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Is it unethical to give away your drop-side crib?

Posted by rebecca

12 Jan

As of last June, it became illegal to sell new or used drop-side cribs in the U.S. So Joy asked, “What should you do with your drop-side crib?” and readers came up with solutions. Joy, for example, plans to pass her drop-side crib on to another family–along with information about the ban and the crib immobilizer kit that makes it impossible to lower crib rails.

These sides don’t drop!

Commenters have chimed in with offers to donate their sturdy drop-side cribs to other readers free of charge. Today I approved a comment from Megan, who says, “So glad everyone is just giving away drop down cribs despite the ban. Way to think of others and their children.”

Do you agree? Is it wrong to pass along those banned cribs? Or would you accept a secondhand drop-side crib from a friend?

Filed under: Baby Gear, In the News

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8 Responses for "Is it unethical to give away your drop-side crib?"

Heather January 12th, 2012 at 10:05 am 1
Personally, with the immobilizer, I do not see the problem! On a side note… check out this awesome drop side crib repurposing project!
http://www.chicspacesforlittlefaces.com/2011/09/old-crib-desk.html on another local moms blog ☺
Texas Momma January 12th, 2012 at 10:17 am 2
I used the same drop side crib for all three of my children & never had a problem with it. It sure made getting my son out of his crib easier while I was pregnant with his sister! I don’t like the fixed side cribs & will use the one I have if I am blessed with any more babies. My kids sleep in my room in a bassinet and then a pack ‘n play for at least the first year because we breastfeed anyway. I think the ban on drop side cribs is like a lot of other regulations the .gov comes up with…they protect people who don’t follow directions or have common sense.
Stacey January 12th, 2012 at 4:40 pm 3
We JUST completed our “desk” project and I got the same inspiration as Heather’s link above. It is a fabulously fun desk. We put plexi-glass on top rather than the chalk board surface to keep dust down – otherwise it was pretty simple and our girls love it.
Lauren January 13th, 2012 at 10:06 pm 4
A friend of mine gave me her old drop side crib to use with my daughter last year. It was a huge help to not have to buy a new crib. We just screwed the rail into place so there’s no chance of dropping.
Chloe Drew January 14th, 2012 at 4:44 am 5
We received a dropside crib from a family friend, what help it was moneywise and earth friendly! We just screwed the rail into place too and are not worried at all about having any problems with it. My mother also uses a dropside crib for our daughter when she stays there, one that I slept in when I was a baby!
Aimee January 16th, 2012 at 8:13 am 6
Personally I will not be passing my dropside crib to another family. It was a handme down that i never felt was very sturdy. Since she mostly co-slept with us it wasn’t a huge deal but I would not be comfortable passing it to another baby. In fact when my son was born in 2010 we bought a new nondrop side crib.

It does seem like a waste to just throw it away but we are still looking for another way to use it. I like the idea above.
Amanda January 17th, 2012 at 10:07 am 7
Someone gave us a drop side crib a few months ago for our fourth baby. We didn’t want to use the dropside crib though…. so we made it into a chicken coop! Its really awesome!
Jennifer January 20th, 2012 at 3:23 pm 8
Our friends passed down their drop side crib to us this summer for our first child. It saved us a lot of money, and was in great shape. I contacted the manufacturer with info about the make and model of the crib and they sent us the repair kit, no questions, no charge. It’s worth doing a little homework to see if a repair kit is available.