... Baby-Products Makers Won’t Say
Bringing up baby is a huge industry. What you need to know about it:
1 “Our sales are in a growth spurt.”
With 4 million babies born in the U.S. every year, companies that make baby products have a broad, renewable market. Data from retail-industry monitors IBISWorld and Euromonitor show that total U.S. spending on baby products, including toys, grooming, formula and durable goods like cribs, was at least $23 billion in 2013.
For the baby-products industry, e-commerce is the gift that keeps on giving. According to IBISWorld research, online sales of everything from clothes to strollers grew by an annual average of 14.5% from 2008 to 2013, to $5.6 billion.
2 “And your baby doesn’t need fancy toys.”
U.S. sales of baby toys and games totaled $487 million in 2013, according to Euromonitor. Yet, as any parent whose child loves the cardboard packaging more than the toy inside knows, it doesn’t take much to capture a little one’s imagination. In fact, simpler is better, some experts say.
“For kids to be able to initiate and not just imitate, the toys and tools that do that are the ones that just lie there until kids bring them to life,” says Susan Linn, director of the Campaign for a CommercialFree Childhood and the author of “The Case for Make Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World.” That means toys children played with 100 years ago: wooden blocks, books, puzzles and dolls.
3 “Your instincts are as valuable as our advice.”
Lactation consultants, sleep consultants, eco-maternity consultants and baby planners—a whole advice industry caters to expectant and new parents.
In 2013, some 13,848 consultants in the U.S. and its territories held the designation of International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, up nearly 7% from 2011. Sometimes, such guidance is just what frazzled new parents need. And moms with problems breast-feeding— whose newborns may not be eating enough as a result— benefit enormously from a skilled lactation consultant. Problem is, anyone can call herself a lactation consultant, so parents need to do their due diligence.
4 “Teething is normal—but we’ll tell you it’s a crisis.”
A Google search of “teething remedies” returns more than 1 million entries. Teething gels and tablets occupy prominent space in drugstores and in parentingmagazine ads. And yet, these products aren’t only unnecessary, some can even be dangerous, pediatricians say.
When teething, babies most commonly experience itchy gums, not pain, says Wendy Swanson, a pediatrician at Seattle Children’s Hospital and author of “Mama Doc Medicine: Finding Calm and Confidence in Parenting, Child Health, and Work-Life Balance.” They can satisfy the itch by chewing on a cool wet washcloth. What they don’t need, Dr. Swanson says, is a numbing gel. Many of these products contain benzocaine, a local anesthetic.
5 “We’d really like you to switch to formula.”
Since 1981, the World Health Organization has formally discouraged formula promotion in hospitals. Many pediatricians recommend breastfeeding infants exclusively for the first six months of life, and studies have shown that women are less likely to breast-feed if they receive formula samples in
hospital discharge bags. Yet many U.S. hospitals continue giving formula to new parents, often in a branded bag provided by the maker. New parents see these gift bags as “an implied endorsement” of formula feeding, says Eva Seidelman, coordinator of the Commercial Alert project at the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen.
Formula sales in the U.S. totaled about $5 billion last year, according to Euromonitor.
6 “You don’t have to spend extra on organic.”
Purchasing organic baby food or formula is a legitimate philosophical choice, says Jatinder Bhatia, a pediatrics professor at Georgia Regents University and chief of neonatology at Children’s Hospital of Georgia.
It’s a choice many parents are making. In 2013, U.S. consumers spent $613 million on organic baby food and $68 million on organic milk formula, up from $453 million and $62 million, respectively, in 2008, according to Euromonitor.
Yet those buying organic to give their babies a health advantage should know there are no long-term studies showing that babies fed organic formula or food fared better than those whose nutrition was nonorganic, Dr. Bhatia says.
7 “Mommy bloggers are great salespeople.”
Social media has vastly expanded the ways that new parents can share with one another. Influential “mommy bloggers” have expanded to Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram. “The trend is to cross-pollinate across multiple platforms— you increase your probability that people will come across your content,” says Anindya Ghose, professor of information technology and marketing at New York University’s Stern School of Business, and co-director of its Center for Business Analytics. Companies, meanwhile, know the products they give these bloggers to review will be posted and pictured in multiple forums. “When they need to launch a new product, they need to go to the influencers,” Mr. Ghose says. “And mommy bloggers are obviously very influential.”
8 “We sometimes sidestep safety concerns.”
Some popular baby products have something surprising in common: Pediatricians say you shouldn’t buy them, for safety reasons.
Take the ubiquitous crib bumper. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against the use of crib bumpers. These pads, which encircle the inside of the crib, carry a potential risk of suffocation, strangulation or entrapment and there is no evidence that they prevent injuries like head bruises.
To be sure, baby products that prove to be very dangerous are usually quickly taken off the market. Says a spokeswoman for the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association: “Our manufacturers are committed to safety, and this has always been their first priority.”
9 “Apps won’t teach your baby language...”
Child-development experts say infants are too young to learn the alphabet. But that doesn’t stop parents from downloading the countless apps that purport to teach babies letters and numbers, from both established brands like FisherPrice—whose products include “Learning Letters Puppy” aimed at babies—and those from new tech firms.
“They’re proliferating,” says Roberta Golinkoff, H. Rodney Sharp professor at the University of Delaware and the director of UD’s Infant Language Project. “It’s really hard for scientists to keep up with the rate at which these are coming out.”
Some apps may actually impede long-term learning. Experts worry that touch screens offer such instant feedback that they may diminish patience for future activities that require more effort, such as reading a book, Ms. Linn says.
10 “...or provide a leg up in kindergarten.”
Apps are marketed as contemporary learning tools that can give children an edge in today’s competitive world. Yet, “if your kid never looked at an app, your kid could get prepared for school,” Ms. Golinkoff says.
Simply taking a child out on errands, observing the environment and then talking about the day afterward can be a great source of learning and school preparation, she says.