This weekend, I read an interesting article on Yahoo.com about 20 things to never buy used. Topping the list were two children’s products I totally agree with: cribs and car seats. The sad fact is cribs get recalled like there is no tomorrow, so you never want to risk buying a model that’s been recalled. Also, once a crib has been put together, it’s basically impossible to determine if it was done right and that’s a chance you just don’t want to take. As for car seats, the author of the Yahoo.com article cites potential unseen damage, but I’m going with yuck. Kids eat, pee, poop and do so much more in their car seats, just for cleanliness alone it’s worth dropping a hundred bucks on one of the newest, best car seats.
This article got me thinking about what I would never buy used, so I’m sharing my list with you.
1. Bottles. I don’t care how many times they’ve been washed or sterilized, I just don’t feel comfortable with the idea of my baby drinking from bottles that have (or had) another child’s saliva on them or another mom’s breast milk in them.
2. Breast pump. Not only does the idea of potentially giving my child another woman’s breast milk sort of–okay, really–gross me out, but putting my leaky boob where another mom once put her leaky boob is not cool with me.
3. Bath tub. I’ve caught my daughter peeing in the tub on at least three occasions, so who knows how many more times it’s happened. For that reason alone, you want a brand new tub that no other child has had the opportunity to christen with their urine. Plus, they’re cheap.
4. Sippy cup. I know, for a fact, I’ve seen other mothers pick a fallen sippy cup off the floor, wipe it off and give it back to their child. Heck, I’m even guilty of it myself. If you’re not at the point where you’re okay with germs, you definitely want to invest in a brand new sippy cup for your toddler. Make that a few new ones, actually.
5. Baby gym. After a few months of practice, babies can grab those hanging toys and after a while they’ll start making their way into baby’s mouth. Soon, they’ll become soaked in spit and that’s why you never want someone else’s baby gym. Unless, of course, you don’t mind your baby swapping saliva with another baby.
Okay, now that I’ve shared my list, you have to share yours. What would you never buy used?
Check out the best baby bottles, the best breast pumps, the best sippy cups, the best baby bath tubs and the best baby gyms in our buying guides.
Best Baby Bottles
Sophia Yen MD
June 17, 2010
In these lean economic times, you really should give advice based on evidence/truth rather than what you believe…
actually bottles are fine! they have been washed. they have been sterilized.
perhaps not the nipples b/c they may not last as long. but everything is clean.
pumps – are fine!! as long as you get your own tubing and attachments.
actually pee is sterile. poo is not. and kids do poo in the tubs. but if you wash it and bleach it before you use it for your kid, it should be fine.
the latter two, I think are ok not to get used.
Suzanne
June 17, 2010
I am shocked you would not differentiate between an entire $250 pump system (your link) and the horns and tubing (where you actually put your ‘leaky boob’) which can easily be swapped out. The motor itself is entirely separate.
Please don’t spread misinformation that a used pump is unsantitary. For a fraction of the price you can replace the breastshields/horns and tubing. e.g.
http://www.bosombuddies.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_16&products_id=2637
Why on earth would you want these machines in a landfill, or to tell you readers to spend $$$ on a brand new one?
~M
June 17, 2010
Wow, this column is insane, paranoid, and not based on any fact…very disturbing!
Dana
June 17, 2010
Well, I go to restaurants and eat off plates other people have eaten from, drink from glasses other people have drunk from. I go to hotels and sleep on beds other people have slept in, in sheets that have been used by other people and bathe in bathtubs that other people have showered and likely bathed in. We just don’t usually think about it this way. Not so different in my mind.
J
June 21, 2010
I found this post extremely disturbing in the level of germ-paranoia, and the choices you are encouraging other people to make.
I understand this is your personal opinion, but yikes! if every parent was as (unnecessarily) concerned about germs on items that have been or could easily be sterilized (e.g., bottles, bathtub), or already are sterile (like pee) — well, I guess it’s no surprise that:
-our landfills are over-flowing with items that could easily have been reused by others
-anti-bacterial products like handsoap are so popular and in such wide-spread use that they are actually contributing to the alarming rise in antiobiotic-resistant bacteria
-kids today are growing up with more allergies because their immune systems, having not been exposed to a normal and healthy amount of germs, are overreacting to other things in their environment.
No Monimom
February 23, 2011
Do you know how much a breast pump costs? Do you know the benefits of breastfeeding? Then why in the world would you say something so overly paranoid and obviously uneducated that might convince a new mother not to nurse/pump because she can’t afford a new one? I can see feeling the need to buy new breast shields and tubing, but refusing to accept a used PUMP? Clearly, you are either highly overpaid (or your spouse is) or you’ve never breastfed.
Your arguement is invalid.
Melody
February 23, 2011
Baby gym? Really? I have to agree with the previous comments. I think this is a list based more on assumptions and fear than fact and research.