Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
KevinMD
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking
KevinMD
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking
  • About KevinMD | Kevin Pho, MD
  • Be heard on social media’s leading physician voice
  • Contact Kevin
  • Discounted enhanced author page
  • DMCA Policy
  • Establishing, Managing, and Protecting Your Online Reputation: A Social Media Guide for Physicians and Medical Practices
  • Group vs. individual disability insurance for doctors: pros and cons
  • KevinMD influencer opportunities
  • Opinion and commentary by KevinMD
  • Physician burnout speakers to keynote your conference
  • Physician Coaching by KevinMD
  • Physician keynote speaker: Kevin Pho, MD
  • Physician Speaking by KevinMD: a boutique speakers bureau
  • Primary care physician in Nashua, NH | Kevin Pho, MD
  • Privacy Policy
  • Recommended services by KevinMD
  • Terms of Use Agreement
  • Thank you for subscribing to KevinMD
  • Thank you for upgrading to the KevinMD enhanced author page
  • The biggest mistake doctors make when purchasing disability insurance
  • The doctor’s guide to disability insurance: short-term vs. long-term
  • The KevinMD ToolKit
  • Upgrade to the KevinMD enhanced author page
  • Why own-occupation disability insurance is a must for doctors

Don’t buy these 3 gifts for babies this holiday season

Roy Benaroch, MD
Conditions
December 17, 2015
Share
Tweet
Share

Spend spend spend — that’s the push by marketers and websites this time of year. Except from me. Here are three holiday gift things nobody needs. Save your money, or buy something else if you must, but stay away from today’s featured items:

1. Crib bumpers. The American Academy of Pediatrics has called for banning these things since 2007, but they’re still sold. And they’re still killing babies. A November 2015 study shows that deaths from bumpers, usually by suffocation, have about tripled over the last several years, even as “safer” options like mesh become more popular.

Bottom line: Crib bumpers are unnecessary, and don’t do your baby any good. They exist only to give you (or your shower-gift buyers) something else to spend money on. You’d be safer just throwing your money out in the street.

2. Baby walkers. Here’s a thing that delays both motor and mental development — babies in walkers walk later, and also show delays in language and problem-solving skills and is also associated with a markedly increased risk of dangerous falls, boiling water spills, amputations, and deaths. Canada banned them in 2004. There is absolutely no point to putting your baby in a walker, unless you want to slow his development, increase his risk of injury, and (of course) blow some money.

3. Amber teething necklaces. I think the fad has passed anyway. But for those who missed it, you can still buy these things. Don’t. There’s no evidence or plausible reason to think they’d help. And putting a ligature or necklace around a baby’s neck is considered a Bad Thing because they can’t reach up and untangle themselves if it starts choking them. That’s why you don’t see necklaces on babies, and why those straps to prevent losing a pacifier are so short. You do not want things wrapped around your baby’s neck.

So what to do with all of the money you’ve saved? Tuck it away in the college fund. Or spend it on yourself, on a parents’ night out. Just don’t spend it on something that’s useless and might hurt your baby.

Roy Benaroch is a pediatrician who blogs at the Pediatric Insider. He is also the author of A Guide to Getting the Best Health Care for Your Child and the creator of The Great Courses’ Medical School for Everyone: Grand Rounds Cases.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

Hospitals and doctors should better prepare for winter. Here's how.

December 16, 2015 Kevin 0
…
Next

Why doctors will continue playing defense in the clinic

December 17, 2015 Kevin 31
…

Tagged as: Pediatrics

< Previous Post
Hospitals and doctors should better prepare for winter. Here's how.
Next Post >
Why doctors will continue playing defense in the clinic

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Roy Benaroch, MD

  • Goodbye, Benadryl: It is time for you to retire

    Roy Benaroch, MD
  • Telemedicine overprescribes antibiotics: Are you really receiving the best care over the phone?

    Roy Benaroch, MD
  • No, phones don’t cause horns to grow on skulls

    Roy Benaroch, MD

Related Posts

  • This will be an interview season for the ages

    Steven Rose, MD
  • Are pharma gifts to doctors a red herring?

    Brian C. Joondeph, MD
  • This residency interview season: Be the rebel

    Bryan Pardo, MD
  • Qualifying conditions for medical marijuana

    Patricia Frye
  • Settlements in the opioid cases need these non-negotiable conditions

    Rosanne Aulino, RN
  • What does Kelly Loeffler’s health plan do to coverage for preexisting conditions?

