The offer of complimentary baby supplies is a huge relief for families with newborns.
After all, infants are costly, and those initial months can be incredibly stressful.
California caregivers have reason to celebrate: The Baby Box Co. has rolled out its free initiative statewide.
If the name is new to you, The Baby Box Co. does exactly what it sounds like: it produces boxes for infants. Specifically, boxes intended as sleep spaces for babies.
Yes, this is real.
For many years, Finnish families have been placing babies in boxes that the government provides at birth. And Finland’s infant mortality rate is much lower than that in the United States.
Modeled after the Finnish custom, The Baby Box Co. offers new parents a sleeping solution for infants that it states is certified by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for meeting top safety standards.
The boxes measure 26.75 inches long, 16.75 inches wide and 11.5 inches deep, and include a firm, compact mattress with a fitted sheet. The full kit also contains extras such as baby wipes, personal-care items, nursing pads, feminine-care supplies, baby apparel, developmental activity cards and a waterproof tote.
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that newborns should sleep on their backs on a firm surface with a snug-fitting sheet to decrease the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Because baby boxes meet these criteria, several states — including New Jersey — have distributed them at no cost in partnership with The Baby Box Co.
Another advantage of the baby-box initiative is that it provides free online lessons for new parents on subjects like breastfeeding, postpartum mood disorders and ways to support your baby’s early brain growth.
Expanding Movement
The California rollout is The Baby Box Co.’s 10th — and largest — statewide program to date.
Last year, Savinly covered the company when it first teamed up with a state — New Jersey — to hand out boxes, and later when the effort widened to Ohio and Alabama.
The company has also launched statewide efforts in Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin, and offers free baby boxes on a limited basis elsewhere.
Per The Baby Box Co., roughly 250,000 free boxes have been distributed nationwide.
Parents who aren’t in an area offering complimentary boxes can purchase them, with options starting at $69.99 for a basic set and rising to $199.99 for the premium bundle.
The company’s web-based lessons throughBaby Box Universityare freely available to anyone.
How California Parents Can Get One
To claim a free baby box, California parents need to:
- Visit this page to enroll in Baby Box University, signing up as a California resident.
- Complete the online course put together by local specialists.
- Finish a brief quiz to earn a certificate of completion.
- Choose a convenient pickup spot. (For $4, boxes can be mailed directly to your door.)
The Baby Box Co. notes that infants can sleep in the boxes until roughly 5 to 6 months of age or until they begin pulling themselves up. Afterward, parents can reuse the box for toy storage or keepsakes.
If you’re putting together essentials for a newborn, you might also be interested in a free baby box or our handy baby checklist to help prepare.
Rachel Bennett is a staff writer at Savinly. She covers parenting and personal finance topics.
