Useless Baby Gear

Every year more and more useless baby gear is manufactured and marketed towards those insecure first-time mothers who feel they wouldn't be a proper parent without their home being filled with every gadget available to make their child's life better. What did our parents do forty years ago, or even one hundred years ago? Did their parenting suffer from the lack of baby products available to them? Of course not. Here's a list of some useless items, but I'm sure there are many, many more items that are just as useless.

1. Bumbo Baby Seat - This item has now been recalled because of skull fractures suffered by unrestrained infants falling out of them. Rather than sitting in any kind of chair, babies should be placed facedown on a blanket in a safe place, where they can challenge themselves to push up with their arms. This action strengthens their necks, arms and chests in preparation for the next stage in their growth - crawling.



2. Wipe Warmer - This electrical device is costly, needs water daily, burns and browns the wipes,and causes bacterial growth on the wipes. How about a facecloth and some warm water!



3. Pee Pee Tee Pee - This is for little boys who pee when they're getting their diapers changed. Is this little device really worth $10? How about putting that $10 in a savings account towards your son's college education and using a facecloth to cover the little sprayer?

4. The Babykeeper - Evidently I can hang my baby from the wall in most public places, including restrooms and changing rooms. Sorry, I wouldn't trust any hook with my baby, because if it broke off and she fell in a public washroom, she'd crack her head wide open. Just thinking of all those hospital bills makes me say no to this one.



5. Steam Sterilizer - This is a truly useless item. Why not just wash the bottles and rinse them in hot water? Bottles do not have to be sterlized to be clean and a few germs are good for a baby, it builds up their immunity.



6. Infant car seat - Spend your money on a high-quality car seat that they will use for a longer time. Infant car seats are not only heavy to carry around but bad for the baby's growth and development as infants tend to get left in awkward, unhealthy positions for prolonged periods of time. Look at this picture. Would you want to be sitting in that position for hours? If a child is not in the car, he should never be left in the car seat, sleeping or not. If it's bad for your back, it's bad for your child's back.

7. Spoonfeeder - This little gadget sends food down the pike for the little one to feed himself. It may wind up making more of a mess for mommy to clean up if the baby decides to throw the food rather than eat it.
 

8. Munchkin Safety Bath Ducky - Not only is the name ridiculous but this should be number one on my list. The duck has a panel on the bottom that tells you if the water is too hot. Do you really need a rubber duck to tell you the water is too hot? What else do you need a rubber duck to tell you? Enough said.


9. Diaper Warmer - See above for wipe warmer. There's also a blow dryer type of diaper warmer. How long does it take for a diaper to get warm once the baby has it on? Ridiculous!


10. Baby Bath Tub - This thing looks like a garbage pail. Why are we restraining our children with buckets, baby seats and strait jackets? We've immobilized our children. It's no wonder kids are fat today. Let your baby move around in the bathtub, it's not like he's going to drown. But wait. Maybe you need a Bath Ducky to tell you he's drowning.