    Robert Laszewski

More in Conditions

  • Clinician burnout demands better health care governance

    Tiffiny Black, DM, MPA, MBA
  • Hair loss and the emotional toll: a doctor’s perspective

    Dr. Abdulaziz Balwi
  • A new approach to treating recurrent urinary tract infections

    Jitesh Patel, MD
  • The emotional impact of infertility is grief unspoken

    Oluyemisi Famuyiwa, MD
  • Why individualized menopause care matters today

    Kari Waddell, FNP
  • How vocal biomarkers are revolutionizing early detection

    Kang Hsu, Jr., MD
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Opt-out states and physician-led anesthesia care explained

      Michael Beck, MD | Physician
    • Why artificial intelligence displacement threatens medical specialties

      H. Michael Boulton, MD | Physician
    • A family legacy inspiring advocacy in neurodevelopmental care

      Ronald L. Lindsay, MD | Physician
    • How minor injuries lead to flesh-eating bacteria in rural Nigeria

      Dr. Mansur Auwal Sani | Conditions
    • Women physicians’ health is paying the price of medicine

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • Why your doctor invests like a vaccine skeptic

      Hernan Moscoso Boedo, PhD | Finance
  • Past 6 Months

    • I Googled my own name and a corporate clinic I’ve never worked at appeared [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Rethinking the role of family physicians vs. specialists

      Ronald L. Lindsay, MD | Physician
    • How corporate health care ruined the medical profession

      Edmond Cabbabe, MD | Physician
    • Clinicians are failing at value-based care because no one taught them the system [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • A humorous parody of medical specialties and the modern patient

      Sidney J. Winawer, MD | Physician
    • Pharmacy closures threaten our entire public health system

      Timothy Lesaca, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Women physicians’ health is paying the price of medicine

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • Clinician burnout demands better health care governance

      Tiffiny Black, DM, MPA, MBA | Conditions
    • Uber’s personal injury lawsuits split doctors and lawyers

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Hair loss and the emotional toll: a doctor’s perspective

      Dr. Abdulaziz Balwi | Conditions
    • How corporate medicine is eroding truth and patient dignity

      Ronald L. Lindsay, MD | Physician
    • Bridging the health equity gap with artificial intelligence

      Judith Eguzoikpe, MD, MPH | Policy

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

Leave a Comment

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Opt-out states and physician-led anesthesia care explained

      Michael Beck, MD | Physician
    • Why artificial intelligence displacement threatens medical specialties

      H. Michael Boulton, MD | Physician
    • A family legacy inspiring advocacy in neurodevelopmental care

      Ronald L. Lindsay, MD | Physician
    • How minor injuries lead to flesh-eating bacteria in rural Nigeria

      Dr. Mansur Auwal Sani | Conditions
    • Women physicians’ health is paying the price of medicine

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • Why your doctor invests like a vaccine skeptic

      Hernan Moscoso Boedo, PhD | Finance
  • Past 6 Months

    • I Googled my own name and a corporate clinic I’ve never worked at appeared [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Rethinking the role of family physicians vs. specialists

      Ronald L. Lindsay, MD | Physician
    • How corporate health care ruined the medical profession

      Edmond Cabbabe, MD | Physician
    • Clinicians are failing at value-based care because no one taught them the system [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • A humorous parody of medical specialties and the modern patient

      Sidney J. Winawer, MD | Physician
    • Pharmacy closures threaten our entire public health system

      Timothy Lesaca, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Women physicians’ health is paying the price of medicine

      Jessie Mahoney, MD | Physician
    • Clinician burnout demands better health care governance

      Tiffiny Black, DM, MPA, MBA | Conditions
    • Uber’s personal injury lawsuits split doctors and lawyers

      Kayvan Haddadan, MD | Physician
    • Hair loss and the emotional toll: a doctor’s perspective

      Dr. Abdulaziz Balwi | Conditions
    • How corporate medicine is eroding truth and patient dignity

      Ronald L. Lindsay, MD | Physician
    • Bridging the health equity gap with artificial intelligence

      Judith Eguzoikpe, MD, MPH | Policy

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today

Copyright © 2026 KevinMD.com | Powered by Astra WordPress Theme

  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Leave a Comment

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...