Crib Shopping Secrets
Buy new. If possible, avoid buying or accepting a used crib. Older models may not meet current safety standards or may be in disrepair. If you must use an older crib, avoid those built before 2000, about a year after the latest voluntary standards for slat-attachment strength took effect. (Check the manufacture date on the crib label, which is required by law.) Currently, 12 states have laws banning the sale of unsafe used cribs or prohibiting their use in child-care facilities. Your state may have such a law.
Decide about drop sides. Do you want a crib with both sides that drop so that you can get your baby from either side, a crib with one side that drops, or one with stationary sides? Deciding first about drop sides will narrow the selection and make shopping easier. If you’re considering a crib with no drop sides–the most stable approach–be sure to test models in the store. Cribs with stationary sides have less hardware (less chance of missing or broken parts), but if you are not tall, it can be hard to get your baby. Use the mattress’ lowest setting to see how easy it is for you to bend in and pick up your baby.
If you’re shopping for a crib with drop sides, operate them in the store to make sure they raise and lower smoothly and quietly. Models that open with a lift-and-leg-press action or those with a lift-and-foot-release mechanism can usually be operated with one hand–an advantage when you’ve got a baby in the other. Still, you’ll probably raise and lower the side of the crib only during the first few months. Once babies get bigger and stand up in the crib, many parents pick them up without lowering the side. So a crib that doesn’t have the best drop-side mechanism but is satisfactory in other ways can still be a good option. Of course, if the crib will be against a wall, you’ll have no use for a second drop side.
Check construction and workmanship. The simplest in-store test is to shake the crib slightly to see if the frame seems loose. But be aware that display models aren’t always as tightly assembled as they could be. Without applying excessive pressure, try rotating each slat to see if it’s well secured to the railings. You shouldn’t find loose bars on a new crib.
Look for the JPMA sticker. Manufacturers in the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association certification program are required to adhere to voluntary and mandatory standards. Look for the JPMA sticker on the crib or packaging. JPMA currently certifies the following full-size crib brands: Astro Child, Avalon Products, Baby’s Dream Furniture, Bassett Furniture Industries, Bella D’Este Ltd., Bellini, Child Craft, Delta Enterprise, Dorel Juvenile Group, Evenflo, Ever Bright International, Homelegance by Topline Furniture, Jardine Enterprise, NettoCollection, Pt. Domusindo Perdana, Simmons Juvenile Furniture, Simplicity, Stork Craft, Young America, and Yu Wei Co. Ltd. For the very latest JPMA certified full-size cribs, log on to www.jpma.org and click on “Certification Program” under the “Consumer” heading.
Buy the mattress at the same time. In the store, pair the mattress and crib you plan to buy to make sure they’re a good fit. (Mattresses typically are sold separately.) By law, a mattress used in a full-size crib must be at least 27 1/4 inches by 51 5/8 inches and no more than 6 inches thick. Still, do a quick check. If you can place more than two fingers between the mattress and the crib frame, the fit isn’t snug enough.
Read also:
- All you need to know about crib shopping
- Stanley cribs recalls
- Physical contact between parent and child is important
- Safer sleeping for babies: Less is more
- Owners of recalled cribs ask, “Where’s my baby going to sleep?”
- Ways to put child’s sleep issues to bed