Nursery No-No's

Baby's domain sure is cute, but is it safe? Jessica Hartshorn, Senior Lifestyle Editor for American Baby Magazine, give examples of trouble spots parents should avoid when creating your child's room.

Trouble spot number one is a crowed crib. In the first year of their life, an infant can be smothered by even the most harmless of objects, such as pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, and other soft items. To keep your baby warm, dress them in a wearable blanket.

Don't consider drop-side cribs. The problems with these cribs are that the sides easily separate, and your child can get stuck in between the mattress and crib. Because of this hazard, the consumer Product Safety Commission issued a ban on the sale of cribs with this type of feature. If you can try to purchase a new crib, there are plenty of safe options out there.

You should never put a monitor in the crib. There is always the risk that your baby can get a cord fixed around their neck. Instead, keep the monitor at least 3 feet from the crib, with the cords out-of-the-way.

Keep items you need close to the changing table. When you keep diapers, and other changing supplies far from the table, you run the risk of your baby falling off of it. Keep everything you need close by, and aim to buy a table with guardrails on all sides, or use a contoured pad that's hollowed out in the middle.

Don't position the crib anywhere near a window with hanging cords from curtains, or other drapery; this could have possibly have the potential to strangle your baby. As an alternative, use window treatments with cords that have no closed loops, or blinds with no cords at all. If you DO have a looped cord in the house anywhere, cut it and secure it up.

For more information on nursery no-no's and other parenting tips, click here.