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We’ve talked about bassinet safety standards lots at Tell Me Baby. Importantly, that there aren’t any Australian safety standards when it comes to bassinets or bedside sleepers.
Now, after doing some of their own tests, consumer advocacy group CHOICE says five out of eight tested bassinets failed key safety requirements.
“Unfortunately, there’s currently no mandatory Australian safety standard for bassinets like there is for cots,” explains CHOICE baby product expert Kim Gilmour. “This means that year after year we continue to see unsafe bassinets make it onto the shelves.”
“These major safety failures reiterate the need for a new product safety law, which CHOICE continues to campaign for. This new law would stop unsafe products from ever hitting the market in the first place.”
The potential safety hazards included “suffocation and choking hazards, head and limb entrapment, insufficiently firm mattresses and sharp wicker splinters,” says the CHOICE website.
Handmade wicker bassinets seemed to be the most problematic.
Two wicker bassinets – the Quirky Bubba Sienna Cradle and Collective Sol Lyla – raised a number of concerns for testers in particular.
“The handmade nature of these products means you do get these frayed bits of wicker breaking off in the form of sharp splinters, which can then pose a potential choking hazard,” explains Gilmour.
“In addition, our testers found the large gaps in the wicker can also pose head or limb entrapment hazards where a child could get stuck.”
But it’s not all bad, three bassinets did pass with flying colours:
Here’s a list of the newly tested bassinets that failed, plus the issues CHOICE found.
4baby Serenity
CHOICE says the warning label “is obstructing the surface of the breathable material.” They also said the mattress wasn’t firm enough in some areas and witnessed “slight sagging” of the base.
The manufacturer Baby Bunting says it disagrees with CHOICE’s findings and has “not received any incident reports or customer complaints”. They say the product complies with American and European bassinet standards.
4baby Sleep and Stay
The potential hazards featured on this basinet are the same as the Serenity, as is the response from Baby Bunting.
Collective Sol Lyla
CHOICE says pieces of wicker posed as a choking hazard and detached in their “tension test”. Limb entrapment was also a concern “in the gaps between the sticks at the mattress base.”
Grotime Bebe
CHOICE says the supplied mattress wasn’t snug enough and could create a gap, causing suffocation risk. And the Bassinet has insufficient depth.
Quirky Bubba Sienna Cradle
Similar to the Collective Sol Lyla, pieces of wicker that detached during “tension tests” were found to be a choking hazard. Limb entrapment in openings on the sides and ends of the bassinet was also given a red flag.
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