A crib bumper or baby cushions - which one to use

A crib bumper is a piece of covered foam that goes all around the baby crib for about 6 inches above the mattress. The purpose of the bumper is to help protect the infant's head, if he/she should happen to roll over and hit the side of the baby crib. Some experts are now saying that a crib bumper is not safe to use in a baby crib and that parents definitely should not use baby cushions in the bed with the infant or toddler.

The traditional baby crib set of bedding includes a bumper pad, but many parents do not use it. They often opt for the cheaper sheet set, which only includes the sheets and a baby blanket. The danger with using bumper pads in a baby crib is that when the infant starts to roll over, he/she can roll over under the bumper pad and get caught between the bumper and the mattress.

A bumper pad in the baby crib was used in older styles because the slats in the crib were wide enough for the infant to get his/her head caught in between. With the newer models of baby cribs manufactured by such companies as Pali, Childcraft and Storkcraft, there is no danger of this becasue the slats or spindles are close together. These companies adhere to federal standards authorized for baby cribs in Canada and the United States.

Some parents like the finished look that the bumper pads provide for the bedding of the baby crib. You can get these bumper pads in the same theme as you have for the rest of the nursery and you can get a quilt or baby blanket in the same design.

The use of the bumper pads also keeps an infant or toddler from falling against the rails of the baby crib. Sometimes this does cause bruising or injury and this is why parents like to keep them in place. However, Health Canada says that it is almost impossible for an infant to hit his/her head hard enough on the slats to cause any damage.

The safest route for dressing up the baby crib is to have as little as possible inside the crib when the infant or toddler is sleeping. Sheets on the mattress tucked in securely and a quilt or baby blanket to keep hin/her warm is all you need.

Crib Bumper Resources