KID calls on U.S. Senators to support the Safe Cribs Act.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 20, 2021

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The Honorable Maria Cantwell
United States Senate
Chair
Senate Commerce Science and
Transportation Committee
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Richard Blumenthal
United States Senate
Chair
Subcommittee on Consumer Protection
Product Safety, and Data Security
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Tammy Duckworth
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Roger Wicker
United States Senate
Ranking Member
Senate Commerce Science and
Transportation Committee
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Marcia Blackburn
United States Senate
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Consumer Protection
Product Safety, and Data Security
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senators:

I am writing on behalf of Kids In Danger (KID) to express our support for the bipartisan Safe Cribs Act, sponsored by Senators Duckworth (D-IL) and Portman (R-OH), which would prohibit the manufacture or sale of crib bumper pads.

KID is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting children by fighting for product safety. Our mission is to save lives by enhancing transparency and accountability through safer product development, better education, and stronger advocacy for children.

The case against permitting padded crib bumpers in a child’s sleep environment is clear. Crib bumper pads will not make cribs any safer – just increase the likelihood of suffocation or entrapment. In addition to the direct risk of suffocation from crib bumper pads, there is also the issue of contributing to sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) by reducing airflow in the crib and confusing parents on the safe sleep message that encourages a bare crib. It is hard to convince parents to follow the “bare is best” safe sleep messaging of removing padded items such as pillows from the crib when they are being sold padding to wrap around the crib at the same time.

Crib bumper pads serve no purpose beyond crib decoration, and the hazards they pose cannot be “designed out” of the product. Claims that padded crib bumpers are utilized in order to protect a child from limb entrapment are not supported by any evidence that children do not get their limbs caught between slats with bumpers in place. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety

Commission (CPSC) has received 113 reported fatalities involving crib bumpers from January 1, 1990 to March 31, 2019.

At KID we remember stories like Preston’s, who suffocated at just eight weeks old when he rolled off of a sleep positioner and against the bumper of his crib in 2012. In 2010, Aiden suffocated against his crib bumper pad. His mother was in the room, but babies suffocate silently. These are only two of the dozens of stories of babies that have died due to crib bumper pads.

Parents trust that products made for their children have been tested and proven safe, but this is not the case for crib bumper pads. KID fully supports the Safe Cribs Act and urges the U.S. Senate to pass this bill to save children’s lives.

Thank you,

Nancy Cowles

Executive Director
Kids In Danger
116 W. Illinois St. Suite 4E Chicago, IL 60654
Nancy@kidsindanger.org
(312) 595-0649