Some very important advice
Apr 01 '01
The Bottom Line Buy your rails in sets of two, it could save your child's life.
This epinion will discuss the death of a child, so please be prepared.
We have all spent some time over the past few months reflecting on these how-to categories and their apparent uselessness. However, this is a how-to category that deserves some immediate attention.
As some of you may already know, my daughter, Gabriella, died on September 16, 1998. The cause of her death was ruled "positional asphyxia". In layman's terms, the position she was in caused her to suffocate.
Gabriella was sleeping in a toddler bed, as her brother did at the same age. She had the rail on one side of her bed, and the other side was pushed against the wall. During the evening she slipped between the bed and the wall and she died as a result. She had only been in the bed two days.
There are some very important factors to consider when purchasing bed rails.
Size
The bed rails should be large enough to prevent your child from falling out. There is no set guideline since bed sizes will also vary. Obviously, a bed rail for a toddler bed does not need to be as large as a bed rail for a twin or a full size bed.
Material
A lot of people make bed rails themselves. If you know what you are doing, there is nothing wrong with this. However, make sure that any wooden pieces have been sanded down to prevent scratches. I personally prefer plastic bed rails, simply because I feel they would not hurt as much if a child were to hit his/her head on it.
Buy in Pairs
My blood boils when I walk through the baby department and see bed rails sold individually instead of pairs. Please, learn from my daughter's death. It is so important to have a rail on EACH SIDE of the bed - a wall is simply not good enough. If the child is young enough to need rails, the risk of them slipping between the bed and the wall is also there. The oldest child I have heard about this happening to was 6 years old.
Follow Manufacturer's Instructions
This is also very important - the instructions are there for a reason. When my daughter died, the Nevada Department for Consumer Safety met with the manufacturer of the bed rails and discussed possible safety warnings. I got a true taste of how these warnings got put on the boxes.
Overall, that is my advice on using bed rails. I apologize for not having an upbeat editorial, and I am sure this isn't what you were expecting, but it may save your child's life.
~Heather
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Epinions.com ID:
hhassell99
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Member: Heather Sawyer
Location: Lakewood, CO
Reviews written: 56
Trusted by: 45 members
About Me:
Home Schooling, Breastfeeding, SAHM and a whole list of other qualities that annoy people.
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