Consumer Reports, Consumer Federation of America, Kids In Danger, Public Citizen, and U.S. Public Interest Research Group welcome the opportunity to comment on the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on the Safety Standard for Infant and Infant/Toddler Rockers.
Products such as rockers, bouncers, and swings are used by parents and caregivers not only as a place to put down a non-mobile baby, but also for interaction with a baby while they are in a slightly upright position (as compared to laying flat). Rockers are also used for soothing purposes.
However, using these products for sleep, even briefly, runs directly counter to evidence-based safe sleeping practices for infants established by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which include placing a baby alone, on their back, on a firm, noninclined surface in a safe sleep environment without soft objects or loose bedding. Despite established safe sleep guidelines and some warnings that rockers should not be used for sleep, incident data confirms both that some caregivers use the products for brief or extended infant or toddler sleep and some product marketing seems to encourage this.
To read the full comments, click here.