Another day, another recall.

Is anyone tired of baby product recalls yet? Ah yes.... everybody is. I see. Me too. The latest recall is drop side cribs. Everyone knows these things. We probably all had one for our older kids. Hell, I used one for both my kids. I'm getting a new fixed-side crib for the baby, but my reasoning has nothing to do with the recall. It's because a certain little boy broke his crib, and we need a new one.

What I'm going to say may sound out of character, but it's the truth. Were our crib still in good condition, I'd still use it, recall be damned. Here's the thing. All the crazy "Safety Sam" stuff I do for my kids, I do because it makes sense. I keep my toddler rear-facing because 97% of crashes that result in injury are front or side impact and he will fare better if his spine is cradled. I avoid hospital birth because the statistical risk that I will die or my baby will die in the process, is higher than if I birth at home or in a freestanding birth center, as I am in good health. I make my 7-year-old wear a bike helmet because energy absorbing foam dulls the impact of a curb or a rock wall a lot better than a skull does. Just as all of these things make logical sense by the numbers, it would also make sense, if our crib were still serviceable, to use it, because frankly, the recall does not apply to it. The issues that all drop side cribs have been recalled for would be purely infeasible with that one. Trust me, when this controversy with drop side cribs started, I analyzed our crib from top to bottom. Orren was still using it at that point. I checked every point. I tested every point of concern. (Sometimes having a background in engineering really makes parenting a lot easier.)

My findings were simple. The problem with drop side cribs manufactured in recent years, is that they are poorly made, with cheap materials, and shoddy workmanship. Our crib is pretty old. It's old enough that we can't get replacement parts for it anymore, and when we type the serial number into the manufacturer's website, it doesn't even show up. I don't know what year it was manufactured in, but I'd guess probably the mid 1990's. What a difference a decade makes. This thing is made in such a way that the sides go together in a complex manner that makes the type of accident that killed many babies and resulted in the total ban on drop side cribs, completely impossible. It is made with all metal hardware, whereas most of the drop side cribs manufactured in recent years have plastic hardware. (I was floored by that fact. Honestly, that's what made the decision for me to use our old crib for Orren rather than buying him a new one. Plastic hardware looked like a disaster waiting to happen.)

This is the problem with America. Everyone wants everything so cheaply that they buy cheap plastic crap, thinking it's passed rigorous safety testing, and will do fine, and then best case scenario, they're hauling it back to the store a year later because it's recalled. Worst case scenario, their kid is one of the reasons for the recall. This is one of the biggest reasons we buy higher-end baby gear. How often do you hear of high-end brands being recalled? Nearly never. How often do you hear of these mass produced brands that you find everywhere for dirt cheap being recalled? Daily. Whose was the first drop side crib to be recalled due to widespread infant DEATHS occurring in it? Graco. Whose strollers were also recalled this year due to a strangulation hazard? Graco. What do you find on every major retailer's shelf, priced just right for every budget? I'll give you two guesses, but you'll only need one.

There are two problems here. First of all, companies are trying to make a product that will be affordable to the masses, so they cut corners on absolutely everything to get there. The stuff doesn't hold up worth a damn, and safety hazards are found a few months after it's released, and it gets recalled. The companies absolutely share a huge part of the blame for putting these products onto the market in the first place.

Secondly, though, the parents need a healthier degree of skepticism than what most have. "Oooooh look at the pretty colors and prints!!" "What a low price! Now I can buy the whole set!" Go to Babies R Us and hang out for half an hour. You'll find that 9 times out of 10, this is how people choose gear. Price, color, style. Function does not come into play at all for so many. The first thing I look at when it comes to cribs is hardware. If there is one trace of plastic, I move onto the next one. After that, I look for one that is very sturdy, and has smooth junctures where the pieces join. Next, I check for potential weak points in the structure. Finding none, I look at the color and the style... and preferably it turns into a toddler bed, too. Surprisingly, this does not leave me with only the most expensive cribs. Yes, there are definitely some $400 cribs in there, but there are also some in the $275 range. Not surprisingly, it eliminates basically everything below that, but really, when you consider that this piece of furniture is supposed to give a baby, and then a toddler, a safe place to sleep, free of hazards, and where we as parents can reasonably expect to leave them unsupervised for hours, and come back to find them as we left them, do you really WANT something cheap? No. Cribs should not cost $100. You cannot make a quality product and sell it for that price. When companies try, of course it ends up being a death trap. (See also 3-in-1 carseats. That's going to be the next massive recall. I'd bet on it.)

Use common sense when selecting baby gear. That's really what it comes down to.