a drop down. But we do have strict safety regulations the same or similar to those in Australia. Quite frankly, I think a ban is going way overboard. I don't think I could get my daughter out of the cot if she was lying down. In fact, last year when I was pregnant I broke one of the cots at work leaning my preggy belly (probably wasn't good for me belly either!) on the side trying to lie a baby down in one with the side up (I couldn't put the side down with my arms full). It's not the height of the legs but the depth of the cot that stops me from being able to reach. And I'm not short either. I'm average height.

Dana - posted on 12/16/2010

Okay, yeah, I was just looking at that, it seems they try to make them safer but, they're still sold here and in other places around the world.

Jenn - posted on 12/16/2010

Nope - they still sell them because I know someone who went across the border to get one for their kid.

Dana - posted on 12/16/2010

I'm not sure anyone actually sells walkers here either, now that I think about it. It seems that they're all stationary "play stations" now.

Dana - posted on 12/16/2010

I just say that because we hear so often how the US takes things like this too far.

Jenn - posted on 12/16/2010

Why would it be ironic? I may be wrong though and they might not be banned yet but they were going to - I'd have to check I guess. We banned walkers years ago and yet they still sell them in the States - seems like we are more quick to jump the gun on banning products that pose a possible health risk.

Dana - posted on 12/16/2010

Really, I didn't think they were but, that would be ironic. lol

Jenn - posted on 12/16/2010

They're already banned in Canada I believe.

Rosie - posted on 12/16/2010

makes you feel old doesn't it laura? sigh....

Isobel - posted on 12/16/2010

I LOVE the fact that EVERYTHING I did with my babies is now horribly abusive ;P

I had bumpers on the side of my drop-side crib, the kids slept with blankets, we fed them cereal when they were a few months old, I let them taste food I was cooking, we stopped breastfeeding (generally) at a year, I tapped her hand when she reached for something dangerous...blah blah blah...it goes on and on.

my god...I'm my grandmother. Next I'll be recommending whiskey for teething ;0

Krista - posted on 12/16/2010

I definitely like the idea of cutting the legs off of a crib -- that would make it a lot easier for a shorter parent to reach, but wouldn't affect the safety of it at all.

Amanda - posted on 12/16/2010

just want to point out that i am sure the mothers who lost infants to the drop side cribs didn't see a problem with the cribs either..... they make me nervous, we had one for my son and no matter how many times i inspected it i just didn't feel comfortable so we moved toddler into a bed and put baby in the regular 'ol-pain-in-the-ass crib. as far as cribs for women with disabilities, it is a shame that something practical and safe for baby doesn't exist. i am not physically disabled and am of medium height and the other night i while i was putting the sleeping baby into his crib, i actually fell in with him, it sucked! can't imagine what it would be like for a disabled woman!

Dana - posted on 12/16/2010

Heather are you sure your comment got deleted? Mods in DM don't really delete comments.

C. - posted on 12/16/2010

The only thing I see a problem with in the cribs posted..

1) I would be bumping my head on the top rails either trying to put my baby in or take them out. I can't reach very far straight out in front, either, so I'd literally have to put my whole body in there just so the baby wouldn't be right at the edge.

2) Say you left the bottom part unlocked by accident.. A toddler that hasn't yet made it to a toddler bed could easily reach over the side and manipulate the lock and climb out.

With the dropside cribs, you don't have either of those. A baby or toddler can't reach all that way to do both sides and people like me won't have to worry about hitting their head every time they put the baby to sleep or pick them up.

Also, if they went back to using metal parts instead of plastic for the dropsides (like they SHOULD HAVE done after a bunch of recalls), it's more likely that the dropsides wouldn't have failed and caused infant death.

And I do have to agree with Kati.. If you check the screws and everything periodically, there should be no excuse for all those deaths and recalls.

Julianne - posted on 12/15/2010

hey...cutting the legs off..that's an idea! I already took the wheels off it.

