Gillibrand calls for drop-side crib ban


Given the countless recalls on drop-side cribs, the discussion of drop-side crib safety has come up on Parent-to-Parent many times.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is now calling for a ban on drop-side cribs, which means not only halting their production but banning them from use in day care centers and hotels.

There have been at least 32 infant and toddler deaths since 2000 as a result of the side panel pulling away from the crib, trapping the babies between the panel and the mattress and suffocating them.

It’s a significant problem and companies should be ashamed of themselves for manufacturing shoddy products. However, as readers have pointed out in the past, drop-side cribs have been around for generations now, and this wasn’t always a problem. Perhaps it’s because the cribs mechanisms are made primarily with plastic rather than metal. Forcing companies to make proper drop-side cribs rather than banning them completely would send a message that cheap, flimsy materials will no longer be tolerated in the manufacturing of juvenile products, whether we’re talking about cribs or high chairs (which have also had their share of recalls).

I also worry about the potential cost of crib replacement to day care centers, which already operate on slim margins. Unlike a home situation, where everyone is sound asleep overnight, I’d like to think a day care worker would notice that a child has rolled into a gap in a defective crib.

Jennifer Gish

5 Responses

  1. Kate says:

    My son slept in a drop-side crib. It was a well-made crib and we didn’t have any problems with it. I never felt as though there was any danger, at all (and I am completely paranoid about most things). The crib is now safely stored away for the day when we will hopefully have another baby to sleep in it.

    If I were in the market for a crib today, would I consider a drop-side? Emphatic no. However, I would not have any hesitation in putting another child to sleep in the crib I already have (provided it reassembles as securely as it was assembled the first time). I am not saying that saving a few hundred dollars by not buying my second child a new crib is worth more than said child’s safety, but I don’t think that a well-made, well-assembled crib is a hazard.

    Here’s why:
    I don’t think that even the most active, rambunctious toddler can loosen the side of a crib in a matter of minutes. My guess is that these sides that become loose and cause an entrapment hazard do so over time from lots of use. If the parent is aware, consistently checks the crib side to be sure that it’s attached firmly and properly, and knows what a broken or unsafe crib side looks like, then I would think that s/he would know the possibility of a hazard before it happens. Yes, my toddler had days when he refused to nap and would spend some time jumping around in his crib… yes, we had to go through the cry-it-out phase where I would listen to the heart-wrenching wails and the crib side rattling back and forth in angry little fists. But, I strenuously believe that he could not have actually loosened the attachment of the crib side with that behavior unless it was repeated day after day. We would always check the crib to be sure that it worked fine, and it did. I would continue to do so when my next child sleeps in it, but (as Jennifer points out), the non-drop-side cribs are a relatively new thing. ALL cribs were drop-side once upon a time, and I think that a complete ban is overzealous.

    Also, in daycare centers, there are adults in the room while babies are sleeping, so if one were to be on his/her way to being entrapped in the side of the crib, the adult should know that beforehand (if if s/he doesn’t, then there are WAY bigger problems with the daycare than the quality of its cribs). I agree that it would be an unnecessary expense.

  2. Bamster says:













    We played dodgeball and sometimes the ball would really hurt.





    We did not have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X Boxes, video games at all, 99 channels on cable, video tape movies, surround sound, personal cellular phones, personal computers, Internet chat rooms.





    Tests were not adjusted for any reason.




  3. MBAMom says:

    My son sleeps in a drop-side crib and it is solid. I am really short so finding a good drop-side crib was really important to me. Granted, there are some horrible ones out there that have been recalled but that doesn’t mean all drop-sides should be banned. Having a drop-side enables me to handle my child safely every night/naptime thus preventing injury to myself and my child.

  4. A drop side crib claimed the life of my son in 1997. Three other babies also died in the same model crib. The crib remained a hot seller for years. Time to ban the drop side deathtrap.

  5. Jess says:

    Not all drop-side cribs are bad. I love mine. It’s a Simmons. It is solid wood with no metal attachment for the drop-side and is easily the best $300 I’ve spent on any piece of furniture. You just have to make sure you get a SOLID, GOOD QUALITY crib.

    1. Do your research on any and all baby products.
    2. Don’t go for looks.
    3. Be willing to spend money on a good crib. Remember as with anything, you are going to get what you pay for. A good crib is going to run you a few hundred dollars (at least).