HGTV's Erin & Ben Napier Made A Controversial Design Choice That Had Fans Worried For Their Baby

HGTV fans love Erin and Ben Napier for their cute couple moments and for their design savvy on their show "Home Town." While the two have built careers for themselves, Erin and Ben were also determined to grow their family despite setbacks, and they now have two daughters — Helen and Mae. Erin shared a photo on Instagram of the crib that Ben had handmade for Helen in 2017, which they also used for Mae. While some commenters noted how sweet it was to have a keepsake like this, others pointed out the danger that could come with how the crib was set up — namely that it had bumper cushions around it. Comments on the post have now been limited.

The concern is warranted. In 2023, the Consumer Product Safety Commission officially banned crib bumpers. This followed the Safe Sleep for Babies Act of 2021, which referred to padding inside a crib a hazard. They can no longer be sold in the U.S. Other countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom, have also banned them.

The idea behind using crib bumpers was to help keep little ones from accidentally slipping out of a crib between the slats. But the ban on crib bumpers, and why people were alarmed to see them on Erin and Ben Napier's crib, comes from the potential for injury and even death that they pose. Suffocation and strangulation are just two possible issues with crib padding, based on scientific research. The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends avoiding crib bumpers as well as other pillows and blankets in a crib where an infant is sleeping in an effort to help keep them as safe as possible.

We don't know for sure if Ben and Erin used the crib with the bumpers in place when their daughters were using the crib. It might just be that the crib was styled this way for the photo. Thankfully, we don't know of any scary incidents with Erin and Ben regarding their little girls' crib. Erin has also confirmed that their family is as big as it's going to get; even if she's spotted wearing loose clothing, she's not going to get pregnant again, so it seems that Helen and Mae will be the only kiddos to sleep in Ben's handmade crib.