Avera Medical Minute AMK: New Crib Guidelines - KSFY News - Sioux Falls, SD News, Weather, Sports

If you are expecting a baby by year's end and will be needing daycare next year, there's important information you need to know before you do that.  There are new federal requirements for cribs and as Nancy Naeve Brown tells us you need to make sure your daycare provider is compliant.

These loveable little babies spend their days in the very loving hands of caregivers at the downtown YWCA in Sioux Falls. Nap time won't be changing, but their cribs here will be later this year. All childcare facilities, including in-home daycare's, are required to meet new and improved federal safety standards for cribs by years end. Drop-side cribs will be a thing of the past.

"Between 2000 and 2010 there were 32 crib related deaths in the US reported, hundreds of cribs failed, children got stuck and were injured.  In that 10 year period 7 million drop-side cribs were recalled." Doniese Wilcox, Avera McKennan Certified Family Educator said.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has new mandatory rules include stopping the manufacture and sale of those dangerous drop-side cribs. If you bought a crib after June of 2011 it will be up to code. The mattress supports and crib slats have also been strengthened, crib hardware is more durable and safety testing is more rigorous. Doniese Wilcox, Certified Family Life Educator at Avera McKennan says one of the biggest reasons babies get hurt in cribs is because of failing hardware.

"You have to remember is you are moving a lot disassembling the crib and reassembling it eventually the hardware will fail or be compromised so keep that in mind," Doniese said.

The YWCA will be replacing 32 cribs from both of its locations (downtown and at Ralph Rogers Road) at a cost of $10, 400.

"Our children's safety is of the utmost importance. If the CPSC thinks they don't meet standards then most certainly we want to rise above the current standard and become compliant," YWCA Director of Childcare Services Karla Johnson said.

Something else to keep in mind, especially grandparents who have kept their old drop-side cribs, you should get rid of them. Even if you plan on only using it for a weekend, it's not safe.

"I will be disassembling it, breaking it up in pieces so no one can use it," Doniese said. 

 "Moms and Dads really need to be diligent and they need to be advocates for their children so I would recommend they ask the appropriate questions when they tour a facility. Make sure you look at the cribs and make sure you see a compliance certificate. Each crib will be marked clearly with a sticker noting the crib is compliant with the new guidelines. It's a visual we can make like this (she snaps)," Karla said.

Even though the YWCA has never had a baby injured from a faulty crib in its 90 year history, they are eager to comply with the new federal standards. They would never want any of these precious pint-sized people hurt on their watch.

Safer Cribs for Babies 
Retailers required to sell only cribs that meet CPSC's new crib standards

Safer cribs will mean a safer sleep for babies across the country. On December 15, 2010, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted unanimously to approve new mandatory crib standards, establishing the most stringent crib safety standards in the world. Starting today, all importers, distributors, manufacturers, and retailers must offer only cribs that meet the CPSC's new and improved full-size and non-full-size crib standards.

Some of the new mandatory rules for cribs include:
(1) Stopping the manufacture and sale of dangerous, traditional drop-side cribs
(2) Strengthening mattress supports and crib slats
(3) Requiring crib hardware to be more durable
(4) Making safety testing more rigorous.

"A safe crib is the safest place for a baby to sleep. It is for this reason that I am so pleased that parents, grandparents and caregivers now can shop with confidence and purchase cribs that meet the most stringent crib standards in the world," said Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. "From the start, our goal has been to prevent deaths and injuries to babies in cribs, and now the day has come where only stronger and safer cribs are available for consumers to purchase."

CPSC has recalled more than 11 million dangerous cribs since 2007. Drop-side cribs with detaching side rails were associated with at least 32 infant suffocation and strangulation deaths since 2000. Additional deaths have occurred due to faulty or defective crib hardware. The new standards aim to prevent these tragedies and keep children safer in their cribs.

Starting on December 28, 2012, child care facilities, including family child care homes and infant Head Start centers, as well as places of public accommodation, such as hotels and motels, and rental companies must use only cribs that comply with the new crib standards.
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) required the CPSC to update the old crib standards, which had not gone through a major revision in more than 30 years, to ensure that the standards provided the highest level of safety possible.

For more information on crib safety and the most up-to-date information on how to create a safe sleep environment for your baby, visit CPSC's crib information center at: www.cpsc.gov/cribs