Safe Nursery Furnishings and Toys

Safe Nursery Furnishings and Toys

the Review Source

    There’s been much in the news for the past few years about safe toys, baby furniture and equipment giving parents and grandparents an abundance of reasons to pay close attention to these news reports. Let’s take a look at all the components that allow us to provide a safe place for the babies we love!

    Clearly in this economy many families are not able to renovate old homes or build new ones, but we all can be sure to take simple, basic steps to make our baby’s nursery as clean, safe and inviting as possible! Ask yourselves the following questions!

Is my baby’s room brightly lit?

Are the windows clean and walls freshly painted with lead-free paint – no cracks/chips?

Is the nursery clean?

Do the toys, furniture and equipment look well cared for and safe?

    These are just some basic considerations; easy areas for any family to evaluate and make simple changes as necessary - a can or two of paint, bright light bulbs and regular cleaning! Now you have your baby’s room in order; it’s time to look at the toys, furniture and equipment in your nursery!

    The Consumer Product Safety Commission - www.cpsc.gov - and Consumer Reports - www.consumerreports.org - are two main web sites every parent and grandparent needs to know to ascertain the safety of the items in your baby’s nursery. Follow the links on these sites to learn specific safety standards and find recalls. For example, do you know full-size cribs must have slats, spindles, corner posts and rods not more than 2 ½” apart? Have you measured your crib to be sure it meets this standard? Check your crib and if it doesn’t throw it away. If you have an infant swing with a wind-up feature, throw it away. Be sure all infant swings have at least a three-point safety harness and always use them. Check these sites to find safety standards for all items in your nursery. Make it part of your monthly routine to go on-line and see if anything in your nursery is on the monthly recall/alert list at – www.kidsindanger.org Throw away any of your things you find on this list!

    We need to pay attention to safety alerts whether we purchased our baby furnishings new or at second-hand stores or garage sales. If you purchased any items second-hand keep in mind these items may be decades old; unfit and unsafe. Go through each toy and piece of furniture/equipment in your nursery. Throw away anything with rough edges or broken pieces. If you find toys with loose or small pieces and if you aren’t sure the toys in your nursery are lead free then throw them away! Check the following web sites for information on specific toys with safety issues – www.healthytoys.org   www.usa.safekids.org and the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s. Manufacturers provide lists of specific toys with lead paint and recalled items –

http://www.mattel.com/safety
http://www.hasbro.com/recall
http://store.manhattantoy.com/recall
http://www.littletikes.com/consumerservice/recalls

- these are just a few - visit the web-site of the manufacturer of toys you have and look for a section called, “recalls”. Check lists against your toys and if you can’t verify the toys in your baby’s nursery are safe, throw them away!

    There are many items available for use in our nurseries – how do we make our choices? I had parents help me review items for use in their baby’s nursery and will include their feedback as to what they really liked and found most helpful/useful! Let’s take a look at what types of toys, furniture and equipment are appropriate for our nurseries.

    Changing tables are an important piece of furniture in a nursery, but stability and durability are two very important considerations. Consider finding or building a sturdy cabinet for your changing table and top with a soft changing pad. Look for changing pads with washable surfaces, either vinyl or fabric and be sure they have safety straps to help keep baby in place throughout the changing. We reviewed Picci’s changing pad and found it to be soft and easy to clean! Always remember to never leave a baby unattended on a changing table.

    Many parents today appreciate diaper containers like the Playtex Diaper Genie and the First Year’s Clean Air Odor-Free Diaper Disposal. My reviewers liked how they could use standard kitchen trash bags in the Clean Air system and appreciated the one hand operation these systems provide – once they understood how to make them work; they considered them a must-have in the nursery! Look for diaper containers children can not get into and clean them regularly with a bleach/water solution.

    Do you have need for a portable crib/playard? These are wonderful items to have at a grandparent’s home! My reviewers found bassinet/playards from Evenflo, Combi and Safety 1^st to be excellent options as they open in minutes providing cribs when needed and fold up compactly to store out of the way when not needed! Bassinet/playards are functional, easy to clean, attractive, portable and since they are large enough for a 30lb child they are well worth considering! Be sure the changing table component does not have any straps hanging into the play/sleeping portion!

    One more staple for your baby you may not have thought about is a baby pack/sling. We reviewed Snugli Removable Sling/Pack, Playtex Hip Hammock, Munchkin Jellybean Sling and the Kolcraft Jeep Baby Carrier. Our reviewers found these allow parents to hold a baby needing to be held while freeing their hands to complete household chores! Be sure you know how to keep baby securely fastened in holders.

