AAP declares crib bumpers completely unsafe

The American Academy of Pediatrics has put its foot down on parents slipping crib bumpers into baby's bed. The nation's most respected group of parenting experts has released yet another set of warnings that the soft pads do nothing but put your baby in danger. So what are the chances that parents will actually listen to the warning this time? Fifty percent? Twenty?

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I'd like to put that at 100 percent, but people just seem to love them some crib bumpers. And I don't get it! The AAP is warning that those cute, fluffy pillow-like bands can actually kill our kids. Kill. Not hurt. KILL!

I'm not overstating things. The AAP's newest guidelines warn that these puppies can carry a potential risk of suffocation, strangulation, or entrapment. They make the risk of SIDS climb. And yet with all that scary talk, you can almost guarantee you'll see a bumper on the registry at the next baby shower in your 'hood. Because parents -- well meaning as we all may be -- don't listen.

The AAP first put out a quasi-warning about the bumpers back in 2005. Then came another, stronger one in 2007. And yet in 2011, there are still parents using the things. Heck, when I wrote about the city of Chicago becoming the nation's first town to actually ban the sale and use of bumpers last month, the response on The Stir ranged from "It's about time" to "That's stupid. One more thing for government officials to waste their time regulating ... Share information, sure ... but pass legislation? That's ridiculous."

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But that's just the problem. Information has been shared. Over and over and over again. And people still cling to these things like a toddler to a drool-covered stuffed animal that you really want to chuck in the wash.

Why? Have you tried tying one of these things on a crib? They're a pain in the ass. Actually getting all defensive about one of these cumbersome things is like defending those maternity pants with the big belly band as haute couture. We wear them because we don't have much else, not because we actually think they're chic.

The good news is we don't HAVE to use crib bumpers. So ... will you be listening to the AAP?

Image via jessicafm/Flickr

Written by Jeanne Sager on CafeMom's blog, The Stir.

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