What not to buy second-hand
Cot mattresses
The current advice from FSID (The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths) is that ideally you should by a new mattress for each new baby that you have. This is because according to Scottish researchers, the increase of cot death rises if the child is sleeping on a mattress previously used by a child from another home. The reasons for this seems to be largely to do with Infection, E Coli and bacteria that can be found in used infant mattresses, that can pose a risk to babies. It is important to add that the causes of cot death are still largely unknown and that some larger studies suggest that there is no evidence to say new babies need new mattresses.
Before you chuck a perfectly good mattress out, a spokesperson from FSID recommends that as long as the baby is from the same family (so a sibling of the original mattress owner) and as long as the mattress has a completely waterproof cover and has no tears, cracks or holes, is firm, clean and dry and doesn’t sag, it’s OK to let your baby sleep on it. If the mattress is not in good shape, or you are borrowing a cot from somebody, it is important to buy a completely new mattress.
Baby Car Seats
It is not advised that you buy or borrow baby car seats second-hand unless you are absolutely sure of it’s complete history and that it has never been in a car accident. If you were buying it from an online auction or second-hand, there is no way of knowing for sure if it had been in an accident, or if it had been properly cared for. Once a car seat has been in an accident it can no longer protect your baby from a further impact and should be replaced immediately.
In terms of car seat safety, a car seat expires six years after the date of manufacture, so even if you know it’s history but it is older than six years old you must buy a new one. See our feature on car seat safety to determine which type of car seat will be suitable for your child depending on age and weight.
Baby Bottles
You may have heard of the safety issues surrounding baby bottles and BPA, if not, the essential facts are that studies have come out detailing the potential hazard of a synthetic chemical used in the manufacturing of baby bottles which can cause health risks to babies including obesity, diabetes and cancer. Obviously parents are up in arms about this research because of the implications for babies’ health and also because there are many conflicting reports. The reports say that when baby bottles are heated over a long period of time, high levels of BPA can leak out into your baby’s feed. However scary this seems, a spokesperson from the Foods Standards Agency says (following an extensive review) that the dietary exposure to BPA, including that of infants and children, is estimated to be below the tolerable daily intake or TDI. This means that the amount that can be digested over a lifetime does not have an appreciable risk.
The advice given by baby bottle manufacturers and experts alike is all the same: As long as you look after your baby bottles there is no need to panic.
- Always discard bottles when they are worn out, or get cloudy or scratched, or if they are chipped or broken.
- Do not fill bottles with boiling water (let it cool first)
- If you are buying new bottles anyway, consider buying bottles that are BPA free.
See our feature on BPA and Baby Bottles for a more detailed explanation on this issue, as well as a list of all manufacturers who make bottles which contain BPA or are BPA-free.
Bike helmets for kids
Much the same as car seats, bike helmets (or any other helmet for that matter) are designed to protect your head against one crash only. This is why it is recommended not to buy a second-hand bike helmet unless you are absolutely sure of its history. Helmets should also be replaced if they are more than five years old because of general wear and tear but also so that they comply with the most current safety standards.
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Mothercare
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