One morning in 2007, Carolyn Zabriskie-Hartung and her husband Andrew awoke to a sound no parent wants to hear their daughter Abilgail shrieking in pain.
Carolyn says, "We ran in there and we found Abigail with her hand caught in between the front part of the crib and the base."
Thankfully Abigail is okay. But her crib eventually was recalled. And Consumer Reports says there are lots of problems with cribs... especially ones with drop sides.
Consumer Reports' Dan May says, "The problem with many drop-side cribs is that the hardware can fail, and if it fails, it can open up a dangerous gap in which a child can get their head entrapped and possibly strangled."
Problems with drop sides have led to the recent recalls of more than a million-and-a-half Delta cribs and more than a million Simplicity cribs. Toys R Us has announced it will no longer order drop-side cribs.
With so many recalled, it's all the more important that consumers not buy secondhand cribs.
May adds, "We bought this crib off Craigslist for just $40. Yet we found it's been recalled. It's very dangerous."
Consumer Reports says instead parents should get a stationary-side crib, like this one with sides that don't drop.
A good choice is the Ikea Leksvik. It's a consumer Reports Best Buy at $160 and it's rated excellent for safety.
At this point, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced the recall of some 4-million cribs.