to think that 'banning' cot bumpers is a bit OTT

[gotnotimeforthat]

I recently saw a facebook page with a petition to ban cot bumpers because sadly a 9 month old died after suffacating by the cot bumper wrapped around his neck. I can't even begin to imagine what the parents must be going through but still i can't help but think that the petition is OTT.

This is because:

1. with double knots i struggle to get the bumper of the cot myself, it took me 15 minutes to take it off this morning so i could wash it. I check every night that it is secure.
   
   
2. I personally use a bumper because i don't want my DS to put his arms through the bars, if he grabs hold of something he wll pull at it until he reahes at it so he can stick it in his mouth, he then slings his head forward over and over ( he's breastfed so he does this to me a lot too, he's saying he's hungry) I would prefer my baby not to be headbutting the wooden bars of the cot. with a bumper he has nothing to grab onto.
   
   
3. I think blankets have a higher death rate but as far as i am aware there is no petition to ban those.
   
   So AIBU?

[PorkPieandPickle]

I don't have any bumpers, but I have always wondered the same as corporaterockwhore- if cot bumpers are a risk of reduced air flow and suffocating against the fabric them why aren't Moses baskets?

(Sorry meditrina I don't actually think the link answers that specific point)

[StanleyLambchop]

I used them with my 2, as they were both headbangers. I was aware of the dangers, but as someone else has already said, moses baskets are surrounded in a similar way, and they are apparently ok to use. Blind cords have also caused death in children, yet blinds with cords are not banned.

[JonathanGirl]

I thought you weren't supposed to use them after 6 months.

I think banning is ott, but perhaps safety testing needs to e more stringent, and safety guidelines should be clearer.

[IsChippyMintonExDirectory]

YANBU. Not sure what kind of bumper they had but the the strong bits I had on my DDs would barely fit round her wrist. Plus she loved looking at the pictures while she tried to fall asleep and it saved her little arms being stuck in the bars. I personally think cot mobiles are far more dangerous

[IsChippyMintonExDirectory]

*string

[BumpNGrind]

I plan on using them because I think they look pretty. I'll remove them or re-evaluate when the baby can roll.

Just add it to the list of things that make me a bad mother, along with working, sleeping and eating!

[hedgehogy]

We were told at antenatal classes not to use cot bumpers due to increased risk of SIDS. We used Airwrap.

[SociallyAcceptableCookie]

I think all babies are different. Some parents here don't see the point of cot bumpers, whereas I think I would have invented them if they didn't already exist. From about four and a half months DS was too active for the bednest and as soon as we put him I the cot he would start a gymnastics routine that would often end in limbs through the cot bars. No, his head didn't fit through but arms and legs did. We have breathable bumpers now and at least that problem is solved. He can't suffocate with them. At six months he still spins and rolls in his cot bumpers keep him in and make it slightly softer when he inevitably bumps up against the sides of the cot.

[justtoomessy]

People roll on top of babies and kill them, the duvet in the grown up bed suffocates them too but I haven't seen co-sleeping being banned yet!!!

Popel just need to make sure they are tied very tightly and the sticking is good.

[Purplepoodle]

A child never died from bumping their heads on a cot. If something has caused a babies death it should be banned.

I use a travel cot because all my dc have been head bangers.

[justtoomessy]

So co-sleeping then?

[Hazchem]

Safe cosleeping doesn't provide any additional SIDS risks. Unsafe cosleeping like falling asleep on the couch is always included with safe cosleeping stats.
Offically you aren;t meant to do it. check out this shocker of an ad

[Artandco]

I would be happy for them to be banned

I know of x2 children who nearly died from them. That's quite a lot seeing as I don't know 1000s of people.
One was a friend from school who's mother old me she managed to slide up cot and suck the ties ( which were tied tightly), and started gagging as the ribbon bits got caught in throat.
Another was a friends son who couldn't roll, rolled one night Into the bumper and was turning blue when they found him, luckily he was in there room and they had woken in time ( was in am), had to spend a week in hospital.

I also don't know anyone who uses baby blankets/ duvets at night with child under 1 year. All use swaddle of some sort with tiny baby, then baby sleeping bags

[3catsnokids]

I'm always quite surprised when I see people using them. I've read/heard several times that they shouldn't be used for under ones so I thought it was common knowledge, but obviously in most cases the baby is fine or they wouldn't sell them so I suppose parents have to weigh up the risk and decide for themselves.

[weatherall]

Corporate- Moses baskets are for babies so young they can't roll so the sides don't matter as much.

Once they can roll neither Moses baskets nor bumpers IMO are a good idea.

[Fooshufflewickbannanapants]

"If something has caused a babies death it should be banned. "

Really?
Cars
Prams
Cots
Tv's on walls.........

You can't ban everything!!

[TondelayoSchwarzkopf]

It's not just about risks - it's about benefits - obviously things like co-sleeping deliver significant benefits that have to be balanced against risks and also there are guidelines on how to do it more safely.

There are no benefits to cot bumpers AFAIK - a baby is not going to damage his head banging against a cot bars. If anything - he or she is going to learn not to bang his head as there is no soft surface there.

There just another piece of pointless tat marketed at parents. The less there is of that in the world, the better IMO.

[HolidayCriminal]

I wouldn't have them banned, but the safety hazards obviously need to be better explained just like we explain not to put RF infant carriers next to airbags, etc.
:( for families affected.

Besides, I made the ones I used for DC. Nothing could ban me from doing that. Used from about 10 months iirc (usually walking by then).

[DebbieOfMaddox]

FSID (well, the Lullaby Trust now), who ought to know, say that bumpers are "not shown to increase the chance of SIDS" but that you should remove them once a baby can roll because they can contribute to non-SIDS accidents.

[Andcake]

A ban a bit OTT but many people seem to use them not realizing the risks. I had read pre ds that they were dangerous so didn't use. head bumps with a moving baby are inevitable. A lot of people don't perhaps do a lot of research and might not know so a clear warning on packaging could be good.
DS was very wriggly arms out etc, but i never felt i needed them.
The poor mum who lost her dc clearly didn't know the risks - poor poor woman. Very tragic

[ilovepowerhoop]

I dont understand exactly when you should use them then as the Lullabye Trust (SIDS website) says to remove them when your child gets mobile and can use the to climb out but the NCT says not to use them until after 1 year - they both contradict each other.

I didnt use them at all and both my children managed without them

[Woobeedoo]

I use an Airwrap on my DS's cot as he is a bar kicker and a fan of the combined kicky pivot and arm fling so I had visions of him getting a limb stuck between the bars (probably impossible but I didn't want to take chances).

The Airwrap is good in that as others have said it fixes with Velcro and it cannot be used as a foothold to climb when baby is older and more agile as it totally scrunches down when weight is applied.

[gotnotimeforthat]

my main issue with the page is that the child died due to strangulation. the bumper wrapped around his neck. That is not a fault
with the bumper, it should of been tied tighter and that particular situation could of been avoided

[deakymom]

he actually died of sids if you read the page they had an autopsy and inquest done that was the end reason NOT strangulation

she was an experienced person who regularly checked the ties

it was an awful thing to happen and he is not the only one who has died if he had they would not have began the campaign

it was an awful thing to happen to someone if you dont like it then don't facebook like it