Julianne - posted on 12/15/2010

krista, im pretty short, so to reach my daughter i just used a stepping stool. I like the idea of the sliding door. It would have made things a lot easier.

Once i bought my crib, it was recalled a few days later, seems like stuff like that happens to me more often than not....

Heather - posted on 12/15/2010

Really? My comment got deleted? All I had said was good luck to people with disabilities who wont be able to get their babies out of the crib.

Nikki - posted on 12/15/2010

I can't believe the number of recalls that's really scary. I don't think that I saw anything but drop down cots when we were shopping, I hate, it's noisy, but I can't lay Issy down without having the side down. I have almost considered getting my hubby to chop off the legs to make it shorter, that could be an option for those of us who struggle with the height.

Dana - posted on 12/15/2010

I think the cribs that Krista posted are rather cool. When Ethan was a baby I was looking for a pack-n-play that I'd seen on TV with a zipper on the side so you could put the baby in that way rather than trying to bend over the side and lower a baby in. I would have LOVED a crib like that. If we have another, I may look into one of the cribs posted.

Stifler's - posted on 12/15/2010

This is crazy. The other cots look ridiculous. The cot we have is like 60 years old and has a drop side and I don't see a potential hazard at all? WTF

April - posted on 12/15/2010

for some reason my posts are going the welcome page??

Krista - posted on 12/15/2010

Our dropside crib was recalled quite awhile ago, and while they sent us a "kit" to immobilize the dropping side, we just didn't feel good about using it anymore, and so bought a regular crib.

I do agree that there's got to be some kind of way to help disabled or very short parents get their babies out of regular cribs. I mean, shit, what do "little" parents do?

Oh, there you go -- I haz mad Google skills:

http://www.innovativecribdesigns.com/
http://www.babeetenda.com/crib.htm

Bonnie - posted on 12/15/2010

Morgan, damn that is a good idea, I should have used a stool too.

Shannen - posted on 12/15/2010

I use a drop side crib. It works fine. Our mattress fits snuggly in it.
Whats next no more 3 wheeler prams of any sort because the likely hood that they will tip?

Rosie - posted on 12/15/2010

i guess i don't see it that way. would you place your child near blinds? you know it's not safe to so you don't. you should know that screws can become loose on the crib, so you should check them periodically. its just something you do.
i do see your point if the screws were just popping out all of a sudden, but from what i gather it happens because of the use of that particular part.
once again, i hate to make it seem like these people are stupid, but i just don't see how it's the crib manufacturers fault. remember when lucas climbed on his dresser a few months ago and it fell on him along with the tv? i should've known better, that was MY fault for not strapping/screwing it down. i wasn't doing what i could to prevent my child from getting hurt.

Dana - posted on 12/15/2010

It's not always the parents fault though, that's really the point, imo. The manufacturers have recalls because they build them like shit.

Rosie - posted on 12/15/2010

i think it's stupid too. if it's put together correctly they don't cause problems. the problem isn't with the slats it's with the poles that the sides slide up and down on. they are screwed into the crib, and sometimes that screw loosens causing the pole to be able to bend a bit-enough to have a kids head get caught. if you check your screws periodically, and put it together correctly you will have no problems.
i hate to call people idiots who lost their child, but it's your job to be proactive about things involving your childs safety. if you don't then take something bad might happen. not the crib manufacturers fault.

Dana - posted on 12/15/2010

I should add, I still use my dropside crib.

Dana - posted on 12/15/2010

I see no problem with getting rid of them all together, there's been too many recalls on them. It's time to make a better crib, just because it's been around for ages and people have used them with no mishaps doesn't mean they're the best route.

C. - posted on 12/15/2010

@Tara.. Even if I use a stool, it wouldn't help. Our son has always been tall, so we had him on the lowest setting for a long time b/c he would stand up and practically fall over the side if we didn't.

But anyway, back to the stool thing.. That won't help my arm grow several inches to even it out. I don't have full range of motion.. Can't raise it, can't put it straight out to the side, and I can't reach very far with it.