    Swings and bouncers provide support and a safe place for baby to relax. Bouncers allow you to keep your baby in your sight, but not necessarily in your arms! We reviewed the Combi Pod Bouncer, Fisher Price Baby Papasan and Summer Infant Deluxe Soft Embrace Comfort Bouncer and found they accommodate children from birth to 25lbs. Seat covers are machine washable and have adjustable safety harnesses. Our reviewing parents found the vibrating features calm fussy babies and the portable size allows them to be moved around your home as needed. Always use the safety harness when a baby is in a bouncer!

    We reviewed swings from Fisher Price, Evenflo and Cosco and found the swings soothed babies who didn’t want to be held and were a good alternative for babies who want to be rocked to sleep! Always use safety harnesses when a baby is in a swing and remember swings and bouncers do not substitute for parental supervision! Be sure you stay near to keep a watchful eye on your baby at all times!

    Play stations for older babies are an excellent addition to your baby’s nursery! Evenflo’s Exersaucer, Bright Starts Baby’s Playplace and Around We Go Activity Station provide easy to clean adaptable play environments with music, colors and activities! Our reviewing parents loved these play stations and found them easy to clean, entertaining and educational! Again, always provide parental supervision when a child is in a play-station!

    Baby monitors allow parents to keep close tabs on baby when he/she is in a separate room. We reviewed the Summer Infant Secure Sounds digital monitor and Philips Avent DETC digital monitor.

    Children often drop pacifiers, bottles and sippy cups. A countertop electronic sterilizer allows you to quickly and safely sterilize these items before returning them back to children! Bottle warmers allow you to safely warm bottles with no hot spots! We reviewed Philips iQ Electronic Sterilizer and the First Years Night & Day Bottle Warmer. Always keep out of children’s reach.

    Depending on the layout of your home safety gates are important pieces of equipment. We reviewed the First Year’s Simple & Secure stair gate and KidCo’s Center Gateway. Easy for adults to open, young children will not be able to open these gates providing a level of security and safety in your home!

    Be sure to stop and consider safety items such as corner protectors, magnet locks and universal outlet covers. I particularly like the safety items from KidCo – soft rubber protectors and outlet covers, rather than plugs. KidCo’s magnet locks will not be opened by children and make great additions to your home!

    What would a nursery be without toys? We had the opportunity to review a number of toys. One primary consideration when it comes to toys is to follow the age range each toy is rated for. Do not give toys to your baby for older children. Each toy is marked for the appropriate ages it is designed for – follow these age ratings closely!

Consider some of the following toys –

Sassy Baby –

Ages birth and up

Sassy pays close attention to designing safe toys, easy to clean and appropriately rated for each age level.

Colors, textures and sounds engage little ones

Toys focus on developing skills/coordination and provide ideas on how to engage children

We particularly liked their earth brights natural wood rattles

Fisher Price – Little People Play sets

Ages 1-4

Easy to clean and appropriately rated

Colors, sounds, animals, people and a variety of settings allow children to develop their imagination, play interactively with others and role play

Manhattan Baby/Manhattan Toy –

Ages 6 months and up

Variety of toys from plush, cuddly animals to Wiggle Balls, Grabbitz Ball and Stellar Star Activity Centers!

Playskool –

Ages Birth and up

Our reviewers really liked the MP3 Music Player, busy basics line and the Made for Me 2 in 1 Infant Gym

Colors, sounds, animals encourage play, imagination and learning

Easy to clean

Little Tikes –

Made in the USA

Ages 2-6

2 in 1 Dollhouse Playhouse is a sure to be loved addition to any little girl’s room!

Ages 1 ½ - 4

Fold Away Playground provides opportunity for children to climb, slide and shoot baskets inside or out!

Step 2 –

Made in the USA

Ages 1+

Angel Fish Rocker has a stable design and is sure to be enjoyed by toddlers!

Ages 1 ½ +

Doorway Playhouse fits in a doorway or stands alone – the child-size door provides a fun “entrance” for your toddler and “boosts” imagination!

Ages 2+

Lifestyle Custom Kitchen is the perfect size for toddlers and includes a variety of accessories for imaginative fun!

PlayHut –

Ages 3+

Dora Mega Playhut, Cars Garage/Car Wash Mega Playhut provide fun, portable playspaces children will love!

