Articles in the Reviews Category
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How to choose a diaper pail Changing diapers, of course, is the least glamorous aspect of taking care of a baby. But it must be done many times a day, and the right diaper pail can make the job easier. That’s especially true if you have more than one baby at a time in diapers—twins or triplets, or children close in age. The type of diaper pail you’ll want depends on whether you’re using cloth diapers or disposables. Cloth-diaper users may favor a “dry” pail, a lined plastic pail you put rinsed diapers in until wash time. “Wet” pails—a plastic pail for soaking diapers before laundering—were once the standard, but are not used much anymore. The typical disposable-diaper pail is also plastic, and it may be rigged with special liners or devices that dispel diaper odors, or for use with regular garbage bags. The right diaper pail can make diaper duty less of a chore. Pails that use their own liners typically contain odors better than those that use garbage bags, but refills do cost more, though some products that take garbage bags may claim to control odors. If you use cloth diapers, dump solid waste into the toilet before depositing a soiled diaper into the pail. It’s a good idea to dump waste from disposables, too; that added step helps cut down on the odor. (See cloth vs. disposable diapers .) Look for a secure lid; any diaper pail can be a danger to a young child. Plastic liners in a disposable or dry pail are a suffocation hazard; water in a soaking pail is a drowning peril. And a child who lifts a diaper pail lid and falls in may not be able to get out. Capacity counts too, although we have found in previous testing that manufacturers may claim a pail holds more than it actually does. But as diaper size increases, any pail holds fewer diapers. And besides, whether you go with cloth or disposables, you will want to regularly empty the pail anyway to minimize odor. A pedal- or motion detector-opening mechanism makes disposal faster and easier. A taller pail means you won’t have to bend as far. When you’re changing diapers all day, every day, anything that helps you out is a plus. Related: Seventh Generation diapers and other products to be sold at Walmart Take the stress out of potty training Subscribe now! Subscribe to ConsumerReports.org for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products. Update your feed preferences
Baby, Consumer Reports, News, Reviews »
How to choose a diaper pail Changing diapers, of course, is the least glamorous aspect of taking care of a baby. But it must be done many times a day, and the right diaper pail can make the job easier. That’s especially true if you have more than one baby at a time in diapers—twins or triplets, or children close in age. The type of diaper pail you’ll want depends on whether you’re using cloth diapers or disposables. Cloth-diaper users may favor a “dry” pail, a lined plastic pail you put rinsed diapers in until wash time. “Wet” pails—a plastic pail for soaking diapers before laundering—were once the standard, but are not used much anymore. The typical disposable-diaper pail is also plastic, and it may be rigged with special liners or devices that dispel diaper odors, or for use with regular garbage bags. The right diaper pail can make diaper duty less of a chore. Pails that use their own liners typically contain odors better than those that use garbage bags, but refills do cost more, though some products that take garbage bags may claim to control odors. If you use cloth diapers, dump solid waste into the toilet before depositing a soiled diaper into the pail. It’s a good idea to dump waste from disposables, too; that added step helps cut down on the odor. (See cloth vs. disposable diapers .) Look for a secure lid; any diaper pail can be a danger to a young child. Plastic liners in a disposable or dry pail are a suffocation hazard; water in a soaking pail is a drowning peril. And a child who lifts a diaper pail lid and falls in may not be able to get out. Capacity counts too, although we have found in previous testing that manufacturers may claim a pail holds more than it actually does. But as diaper size increases, any pail holds fewer diapers. And besides, whether you go with cloth or disposables, you will want to regularly empty the pail anyway to minimize odor. A pedal- or motion detector-opening mechanism makes disposal faster and easier. A taller pail means you won’t have to bend as far. When you’re changing diapers all day, every day, anything that helps you out is a plus. Related: Seventh Generation diapers and other products to be sold at Walmart Take the stress out of potty training Subscribe now! Subscribe to ConsumerReports.org for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products. Update your feed preferences
Baby, Consumer Reports, News, Reviews »
