Dream Baby Crib > Drop-Side Crib Ban

The new federal crib standards will take effect in June 2011 which will ban the sale, manufacture, resale, and distribution of drop-side cribs. This has come after 32 baby deaths were linked to the use of drop-side cribs over the past ten years.

However many people are not happy with this ban. Millions of drop-side cribs have been used over many decades and it's only in the past few years that problems seem to have arisen and critics of the ban point to the manufacturing changes as the real culprit. Instead of metal, crib makers have taken to using cheaper plastic in the parts of their designs that allow the crib sides to lowered down. Being much flimsier the plastic parts can break and distort much more easily causing potential problems.

However, instead of tightening up the safety rules in regard to the manufacture of drop-side cribs the Consumer Product Safety Commission have gone for a blanket ban.

This has not gone down well with parents who are on the short side. Trying to lay a sleeping baby in a crib if you are petite can be very difficult if you can't quite reach over a fixed rail.

Picking up a lying baby from inside the crib can be even more so, especially as they get larger and heavier. This is of particular concern to parents who have babies with special needs which can mean that they will be needing to lift up a heavy baby from a lying position for much longer than most parents.

Overstretching while putting your child in their crib can lead to back problems. One solution that some parents will go for is a stool but using a stool, even just a low one step style, is not without its risks especially if the child is wriggling.

Perhaps manufacturers will eventually respond to the problems parents face and design cribs with adjustable legs so that parent can set a height that will work for them. Until then shorter parents are just going to have to struggle with fixed-side cribs.