DEAR ABBY: I was pleased that you printed the letter about the infant who nearly strangled in her parents' bed. Her mother had taken her into the bed after an exhausting night of crying, and the baby's head slipped into a space between the mattress and the headboard, where she became stuck. That was an important cautionary tale, but I want to correct the impression that this sort of thing is a "freak accident."
In a recent one-year period, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission received reports of almost 100 infants and young children who suffocated on adult beds. Abby, please tell your readers that parents should never put a young child, especially an infant, in their bed to sleep. It is a sweet gesture, but it could have tragic consequences.
Thank you so much for all the good work you do, and for helping keep children safe in their homes. -- ANN BROWN, CHAIRMAN, U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION, WASHINGTON, D.C.