Choosing Safe Infant Products

Pure and simple, no one wants to be a child injury statistic. However millions of children are injured or killed each year by toys, infant care products and other baby related items. Exactly how safe is the toy, crib or other baby product you're buying? Here are some tips for finding out and keeping your baby safe.

Cribs have come a long way in their design, but you still need to do your homework. If you're gifted with an antique crib for your baby, do a little due diligence and make sure it's absolutely safe. First of all, verify that lead paint wasn't used to paint the crib. Lead was legal in enamel paints until the 1970's, and was unfortunately used commonly to paint baby furniture. When baby chews on the crib rail, lead paint chips can be ingested and cause brain development issues and lead-based illnesses in young children.

Another concern will be the length between the rails in the crib. Some vintage cribs have rails that are very close together and that's not a big concern. However, if the rails are widely spaced, your baby could get her head caught with tragic results. Although, cribs are now made safer than ever, not long ago, over 800,000 cribs were recalled due to a common factor that was failing. The foot release on the crib side. It was failing when an infant was rolling up against it and when the side rail fell, the baby's head was becoming trapped. If you have an older crib, give the foot release the once over or screw it shut completely so it cannot be dropped to ensure the safety of your baby.

Car seats are another baby item that is supposed to keep your infant safe when riding in a vehicle, however some brands have design flaws that actually make them hazardous to the safety of your baby. There are numerous baby car seat recalls every single year. If you own a car seat that you suspect may be recalled, look up the model and find out why. It may be a simple repair or piece offered by the manufacturer or you may need to discontinue car seat use for that model immediately. Never use a used car seat. First of all it may have been recalled and secondly unless you know the daily history of the car seat, it may or not adequately protect your baby and keep her safe.

When shopping for baby products and you want to make sure you're buying the safest products available, real consumer reviews are priceless. With the FTC regulations that are now in effect which require companies to state if they paid for product reviews or not, it becomes much easier to ascertain if an online review is there to sell you a product or it is an honest usage review from Joe or Jane Consumer. This is an excellent way to make sure you're buying safe baby products and not simply adding to someone's affiliate marketing revenues.