CPSC Ensures American Moms Can Buy Safer Cribs
Effective June 28, 2011 consumers in the market for a new crib can feel confident knowing the Consumer Product Safety Commission is looking out for baby's safety.
There are five new federal requirements that crib manufacturers and retailers must follow:
1-Traditional drop-side cribs cannot be made or sold, and immobilizers and repair kits are not allowed.
2-Wood slats must be made of stronger wood to prevent breakage.
3-Crib hardware must have anti-loosening devices to keep it from coming loose or falling off.
4-Mattress supports much be more durable.
5-Safety testing must be more rigorous.
The rigorous safety testing refers to the standard that crib testers were following while testing cribs to see if they could withstand jumping toddlers. Companies were tightening the screws in the middle of testing, something that clearly would not happen in a toddler's home environment.
CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said, "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."
Sadly, the law came too late for 32 infants who died of suffocation or strangulation in drop-side crib derailing cases since 2000. Eleven million cribs had been recalled, but this is the first time that style of crib has been outlawed.
Although retailers had to pull all drop-side cribs from shelves by June 28, the agency is giving daycare centers, hotels and companies that rent cribs an additional 18 months to purchase cribs that meet the new safety standards.
The CPSC is an independent agency set up by Congress in 1972 to protect American consumers "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products."
