Are cot bumpers ever safe?

[mynameiscalypso]

Well, as the title says really! DS is nearly 13 months and sleeps in a cot which has wooden panels at the end. Several times a night, he will wriggle and flop around so that he ends up head butting the end of the cot loudly (we can hear it from several rooms away). Obviously I wouldn't have used cot bumpers when he was smaller but would it be safe to use them now? He's perfectly healthy and very robust (and very mobile) if that makes a difference!

No, increased mobility increases the risk of strangulation

@Findahouse21

No, increased mobility increases the risk of strangulation

I hadn't even thought of that but I can absolutely see the risk - I guess he'll learn to stop banging his head in due course. Thank you!

No, in fact I think they’re more of a risk when they are mobile. And actually it’s hard to find bumpers that fit cots with wooden panels at each end anyway as they’re designed to tie on to the bars.
Does it bother him when he bangs the wood? Mine does this a lot too (he’s 19 months now) but he doesn’t cry or anything so I assume the noise is worse than the actual impact!

You can Velcro bumpers with no ties. Just tuck the bottom edge into the matteress.

Swap the cot for a travel cot. We did for a few months and DC forgot how to bump against the headboard.
Easy, safe option that gave us all good sleep back

We used one. Tied it on where he couldn't reach and had it very firmly tucked under the mattress. At the time nobody thought they were unsafe! I only read about it since joining MN really. I don't know if I'd use one now - but it's hard to think of an alternative when your baby is waking up bruised from marauding about the cot in their sleep!

@mynameiscalypso not sure if this will be met with understanding but we have cot bumpers on 3 sides (the cot is one side to my side of the bed) and he still manages to spectacularly head-butt the bed side at 3am and wake his parents up (not himself tho...). He's 10m. Had the bumpers since he was about 6m and started to travel across the cot at night.

I dpn;t think them banging their head is dangerous, but I also don't think having a bumper is dangerous either. Do what feels right.

I did buy the air wrap breathable cot bumpers from John Lewis for my LB. Used until he stopped banging himself off of the bars. They were completely fine x

Airwrap cot bumpers. They are mesh rather than fabric and completely breathable (I've tried it myself!), and have velcro rather than ties so no strangulation risk.

Thanks everyone - lots of food for thought. Like PP, I think I'm more bothered by the head banging than he is so I'll probably leave it for now and hope he grows out of it. He does have a very large head so there's quite a lot to bang!

Please don’t ever use cot bumpers. I’m a peds nurse and they’re so so dangerous. Look at justice for Preston if you need any more convincing! Bumpers absolutely should be banned.

Hi OP, my DD went through a long phase of burrowing her way into the corner of her cot and bashing her head while she was asleep. She used to rotate 360 throughout the night and used to regularly disappear off the monitor .

She never hurt herself enough to wake herself up and happy to report she’s grown out of it now. I wouldnt bother with a bumper if I were you!

My baby is 13 months old and I have always used cot bumpers? They are Velcro ones that fasten round the sides. He's been in the cot about 5/6 month and absolutely never had a problem.
Also used on my first child who is healthy and happy!

No, not worth the risk. Of course most babies will be fine but there will always be the small number who aren’t ok and I don’t know why anyone would take that risk?

@user1474462227

You can Velcro bumpers with no ties. Just tuck the bottom edge into the matteress.

That doesn't stop the suffocation hazard or the fact they can still take them off.

I wouldn’t risk it. I’d rather a bumped head than a suffocated or strangled child.

Thanks all - I agree that it's not worth the risk. And I can well imagine DS learning how to undo anything and then chucking it around. He absolutely hates having anything in his cot with him so it would probably really annoy him too.

We had the air wrap bumpers until our LO climbed on them, slipped and cut his lip open on the cot... he was nine months

No! Just no! If you need any more convincing search justice for Preston. A safe cot is an empty cot.

If i could be bothered i would invent a new type of cot that isn't made of wood and doesn't have bars that little legs can get stuck in. All baby equipment has improved over the year but cots have stayed the same!