Safe insect repellent tips for babies and children Some insect repellents may react with your child’s skin and cause a rash. Repellents can also cause irritation to the eyes and can be potentially fatal if swallowed. If you use insect repellent on your child, here are some guidelines: Don’t use repellents on infants less than 2 months old. Instead, use mosquito netting over your infant carrier or stroller. If you are planning to be outside hiking or picnicking, or in an area with biting or stinging insects, protect your child by keeping her covered with long pants and sleeves and by using mosquito netting designed specifically for a stroller or infant carrier. Be sure the netting isn’t too long—your child could get tangled in it. (Related:
Baby, Consumer Reports, News, Reviews »
Weekend warrior chronicles: Dad assembles a giant backyard gym set This spring, my six-year-old son has been asking for a swing set for the backyard. Now that his little brother is nearly two, I figured I’d look into getting one. We often go to a town playground on the weekends, but I figured a backyard playset would allow them to get some fresh air and burn off some energy after school, and before dinner, on weekdays. I began the hunt. I started on the Internet at Google Maps: Swing …
Baby, Consumer Reports, News, Reviews »
Baby gates: 5 tips for choosing and installing them <br> With an active baby on the loose, a gate or two can make your life a little easier and your child a lot safer by keeping him away from potential dangers, such as stairs or a bustling kitchen. You can also use a gate to keep a pet away from a child and vice versa. Child safety gates are intended for children between 6 months and 24 months. All the gates we tested (see baby safety gate Ratings ) can be opened and closed by an adult but have various designs to prevent children from opening them. Child safety gates come in two basic types, based on the method of installation: Hardware-mounted, or permanent, gates and pressure-mounted gates. (Learn more about safety gate types .) Look for JPMA certified. Whether you choose a hardware- or pressure-mounted gate, look for one that's Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association certified . Situated on the frame or packaging should be a certification sticker showing that the gate meets the ASTM International voluntary safety standard, and that its manufacturer participates in the certification program administered by the JPMA. Know the standards and check for openings. The ASTM standard addresses issues such as the bottom spacing—the distance between the bottom of the gate and the floor—so a small torso can't pass through and there's minimal risk of head and neck entrapment, gate height (not less than 22 inches), strength of top rails, slats, and framing components, latching mechanism integrity, and upper-edge configuration—any openings more than 2/3 of an inch deep can be no wider than 1 1/2 inches. Install the gate according to the manufacturer's directions. Pick the right type. As you can see in the video (above, right), never use a pressure-mounted gate or the pressure-mount option on a gate that can be installed either way at the top of stairs—no matter how much you want to avoid drilling holes into your woodwork. Choose a gate with a straight top edge and closely spaced, rigid vertical slats or a mesh screen. Avoid accordion-style gates without a top filler bar (with open points at the top) and gates with horizontal slats or similarly tempting footholds. If you choose a model with mesh panels, look for a fine weave—wide-holed mesh may provide a foothold for climbing or could trap fingers. Follow the safety recommendations for installing and using gates and use our baby safety gate Ratings as a buying guideline. Subscribe now! Subscribe to ConsumerReports.org for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products. Update your feed preferences
Baby, Consumer Reports, News, Reviews »
Bath tubs for babies: Which type? Not sure what baby bath tub to buy? Baby bathtubs can cost anywhere
Baby, Consumer Reports, News, Pregnancy, Reviews, Toddler »
Bassinet and cradle safety guidelines The best beds for babies are full-sized cribs , so consider bassinets, cradles, and bedside sleepers with caution. Bassinet and cradle manufacturers can voluntarily comply with the ASTM standard for these products (indicated by a JPMA seal on the package)—and certification can provide a layer of protection—but at present aren’t required to. If you decide to buy or use a bassinet or cradle, you can’t be too careful. Here are more safety considerations to keep in mind when you’re looking at these baby beds: Buy certified and buy new. Although it’s not a complete guarantee of safety, buying a certified product adds a layer of protection. Certified products must meet the ASTM standard requirements such as correct spacing of side slats or bars. In 2008, for example, 900,000 Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible close sleeper/bedside sleeper bassinets (200,000 of which also carried the Graco logo or a Disney Winnie-the-Pooh motif) were recalled because the bassinet has metal bars that can be exposed when the Velcro flap that covers them is not properly secured—and the bar spacing exceeded the maximum 2 3/8 inches allowed under the federal crib standard, forming a strangulation hazard. Beware: Some of those bassinets could still be in circulation online and at tag sales and secondhand shops. (See two more babies die in Simplicity bassinets .)