    We all want the baby in our lives to live and grow in a safe and happy environment. Pay attention to safety alerts, check the toys and furnishings in your home and always keep a close eye on babies and children – nothing substitutes for quality supervision!

www.cpsc.gov
www.consumerreports.org
www.kidsindanger.org

www.healthytoys.org
www.usa.safekids.org

www.mattel.com
www.hasbro.com
store.manhattantoy.com
www.littletikes.com

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the Review Source

The Review Source

Copyright © Lynda Freeman
Last Updated May 9, 2009
Web Page by Lynda Freeman
Send an e-mail to Lynda at Lynda@thereviewsource.net

	There’s been much in the news for the past few years about safe toys, baby furniture and equipment giving parents and grandparents an abundance of reasons to pay close attention to these news reports. Let’s take a look at all the components that allow us to provide a safe place for the babies we love! Clearly in this economy many families are not able to renovate old homes or build new ones, but we all can be sure to take simple, basic steps to make our baby’s nursery as clean, safe and inviting as possible! Ask yourselves the following questions! Is my baby’s room brightly lit? Are the windows clean and walls freshly painted with lead-free paint – no cracks/chips? Is the nursery clean? Do the toys, furniture and equipment look well cared for and safe? These are just some basic considerations; easy areas for any family to evaluate and make simple changes as necessary - a can or two of paint, bright light bulbs and regular cleaning! Now you have your baby’s room in order; it’s time to look at the toys, furniture and equipment in your nursery! The Consumer Product Safety Commission - www.cpsc.gov - and Consumer Reports - www.consumerreports.org - are two main web sites every parent and grandparent needs to know to ascertain the safety of the items in your baby’s nursery. Follow the links on these sites to learn specific safety standards and find recalls. For example, do you know full-size cribs must have slats, spindles, corner posts and rods not more than 2 ½” apart? Have you measured your crib to be sure it meets this standard? Check your crib and if it doesn’t throw it away. If you have an infant swing with a wind-up feature, throw it away. Be sure all infant swings have at least a three-point safety harness and always use them. Check these sites to find safety standards for all items in your nursery. Make it part of your monthly routine to go on-line and see if anything in your nursery is on the monthly recall/alert list at – www.kidsindanger.org Throw away any of your things you find on this list! We need to pay attention to safety alerts whether we purchased our baby furnishings new or at second-hand stores or garage sales. If you purchased any items second-hand keep in mind these items may be decades old; unfit and unsafe. Go through each toy and piece of furniture/equipment in your nursery. Throw away anything with rough edges or broken pieces. If you find toys with loose or small pieces and if you aren’t sure the toys in your nursery are lead free then throw them away! Check the following web sites for information on specific toys with safety issues – www.healthytoys.org www.usa.safekids.org and the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s. Manufacturers provide lists of specific toys with lead paint and recalled items – http://www.mattel.com/safety http://www.hasbro.com/recall http://store.manhattantoy.com/recall http://www.littletikes.com/consumerservice/recalls - these are just a few - visit the web-site of the manufacturer of toys you have and look for a section called, “recalls”. Check lists against your toys and if you can’t verify the toys in your baby’s nursery are safe, throw them away! There are many items available for use in our nurseries – how do we make our choices? I had parents help me review items for use in their baby’s nursery and will include their feedback as to what they really liked and found most helpful/useful! Let’s take a look at what types of toys, furniture and equipment are appropriate for our nurseries. Changing tables are an important piece of furniture in a nursery, but stability and durability are two very important considerations. Consider finding or building a sturdy cabinet for your changing table and top with a soft changing pad. Look for changing pads with washable surfaces, either vinyl or fabric and be sure they have safety straps to help keep baby in place throughout the changing. We reviewed Picci’s changing pad and found it to be soft and easy to clean! Always remember to never leave a baby unattended on a changing table. Many parents today appreciate diaper containers like the Playtex Diaper Genie and the First Year’s Clean Air Odor-Free Diaper Disposal. My reviewers liked how they could use standard kitchen trash bags in the Clean Air system and appreciated the one hand operation these systems provide – once they understood how to make them work; they considered them a must-have in the nursery! Look for diaper containers children can not get into and clean them regularly with a bleach/water solution. Do you have need for a portable crib/playard? These are wonderful items to have at a grandparent’s home! My reviewers found bassinet/playards from Evenflo, Combi and Safety 1^st to be excellent options as they open in minutes providing cribs when needed and fold up compactly to store out of the way when not needed! Bassinet/playards are functional, easy to clean, attractive, portable and since they are large enough for a 30lb child they