By Amanda Geronikos
Everyone enjoys a good bargain… even if it's an old hand-me-down… but what happens when you buy more than you bargained for? Consumer Reports looks at which products you should always buy new, and why:
Cribs
Your neighbor's yard sale is not the place to find a bed for your baby. Millions of cribs, notably drop-side cribs, have been recalled on safety hazards in recent years. In fact, drop-side cribs have been linked to at least 32 infant suffocation and strangulation deaths between 2000 and 2010, as noted by Consumer Reports. Luckily, new safety standards have dropped traditional drop-side cribs altogether. In addition, new guidelines demand stronger mattress supports and meticulous safety testing.
Bicycle Helmets
I'm honestly not sure why these are even listed. The idea of wearing a used bike helmet seems kind of… gross? But that's not the only reason you should avoid them. Consumer Reports notes that once a helmet is involved in a crash, it more or less loses its ability to fully protect you. You also don't have a way to determine whether or not a bicycle helmet has been damaged. Skip the hassle and head to your local sporting goods store – a decent helmet isn't going to break the bank, I promise.
Child Safety Seats
How can you tell if a baby's car seat was involved in a crash? You can't. Plus, older car seats can't offer the latest and safest features. Even if the car seat is only a few years old, forget it -- car seats typically expire after six years, as noted by Consumer Reports.
Children's Outerwear with Drawstrings
You might not think something as simple as drawstring clothing poses danger to your child, but the playground at school is a busy place, and anything can happen. Federal guidelines have pulled draw-string clothing from store shelves, but second-hand stores still manage to sell the once-popular articles of clothing, so beware.
Toys (and Jewelry)
This one's a bummer. Unfortunately, most of the old toys in your attic (even your dress-up jewelry), are full of lead. And this, of course, becomes a problem when little Johnnie thinks that old toy is delicious enough to put in his mouth. According to Consumer Reports, new federal rules reduce the lead limit in toy's underlying materials and other children's products from 300 to 100 parts per million.