drop side cribs?

[hollybloom24]

Hi,

I have two drop side cribs stored in my basement, bought in 2005 for my girls. We never used the drop side feature, but as I understand it, these type of cribs are no longer being manufacturered.

What should I do with these cribs? I feel like I shouldn't sell or donate them because of this concern. Should I just throw them out? It seems like such a waste.

TIA!

[mom2binsd]

Not all drop side cribs are unsafe. I have use two and haven't had a problem, and no recalls on mine. I would check to make sure yours aren't recalled, and then either sell or donate.

[crl]

I think this just depends on your comfort level. We had a Pali drop side. Even though it had not been recalled, we decided we were not comfortable using it again. I decided that if I wasn't comfortable using it, I could not in good conscience sell or give it away. That particular crib also converted to a toddler bed so I gave it away as a toddler bed and will have the crib railing taken to the dump during the spring clean-up around here.

Catherine

[JTsMom]

The crib we bought for DS is a really nice Pali drop side. He slept in it maybe a total of 10 hours in his life-lol- so it's really is like new. I don't know what to do about it, and I'm certainly not going to buy another unless I know for sure this baby will sleep in it.

[ThreeofUs]

Check the cpsc web site - they have a page devoted just to the cribs that were recalled and why. That might help you determine (1) if your crib has been recalled and (2) whether it's dangerous to anyone.

We have a drop-side, and have had no problems with it. It's well constructed, has had no recalls, and hasn't even pinched a finger. ;)

[arivecchi]

If it is a higher-end crib that has not been recalled and does not have plastic parts in the drop-side, I might consider giving it away. If it is a cheaper one with plastic parts, I'd toss it. The ones with the cheapo plastic parts on the drop side are the ones that are routinely recalled.

[Ceepa]

We have a dropside that was retrofitted with some hardware after being part of a recall. We don't use it anymore but I once I finally get my act together I'd have no reservation about selling or donating it.

[AnnieW625]

I agree with Arriverchi that if it's a higher end crib I don't think there would be a problem using it. It's sad that a few cheapo companies chose to ruin the ease of drop side cribs for all when not all drop side cribs have issues.

We have a metal hardware dropside crib that was bought in 1950 (it meets all current standards as measured before it was given to us by my parents; it was also stripped and restained by my parents in 2006. This crib was used by my dad, my uncle, me, bro, sis, and DD; plus another family friend) and we will be using it for #2. We didn't use the dropside crib feature on it much., but it was nice to have.

[Dream]

Does dropside mean you can lower the railing of one side to the level of the mattress?

If so, why are they considered a danger?

I've been looking for this type of a crib. This is a great solution for us. Right now DD sleeps between us, she toss and turn all the time and since she's next to me I can just pat her bum and she falls asleep again. If I lay her in the crib I wouldn't know till she's fully awake and then its too late for patting:)

My mom always said the crib she used for me had a dropside and it was so much easier. So I was looking for one.

[arivecchi]

because of problems like these:

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10046.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07307.html

[Dream]

Thanks for the links.

Do you think the danger is still there for a 17 month old who would be in this type of a crib right next to our bed?

[liamsmom]

I totally agree that it's the cheapo cribs that give drop-side cribs the bad name. My parents had one that was used for all five of their children (in the 70s and 80s) and there were no problems whatsoever. When I was pregnant, DH and I were playing around with a cheap drop-side at BRU and I think we might have broken it! We immediately opted to look at other options and bump up our price range.

[arivecchi]

Thanks for the links.

Do you think the danger is still there for a 17 month old who would be in this type of a crib right next to our bed? I think it might be just as dangerous because even though a toddler can move and perhaps alert you, they are more active and can push the dropside/break the crib themselves. Also, a poster once mentioned that her toddler actually crawled out of a broken crib when it broke and she could not find him/her.

[brgnmom]

A previous poster suggested checking out whether your particular cribs have been recalled via the http://www.cpsc.gov website. I confirmed that my drop-side (or adjustable gate) crib that I purchased from Pottery Barn Kids a couple of years ago has not been recalled. Most of the higher-end cribs that have the feature should be fine. HTH.

[moonsky]

I think this just depends on your comfort level. We had a Pali drop side. Even though it had not been recalled, we decided we were not comfortable using it again. I decided that if I wasn't comfortable using it, I could not in good conscience sell or give it away. That particular crib also converted to a toddler bed so I gave it away as a toddler bed and will have the crib railing taken to the dump during the spring clean-up around here.

Catherine

What's wrong with the Pali one? I have Mia one with one side drop. It was made in Italy. I thought Pali was one of brands that never had any recalls. We are still using it for DC#2 as a crib. We rarely use the drop function though.

[crl]

What's wrong with the Pali one? I have Mia one with one side drop. It was made in Italy. I thought Pali was one of brands that never had any recalls. We are still using it for DC#2 as a crib. We rarely use the drop function though.

You are right that Pali has never had any recalls--or so they tell me and so it appears on the federal website. And it's very possible that our former crib would never have had any problems. But my understanding is that the federal goverment is considering banning all drop-side cribs for retail sale due to safety concerns about the design.

And when we looked at the pictures of what goes wrong with drop-side cribs, we felt that it was possible for that to happen with any drop-side crib. DH remembered having to tighten the hardware on the crib when DS was using it to make sure the drop-side railing stayed on track. I completely understand that other people feel that non-recalled drop-side cribs are totally safe and I think this is one of those areas where people just need to use their own judgement.

But we decided that we weren't really sure it was safe. And for our peace of mind we decided we would feel better spending the money to get a new Ikea stationary side crib. I'm a little sad about it because the Pali was a gift from my parents and it was a beautiful crib--the Ikea Gulliver is pretty bare-bones functional and not nearly as special. But we both felt that we would continue to worry if we used the Pali and it wasn't worth it. (I considered keeping it to use as a toddler bed, but we have serious storage issues so I gave it away as a toddler bed.)

Catherine