are well worth considering! Be sure the changing table component does not have any straps hanging into the play/sleeping portion! One more staple for your baby you may not have thought about is a baby pack/sling. We reviewed Snugli Removable Sling/Pack, Playtex Hip Hammock, Munchkin Jellybean Sling and the Kolcraft Jeep Baby Carrier. Our reviewers found these allow parents to hold a baby needing to be held while freeing their hands to complete household chores! Be sure you know how to keep baby securely fastened in holders. Swings and bouncers provide support and a safe place for baby to relax. Bouncers allow you to keep your baby in your sight, but not necessarily in your arms! We reviewed the Combi Pod Bouncer, Fisher Price Baby Papasan and Summer Infant Deluxe Soft Embrace Comfort Bouncer and found they accommodate children from birth to 25lbs. Seat covers are machine washable and have adjustable safety harnesses. Our reviewing parents found the vibrating features calm fussy babies and the portable size allows them to be moved around your home as needed. Always use the safety harness when a baby is in a bouncer! We reviewed swings from Fisher Price, Evenflo and Cosco and found the swings soothed babies who didn’t want to be held and were a good alternative for babies who want to be rocked to sleep! Always use safety harnesses when a baby is in a swing and remember swings and bouncers do not substitute for parental supervision! Be sure you stay near to keep a watchful eye on your baby at all times! Play stations for older babies are an excellent addition to your baby’s nursery! Evenflo’s Exersaucer, Bright Starts Baby’s Playplace and Around We Go Activity Station provide easy to clean adaptable play environments with music, colors and activities! Our reviewing parents loved these play stations and found them easy to clean, entertaining and educational! Again, always provide parental supervision when a child is in a play-station! Baby monitors allow parents to keep close tabs on baby when he/she is in a separate room. We reviewed the Summer Infant Secure Sounds digital monitor and Philips Avent DETC digital monitor. Children often drop pacifiers, bottles and sippy cups. A countertop electronic sterilizer allows you to quickly and safely sterilize these items before returning them back to children! Bottle warmers allow you to safely warm bottles with no hot spots! We reviewed Philips iQ Electronic Sterilizer and the First Years Night & Day Bottle Warmer. Always keep out of children’s reach. Depending on the layout of your home safety gates are important pieces of equipment. We reviewed the First Year’s Simple & Secure stair gate and KidCo’s Center Gateway. Easy for adults to open, young children will not be able to open these gates providing a level of security and safety in your home! Be sure to stop and consider safety items such as corner protectors, magnet locks and universal outlet covers. I particularly like the safety items from KidCo – soft rubber protectors and outlet covers, rather than plugs. KidCo’s magnet locks will not be opened by children and make great additions to your home! What would a nursery be without toys? We had the opportunity to review a number of toys. One primary consideration when it comes to toys is to follow the age range each toy is rated for. Do not give toys to your baby for older children. Each toy is marked for the appropriate ages it is designed for – follow these age ratings closely! Consider some of the following toys – Sassy Baby – Ages birth and up Sassy pays close attention to designing safe toys, easy to clean and appropriately rated for each age level. Colors, textures and sounds engage little ones Toys focus on developing skills/coordination and provide ideas on how to engage children We particularly liked their earth brights natural wood rattles Fisher Price – Little People Play sets Ages 1-4 Easy to clean and appropriately rated Colors, sounds, animals, people and a variety of settings allow children to develop their imagination, play interactively with others and role play Manhattan Baby/Manhattan Toy – Ages 6 months and up Variety of toys from plush, cuddly animals to Wiggle Balls, Grabbitz Ball and Stellar Star Activity Centers! Playskool – Ages Birth and up Our reviewers really liked the MP3 Music Player, busy basics line and the Made for Me 2 in 1 Infant Gym Colors, sounds, animals encourage play, imagination and learning Easy to clean Little Tikes – Made in the USA Ages 2-6 2 in 1 Dollhouse Playhouse is a sure to be loved addition to any little girl’s room! Ages 1 ½ - 4 Fold Away Playground provides opportunity for children to climb, slide and shoot baskets inside or out! Step 2 – Made in the USA Ages 1+ Angel Fish Rocker has a stable design and is sure to be enjoyed by toddlers! Ages 1 ½ + Doorway Playhouse fits in a doorway or stands alone – the child-size door provides a fun “entrance” for your toddler and “boosts” imagination! Ages 2+ Lifestyle Custom Kitchen is the perfect size for toddlers and includes a variety of accessories for imaginative fun! PlayHut – Ages 3+ Dora Mega Playhut, Cars Garage/Car Wash Mega Playhut provide fun, portable playspaces children will love! We all want the baby in our lives to live and grow in a safe and happy environment. Pay attention to safety alerts, check the toys and furnishings in your home and always keep a close eye on babies and children – nothing substitutes for quality supervision!

www.cpsc.gov www.consumerreports.org www.kidsindanger.org www.healthytoys.org www.usa.safekids.org www.mattel.com www.hasbro.com store.manhattantoy.com www.littletikes.com