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Crib Mobile Safety

Decorating a nursery in anticipation of a new baby is exciting. Picking décor that's safe for your newborn can be confusing due to conflicting advice from child-rearing professionals. The decision to use a crib mobile is often debated. They look cute and help sooth your baby, but there are some safety concerns.

Concerns
- Crib mobiles can present choking and strangulation hazards due to small parts and strings.
Testing
- The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requires mobiles to be tested to the standard of ASTM F963. This is a toy-testing standard, developed by The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), that calls out a litany of physical and mechanical testing.
Requirements
- Some of the CPSC's testing requirements for crib mobiles include, "no strings with loops or openings having perimeters greater than 14 inches" and "no strings or cords longer than 7 inches." Also, mobiles shouldn't have small parts that infants can pull off.
Shopping
- When shopping for a crib mobile, purchase it brand-new. Check the fine print on the back of the box for a proper testing label stating "conforms to the safety requirements of ASTM F-963."
Consumer Safety
- The CPSC suggests hanging crib mobiles out of your child's reach and removing crib mobiles once your baby can push up on his hands and knees.

Infants Toys