C. - posted on 12/15/2010

@Caitlin.. That's a great idea, but my son was far too heavy to lift him out like that.

@Morgan.. If the crib is put together properly, it shouldn't be too big of a deal. Yes, there are some manufacturing defects, but the stupidity of some people outweighs the defects, IMO.

@Amie.. Hubby helped, but I mostly put it together b/c he was too stubborn to read the instructions. Men are so.. UGH! when it comes to that!

I don't know.. We were raised with dropside cribs, my sisters used dropside cribs for all of their kids and I used one with my son. We never had any problems with babies sticking their heads between the rails (which, really, that can happen w/ or w/o a dropside, you just have to make sure the slats are closer together). We also never had problems with our kids falling between the rails and mattress.

@Morgan, I also wanted to add.. A crib that swings open could have the same outcome of a dropside if it's sold to a complete nincompoop. I guess us women with disabilities can't win.. And in that case, is the government going to hire someone for each of our families so we can have someone there to lift our baby in and out of the crib everyday?? Doubtful and rather impractical.

Tara - posted on 12/15/2010

whoa, the article also said there had been over 9 MILLION recalls of cribs in the last decade, that's a lot of cribs to be sold and recalled for potential safety hazards. I imagine not all of those 9 million would be returned or repaired to fix the defect, leaving tons of babies at risk from issues.
I would say if there is a good enough reason to recall them, there's probably good enough reason to stop making them.
I'm sure some company will come out with an alternative so that people who have difficulty using a fixed rail system will still be able to get their babies and and out.
I never used a crib, co slept with all of them. However whenever I baby sat my nephews, I could never get them in their cribs without dropping them the last inch, unless I stood on a stool!! I'm only five feet tall, and once the mattress was on the lowest position, there was no way I could deposit a sleeping baby without letting them fall the last few inches!!

Morgan - posted on 12/15/2010

Maybe you ladies with some disabilities could invent a crib that has a side that swings open??

would that help?

I personally would not put my daughter into a dropside crib, I am perfectly healthy but not even 5 feet tall so I got a stool I keep under my crib to get my daughter out when she decides not to stand up :)

Katherine - posted on 12/15/2010

Or to help people with disabilities.

Katherine - posted on 12/15/2010

My friend had a crib with a sliding panel like thing to get the baby out. It was really cool. Or instead of a drop-side it could open down. There are many other ways to make a crib with out it being dangerous for the baby.

Caitlin - posted on 12/15/2010

Well, as long as you inspect it, and put it together right, they are fine. I have a drop side crib used for both my girls, but never used the drop side because I have aheck of a time getting it down. It has the 2 mattress positions so she she was still a baby, I didn't have to bend over too far.

Christina, when my first was little and I had a hard time bending over because of back issues, so I put a receiving blanket under them and when I needed to pick her up, I grabbed the 4 corners and lifted her one handed.. It may have looked odd, but it worked well and when they were older i'd just grab their sleepers (zip up, not snap ones) and lift them up that way (when I didn't have to support the neck..) My 2 year old thinks it's hillarious when I do this to her at times (now only as play, she doesn't need help going anywhere).

Amie - posted on 12/15/2010

Another law passed because of massive stupidity.

When installed and set up properly (barring defects that happen during manufacturing) they are perfectly fine.

This is not to be used as scientific fact:

All 4 of mine used drop side cribs. None of them ever fell apart, none of them got their heads stuck, we had not one issue with them.

I was the one who set them up. I am a woman and I know how to follow the directions. I did not let my husband anywhere near them because he takes a mans approach "well I can figure it out, I don't need instructions". Ugh.

LaCi - posted on 12/15/2010

I don't even know what to think about it. I had a dropside crib, and quite frankly it was harder than hell to get the damn thing to go down. While he was itty bitty I just left it down to avoid to struggle with it. It was definitely not dropping on it's own.