A crib is one of the most important purchases expectant parents make. The choice of cribs seems endless - there is one for every colour scheme and every price range. What should parents look for in a crib and mattress?

Cribs

Safety considerations are paramount. Cribs should have an approval from your country’s consumer products safety commission. Slats must be no wider than 2 3/8 inches (6 cm) apart. Use cribs manufactured after 1986, as any made before that date do not meet current standards.

Other features to consider are listed below.

• A “nice to have” feature is drop rails on both sides. If both sides of the crib slide down, you have more flexibility for positioning the crib, remembering, of course, that cribs should never be placed near a window.
• Always looks for noiseless bearings. Crib rails that make noise when sliding will surely wake a drowsy baby.
• If you plan to co-sleep and want the crib to be in a “sidecar” position to your bed, be sure the rails can be removed easily by an adult. Good quality cribs have steel stabilizing bars on both sides so that the stability of the crib is not compromised by the removal of the railing.
• Once Baby can stand, the tops of the side rails become an ideal place for teething. Plastic teething strips on the tops of the side rails keep Baby from eating wood and are also easier to keep clean.
• Casters at the head and foot make it easier to move the crib around and to provide gentle rocking for the baby, if that is part of your bedtime routine.
• As aesthetically pleasing as they might be, decorative cutouts and high end posts are strangulation hazards for children and should be avoided.
• The drop-side of the crib should require two distinct actions to become unlatched. Most common are cribs that require the rail to be lifted slightly before the lock releases. If only one action is required, it should have a minimum force of ten pounds. Otherwise, the child could accidentally unlatch the crib.
• To avoid scratching the baby, metal hardware should have smooth edges and not protrude into the crib.

Mattress

There are two basic types of mattress: coiled innerspring and foam rubber. Foam tends to be cheaper. According to Dr. William Sears, the most important traits in a crib mattress are its firmness and the quality of its cover.

• Soft mattresses present a suffocation risk, so always look for a firm mattress. To test firmness, use the whole palm of your hand and not just the fingertips, or pick up the mattress and squeeze it between your two hands. Be sure to check the middle and the edges for firmness. When looking at foam mattresses, check foam density. If you cannot get an actual number, test the weight of the mattress – heavier foam mattresses are firmer than light ones. A foam mattress about 4 or 5 inches (10 or 12.5 cm) thick usually provides a firm enough sleeping surface. The support tends to be better in a spring mattress, but a good quality foam mattress can usually support the light weight of a baby. When checking for firmness in a spring mattress, also make sure that you cannot feel the springs.
• A good mattress has triple-laminated cloth or plastic covers. These covers are waterproof and easy to clean. A covering that is too thin will tear easily and may not be waterproof. Covers should also be flame-retardant.
• When buying a mattress, make sure you buy sheets that fit snugly. Loose sheets are a suffocation hazard.