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New Crib Safety Regulations Impact Parents

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- New government rules concerning the buying and selling of cribs is having a huge impact on parents nationwide.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says as of today, cribs manufactured before July 23, 2010 can no longer be sold or donated.

The regulations come after numerous recalls of drop-side cribs, which are to blame for nearly three dozen infant deaths over the past 10 years.

"She's just shy of 10-weeks-old, so she just had her two-month mark," said Jayme Anderson.

Anderson's daughter Isla may never know how much thought went into the crib she sleeps in every night. But Anderson did her research and knew the drop-side crib wasn't for her daughter.

"Even at that point, I was just too nervous about them. It just felt like there's too many recalls and there's just so many things that can go wrong," she said.

Experts say the problem with the drop-side cribs are the plastic pieces along the sides. In some cases, they would break off and the baby's head was getting stuck between the rail and the headboard, causing severe injury to the infant or even suffocation.

It's the number one reason there have been 11 recalls of more than 7 million drop-side cribs over the past 5 years. As of today, not a single manufacturer will be selling them.

"We're all about safety. Safety comes first," said Kimberly Theis with "Just Between Friends" kids consignment sales.

She said concerns over drop-sides have now led to even more widespread changes.

"All cribs that have been manufactured before July 23, 2010 cannot be resold nor donated," Theis said.

Theis believes that could eventually create problems at landfills and could also create headaches for parents hoping for a hand-me-down.

"This is huge. And think of now all the mom's out there -- what are they going to do?" said Theis. "Cribs are a major expense. In the end, it's a safety issue and safety has to come first. But still, cribs are expensive."

Theis said she hopes there is a government buy-back program to help parents.

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