BoomerBikerOnline.com - Tip of the Week # 7

Cribs - Celebrity Housing of a Different Kind"

Over this past weekend, I got a lifetime's worth of education in a

single day. What I discovered and what I've learned in the short

time since last Saturday has disturbed me to the point of loosing

sleep.

You see, the wife and I are looking forward to becoming

grandparents for the second time in February. Our youngest is

expecting a baby girl - "Gianna."

And as you can imagine, the announcement of her pregnancy

immediately set about a series of events within the female members

of our family. Of course, there's a shower to plan. And shopping

to do for baby clothes, diapers, mobile and stuffed toys, stroller,

changing table and baby Gianna's first home away from the womb- her

all-important "Crib."

Well, my advice to all you Boomer Biker grandpas to-be out there is

to stay out of the way and let the women handle the shopping. And

that advice has served me well - until last Saturday.

Saturday was the day when Grandpa (me) and Grandma picked up the

new crib from the local Baby specialty retail store (not mentioning

names). After all, I'm the one with the motorcycle trailer - which,

in recent years has turned out to work perfectly doubling as a

furniture transport.

Anyway, we picked up two huge boxes of baby furniture and headed

for the kids apartment (three flights up). After my son-in-law and

I wrestled the boxes up the stairs and into the new baby boudoir,

we began the furniture assembly process. Cut open boxes, look for

instructions, screws etc.

After completing assembly of the changing table, it was time to

tackle Gianna's crib. And that's when things began to get strange.

As the son-in-law and I started unpacking and laying out parts of

the crib for assembly, everyone in the room became increasingly

more and more quiet.

First to be assembled was the back railing of the crib to the two

sides. Then came the box springs that would support the mattress.

The final step to complete the crib was the installation of the

front sliding rail.

Something had been bothering us all and when I grabbed that front

railing, it struck me like a bolt of lightning. This crib is JUNK!

- I thought to myself as the assembly continued.

With the son-in-law on one end and me on the other, we struggled to

figure out the proper way to install the crib's front sliding rail.

Does the top plastic guide slide into it's plastic support before

or after the bottom spring-loaded plastic clip fits in the

grove...or...???

Finally, we figured out the instructions and then when we installed

the rail, we discovered that one of the spring-loaded plastic clips

had been damaged. Poor quality control in the manufacturing process

or dropped during shipment to the retailer, it didn't matter, final

assembly was now impossible.

Replacement parts were needed and the product's instructions

clearly stated -

DO NOT RETURN DAMAGED MERCHANDISE TO RETAILER

FOR REPLACEMENT - CONTACT THE MANUFACTURER FOR

REPALCEMENT PARTS.

Well, the only thing to do now was apologize to the kids for the

delay, clean up the mess, throw out the boxes, tow the trailer back

home and prepare to contact the manufacturer for spare parts on

Monday.

Away from the kids and on the ride back home, I delicately broached

the subject of child safety and the quality of the crib we had

purchased for baby Gianna. Our conversation continued on, even

after arriving back home.

I explained to my wife that I taken note in the past couple of

years that there had been an alarming rise in the number of infant

injuries and deaths caused by baby furniture. Admittedly, it had

been a long time since we had been around infants, but after trying

to assemble that crib, I was totally convinced that I now

understood some of the possible reasons for the increase in infant

injury and death - plastic parts, cheap materials and shoddy

quality control.

In my opinion, that crib we purchased for the kids was JUNK and I

was extremely uncomfortable about knowingly putting our new

grandbaby in harms way. And to my relief, my wife immediately

agreed. So, with sales receipts in hand, back to the store we went.

The store manager was very understanding (I got the impression that

we weren't the first grandparents to voice a similar quality and

safety concerns)

Anyway, we ordered a sturdier (and 2X more expensive) crib - one

with parts actually made of real wood. Also, it has no moving

rails. The box springs have several fixed mounting positions and

can be raised or lowered as the baby grows.

From the moment of birth, your grandchild will attain Celebrity

status and your celebrity should have a "crib" that is both safe

and secure. So, here's some advise from this Boomer Biker to all

the rest of you Boomer Biker grandparents, or grandparents-to-be

out there. Do your homework when it comes to baby furniture,

clothing, toys and accessories.

There's a lot of junk out there these days. Products have recently

been flooding the US market from overseas manufacturers that are

dangerous and pose various health and safety risks to our

grandchildren. So, please take the time to visit Consumer Reports

online at:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/babies-kids/index.htm

There you will find a plethora of baby products information that is

immensely informative and useful. Information that will enable you

to make informed decisions about the products that your are

purchasing for your grandchildren - information that will

ultimately have a positive affect on their health and safety.

And information that will ultimately help Grandpa and Grandma get a

better night's sleep, take it from me!

Respectfully,

Bruce Hosking and the rest of the "Gang" @

BoomerBikerOnline.com

2174 Nursery Road, Suite 110

Clearwater, Fl. 33764

USA

727-729-4270

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