Cot Safety
Is my Dropside Cot safe?
Author: Louise Guinda
The recall of over 9 million dropside cots in the US has led many UK parents to question the safety of their cot. Now one UK manufacturer, Cosatto, has recalled one batch of its Paris Cot and has issued a repair kit for another model, the Stratford Cot Bed.
The CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) of the USA has proposed that they should be banned from sale in the US and removed from all hotels and nurseries. This ban is very likely to be passed by Congress by the end of the year. The CPSC had received reports of 32 infant and toddler suffocation and strangulation deaths and hundreds of incidents caused by or related to drop-side detachments in cots by various manufacturers
So why are they considered more dangerous? According to the CPSC, “dropside cribs generally have a tendency to be less structurally sound than cribs with four fixed sides.”
Dropsides can be a godsend for shorter parents who struggle to lift their baby out of the cot. However, it would be sensible to take the following precautions as recommended by the CPSC:
* Every time you change the sheets, check that all visible hardware – every bolt, screw, track and clamp – is securely in place.
* Make sure the drop-side is on its track and functions well.
* With the mattress out of the cot, wiggle all the cot to see how tight all the joints are.
* If the cot remains wobbly after tightening all hardware, look for loose wood-to-wood joints that may be causing the problem.
* Stop using the cot if loose wood-to-wood joints are found or if you cannot fully tighten any screw.
The CPSC also warns that cots older than 10 years old should not be used or any broken or modified cots.
Frequently Asked Questions
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QUESTION:
How many safety innovations for the NASCAR Cot and racing will ever make it to the public?
Safety barriers, side panel foam inserts, gas tank inserts, fire extinguishers, brake and suspension items, etc. They show them during every race. They have all sorts of things to help protect the driver, do you think these things will ever be put in the general public’s cars. Yes, it know that they are expensive. It is now and always will be.-
ANSWER:
some of them have already been used in production cars,the brakes for example,,foam inserts in the sides of cars,(airbags) they just adapt to what is the best application to be used in full production lines,and no we’ll never see all the stuff that is used in the nascars,we don’t run 190 and turn left all the time.
if only the newest fans could go back and see what they raced with in the 50′s&60′s then they would see just how much this sport has changed
some for the better and some for putting on a good show.
true nascar fans will agree that today’s so called racing isn’t nothing but a show,kinda like
WWE but with cars,oh i long for the good ol days
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QUESTION:
Cot safety for a moving baby??
My 7 week old daughter moves around a lot in her cot. She does not roll yet but somehow manages to move from a vertical position to a completely horizontal position in her cot. So in doing that she always ends up right against the bottom end of her cot and quite often hits her head on the bars or end of the cot.Are there any good products or ideas that may make the cot a bit softer. I don’t want to use a bumper for SIDS reasons.
I have tried putting an anti roll thing on either side of her but she just moves that with her.
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ANSWER:
My son would rotate in his crib as well. There isn’t really much you can do to stop her though. Chances are being up against the bars doesn’t bother her. One option is to just let her be.Of course, you wouldn’t ask this if you were comfortable with that. Another option could be to get a mesh type bumper for the crib. They allow airflow yet protect as well. http://www.inventiveparent.com/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd=action&key=SLEPBRBP
It sounds like she is just an active baby. Good luck with what ever you decide.
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QUESTION:
i have lost my safety clips off my cot do u know where i can get two?
i have lost my safety clips off my cot its too good to throw out and want to use it again can u help-
ANSWER:
Try a camping shop, they usually carry all sorts of clips and hooks etc. Look for a big one that do caravan and trailer as well, you will have more choice
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QUESTION:
Safety rail for cot bed, which is suitable?
I have recently taken the sides off my sons Cot bed and require a safety rail to stop him falling out whilst he gets used to the change. I bought a ‘Summer’ bed rail that said suitable for 18month – 5 years only when i read the instructions more in depth i found it was only suitable for divan beds!! (quite how many youngsters sleep in divan beds is a question that baffles me!!) anyway i have googled bed rails and am struggling to find one that is specifically for cot beds/junior bed (the bed also has lats if this makes any difference).Can anyone recommed a specific bed rail or brand?
