Viral TikTok Shows Why Infants Can’t Have Toys In Their Crib

Have you forgotten about the ABC safe sleep method for babies? Well, now you won’t ever forget. A scary viral video on TikTok might have you rethinking putting that stuffed animal or baby blanket in the crib with your infant or letting your baby sleep in a Rock ‘n Play.

The TikTok account Safe Sleep for Babies — which is dedicated to, you guessed it, showing how infants can safely get sleep and showing examples of some unsafe sleeping setups for infants — has posted a scary video on the platform. The video shows a baby, asleep in a crib, pulling a blanket over their face during the night and struggling for agonizing seconds to get it off of their face.

The simple video shows the infant pull a blanket that is at the top of the crib over their head — the only other object in the crib except for something at the baby’s feet and a baby monitor. The baby struggles, waving their arms around, and can not get it off themselves. Luckily, the TikTok account notes, “this baby’s parents got there in time,” but the caption notes that “not every baby is as lucky.”

The video has gotten almost 45,000 likes on the platform and is a welcome reminder to parents of newborns that babies should not have anything in their crib at all. In fact, these are referred to as the “ABC’s” of safe sleep for babies. Infants should sleep alone (not with anyone else, not with toys, stuffies, or blankets), on their back, and in a crib — and nowhere else. These safe sleep practices for babies can help prevent SIDs — something that claims the lives of 3,500 infants per year in the United States, per the CDC.

So, yes, while the stuffed animal that your baby loves is super cute, or the blanket that they were given to by their grandma is sweet and wonderful, your infant should really be sleeping with nothing but a sleep sack on, a tightly fitted sheet below them, on a firm mattress, alone, and on their back. That’s the safest way for babies to get some rest.