stupid and irresponsible anti co-sleeping ad from Milwaukee authorities....

[summer rain]

Words fail me....

https://news.yahoo.com/milwaukee-runs-provocative-ads-wake-parents-dangers-co-213117311.html

Some of the comments are hilarious though...

 

[going_crazy]

"PLEASE do not sleep with babies who have giant knives. As shown in the photo, they WILL kill you so they can have the bed all to themselves."

I have never voiced my opinion about co-sleeping, but this advert is just plain ridiculous!

 

[midori1999]

The ad is ridiculous. I absolutely agree.

However, the fact sadly is that lots of babies do die in their parents bed, although virtually none of them from SIDS. So, becfause us adults clearly can't be trusted to behave sensibly, instead of giving out guidelines on SAFE co-sleeping, we are advised not to co-sleep at all. Some evidence suggests safe co-sleeping may in fact reduce the risk of SIDS and although no proper studies have yet been conducted, breastfeeding combined with co-sleeping is thought to lower the risk of SIDS to aroind 1 in 10,000.

 

[Brookey]

thats awful! true cosleeping can be dangerous, but thats if its done incorrectly! if done in the correct way it can be perfectly safe!

love that comment about letting your baby sleep with a knife hahahaha xx

 

[aliss]

"PLEASE do not sleep with babies who have giant knives. As shown in the photo, they WILL kill you so they can have the bed all to themselves."

I have never voiced my opinion about co-sleeping, but this advert is just plain ridiculous!

I LOL'd too. Who knew that there were specks of brilliance posting on Yahoo!

 

[Luvmysunshine]

Tbh, I think the ladies on this forum are often the exception to the rule when it comes to parenting. I think the ladies on here do a fantastic job and know how to safely cosleep. My mom is an ER nurse and I can't tell you how often parents unknowingly harm or accidentally kill babies while cosleeping. It's a common occurrence near where um from in southern Louisiana. Billboards like that are not addressed towards parents like us who know the rules of cosleeping. But to reach this who have no clue. And in low socioeconomic areas like near where I'm from it often takes drastic measures to reach people who have no idea of what they don't know. I agree that it's a bit ridiculous to me. But really some people have no clue about parenting. Something like that may grab their attention.

 

[whit.]

Someones comment "Only a really horrible parent would allow a baby to sleep with a knife. My baby sleeps with a 9mm Glock in case any potential intruders are armed."

 

[heather91]

"PLEASE do not sleep with babies who have giant knives. As shown in the photo, they WILL kill you so they can have the bed all to themselves."

I have never voiced my opinion about co-sleeping, but this advert is just plain ridiculous!

looooolllllllllll. Im lucky im still alive I've been cosleeping with at least 1 for 3yrs lol

 

[aliss]

Someones comment "Only a really horrible parent would allow a baby to sleep with a knife. My baby sleeps with a 9mm Glock in case any potential intruders are armed."

Well, it is Milwaukee!

But I do agree with Luvmysunshine. To be blunt, Milwaukee has a higher death rate from unsafe bedsharing than most others (all?). Safe cosleeping/bedsharing practices are not as well known, particularly among the African-American population which they are targeting. Milwaukee is a higher crime city and generally low socioeconomic statistics.

https://www.jsonline.com/features/h...educe-infant-mortality-st2vff2-133504268.html

I agree it is ignorant in terms of overall cosleeping/bedsharing practices but at the same time, they are trying to reach a population that needs a bit of shock tactics. Not everyone can be reasoned with and shown logic either. Tricky situation.

 

[whit.]

I agree, it might help for those parents who are unsafe co-sleeping and it just makes parents who know what they're doing chuckle.

 

[Ozzieshunni]

Someones comment "Only a really horrible parent would allow a baby to sleep with a knife. My baby sleeps with a 9mm Glock in case any potential intruders are armed."

That'll be my boy

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I was seriously just coming on here to rant about it. Safe cosleeping means that baby isn't alone in the bed, nor on a pillow, nor with a knife. Come on. Geez.

 

[milf2be]

hmm "The second-leading cause of infant mortality in Milwaukee is SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome, which often results from ”unsafe sleep,” according to the health department’s website. A form of “unsafe sleep” is bed-sharing with parents."
i find it a bit worrying that they dont know what SIDS is. unsafe co sleeping results in suffocation not SIDS, like other ladies have said, co sleeping safely is thought to lower the incidence of SIDS.

maybe they thought it was more beneficial to stop co sleeping full stop, then to do safety campaigns that people weren't going to listen to or do correctly?

 

[Bookish]

Billboards like that are not addressed towards parents like us who know the rules of cosleeping.

I agree. I live in Milwaukee, though, and I wish they could have adressed the issue -- improper cosleeping -- in a less hysterical way. Some of the recent supposed co sleeping deaths here involved alcohol, other children, etc. So, while I completely agree that safe sleeping practices need to be encouraged, the ad only encourages the fear that many people here have about cosleeping, even under the best circumstances.

Some people I know seem shocked that I cosleep, and point to that ad as proof I am being a bad parent.

 

[tina3747]

Isn't it meant to be the irony of it's just as bad as sleeping with a knife rather than dint let your baby sleep with a knife??!

To be fair if it makes one parent stop and think to co sleep safely and saves one babies life then it's good advertising....

 

[supertabby]

Co-sleeping can be safe (if not safer) but only when done correctly and abiding by a fairly lengthy list of safe conditions. Whereas safety points for cot sleeping can be put across as a few memorable bullet points. For the vast majority its easier to just advise against co-sleeping. In areas where there is an issue with unsafe co-sleeping and related deaths, then shock tactics are needed imo.

Parents who want to co-sleep, and are committed to strictly monitoring the safety, will do the research and educate themselves. The authorities are tackling people who don't educate themselves and making it clear and simple.

 

[aliss]

Instead of a knife, I wonder if it would be just as shocking to have a picture of a woman passed out with a liquor bottle/glass in her hand and the baby crying on the floor or face down on the floor... or something.

 

[daddiesgift]

I dont really see the big deal, the add says CAN BE ..I dont think they were saying that co sleeping always ends in death but it really can be dangerous. You just never really know. Some people dont even know that you should put baby on their back when they sleep, of course not EVERY baby needs to be on their back but it is the safest in most cases. I co-sleep with our son for the first few weeks of his life but it became unsafe when he started scooting everywhere. My husband had to go back to afghanistan when he was four days old so I had a bed rail on the other side of the bed but he always ended up next to it, or scooting up down all around next to me ect so it was time to put him in his crib. Of course im a super light sleeper but he couldve very well scooted right off our bed that I have to jump in to get on and we have no carpet so I could only imagine him falling off and smacking the hard floor. He also has GER so at first he rarely slept on his back, it was always his stomach or his side.

 

[tina3747]

Unfortunatly I guess there's more cases of co-sleeping deaths because of things like drink, drugs and just general unsafe enviroment. I can't see this being classed as SIDS , more like suffocation... Isn't SIDS unexplained death?! Please correct me if I'm wrong as I'm not sure .

I'd say most babies in Milwalkie have died in this manner, not through co-sleeping.

Advertising is power, the nspcc advert does is job because of the shock factor but obviously you can't show a dead baby from unsafe co sleeping on a billboard... Also the best adverts these days are ones that look obscure or have no releavence to what it's promoting.

They get people discussing and talking and that's what were doing now isn't it???

Like aliss' said, maybe a mum passed out next to her baby would be more direct...

 

[ashley2pink]

I saw this a couple days ago. The comments were much more informative then the article. I co-sleep and will continue to do so. I think its those who practice un-safe co-sleeping that the article should refer to.