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I've never heard that but we have a ceiling fan, mainly b/c it gets so hot around Chicago in the summer. We have an older home and do not love a/c, unless its unbearable. We try the windows open and ceiling fans on as long as we can. Although I think they are unattractive, it makes life more bearable.
Thanks for posting the article.

We tried to reduce the risk of SIDS several ways.

We use a fairly loud air purfier which both helps circulate the air and block our street traffic.

We also used a non-chemical mattress (wool and natural latex) and no bumpers. The baby slept with us or in our room for a long time, too.

Co-sleeping is another great option and can be done safely with some forthought.

I think a fan is a great idea.

the buzz about SIDS is exaggerated (the rate of stillbirth is way much higher, e.g). So unless your child is in a risk group, use common sense and relax. If you go with a fan, make sure your child (when a bit older) does not bring balloons or balls in her/his room, as they can get stuck in the fan. And it's not relevant to the question, but make sure your child spends an adequate amount of time on her/his tummy, as many parents concerned about SIDS tend to keep their infants on their backs most of the time. This can pose some serious problems later, including with writing, because kids' muscled do not develop properly.

I live in the south so it's pretty much standard that every room (especially bedrooms) have ceiling fans.

Nudik--what does the rate of stillbirth have to do with the rate of SIDS? Nothing. Besides, the rate of death by SIDS is relatively low these days because it dropped radically since the push to put infants to sleep on their backs. Even with that, it's still the leading cause of death in otherwise healthy infants over a month old. People can't "relax" if their children aren't in a risk group because most people have no idea that their babies are in a risk group until something happens. Parents shouldn't freak out over SIDS, but all parents should follow the basic guidelines for avoiding SIDS. Having a fan in the room seems like a good idea, and it certainly couldn't hurt.

You might as well just keep the ceiling fan if it's already there...it won't hurt...at least until your baby is past the risk of sids and then you can change it out then.

I have never heard about that either. No one has mentioned however how much young babies love fans. I would keep the fan for sure. The little ones are fascinated by them and it has a soothing effect.

We've had a ceiling fan in our daughter's room since she was born (she's now nearly 3), and we put one in our nursery for our next daughter who is due in March. We're in Texas so ceiling fans are really nice to cool you down, but once we read the SIDS info, that definitely cemented for us to put one in our baby's room. As I see it, why not take every possible precaution, especially since ceiling fans are so cheap?

Oh good grief. Sleeping on the back doesn't make children have problems with writing. Having trouble forming letters has more to do with fine motor coordination in toddlers and preschoolers, so let them scribble, paint, play with playdoh, sprinkle flour, pop bubblewrap, lace lace books, finger-paint, unbutton buttons and rebutton, zip zippers up and down, etc.

I second pencils comment. What is nudik talking about? I know parents who have lost a child to SIDS, with no prior risk factor established. Parents should do anything they can to prevent this awful tragedy.

Nudik makes strange comparisons - I mean, stillbirth has nothing to do with SIDS - it is a separate cause of infant death. It is totally irrelevant what the rate of death for each is in comparison to the other.

And the writing comment - huh? Sure, if you keep your kid on their back until they're three and never let them practice fine motor skills...but I hardly think the link between back sleeping (in isolation) and writing skills is that highly correlated.

Thanks for the feedback! I am also in Texas, so ceiling fans are widespread and generally necessary (good God, the HEAT!) With the added bonuses of entertaining the child, saving the expense of another fixture and possibly decreasing the risk of SIDS. . . I think we'll stick with our fan.

I just hadn't noticed any in the dozens of nursery photos and wondered why.

Thanks again,
- Meredith

We put a ceiling fan in our nursery, partially because we thought circulating air would be a good thing and partially because we needed a new light fixture in there. Here it is:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v406/mariahb/nursery1-1.jpg

I think having the baby sleep in your bedroom in a bassinet/co-sleeper for the first six months is probably one of the best things parents can do to reduce SIDS risk, though. And back-sleeping, of course. Those two things combined should reduce the risk to about zero for most families.

Meredith, I've also been wondering why more nurseries don't include fans of any sort. You'd think they'd at least be more popular for generating gentle white noise and for cooling down sweaty babies! I also wonder why so few nurseries have PLANTS!! They're are lots of non-toxic air-purifying plants that look beautiful in a nursery, but I rarely see any photos of them online. We have a beautiful hanging plant near one of our nursery windows and an adorable money tree near the crib. They add so much to the room... why don't more parents think to put a plant or two in there?

We live in the South and there just wasn't a question that the nursery would have a fan. You can only see the tip of it in this photo, but here it is:

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c265/crewjulie/Troom_dresser_corner.jpg

(The photo was taken just after we put a "new" dresser in my 2 1/2 year old's room. We've since switched the fish tank and light and hung the pictures at the proper level.)

Wow, FUNKY green fan, honeyhaze! :)

I read that having a fan of any kind in the nursery reduces the risk of sids. We coslept until recently, but have always had fans in our sleeping rooms for white noise (we live just outside downtown minneapolis so there are noises).

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-06-SIDS-fans_N.htm

Toilets usually aren't pretty either, but sometimes it's function over form. We're keeping ours. ;)

There are several really cute fans specifically for kids' rooms & nurseries. Sweet Pea Gallery and many other retailers carry them. There are themes for nearly any style of room. But beyond simple decor, you can't ignore the possible benefit of decreasing the instance of SIDS....along with decreasing your heating/cooling bill!