6 ms·

I think even considering using a box instead of a crib in the states may get you a visit from child protective services, or at least looks of disgust from your

by reidjs 5y ago

I think even considering using a box instead of a crib in the states may get you a visit from child protective services, or at least looks of disgust from your family or in-laws. Does anyone have experience trying this out?

unlikelymordant 5y ago
> Does anyone have experience trying this out? Everybody in finland?
- reidjs 5y ago
  Oh I meant suggesting it in the United States. I feel like it would not go over well, unless of course you or your SO are from Finland!
  - copo233 5y ago
    Define "go over well."
    - reidjs 5y ago
      I suspect they might take it as endangering the baby’s wellbeing to save a few bucks. The baby industry has got quite the stranglehold on some people.
      - usrbinbash 5y ago
        What people "take it as", and what facts are, are sometimes 2 very different things. The baby box is a blessing for many families, and it's also much more than the box (which btw. is not a cheap piece of cardboard but comes complete with an insulated mattress and bedding made of high quality materials): there are clothes, diapers, hygienic goods, etc. And last but not least, it's also a strong symbolic gesture: Society saying: "Don't worry, we got your back. You're not alone, we are all in this together, and we help each other."
  - boomboomsubban 5y ago
    If you called it a disposable crib rather than a cardboard box I bet nobody would object.
    - ddingus 5y ago
      Apparently, from the discussion above, some bright bulbs here have banned the boxes, due to a lack of legs. Perhaps, the US version would need some nubs, or formed legs or other thing to come with the box... Frankly, when my spouse and I first heard about this, we thought the idea was fantastic.
analog31 5y ago
There's a widespread legend that poor parents in the US would put a dresser drawer on the floor. Sometimes the baby came before all of the preparations had been made. Sometimes folks were just poor, or smart, or both.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
  I slept in dresser drawers frequently as an infant, or so I've been told. It was convenient when staying with family out of town and the like apparently.
pandemicsoul 5y ago
Probably besides the point, but you have an extremely skewed idea of what prompts a visit from Child Protective Services in the United States.
- rectang 5y ago
  https://wehavekids.com/parenting/InsideCPS#what-about-ridiculous-or-false-claims https://wehavekids.com/parenting/InsideCPS#what-about-ridicu... > It does not matter how ridiculous or false a claim may be. When an investigator receives the referral, they are legally obligated to investigate. It only takes a judgmental busybody to get a visit from CPS. Then you better pray CPS doesn't find fault with you. And it helps if you're white: https://www.parents.com/news/cps-has-a-systemic-racism-problem-and-black-parents-are-losing-their-children-because-of-it/ https://www.parents.com/news/cps-has-a-systemic-racism-probl...
  - AussieWog93 5y ago
    Neither of those articles contained a shred of evidence to suggest that CPS will take your kids away from you on a whim.
    - rectang 5y ago
      Well, you just moved the goalposts from "what prompts a visit", past "what gets your kids taken away", all the way to "what gets your kids taken away on a whim". I agree that CPS is extraordinarily unlikely to take your kids away "on a whim". And yet, that doesn't mean that innocent folks have nothing to fear from a CPS visit. The first article clearly shows that CPS will visit for any report at all, no matter how bogus or bizarre. There are controls in place to thwart repeated harassment, but for a first report, they will definitely investigate because they are legally obligated to do so. And since the original issue was whether you might get a visit for putting your kid in a cardboard box, the answer is plainly "yes". The follow-on question is whether that visit, investigating a stupid, bogus report, might get your kids taken away. That is going to depend on the judgment of the CPS investigator. And the second article illustrates that those judgements are not always going to be evenhanded.

by reidjs 5y ago

unlikelymordant 5y ago

> Does anyone have experience trying this out? Everybody in finland?

reidjs 5y ago
Oh I meant suggesting it in the United States. I feel like it would not go over well, unless of course you or your SO are from Finland!
- copo233 5y ago
  Define "go over well."
  - reidjs 5y ago
    I suspect they might take it as endangering the baby’s wellbeing to save a few bucks. The baby industry has got quite the stranglehold on some people.
    - usrbinbash 5y ago
      What people "take it as", and what facts are, are sometimes 2 very different things. The baby box is a blessing for many families, and it's also much more than the box (which btw. is not a cheap piece of cardboard but comes complete with an insulated mattress and bedding made of high quality materials): there are clothes, diapers, hygienic goods, etc. And last but not least, it's also a strong symbolic gesture: Society saying: "Don't worry, we got your back. You're not alone, we are all in this together, and we help each other."
- boomboomsubban 5y ago
  If you called it a disposable crib rather than a cardboard box I bet nobody would object.
  - ddingus 5y ago
    Apparently, from the discussion above, some bright bulbs here have banned the boxes, due to a lack of legs. Perhaps, the US version would need some nubs, or formed legs or other thing to come with the box... Frankly, when my spouse and I first heard about this, we thought the idea was fantastic.

analog31 5y ago

There's a widespread legend that poor parents in the US would put a dresser drawer on the floor. Sometimes the baby came before all of the preparations had been made. Sometimes folks were just poor, or smart, or both.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 5y ago
I slept in dresser drawers frequently as an infant, or so I've been told. It was convenient when staying with family out of town and the like apparently.

pandemicsoul 5y ago

Probably besides the point, but you have an extremely skewed idea of what prompts a visit from Child Protective Services in the United States.

rectang 5y ago
https://wehavekids.com/parenting/InsideCPS#what-about-ridiculous-or-false-claims https://wehavekids.com/parenting/InsideCPS#what-about-ridicu... > It does not matter how ridiculous or false a claim may be. When an investigator receives the referral, they are legally obligated to investigate. It only takes a judgmental busybody to get a visit from CPS. Then you better pray CPS doesn't find fault with you. And it helps if you're white: https://www.parents.com/news/cps-has-a-systemic-racism-problem-and-black-parents-are-losing-their-children-because-of-it/ https://www.parents.com/news/cps-has-a-systemic-racism-probl...
- AussieWog93 5y ago
  Neither of those articles contained a shred of evidence to suggest that CPS will take your kids away from you on a whim.
  - rectang 5y ago
    Well, you just moved the goalposts from "what prompts a visit", past "what gets your kids taken away", all the way to "what gets your kids taken away on a whim". I agree that CPS is extraordinarily unlikely to take your kids away "on a whim". And yet, that doesn't mean that innocent folks have nothing to fear from a CPS visit. The first article clearly shows that CPS will visit for any report at all, no matter how bogus or bizarre. There are controls in place to thwart repeated harassment, but for a first report, they will definitely investigate because they are legally obligated to do so. And since the original issue was whether you might get a visit for putting your kid in a cardboard box, the answer is plainly "yes". The follow-on question is whether that visit, investigating a stupid, bogus report, might get your kids taken away. That is going to depend on the judgment of the CPS investigator. And the second article illustrates that those judgements are not always going to be evenhanded.