Nursery advisor

Baby cribs come in all shapes and sizes

Sleeping, or resting in the crib or infant bed is where your baby will spend the majority of their time in the nursery. Here are some useful tips to help ensure your child's safety.

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Parents often buy used, or second hand cribs, handed-down from family members. Over the years safety standards, construction requirements, material use and restrictions, have all improved to help ensure that every infant bed meets a minimum safety requirement. Today's safety requirements, which were either non-existent or were much lower previously, are placed upon manufacturers to help protect babies and small children who may otherwise be in danger or at risk from low construction detail, faulty, or damaged parts.

When considering whether to place your baby in a second-hand crib, or thinking of purchasing a new one. Follow these simple steps, to help you decide whether your baby crib is safe for your child.

Check for consumer recalls on cribs on the manufacturers web site or on for example the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commissions national recall Web site (see link below) and typing in information about your crib. This will inform you whether or not your crib has been recalled and what to do about it.
Look over the crib’s structure. The safety standards for cribs have increased and changed very much over the years. An older, or more dated crib may not meet today's safety standards.
Crib rails for instance need to meet measurement requirements. If the crib rails are too far apart, your child may get their head stuck between the bars. However, if the bars are too close then your child may get their arms or legs stuck between the bars.
There should be enough space between the top of the rail and the top of the crib mattress to minimize the risk of your child climbing over the railing and falling out.
Crib slats need to be less than 2 3/8-inch apart to ensure that your baby’s body cannot fit partway through the slats and get caught.
Railings should be fail-safe, to prevent them from coming down when they aren't supposed to, and crushing the fingers of caregivers or hurting baby. Parental safety is an issue, too. Make sure that the rails are high enough to keep your infant in the crib after pull themself up, but also that they are low enough for you to reach over to the far side and pick up your child without having to lower the bars.
Make sure that slats aren’t loose or broken—fix or replace these before use. Cribs with large cut-out designs in the headboard or footboard present a strangulation hazard and should not be used.
Corner posts should be no taller than 1/16-inch higher than the rails. If they are taller than that, remove them so they won't entangle your baby's clothing in the event that he or she tries to climb out of bed.
Check for loose and missing hardware and make sure that the mattress-support hangers are all connected securely. Replace any screws that can’t be tightened. If any staples were used, they need to be tight and in place. Missing hardware has caused cribs to come apart and mattresses to sag.
Check older painted cribs for lead-based paint. Repaint them with enamel paint in a well-ventilated area. Make sure the crib is dry and free of fumes before you use it. Check older cribs very carefully for cracked, splintered or chipped wood, then sand or repair it. Check that the side rails close securely and can’t be pried opened by little fingers.
The mattress must fit your crib. It should be firm—nothing soft enough for baby to roll about on. It must fit very snugly along all sides and corners, with no more than two fingers' width of room between the mattress and sides.
Never cover the mattress with plastic bags or sheets of plastic, as these have been known to cause smothering deaths in infants. Never use anything in your baby’s crib except sheets made for cribs, which fit snugly and won’t pull up at the sides or corners.
Keep strings, cords, ribbons and ties away from the crib entirely. Window-blind strings and curtain ties are the leading cause of infant strangulations. Tie them far up out of the way if the crib is near a window. Tie-down devices are available for this purpose where baby supplies are sold. Don’t tie cords, ribbons, chains, pacifiers or bibs on your baby (in the crib or out). Avoid using mini-hammocks, as millions have been recalled on account of strangulation hazards.
Bedding sets usually come with matching pillows and blankets to match the bumper and crib sheet. Whilst these bedding sets may look cute, they also pose a risk of suffocation. Remove all soft bedding and pillows from the crib. One study estimated that 30 percent of cribs where SIDS deaths occurred had soft bedding. Even if this is a minor factor, it’s worth paying attention to. Use a baby sleeper or a thin baby blanket if necessary. Infant pillows or cushions have factored in many infant deaths and should not be used at all.
Be careful about putting toys into cribs. A crib without toys is best. If you must use toys, make sure that they are big and firm and cannot fit inside your baby’s mouth. Toys with removable eyes, squeakers or small, removable or breakable parts should be removed. Anything that fits inside a toilet-paper roll is too small to be around your baby or toddler.
Check that your bumper pads fit the crib exactly all the way around so there’s no gaping. Tie the pads tightly and trim away any excess on the ties after tying. If snaps are used, make sure they are all snapped in place. Remove these when your baby is approximately five months old.
Put the mattress in the lowest position once baby can stand up, and remove all bumper pads and large toys that can be climbed on.

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Nursery advisor

Baby cribs come in all shapes and sizes

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