Thanks in advance
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ANSWER:
I had the same problem with my son’s bed. In the end, we got a Lindam Safe and Secure rail, and that was suitable for slatted bed frames.
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QUESTION:
Can you carry a baby in a car in a carry cot?
I have read somewhere that providing you have the appropriate safety harness for the cot you can put a baby in a carry cot in a car. I can’t remember where I read this. Is this right and does anyone know where I can find further info and the appropriate harness?-
ANSWER:
You can put the baby in a car seat and then put the seatbelt over it. This is the safest procedure for a baby.
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QUESTION:
did the S.A.F.E.R. barriers and the safety of the COT do it’s job today in what it’s all suppose to do
in case you missed it, or haven’t seen it, here it is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI96AKMswLM . what can Nascar and their drivers learn from what happen today so they don’t end up like this?
p.s. to say Nascar drivers are not athletes, were not driving Michael McDowell’s car today.-
ANSWER:
The situation speaks for itself. The thing that you saw “is” the reason why they built the COT and safer barrier. Your seeing what they saw all along during the evolution of NASCAR Racing. The problem has already been solved. Thats’ why they built the safer barrier. That’s why they designed the COT. This is the question that was posed in the past , so we could see drivers not get seriously injured in crashes like that. The learning has already been done, what your witnessing is the application.
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QUESTION:
my son can climb out of his cot now. should i put him in a bed?
He only turned 1 in february though. I was thinking of putting him in a bed with safety guards either side. This would be much safer than him falling from his cot. I just don’t know if he’s to young.-
ANSWER:
you could try taking one side of his cot that way he wont be too far off the floor if he falls out and will get used to that and stay on his bed also he will still have the comfort of being in his cot as at that age they are still very small, if you feel comfortable putting him in a bed though go for it no-one can tell you whats best for your child just give you some extra options!
take care and good luck!x
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QUESTION:
My 13month old boy keeps getting his thighs stuck between the wooden rails of his cot..?
i put him down for his sleep and he wriggles around abit until he falls asleep. The past few days he has been getting his legs stuck between the rails in the cot and cant move and he cries. Is there anything i can do to prevent it? He seems to do it heaps lately and it scares me that he will really hurt himself. It is a brand new cot with all safety regulations so this really shouldnt be happening..
A Crib is called a COT here in Australia if you didnt know.
We cant really do the sleeping bag thing because it just gets too hot overnight here at the moment, we are entering summer soon over here.
I dont have those padded bumper things, i have heard of them but nobody really uses them over here so i dont know if they actually sell them. As for moving him into a big bed, thats what i was thinking. But i really think that hes just too little for a big bed just yet. He can walk and has been since he was 11months, but he still has a bit of a muck around in his cot before he falls to sleep so hed probably be running around in his bedroom playing with all his toys and never sleep! haha.-
ANSWER:
Hi, this sounds tricky.Don’t hunt for a bumper. They are too soft and your son is probably pulling himself up to a stand by now—if not starting to walk. If he puts his foot on the bumper it will not support his weight. It will crush under his foot, he will lose his balance and the foot and leg might slip through the space—hard.
Call your local pediatric hospital. I know this sounds silly but they have lots of kids come through and they use up to date beds. This must have happened before. Tell them you have questions about crib safety—sorry cot safety—and they can connect you with someone. If that person doesn’t know and they are good at their job they will start helping you search for answers.
Also call the manufacturer of your cot and tell them what the problem is and see if they sell/make anything.
Is there one spot where he gets stuck all the time? You could find out the spacing the crib is supposed to have and measure the space to make sure its correct. Nothing is perfect and sometimes manufacturers make mistakes—that’s why they have recalls.
Also check and see if the crib was recalled for this reason. A few years ago my oldest son’s car seat was recalled two years after he stopped using it!
Good luck and best wishes. Until you find a solution you might want to keep some vegetable oil handy near his room in case you have to make his leg slippery to get it back through.
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BUT now they have these ones that look like a diamond and 2 zip tie looking things that you loop through the center diamond piece… they are mommy proof too though LOL! I bought both of these at walmart. 
