Bedside and other co-sleeping devices"Although sleeping with a baby in an adult bed is a common practice among some cultures, it can be dangerous....Currently, safety standards don’t exist for either co-sleepers or bedside sleepers. Until they do, we think the safest place for your baby to sleep is in a crib."Sling carriers"As slings grow in popularity, so do the number of serious injuries. No safety standards exist for slings. We think you should skip the sling and opt for other types of infant carriers, which have safer track records."
Sad and frustrating news, considering that so many people look to Consumer Reports for making choices based on safety. It is too bad that people who have little knowledge of the actual data on cosleeping vs. crib sleeping will take this information and avoid sleeping with their babies. As for the sling carrier scare tactics, I am simply amazed! Even as researchers raise questions about the degree to which strollers can actually contribute to developmental and language delays, we have the trusted voice of Consumer Reports telling nervous parents that they should "skip the sling."
Read the whole article here. Then leave a comment on their online thread, or write a letter of complaint.
GRRRRRRRR!!!
ReplyDeletelike I said on the thread: it seems to me that the common thread in all of these "dangerous" products is a lack of education and care on the part of the parent.
ReplyDeleteI get so irritated when a chance to educate people is wasted and a big publication chooses instead to use scare tactics!
sigh.
Plus the part about "slings growing in popularity" made me laugh. What a ridiculous statement.
Thanks for posting this - I saw it over the weekend and was disappointed. We're expecting our first and I was saying to my husband that I wonder what the data is on injuries sustained while parents carry their babies(i.e., "skull fractures, head injuries, contusions and abrasions"). Things happen and parents can slip and fall, get distracted, fall down the stairs, bang a head on a shelf etc. Given that it would be the baseline risk of injury, the question is whether injuries with slings is significantly increased. I'm not convinced.
ReplyDeleteUnreal! The conspiracy of ignorance never ends!!
ReplyDeleteNot surprising, but very upsetting to see!!!
ReplyDeleteUgh. So frustrating the crazy things that keep coming out like this.
ReplyDeleteI could think of a "THIS IS DANGEROUS" article for every baby item if the parent isn't supervising or attentive! Sheesh.
Hey!
ReplyDeleteNew to your blog and love it!
I am frustrated by public health and posters telling us we are irresponsible parents for bed sharing or cosleeping (though I often wake up with the fear of covering her up with too many blankets or an arm...) and NOW slings too!
Off to check out those links!
Thanks!
e.
My thought is this: not so much a scare tactic, but a "cover your ass" tactic. I've learned over the last 19 months that publications like this and American Acad. of Pediatrics do not want to be liable for any possible (freak-accident) injuries, thus they paint a really wide brush with their "advice" to a massive audience in order to ensure everyone's "safety." It is really sad. It is very, very similar to the knee-jerk c-section response by OB's.
ReplyDeleteWhat's worse is that well-educated people, like myself, can fall victim to this kind of information on the false basis that we are reading the best info. out there.
It gets really confusing as a mommy consumer. I'm incredibly grateful that my world has opened up.
Wow. Just WOW. I agree that they're probably just covering their butts, but still, it's disheartening b/c SO many respect CS.
ReplyDelete(Here from Metropolitan Mama.)