Safety Rules When Purchasing a Crib

Choosing a new crib for your baby is an important purchase. Since your baby spends almost all of his/her early life in a crib, you will want it to be a safe, comfortable and welcome environment.

When selecting a crib, you will want to check the product information to make sure the crib complies with the safety standards set by both the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM).  Two other organizations have also helped institute voluntary safety standards for manufacturers. The Juvenile Product Manufacturers Association (JPMA) certification is important and will give you piece of mind that the crib has been manufactured to both CPSC and ASTM standards. 

Instituting these safety standards has been a great help to parents and contributed heavily to the safety of babies. Not too long ago, cribs were not required to be painted with lead-free paints and children who chewed on their cribs would often end up with dangerous lead poisoning.

Check latches on side crib rails to make sure they work properly. They can unlatch allowing your crawling baby to tumble to the floor. Other hazards to watch for are guard rails with vertical slats which have openings wide enough for a baby to put a head through. The slats should be no further apart than two and three-eighth inches to prevent babies from slipping through or becoming stuck between them. Also, the head and foot boards should not have large cut outs for baby to slip through.

Proper crib bedding is also important to baby’s safety. Choose a mattress that is a good fit with the crib. You should have no more than a two-finger span between the outer edge of the mattress and the inside of the crib. With wider gaps a baby can get his feet or hands stuck. Make sure that as your baby grows and is able to pull himself up, you lower the mattress accordingly so he can’t fall out.

Cushions, quilts and comforters along with large stuffed animals should never be placed in the crib while your baby is using it. They are only for decoration and can cause suffocation.

Now that you know the basics of buying a crib you can feel more confident when making the purchase.