Parents, do you have unwanted (and very dangerous) bumper pads lying around?
The local non-profit Kids In Danger is giving away Safe Sleep Kits on August 17 between 10-11am at the Humboldt Park Boathouse in exchange for your crummy bumper pads, which Illinois lawmakers continue to rankle about in Springfield.
On April 22, 2015, the Illinois House passed a bill banning the sale and manufacturing of baby bumper pads statewide because of the dangers they pose to infant children. The bill now goes to the Senate where it’s expected to face pushback from other lawmakers and industry lobbyists who feel the ban might put people out of jobs. Chicago became the first city in the country to ban baby bumpers in 2011.
Bumper pads were first introduced as a way to prevent infants from bumping their heads and getting tangled in the bars of their cribs. Safety advocates later discovered that bumpers posed a suffocation hazard, prompted by a series of tragic deaths that left parents reeling in the aftermath. Consumer Reports labeled crib bumper pads among its “13 dangerous baby products to avoid,” citing links to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The Journal of Pediatrics confirmed that 27 children ranging from 1-month to 2-years-old died as a result of strangulation related to baby pads between 1985-2005; Safe to Sleep, a public education campaign established by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, learned that more than 2,000 babies died of SIDS in 2010, the last year any such statistics are available.
Surprisingly parents still use baby bumper pads despite regular pleas from consumer advocacy groups to refrain from doing so. Some believe they prevent needless injuries while others simply believe they add a better aesthetic to a nursery. Kids In Danger—based here in Chicago—has been focused on preventable child injuries since the organization’s founding in 1998. One of its most staunch causes is alerting parents to the dangers of SIDS, the result of several deaths each year due to asphyxiation.
On August 17, you can make your home a little safer and take home a few goodies in the process. The Safe Sleep Kit comes with sleep sacks, home safety bags, and board books. You’ll also be able to enter a raffle for a chance to win a Target gift card. Take advantage while you can.
Monday, August 17, 2015 | 10–11am | Humboldt Park Boathouse, 1439 N. Sacramento Blvd with The San Lucas Produce Mobile | More details at www.kidsindanger.org
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