There are baby products that are clearly inspired by moments of parental inspiration (or desperation).
And then there are those baby products that appear to have been invented by folks who have never been around babies.
Here, for example, are three types of products that miss the mark when it comes to understanding how babies and their parents function in the real world as opposed to in the glorious world of blueprints and spreadsheets.
Voice-activated sound and light devices designed to comfort babies in the night
This type of product sounds lovely at first. Your baby cries in the night and, as soon as his wails reach a particular volume, the miracle product begins to work its magic. Your baby is comforted by womb-like heartbeats or soothing sounds and a psychedelic or soothing light show. (The specifics vary by product and brand.) Now let's give this dream product a tiny little reality check. Problem number one: If baby is rooming in with you, as the Canadian Paediatric Society recommends, you're going to have to try to put up with the late-night entertainment yourself. Problem number two: babies are notorious for making noises in their sleep. (Translation: if baby wasn't wide awake before the sound and light show began, you can rest assured he'll be ready to party with you for the rest of the night by the time the in-room rock concert winds down.)
Glow-in-the-dark nursing pillow
One of the fundamental principles involved in teaching a baby to sleep through the night is teaching baby the difference between night and day. If you nurse your baby in the middle of the night next to a nursing pillow that's as brightly lit as the face of a 1980s Glo Worm, she's understandably going to have a hard time figuring out that she's supposed to go back to sleep anytime soon.
Sleep positioners
Sleep positioners come in all shapes and sizes, but they are all designed to do one thing: keep baby sleeping on his back (the recommended sleep position for babies until they are able to roll over on their own). Health Canada advises parents not to put any soft objects such as pillows, stuffed toys, bedding, or sleep positioners in baby's crib, due to the risk of suffocation, and yet sleep positioners are still readily available for sale to Canadian parents, both online and offline. In fact, at least one major retailer routinely recommends their use to Canadian parents in its baby buying guide.
Given my choice of silly products or dangerous products, I'll take a silly product any day of the week. You eventually figure out that the product is making your life as a parent more difficult and the product gets banished to the basement forever.
As for dangerous products: I don't have a lot of patience for them. I've met far too many parents who have been through the tragedy of losing a baby to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). What I want to know is how we can have Health Canada saying, on the one hand, that sleep positioners shouldn't be used in cribs; and a major Canadian retailer recommending their use to parents. Am I the only one who sees something very wrong with this picture?
Related:
How to keep baby safe
Sleep survey says....
And then there are those baby products that appear to have been invented by folks who have never been around babies.
Here, for example, are three types of products that miss the mark when it comes to understanding how babies and their parents function in the real world as opposed to in the glorious world of blueprints and spreadsheets.
Voice-activated sound and light devices designed to comfort babies in the night
This type of product sounds lovely at first. Your baby cries in the night and, as soon as his wails reach a particular volume, the miracle product begins to work its magic. Your baby is comforted by womb-like heartbeats or soothing sounds and a psychedelic or soothing light show. (The specifics vary by product and brand.) Now let's give this dream product a tiny little reality check. Problem number one: If baby is rooming in with you, as the Canadian Paediatric Society recommends, you're going to have to try to put up with the late-night entertainment yourself. Problem number two: babies are notorious for making noises in their sleep. (Translation: if baby wasn't wide awake before the sound and light show began, you can rest assured he'll be ready to party with you for the rest of the night by the time the in-room rock concert winds down.)
Glow-in-the-dark nursing pillow
One of the fundamental principles involved in teaching a baby to sleep through the night is teaching baby the difference between night and day. If you nurse your baby in the middle of the night next to a nursing pillow that's as brightly lit as the face of a 1980s Glo Worm, she's understandably going to have a hard time figuring out that she's supposed to go back to sleep anytime soon.
Sleep positioners
Sleep positioners come in all shapes and sizes, but they are all designed to do one thing: keep baby sleeping on his back (the recommended sleep position for babies until they are able to roll over on their own). Health Canada advises parents not to put any soft objects such as pillows, stuffed toys, bedding, or sleep positioners in baby's crib, due to the risk of suffocation, and yet sleep positioners are still readily available for sale to Canadian parents, both online and offline. In fact, at least one major retailer routinely recommends their use to Canadian parents in its baby buying guide.
Given my choice of silly products or dangerous products, I'll take a silly product any day of the week. You eventually figure out that the product is making your life as a parent more difficult and the product gets banished to the basement forever.
As for dangerous products: I don't have a lot of patience for them. I've met far too many parents who have been through the tragedy of losing a baby to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). What I want to know is how we can have Health Canada saying, on the one hand, that sleep positioners shouldn't be used in cribs; and a major Canadian retailer recommending their use to parents. Am I the only one who sees something very wrong with this picture?
Related:
How to keep baby safe
Sleep survey says....
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