Buying guide for Best baby cribs

Travel

Travel cribs are soft-sided and easily pack down and pop up, perfect for when you go on holiday, or for your visits to relatives. However, they shouldn’t be a baby’s main crib, so we won’t focus on them in the guide.

A note on drop-side cribs

Drop-side cribs are cribs where either one or both of the long sides slide down, supposedly making it easier to get your baby out. However, it was discovered that these cribs could be unsafe and had led to a number of infant deaths.

As of December 29, 2012, it has been illegal to manufacture or sell drop side cribs so, in theory, you shouldn’t come across one.

Even so, it’s worth mentioning, in case you see a used drop side crib or someone tries to pass one on to you as a hand-me-down.

We research the three main types of baby cribs: standard, convertible, and travel cribs. We avoid looking at drop-side cribs, as they have been proven unsafe.

 

 

When researching baby cribs, we find out how many adjustable mattress heights each has. With a number of settings available, you can use the crib longer, adjusting it as your baby grows.

 

 

A baby crib should comfortably fit its mattress. When looking at products for our shortlist, we note what owners have said about crib mattress fit. An irregularly shaped crib or mattress is less likely to have a good fit.

 

 

We look for JPMA-certified cribs, as this certification means the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) have deemed them safe.

 

 

Proper assembly is key to crib safety. We evaluate how easy a baby crib is to set up by looking at the included instructions.

 

 

We assess the slats and posts of a crib to make sure they are no more than 2 3/8 inches apart from one another. Anything beyond this is not safe for a baby, as they may be able to stick their head through.

 

Some of the cribs we look at have teething rails. This is a railing that a baby can safely chew without hurting themselves or damaging the crib.

 

 

We consider baby cribs that come with helpful extras — nightlights, music, even vibration — to help a child sleep more securely.

 

 

When researching baby cribs, we note whether they come with built-in drawers or storage space. This is an excellent added feature some parents appreciate.

 

 

Bonus points go to baby cribs that come with manufacturer guarantees. A guarantee demonstrates that the maker is confident in their product.

 

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