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Child-Care In Hammocks

In order to provide our children a truly safe environment, many safety measures need to be followed, including child-care in hammocks.

Many accidents and unnecessary deaths have taken place where children died in hammock related accidents. Investigations were realized to determine if these incidents were due to unsafe measures of the hammock or parental negligence. Studies were also made to point out if certain brands have manufacturing problems or lack of quality that can be responsible for untimely deaths. Brand names, styles, sizes and materials with which hammocks are made were analyzed.

Reports point out that light-weight, portable and attractive hammocks without spreader bars, between five to seven feet wide and seven to 20 feet long when suspended between trees, on a deck or porch are deadly and can strangle and kill.

The main factors to be taken in account are:

- Hammocks with no spreader bars. These bars hold the hammock open and without them, the hammock can twist around the child's neck and strangle him. This can happen while getting in or out of the hammock or when playing on it or using it for a swing. A child wanting to get down from the hammock can loose balance and fall down.

- Mini-Hammock danger to small babies. These hammocks are dangerous for small babies because a baby sleeping on soft bedding can become wedged in positions in which he can't breathe.

- Crib Cuddle. This is a hammock like device that is placed on top of the sleeping pen of the baby. Possible danger: In first place, the product has a battery powered hummer that allegedly comforts the child and such devices are not advisable due to possible battery leakage near the baby. In second place, a more serious problem is that the infant can place his/her head over the edge and suffer sofocation.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recommends to stop using the product "Hangouts Baby Hammocks", 6 foot long mini-hammocks woven from thin cotton strings with nylon end strings in solid or multi-striped colors.

Also stop using mini-hammocks if you own any kind and take them down immediately. When a net mini-hammock is attached to trees, decks, porches, or other areas, it hangs like a thin rope and it can suddenly become twisted around a child's neck and strangle him.

E-Z Sales, the major producer of thin net mini-hammocks, is offering consumers replacement for mini-hammocks with spreader bars or larger hammocks.

Consumers should immediately remove mini-hammocks from where they are placed and return the mini-hammocks to the store where they purchased them for a full refund or a replacement hammock. If consumers do not know the retailer or manufacturer of their mini-hammock, consumers should destroy the mini-hammock immediately to prevent strangulation death or injury.