Second to your arms, a crib may be where your little ones spends most of their time in the early years. There are certainly lots of style options when it comes to cribs and often times, they can be the focal point of the nursery. Style aside the most important function of a crib is that it is a safe place for your babe to sleep. There is LOTS of information and opinions out there about safe sleeping and that is an entirely different post. Our Crib Buying Guide will give you the necessary information to purchase a safe crib and will not share our opinions on what is right or wrong when it comes to sleeping in the crib (i.e., the use of bumpers) that is a questions best served for your pediatrician! Now on to the fun stuff….
First, it is important to know that all cribs sold in the U.S. and Canada must meet the same federal safety standards. This same is not true for all baby products so it is a nice changed that crib safety is federally regulated. These regulations create a baseline at which all cribs are made. So every crib from the ones starting at $150 to those over $1,000 conform to the same safety standards. What are those standards? Here they are…
crib shown available, here
These regulations do not mean all cribs are created equal. Hardly! So how do you choose the crib that is right for you? Again, putting style aside there are several things to be aware of:
- Hardwood. Generally, the more solid, hardwood the better. Watch out for cribs that are made soley of veneers or MDF (medium density fiberboard). You may have quality issues down the line if you have more of the latter.
- Mattress support. Good mattress support is important. A grid of wooden slats or a platform made of metal springs is ideal. Some lesser quality cribs may use vinyl webbing or a piece of particle board.
- Assembly. Make sure that the crib is easy to assemble even if the store where you are purchasing is assembling it upon delivery. You don’t want to be stuck with a crib that is impossible to put back together in case of a room change or move. An incorrectly assembled crib is very unsafe and has been said to be the number one cause of crib injuries! You can always ask to see the instructions or look them up online.
- Brand. As with many other things, brand is important. Make sure you are choosing a reputable brand that stands behind their products and hasn’t had a ton (or any!) recalls.
Speaking of brand… After our through research we considered the following four brands very seriously. There are certainly many other great brands out there but these are a few we would suggest, have thoroughly vetted through research as well as “touching and feeling” and we feel confident recommending.
Westwood, Park West / El Greco via Land of Nod / Echelon by Muniere, Sonoma / Natart, Belmont
Ultimately, we settled on the Belmont by Natart in the dark wood finish (not shown). Honestly, it became a bit of a toss up towards the end and we settled on Natart because I really liked the fact it was Greenguard certified. Basically being Greenguard certified means the manufacturer is under stricter guidelines for the types of emissions their products let off, you can read more about it here.
As always, we’d love to know which crib you choose and why. Again, these were just our top four brands and while they are all highly regarded there are other great brands out there too!
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