These Baby Products Are No Longer Safe. Here’s Why 

The wonderful—and sometimes maddening—thing about parenting is that it’s ever-evolving. What used to work for your parents may not work for you now—especially when it comes to baby products. 

“Safety recommendations are constantly improving as scientists, regulators, and manufacturers gain more knowledge about product risks, including how products are used by parents,” says Julia Lentini, Director of JPMA Board of Directors and Sr. Director of Quality and Compliance at Mockingbird. 

So when your well-meaning family member tries to hand down their beloved drop-side crib or “still in great condition!” baby walker, you may want to wait before replying to their text. Here are eight unsafe baby products that may still be in circulation. 

Sleep Positioners

Sleep positioners look like little pillows intended to keep your baby sleeping in a specific position, e.g., cushions on either side to keep them side-sleeping or a wedge to keep them propped up. But “sleep positioners and baby loungers pose a risk of positional asphyxiation,” says Arielle Greenleaf, Certified Pediatric Sleep Consultant and Owner of Expect to Sleep Again Sleep Consulting. “There is no truly safe angle at which a baby can safely sleep.” 

A safe sleep environment for babies should be: firm, flat and level, according to the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). It should also be free of anything: “soft or squishy” or anything “under or on top of baby,” according to the NICHD. Sleep positioners can cause suffocation hazards and both the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have issued warnings against their usage.

Follow the ABCs of safe sleep: babies should sleep Alone, on their Backs, in a Crib or bassinet with a firm sleep surface, and covered in a fitted sheet with no other bedding.

Rock ‘n Play and Other Inclined Sleepers

The Fisher Price Rock ‘n Play Sleeper is an incredibly popular inclined sleeper originally recalled in 2019 and then reissued as a recall in 2023. Why the original recall and the reissue? The Rock ‘n Play and other inclined sleepers and chairs pose an asphyxiation risk, as babies may fall asleep in a chin-to-chest position, which can restrict their airways. They’ve been the cause of several infant deaths. 

Unfortunately, a recall doesn’t mean that all the unsafe products are taken off the market, given the large resale market that exists for baby products, as well as the culture of handing down gear or toys from one child to another. If you see a Rock ‘n Play being resold on something like Facebook Marketplace, you can flag the listing for review. The Safe Sleep for Babies Act banned the use of inclined sleepers and crib bumpers in 2021.

Crib Bumpers

To continue that thought from above, crib bumpers break the rule of having anything in the crib that could pose a suffocation hazard. They are an accessory that adds extra padding to the inside of a crib, and many parents think that the bumpers will help prevent head injuries or limbs from getting stuck in between the slats. 

“There are a number of reasons they are unsafe, including chance of suffocation, entrapment, the possibility of strangulation with bumper ties, and can also lead to issues if a child tries to climb out of the crib (they may slip and fall),” says Greenleaf. “Cribs are rigorously tested for safety and should not be altered in any way.”

Baby Loungers for Sleep

Baby loungers, like the ever-popular DockATot or Snuggle Me Infant Lounger, are not actually meant for sleep. “People believe that if a product is available for purchase that it must be safe,” says Greenleaf. “Unfortunately, this is not the case … There are many items that are marketed to appear useful for sleep and/or safe for sleep, but the fine print quite literally says ‘not to be used for unattended sleep’ or other similar verbiage.” 

If you have a DockATot Grand (the DockaTot Deluxe+ was removed from the market) or Snuggle Me, they can be used for supervised play time or lounging, a quick diaper change or an easy spot to put down baby while you stay close by, but they should never be used “ in a crib/cot, bassinet, play yard or other contained area,” according to DockATot.

Drop-side Cribs

Drop-side or dropdown cribs were introduced in the 1940s, but many millennial parents might remember them in their nurseries from the ‘80s and ‘90s. Instead of the fixed stationary sides of the cribs that exist today, one side of the crib was built to drop down to make it easier to transfer babies in and out. 

In 2010, the U.S. Consumer Products and Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning about these cribs being a suffocation and strangulation hazard. The problem came from the side that dropped down. It created a small space between the crib and the mattress, causing a dangerous gap where babies could get trapped. As of 2011, the CPSC officially banned their use. 

Sit-in baby walkers

Not to be confused with the push toy walkers babies stand behind and push to move around, this piece of gear features a seat and a table on four wheels. They’re meant to give mobility to babies who can’t yet walk. However, according to a 2018 study from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), “An estimated 230,676 children less than 15 months old were treated for infant walker–related injuries in US emergency departments from 1990 to 2014. Most of the children sustained head or neck injuries (90.6%), and 74.1% were injured by falling down the stairs in an infant walker.” 

Aside from falls, these walkers can also give babies access to dangerous objects they may not usually be able to reach and can delay development with independent walking, according to Harvard Health. If you’re looking for a safer alternative to sit-in baby walkers, consider a stationary activity center.

Neck floats

These are donut-like floaties for babies. They sit around your baby’s neck to help keep their heads above water in a swimming pool or even bath. They’ve been marketed as a way to help build a baby’s strength or assist in water therapy. But, both the FDA and the CPSC issued a warning for these back in 2022. They found that these products can “deflate during use or storage, causing the child occupant to slide out of the product into the water, which can lead to serious injury or death.” 

The FDA also says, “Some manufacturers are claiming these products support water therapy interventions in babies with developmental delays or special needs and that the benefits of these products include increased muscle tone, greater flexibility and range of motion, increased lung capacity, better sleep quality, and increased brain and nervous system stimulation. The safety and effectiveness of neck floats to build strength, to promote motor development or as a physical therapy tool, have not been established.”

Weighted swaddles or sleep sacks

These weighted swaddles or sleep sacks are meant to mimic the comforting weight of a parent’s arms or body against a baby’s. But “there should never be artificial weight on a baby's chest for any prolonged amount of time,” says Brittany Sheehan, pediatric sleep consultant and founder of Brittany Sheehan Sleep. “Oxygen saturation levels are at risk with their use,” adds Greenleaf. 

The AAP’s most recently updated safe sleep recommendations include the guidance that “weighted blankets, weighted sleepers, weighted swaddles or other weighted objects not be placed on or near the sleeping infant.” 

Bottle propping 

Understandably, busy and exhausted parents want, no need, things in life that can help make it just a little bit easier. Unfortunately, propping up your baby’s bottle on a pillow or other object to keep your hands free to do something else while they eat is not one of them. Bottle propping can increase the risk of ear infections, choking and tooth decay. Not to mention the interrupted bonding time that most babies and parents can benefit from during feeding sessions. 

To safely feed your baby with a bottle, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends positioning “the bottle at an angle rather than straight up and down so the milk only comes out when your baby sucks.” They also encourage you to “hold your baby close when you feed them a bottle” and “let your baby take breaks from drinking when they seem to want them.”

Given all this, you might think, “So how can parents balance convenience and safety when choosing baby products?” 

“There shouldn’t need to be a trade-off between convenience and safety when choosing baby products,” says Lentini. “There are many baby gear offerings available that meet safety standards.” And remember: some parts of parenting are just physically and mentally hard. There may be no perfect product that takes away the energy required for caregiving. It doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong.

To stay on top of product recalls, you can check out the CPSC’s site.