Consumer Product Safety Commission Bans Drop Side Cribs

Child Care Centers, Hotels and any businesses that provide child care services have two years to replace the cribs. Officials with the federal agency say their efforts is to honor the memories of those who lost their lives and to ensure a better product enters the marketplace in 2011.

CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said, "The development and passage of these new standards is also consistent with my philosophy as Chairman that recall after recall is not the path to improved safety in the marketplace in the long term.  The emphasis on quickly improving the standards became even more important as parents and caregivers became overwhelmed by millions of cribs being recalled over the past four years. The passage of this rule, however, does not mark the end of our efforts in the area of crib safety. I will  continue my commitment to ensure that CPSC remains vigilant and consumers  can continue to have  confidence that the agency is committed to ensuring that children have a safer sleeping environment."

The move marks a significant change in federal crib standards, a policy that's gone unchanged for 30 years according to the CPSC. The Commission voted on 12/17/10 and manufacturers have 6 months from that date to stop making and selling the product. Child care providers have 18 months from that date to replace the defective cribs. More information can be found at: www.cpsc.gov.