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Consumer Reports: Best Baby Products
A couple of months ago, Consumer Reports issued a warning against buying and using several baby gear standards — crib bumpers, walkers and bath seats. Causing outrage, however, was their recommendation against wearing babies in slings.
Baby-wearers sent countless comments to the CR blogpost, which, for the first time ever, prompted the writer to respond.
So I was kind of surprised when flipping through a review copy of the 10th edition of their book, Consumer Reports: Best Baby Products, that they made actual recommendations for slings, even encouraging daddies to get in on the over-the-shoulder action.
The recommendations weren’t without warning, however. In a sidebar that started with the purse-lipped, raised eyebrows line, “If you insist …” with a bunch of great tips about sling wearing anyway and a big long list of brands, including Infantino — the sling pictured in their “burn the sling!” blog post.
Walkers got a write-up similar to slings, reluctantly tolerated. But crib bumpers and bath seats get the full frontal: “Don’t Buy a Crib Bumper,” and “Dont’ Buy a Bath Seat” headline with explanations. They’re also way opposed to co-sleeper and bed-sharing.
The book covers all the gear and crap — good and bad — the new parents will have to make decisions about before, during and after their child is born. It’s thorough — goes through all the brands, considers stuff like BPAs when talking about bottles and price/use considerations regarding the purchase of designer onesies.
They help you to decide on the $750 stroller. And the super fancy crib. And whether you really need a Diaper Genie.
In fact, I can imagine many a dog-eared page for newly expecting parents. So it would make a great gift for a couple who just announced the big news.
Big hugs to Consumer Reports (I was particularly incensed by their blog post on sling hate). All is forgiven.
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6 Comments
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Consumer Reports: Best Baby Products | Strollerderby | Baby Gear Central commented on Jun 16 09 at 8:17 pmMistress_Scorpio commented on Jun 16 09 at 4:11 pm“Baby Bargains” by Alan and Denise Fields is a much more fleshed-out and thought out resource than Consumer Reports for baby stuff.
PlumbLucky commented on Jun 17 09 at 9:15 amThe CR book DID have some good points, but it gets quickly dated in some areas. And other areas, such as “how much clothing do you need” sure assumes you do lots of laundry frequently.
Lanie commented on Jun 17 09 at 11:10 amI totally agree that the Fields’ “Baby Bargains” book and website are far more comprehensive and useful.
Toy Kitchen commented on Jun 17 09 at 12:20 pmSorry, got to post my own website here as consumer reports or any other agency rarely says anything bad about toy kitchens.
http://www.MyToyKitchen.com
Best Selection of Toy Kitchens on the Web!
Manjari commented on Jun 17 09 at 3:14 pmWe found Baby Bargains useful too.
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