Dexy Leigh Walsh, a mom from Scotland, has a message for all parents: make sure you're always practicing sleep safety [1] no matter what your child's age. After her 18-month-old daughter Connie Rose passed away from being suffocated by a stuffed animal while she slept on March 6, she wanted to warn other parents about the potential dangers that lurk in kids' bedrooms. The grieving mom opened up about her loss on Facebook [2]:
I woke up to get my oldest ready for school to find my youngest baby had passed away. I have been blaming myself since she passed away from suffocation. I had packed down the side of her bed with teddy bears and placed a big one on top of the smaller one to stop her from falling down the side of her bed. She did exactly that . . . she went under the massive teddy and fell asleep with the angels. All I think about now is if I had just left [the area] empty she would still be here.
Despite dealing with tremendous loss, Dexy Leigh wants other parents to hear her story so they can avoid making the same mistake she did.
"I want every parent to see and be aware of this. Let them fall. Don't try to stuff small places up with soft things — just leave it empty," she wrote. "She had a bed guard at one side and the smallest gap between the wall and her bed and that's where I had put all her teddies. [It's] my biggest regret in life."
Although the American Academy of Pediatrics doesn't make recommendations [4] against blankets and stuffed animals past the 12 months of infancy, concerned parents can certainly continue to practice those same sleep safety standards throughout their child's second year of life and beyond. For instance, this includes keeping your toddler in his or her crib for as long as possible, using bed rails even on the side of the bed facing a wall, and limiting the number of pillows, blankets, and toys that are on the bed during sleep.
"Please move everything off your kids' bed and away from the sides. My oldest daughter used to have her bed covered in cushions, teddies, [and] had princess drapes. They don't need anything on their bed but a cover — a pillow isn't even needed. I really hope my little princess's tragic story can save someone else's baby's life," she wrote.