SIDS

In a couple of weeks my little brother is going to become a first-time dad. I was so excited to hear about a new nephew coming into the world — not least because it was a great opportunity to wrest some of those last baby toys from my 6-year-old’s clutches and send them halfway across the country to his new cousin.

As I packed up boxes of crib sheets that my own mother-in-law had lovingly sewn for my boys, I came across a cute moon-and-stars bumper pad that matched my old nursery theme.

Without hesitation, I threw it away.

At a baby shower for a first-time mom over the weekend, my fellow guests got onto the subject of product recalls. The mom-to-be mentioned that her sister-in-law had offered a used stroller, but that it had been recalled due to a problem with the hood and she wasn’t sure whether she should accept it or not. Since the sister-in-law had used it for a good many years without losing one of her fingers to the potentially faulty hood, she wasn’t all that worried about the recall. As it happens, she also has two kids, so she had the wisdom of experience on her side.

It’s not that first-time parents shouldn’t worry about potential dangers to their baby (or, in this case, themselves). But a study done last year found that they are not very good at spotting true risks to in a mock home setup – and they tend to think that their child is smart/coordinated/lucky enough to avoid risks in their own home. Consequently, their risk assessment for their child tends to be all out of whack.

Over the past two decades, infant deaths due to Sudden Infan