Babies are in more danger than you would expect, but not for reasons you may suspect. A new study shows that bottles, binkies, and pacifiers are harming babies at an alarming rate, sending thousands of children to the hospital for injuries.
According to MSNBC, Susan Keim, the principal researcher for the center for behavioral health at Nationwide the Children’s Hospital in Ohio, found that there were “2,270 cases each year where child was hurt while using bottles, pacifiers or sippy cups.”
In most of the cases, 86 percent, the kids were injured when they fell with the object. Bottles were involved in nearly two-thirds of the injuries, while pacifiers accounted for about 20 percent and sippy cups just over 14 percent. About 70 percent of youngsters suffered cuts, and about 70 percent were hurt on or near their mouths, the study found. Others suffered soft tissue or dental injuries.
But these household baby items, generally associated with helping fussy babies to quiet down, are not things that parents would suspect would cause problems. Yet many children are using bottles, sippy cups, and pacifiers much longer than they should be.
Last year a Canadian study found that 86 percent of children ages 1 to 2 used sippy cups. In 2008, a United Kingdom study found that more than 18 percent of toddlers were still using pacifiers until the age of three.
What do you think is a good age for parents to start weaning their children off of baby items?
