Safety Precautions for Drop Side Cots

After more than 2 mil­lion Stork Craft and Fisher Price drop side cots were recalled in the US and Canada, the CPSC (Con­sumer Prod­uct Safety Com­mis­sion) is inves­ti­gat­ing the safety of all drop side cots.

Drop side cots are very pop­u­lar because they are con­ve­nient for pick­ing and putting down baby. How­ever, since 2007, there have been 20 dif­fer­ent cot recalls in the US from many dif­fer­ent man­u­fac­tur­ers. Nearly all of the recalls were issued because a dura­bil­ity or hard­ware prob­lem cre­ated a gap in the cot where a child could become entrapped or suffocate.

In April 2009, Toys R Us Chief Exec­u­tive, Jerry Storch, announced that they would no longer order drop ship cots in the US because of the safety issues.  The recall does not apply to the UK because the cots are not sold directly by British retail­ers. How­ever, if you have a drop side cot then there are some pre­cau­tions you can take to ensure the safety of your cot.

Mind­ful Mum has pro­vided some basic steps fol­low­ing the advice from the CPSC on how to check your drop side cot for safety.

How to Check your Drop Side Cot for Safety

Check for miss­ing, bro­ken or loose parts. Make sure to tighten hard­ware from time to time to keep the cot sturdy. The cots involved in these inci­dents had plas­tic drop-side hard­ware that had bro­ken, miss­ing, or deformed claws, con­nec­tors, tracks, or flex­i­ble tab stops; loose or miss­ing metal spring clips; stripped screws; and/or drop-sides installed upside-down.

Check to make sure the drop-side or any other mov­ing part oper­ate smoothly. Always check all sides and cor­ners of the cot for dis­en­gage­ment. Any dis­en­gage­ment can cre­ate a gap and entrap a child.

If it is bro­ken stop using the drop side cot and find alter­na­tive safe sleep­ing arrange­ment for your child. Do not try to repair any side of the cot, espe­cially with tape, wire or rope.

If you are buy­ing a used cot please make sure that all the parts are included, and find an instruc­tion book if there isn’t one with the cot when you buy it. If you are buy­ing a new cot and want to err on the side of cau­tion buy one with sta­tionery sides.

Source: Please see the CPSC web­site for fur­ther infor­ma­tion and pic­ture of Stork Craft and Fisher Price recall cots con­cerned. The CPSC notice also include an image of how the suf­fo­ca­tion inci­dents hap­pen using a doll.

RELATED ARTICLES

• How to Select A Safe Cot for Your Baby
• How to choose a healthy cot mat­tress for your baby
• Prod­uct Recall: Stork Craft Drop Side Cot Recall – Safety Pre­cau­tions for Drop Side Cots