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Baby Crib Safety Standards To Help Prevent Accidents In Your Baby Nursery

In the baby crib safety shouldn't be an issue - right? After all, they are designed especially for babies. The crib should be the one place where Mom can leave an infant unattended without having to worry about it - even the Best Moms need a few minutes break every now and then...


BUT, according to Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) statistics, over 12,000 babies are injured and 50 die in the US each year in crib accidents, (excluding SIDS deaths) due to a lack of baby crib safety.


Cribs that do not meet baby crib safety standards, have been associated with strangulation, laceration, amputation, entrapment, suffocation, falling and SIDS.


So how do you know if the crib that you trust with your little one's care is going to keep him or her safe?


There is some comfort in the fact that federal law mandates that all baby cribs sold in the United States must conform to The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) baby crib safety standards.


In addition, the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) certifies baby cribs that meet, or exceed, voluntary crib safety standards issued by the American Society for Testing and Materials. These standards are stricter and safer than the mandatory baby crib safety standards promulgated by the CPSC.


Therefore, the safest baby cribs are those with JPMA certification.

Look out for this when you are on your crib-hunt.



Print out this list of infant safety standards and take it with you when you go shopping for your crib. It's the only place you will ever leave your baby completely alone. Make absolutely sure it's 100% safe.

• Smooth surfaces free from splinters, sharp edges or rough surfaces.
• Wood parts free from splits, cracks or other defects.

• The crib must be sturdy, not wobbly, when you try to shake it.
• If legs have casters, at least two casters must have brakes.
• Slats, spindles, corner posts and rods must be less than 2 3/8 inches apart at all points and there should be no loose slats.
• Corner posts should be the same height as the end panels, NOT extending above the end panels by more than 1/16 inch.
• No decorative knobs, posts, or protrusions anywhere on the crib. If your crib has these, cut or screw them off. They pose a serious strangulation risk.
• No decorative cutouts in the headboard or footboard. They pose a risk of head and neck entrapment.
• Metal mattress supports. They are stronger than wood supports (important for withstanding a jumping toddler!) Absolutely no plastic!
• Mattress support hangers (4 of these attach the mattress support to the end panels) must be secured by bolts or closed hooks and able to withstand upward force from beneath the crib.
• No horizontal bar with a depth greater than 3/8 inch. Could be used as a toehold for climbing.
• End panels must extend below the crib mattress when it is at its lowest position.
• Although double drop-sides are convenient, a single drop-side is more stable.
• The drop-side latches should require 2 distinct actions (or a minimum force of 10 pounds with one action) to release the lock.
• If a knee-bar mechanism is used to lower the crib side, it must not be able to be tripped by toddlers crawling under the crib.
• At least 26 inches between raised crib rails and the top of the baby crib mattress in its lowest position.
• At least 9 inches between lowered crib rails and the top of the baby crib mattress in its highest position.

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Baby Crib Safety is Dependent upon Correct Crib Assembly

• Read all the assembly instructions carefully. Follow closely.
• Make sure the drop rail is installed the right way up. Incorrect installation has caused entrapment and strangulation in certain recalled crib models.

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Baby Crib Safety is Dependent upon Regular Crib Maintenance

• Always send in the product registration card that comes with every new baby crib. By returning the card, you ensure you'll be notified if your crib is recalled. Take a look at our crib recall report to make sure.
• Check the crib weekly for loose bolts, mattress support hooks or hardware, sharp edges or rough spots.

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Obviously, this is a fairly extensive list of baby crib safety standards. Not all of them apply to a newborn infant.

For instance, I've yet to see a newborn use a toehold to climb out of a crib. (Of course, if you're planning on giving birth to Tigger or Superman, it could happen - Let us know - we'd love to hear about it!)




That takes care of the structural aspect of baby crib safety, but there are many other factors that contribute to your baby's sleeping environment. These include:

• Where the baby crib is placed in the nursery room.
• The baby crib mattress.
• The crib bedding.
• The temperature of the baby nursery.
• How you put your baby down to sleep.

Again, many of the following infant safety guidelines do not apply to a newborn. Don't be tempted to ignore them though. Your infant will be a wiggling, climbing, jumping toddler in no time!

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The following infant safety guidelines, for a safe sleeping environment, apply to full-size and portable baby cribs, as well as, bassinets and cradles.

In and Around the Baby Crib

• Do not hang wall-hangings, pictures, mirrors or shelves on the wall above the crib. These can fall on your baby or he can pull these things down on himself.
• Do not place the crib near a window or a heater.
• Keep window drapes and cords away from the crib.
• Window cords pose a serious strangulation hazard and should be tied down or the loop cut to form two loose cords.

Escaping 'The Land of Crib'

Older babies will use anything they can get their pudgy little hands on to escape 'The Land of the Baby Crib'.


My eldest daughter escaped her crib when she was only fifteen months old, by pulling all the soft toys off the dresser next to the crib. When she judged the pile on the floor to be high enough, (there really were a lot of soft toys) she climbed over the crib rail onto the dresser, then jumped onto the soft toy pile. We found her asleep on the floor! No more baby crib for her!


Amusing as this seems in hindsight, thousands of babies are seriously injured every year by pulling off this kind of great escape. So please, be on the lookout for possible escape routes. We should never have placed the dresser or the soft toys next to the baby crib!


• Remove all rattles, teethers, squeeze toys etc. from the crib for sleep time.
• Do not tie pacifiers or teethers around your baby's neck.
• Remove your baby's bib before sleep.
• Never use strings to hang any object, toy or mobile on or near the baby crib.
• Baby Crib Gyms - make sure to secure both ends so that it cannot be pulled into the crib.
• Hanging mobiles should be out of your baby's reach.
• Make sure baby lamps, climbable furniture and other items are out of your baby's reach.
• Remove all extra blankets, quilts, soft toys etc. from the baby crib when laying your baby down to sleep. These pose a suffocation hazard for your baby and a climbing hazard for a toddler. You can always hang your comforter on the wall as a wall-hanging.
• Follow baby bedding and crib bumper safety guidelines.
• Follow baby crib mattress safety guidelines.
• Follow safe sleep practices for SIDS prevention.

Your precious little newborn will grow up right before your eyes. Make sure you remember to adjust his crib as he starts to move around.

• Remove crib bumpers, mobiles and gyms when your baby is 5 months old or beginning to get up on his hands and knees - whichever is earlier.
• Lower the baby crib mattress to the lowest level when your baby can stand.
• Stop using a crib when your baby reaches 35 inches in height (or sooner if she is learning to climb out of the crib! My eldest was only fifteen months old when she went climbing!)

And that's it - except to say that baby crib safety is of paramount importance to the well being of your baby. Please give your delicate, little newborn the environment she deserves so that she can sleep safely.

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