An expert has shared five items that parents should avoid buying for their babies or children as they could ‘seriously’ harm them.
It feels like we spend half our money (or more) buying things for our kids, from the time they are born. But it is important to ensure that everything we buy for them is safe, which is often a harder task than you may think. With so many things going viral, and gimmicks being advertised everywhere online, parents may not realise that some things being sold are actually unsafe. Especially if they’re not from Europe, they may not meet our safety standards.
The consumer rights group Which? posted the warning on their Instagram page, revealing that there are certain items that you may think are harmless but are actually very dangerous.
Parents warned about five dangerous kids’ products
Taking to Instagram, the experts at Which? said that the following items could ‘seriously hurt your child’.
- Novelty baby sleeping bags – ‘These often have buttons and other bits which can come away and be a choking risk’. They also often have a lot of material around the face area, which doesn’t meet the safe sleep guidelines.
- Cheap baby carriers and slings – Baby gear is expensive, but some things are worth spending a bit more money on, including slings and carriers. After testing 11 slings from the marketplace, Which? found that 10 had ‘serious safety failures’. ‘Nine could be potentially lethal if it were used for a baby’. All items tested cost around €30, which is far too inexpensive for one of these products.
- Cheap battery-operated or magnetic toys – This has been spoken about before, but the inexpensive or knock-off versions of these toys can be very dangerous for small kids. There have been ‘too many issues’ where bits of these toys come apart and can be swallowed by your child.
- Baby nests or pillows – These have high sides, which are a hazard for sleeping babies and they do not meet safe sleep requirements.
- Fabric car seats – Which? Says they have been flagging these as unsafe for ’10 years’. They provide zero protection in the event of a crash’.
