Crib Bumpers – A Blessing or a Curse? Is it safe to use for babies?

As your baby’s arrival approaches, you prepare the nursery with accessories. You try to fill up the room with items that are necessary for comfort and safety. To save your little one from bumping head-on crib bars, you opt for crib bumpers. But is it safe for the baby? Let’s find out.

What is a crib bumper?

A crib bumper is a padded lining about a foot height placed along the inner rails of the crib. It prevents the child from bumping on a hard surface while rolling. A crib bumper also prevents your child from getting stuck between the slats.

Safety concern for crib bumpers

With the federal law, the slats are narrower in cribs so that soda can do not fit between the bars. So this solves the concern for your babies to get stuck. There are other alternatives to crib bumpers to prevent head hits.

Why are crib bumpers a problem?

Between the age of four to nine months, babies start to roll. It is better not to use pillows to avoid the risks of suffocation. If your baby turns and puts the face between the bumper and the crib, it creates a great deal of safety hazard. Breathing in such a small space build up carbon dioxide and leads to suffocation.The laces in the corners might tangle if your baby tries to hold or pull them. The loose ends might strangle around the baby’s neck. Your child learns to stand up by the age of one. So for older kids, the crib bumper might allow the little one to climb up and poses the risk of falling over.

Crib bumpers alternatives

The only alternative to traditional crib bumper is to use a breathable mesh bumper. These mesh bumpers use as less fabric as possible to keep it breathable and avoid any safety hazards. Still, the risk of strangling with loose laces and stepping up for older children remain. It is best not to use any bumper at all as it is better to be safe than sorry. It is vital to keep the crib empty and use a fitted sheet, sleeping stack, and nothing else.

Repurpose your crib bumpers

Whether you have already bought the crib bumpers or gotten them as gifts, now you know these are not safe. With many risks associated, it is better to find other uses for your crib bumpers.Also, if you have one already and it is lying there without purpose, then there are alternative uses.

Accents for the nursery

The crib bumper can be sewn together into a square that hangs on a wall as an accent. By doing so, it adds style to the nursery.

Use as throw pillows

You can use the bumper and cut them into throw pillow sizes and stuff them. They will turn into cute throw pillows for your toddler bed.

Turn into a blanket

Bumpers cut lengthwise and sewn together to turn it into a quilted blanket.

Conclusion

We look for safety when it comes to taking care of our babies. To make our babies comfortable, we go beyond any boundaries. Sometimes getting too cozy might be unsafe and poses to safety hazards. This is the case for crib bumpers. You might tempt to buy these to keep your babies safe, but it is risky for suffocation and other dangers. There are other alternatives such as mesh bumpers that reduce the risks. If you have any existing old or unused crib bumpers, there are many other uses. You can convert them into different accessories for your baby’s nursery.