Baby, Consumer Reports, News, Reviews »
Backpacks shopping and fitting guide for kids These shopping and fitting tips should help you find the right backpack for your child. One size does not fit all. Ideally, the bottom of the backpack should align with the curve of the lower back, and not more than four inches below the waistline. A backpack's shoulder-strap anchor points should also rest 1 to 2 inches below the top of the shoulders. (Learn how we tested backpacks , and see our backpack Ratings and reviews , which are available to subscribers , for models that performed well.) Inspect before you invest. Things to look for on the inside and outside of a backpack before you buy it include: •
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Don’t Buy: Safety Risk – Orbit™ Infant System Consumer Reports has identified a possible safety risk in a high-end infant “travel system” that combines features of an infant carrier, a stroller, and a car seat. The product, the Orbit™ Infant System, was rated “Don’t Buy: Safety Risk” after the infant carrier detached from its car seat base in two of six simulated 30-mph frontal crash tests that Consumer Reports commissioned at an outside laboratory. We conducted the tests using the guidelines for speed and impact crash simulations dictated by the federal standard for child restraints. Although the Orbit system, which retails for $900, is not among the overall leaders in terms of sales, it has carved out a niche in the market thanks in part to its popularity with A-list celebrities, some of whom offer testimonials on its Web site. The system consists of an infant carrier that can be snapped into either a car seat base, for use in a vehicle, or a stroller base, for use when on foot. Thus, it offers convenience for parents who want to be able to lift their child out of a stroller into a car, or vice versa, with a minimum of hassle. The Orbit was the only travel system in our tests to show any failures. The other two travel systems we tested, the Graco Stylus and Eddie Bauer Adventurer, stayed attached to their bases during the crash simulations. Of the two failures in Consumer Reports’ tests, one occurred when the car seat base was attached using the Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system that is featured on newer cars. The other failure occurred when the base was installed with the three-point (lap and shoulder) seat belt that is standard on modern cars. Six Orbit seats bought from retail merchants were tested. The other four passed our tests, and all findings were reviewed by an outside child-safety expert who has experience in child-restraint crash testing. Consumer Reports shared its test results with Orbit Baby, and the company ran their own tests at the same laboratory and found no failures. In a statement to Consumer Reports, Joseph Hei, chief executive officer of the Newark, Calif.-based company, says Orbit Baby has never received any report of a child being injured while in an Orbit baby seat. “We do not believe the test results obtained by Consumers Union are indicative of the safety of our Infant Car seats,” Hei wrote in an e-mailed statement. “Our car seats are used by children, including our own, and safety is our top priority. We strongly believe in the quality of our product.” Consumer Reports says it decided to rate the seat “Don’t Buy: Safety Risk” so that parents, safety experts and regulators would be aware of the results and of the potential for injury if an Orbit seat were to fail in a real crash, as it did in our laboratory simulations. “We think any failures are a matter of concern,” said Jennifer Stockburger, program manager of vehicle and child safety for Consumer Reports. “We rarely see failures in these tests, which we routinely perform on child seats.” Consumer Reports advises that anyone who already owns an Orbit Infant System should strap the infant carrier directly, without the car seat base, into the back seat of a vehicle. Installed this way, the infant carrier passed our tests when it was secured using either a two-point (lap) belt or a three-point (lap and shoulder) belt. Obviously this makes the product somewhat less convenient to use. But used as a stroller, separate tests have showed the Orbit system to be perfectly safe. Consumer Reports has also shared its findings with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which regulates child car restraints, and requested that the agency conduct their own investigation. Orbit Baby’s Hei adds that his company “will work cooperatively with NHTSA on further recommendations they may have.” Hei says anyone with questions may call Orbit Baby at 877-672-2229 or send e-mail to support@orbitbaby.com . When installing a car seat, if you’re having trouble getting it snugly in place, or if you want to check that you’ve done it correctly, you can go to a car seat installation checkpoint. To find the one nearest to you, go NHTSA’s Child Seat Safety Inspection Station Locator .
Baby, Consumer Reports, News, Reviews, Toddler »
Q&A: Can I skip a convertible car seat? My 21-pound 11 month old is outgrowing his infant car seat. To save money, can I skip a convertible car seat and just buy a toddler booster? You could—but it’s not the safest idea. That’s because a convertible car seat can be used rear facing and a toddler booster seat can’t. In fact, many convertible models offer the potential to keep babies and toddlers rear facing until they weigh 35 pounds (depending on the model), and the rear-facing mode offers the greatest protection in the event of an accident. “The longer you can keep your baby rear-facing, the better,” says Kisha Price, a health educator and certified child passenger safety technician at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Safety Center in Baltimore. (Learn more about why rear-facing longer is better .) At the 35-pound point, you turn a convertible car seat around and your child faces forward until he reaches the seat’s weight limit in that mode, which is generally up to 40 pounds, though some convertible seats have front-facing weight limits of 65 pounds or more. Models typically have an adjustable five-point harness system, which we recommend based on our tests. (See concerned about rear-facing babies? ) With a toddler booster seat, on the other hand, your child rides front facing with the car seat’s own internal harness from 20 to 40 pounds, though some toddler booster seats go up to up to 65 or even as high as 80 pounds, for kids who are heavier or larger than average for their age. (Learn more about all