Safety Experts Say Parents Should Avoid These 5 Dangerous Baby Items — & Here's Where You Can Scope Out More
You’re probably familiar with baby gear recalls. Like the recalled Boppy loungers and the recalled 4moms swings and rockers. They get more coverage than other product safety concerns because, at that point, manufacturers have agreed to have retailers remove the products from their shelves and are urging consumers to dispose of any of these items they may have.
What you don’t necessarily hear as much about are safety concerns posed by experts (especially if the manufacturer doesn’t agree to a recall!) or those posed by the average consumer.
More from SheKnows
In June, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) sent a letter to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and ASTM International urging them to recognize the potential threat of weighted swaddles and weighted sleep sacks for babies. It’s possible the pressure could make it harder for babies to breathe or move if they were in a dangerous sleep position. There is currently no definitive research proving they aren’t safe, but there also isn’t research proving they are.
“Waiting for the emergence of confirmatory data about these concerns while these products proliferate is an unacceptable outcome when each of those data points will be a family whose lives are forever marked by unfathomable tragedy of their infant dying from a sleep-related death,” the AAP said in their letter.
Click here to read the full article.
The association was trying to sound the alarm then, and Consumer Reports is doing the same now with their expert-guided list of five dangerous baby gear items (including weighted swaddles!) that parents should avoid.
So what are the other four? “Loungers,” Cosco’s Jump, Spin & Play Activity Centers, Otteroo Neck Floats, and water beads.
The AAP always recommends that babies be put to sleep on their backs on a firm, flat surface with nothing around them (no blankets, no toys, nothing!) in order to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. So “infant loungers,” which usually have padded sides, could lead to suffocation if the baby turns their head or rolls over. As we mentioned, the Boppy infant lounger was recalled after it was linked to at least 10 deaths.
The CPSC also passed a new rule that effectively banned inclined sleepers and in-bed sleepers. It prohibits companies from using language that implies similar products be used for sleep. (Hence the new “lounger” term which makes it sound like this is a place for babies to hang out while parents quickly go to the bathroom, unload the dishwasher, or just give their arms a break.)
As for the Cosco Jump Spin & Play Activity Centers, safety advocates told Consumer Reports that they want to see a recall of this play center after seing angry reviews online and incident reports on the CPSC saying babies had fallen out of the play center when straps suddenly tore or came unhooked.
Next up is the Otteroo baby neck floats (pictured above). The inflatable rings are meant to hold a baby’s head up when they are in a bathtub or pool. Dozens of reports have been filed with the CPSC about caregivers having to rescue babies after their head slipped through the floats, and one baby tragically drowned and died. The CPSC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) put out warnings about many types of neck floats, especially Otteroo, which says the floats can be used for infants as young as two weeks old.
And what about “water beads?” They’re little gel spheres that expand in water and can be a fun sensory toy for kids. Today — soon after this piece was originally published — the CPSC and Buffalo Games recalled the Chuckle & Roar Ultimate Water Beads Activity Kits (sold exclusively at Target) after there was a report of a 10-month-old’s death from swallowing a bead in July 2023. In Nov. 2022, a 9-month-old was seriously injured after swallowing a bead and required surgery for an intestinal obstruction.
With any small toy, there is always the concern that it could be a choking hazard (Psst! If it can fit through a toilet paper tube, it’s a choking hazard!) or that there is a risk if they are ingested. That is especially true with water beads which, again, expand if they come in contact with water. If ingested, they can grow and possibly cause life-threatening injuries.
“The risks can’t be ignored,” said Michael Alfonzo, MD, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital and Weill Cornell Medicine. “If you have a child under the age of 3, I wouldn’t have them in my home.”
These are just some of the many products that consumers and experts say are unsafe. But again, many go unnoticed unless companies agree to a recall. So how can parents find out if a product is considered safe beyond just reading reviews on retailer sites? Caregivers are encouraged to search the CPSC’s database at SaferProducts.gov to see if there are safety concerns surrounding a product and/or to report unsafe products.
Best of SheKnows
The Best Products That Help Kids Sleep, According to Real Parents
All the Pregnant Celebrities Who Showed Off Their Baby Bumps on the Red Carpet
Spooky Season is Creeping Up — Here Are Our Favorite Places to Buy Kids' Halloween Costumes Online
Sign up for SheKnows' Newsletter.
For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
