No toys or blankets in allowed in cot as they can cause cot deaths?

usignuolo

I recently went to New York to visit my son daughter in law and 18th month old grand daughter. I took with me a hand crocheted cot blanket. My dil has previously turned down cot "bumpers" as a safety risk and now she told me that the latest advice from US paediatricians was that there should be no blankets or toys in a child's cot as these placed the baby at risk of a cot death. Is this also true in the UK? It seems to make the baby's cot a pretty grim place to be

clairec79

The bumpers advice holds true here (and has been for at least 13 years - shops still sell them though

Not the bit about blankets or toys, but just to make sure the baby can't accidentally get trapped under anything

cte1111

If they're using sleeping bags, then probably the baby doesn't need any other bedding. The guidelines do advise not to have any toys, pillows or other soft objects in the cot.

Bennifred

clairec79 wrote: »

The bumpers advice holds true here (and has been for at least 13 years - shops still sell them though
........................

I remember the "no bumpers" advice from 25 years ago!.......

Spendless

I never used to put toys in my babies cots either- mine are 13 and 10. I was always concerned they could wriggle their way to have their face pressed up against a soft toy but not be able to wriggle their way out of it.

Alikay

Bennifred wrote: »

I remember the "no bumpers" advice from 25 years ago!.......

Me too. My granddaughter has always stayed lovely and cosy in her growbag, even if the cot did look a bit stark. Toys in the cot aren't a great idea once they are able to pull themselves up to standing anyway as they are used as steps to escape with!

The crochet blanket will still be useful for car journeys and snuggling up on the sofa with. My children all had their own special little blankets, and getting those out of the cupboard was the first thing we did when any of them were ill, right through to their teens.

con1888

I didn't know the no bumpers thing, though I don't have any kids yet.

Pregnant atm though and this is the first I have come across it, glad I have as it saves me time and money looking for some if they are a no-no.

bigmomma051204

To be honest, it is good advice. There is no need for lots of fluffy toys and extra blankets. Guidance in UK is the less the better really.... if not using sleeping bags, then basic blankets and sheets are sufficent. Does it really matter? Sure she could use it in the pram etc.....

:cool:

usignuolo

My son as a toddler had a panel toy which screwed onto the side of his cot with lot of lights and sounds he could press and a little mirror , and another where he could play little tunes and he also had a toy hanging on the side whose string he could pull and its arms and legs flapped up and down. Plus he had a soft cuddly toy in the shape of a small dog which went everywhere with him including to bed. He loved these and played with them for ages when he woke up instead of crying to be entertained.

As soon as my granddaughter wakes she demands to be played with. Their household is entirely run around the little girl at present, they have no life at all outside catering to her demands. There is another one on the way so I wonder how they will cope. I suppose I am old fashioned, but I do feel some sense of proportion is being lost here and I wonder if a generation of children is growing up who will so cossetted and protected from all potential danger that it will stifle a desire to explore and an adventurous spirit.

My dil is quite highly strung and I think all this emphasis on what might happen to the baby if she does not follow all the guidance to the letter is having rather a negative impact on her. Her mother agrees with me by the way. She was one of 8 and says they had to get on with their own entertainment a lot of the time. Her mother would never have had time to fuss over and indulge them all like this.

bigmomma051204

Its not really to do with fuss or indulgance... its more to do with a LOT of research into what MAY cause cot death and/or infant suffocation...

There plenty of things that were done "back in the day"... just because people survived, should we simply ignore modern research and fact because of this??

For example: we didn't wear seatbelts "back in the day". We didn't all die, admittedly, but if we had a crash without a belt on, its more likely that the result would have been fatal.

Another, is the more recent issue with blind cords. Ask one of the parents of children who have been strangled whether they wish that they had taken safety advice more seriously and simply popped a blind cleat on the wall to reduce the risk......

I would agree that these days, sometimes health & safety do seem to have gone a bit overboard.... but if its a case of preventing risks which are proven by research to have a possible fatal effect on my child and I am afraid that I will go with fact and not "what my mums generation used to do".....

Oh and yes - a plastic flat toy which makes noises on the side of the cot would be fine. Not so sure about something with a string in a bed with an unsupervised child who could at best, wrap it round their finger and cause blood loss and at worse, possibly strangly themselves (dependant of course on how long the cord is)

Really its all about knowing the risks and ensuring your childs safety without going overboard - perhaps instead of speaking behind this first time mums back with her mother in law, you should just gently be helping her and encouraging her not to be so worried all the time

Spendless

Not having a soft toy in their cots doesn't mean they will never experience cuddling up to a teddy at night. As I've already said I never put any toys inside my kids cots. When DD was 3 or 4 she was bought a large winnie the pooh bear. She's now 10 and still sleeps with it every night, it even went on a school residential with her 2 weeks ago, hidden inside a cushion cover though cos she didn't want the other girls she dormed with to know she still slept with it.