Your baby just pulled up to standing in the crib for the first time. Is the crib still safe tonight, or does something need to change right now?

The mistake I made was assuming my crib would remain safe until my child was ready to leave it. I didn’t know that a crib that was perfectly safe one month could become a hazard overnight. Crib safety depends on what your baby can do, not how old the crib is. This audit walks you through the nursery the way your baby experiences it, from the mattress height down to the cords by the window, so your baby’s developing skills don’t catch you by surprise.

Is Your Crib Mattress at the Right Height?

Most crib falls happen because the mattress sits too high for what the baby can already do. The fix is simple: move it down before your baby needs you to, not after.

Set it a stage early if you're ever unsure. A mattress that's slightly too low is an inconvenience. One that's too high is a fall risk

Are Your Crib Slats Actually Safe?

Get down and look at the slats at your baby's eye level. They should be no more than 2 3/8 inches apart, about the width of a soda can. Try it: if a soda can slides through, the gap is too wide, and your baby's body, or head, could slip through too.

Checking a Hand-Me-Down or Older Crib

A crib passed down from a friend or found secondhand needs its own check before it goes anywhere near your baby. Confirm it was made after June 2011, when drop-side rails were banned. Look for cracked or missing slats and loose hardware, and check the manufacturer label against CPSC's recall database. If you can't confirm the model or find its recall history, it's safer to retire it.

What Should Never Be Inside the Crib?

The safest crib is a boring one. No bumpers, pillows, wedges, blankets, stuffed animals, or crib tents. None of it has been shown to prevent injury, and soft items in a crib raise the risk of suffocation and entrapment. The only things that belong on the mattress are your baby and a fitted sheet.

I mean really fitted. A loose or ill-fitting fitted sheet is its own hazard once your baby can move around and pull at fabric, which is exactly why fit matters as much as what's in the crib. More on that below.

Is Your Nursery Furniture Anchored?

A crib isn't the only tip-over risk in the room. Dressers, changing tables, and bookshelves can topple onto a climbing baby. Furniture stability is now covered by a mandatory federal standard, and anchoring kits are inexpensive and quick to install.

Use a proper anchoring kit with a strap into a wall stud, not just an adhesive strip. Check the anchor points every few months, since screws can loosen over time. The current standard, adopted by the CPSC under the STURDY Act, requires new clothing storage furniture to meet stricter stability testing.

What's Within Arm's Reach of the Crib?

Kneel next to the crib and look for anything within a stretch of your baby's arm. Monitor cords, blind pulls, mobiles, and curtain cords are the usual offenders, and pediatric guidance is direct about keeping cribs away from windows and cords out of reach entirely. Cordless blinds remove the risk outright. If yours are corded, use a cleat or wind-up device to keep the cord short and off the floor.

When Should the Crib Mobile Come Down?

A mobile is a wake-time toy, not a sleep-time fixture, and it has a firm expiration date. Take it down once your baby can push up on hands and knees, or by 5 months old, whichever happens first. Before that point, mount it securely and keep it well out of reach even for a baby who can't yet grab. If you're setting one up for the first time or need help with height and placement, our guide on hanging a crib mobile safely walks through the setup start to finish.

What Else Needs a Floor-Level Check?

Once you're already down at crib height, finish the sweep. Loose rugs near the crib are a trip hazard for you and a pulling hazard for a cruising baby. Lamps need cords tucked away and anchored, or a sturdy enough base that they can't be pulled over. Outlets within reach need covers. Decor is worth a second look too, since a lot of nursery styling looks great in photos but doesn't hold up once a baby is mobile. Our nursery decorating guide covers how to keep a nursery photogenic and safe-sleep compliant as your baby grows. If you're furnishing with anything new, checking for a recognized material certification is worth the extra few minutes, and our guide to GREENGUARD Gold certification breaks down what the badge actually covers.

Does Your Fitted Sheet Actually Stay Put?

This is the one item that's already inside the crib, so it's worth its own check. A snug, model-specific fitted sheet stays put through a full night of movement. A generic one, or a flat sheet tucked in and hoping for the best, can work loose, and a loose sheet is something a climbing toddler can pull free entirely. Our breakdown of fitted vs flat baby sheets covers why the difference is a safety one, not just a comfort one, and our mini crib sheets guide can help you match sheets to your specific mattress if you're not sure yours fits as snugly as it should.

Give Your Nursery One Less Thing to Worry About

Most of this audit costs nothing but time and a willingness to get down on the floor. But there's one part of the sleep space worth checking every time you change the sheets: does the fitted sheet actually stay snug through the night? At Joey + Joan, our sheets are cut to fit specific crib and mini crib models exactly, so there's no loose corner for a climbing baby to work free. Shop Joey + Joan sheets and give tonight's audit one less thing to worry about.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I redo this safety audit?

Do a quick pass every time your baby hits a new physical milestone, which in the first year usually means checking in every 4 to 6 weeks.

Can I use a crib bumper if it's labeled breathable or mesh?

No. Guidance is the same regardless of the label: skip bumpers of any kind, since none have been shown to prevent injury.

Is a nightlight or lamp near the crib safe?

Yes, as long as the cord is tucked well out of reach and the light stays cool to the touch.

What do I do if my hand-me-down crib has no manual?

Contact the manufacturer with the model number for the manual and to confirm it meets current federal crib standards, or retire it if you can't verify that.

Does the crib itself need to be anchored to the wall?

No. Cribs are tested against their own stability standard. Anchoring is for dressers, bookshelves, and changing tables.

Sources

1. Signs It’s Time To Lower Your Baby’s Crib Mattress - A Cleveland Clinic article on how to manage crib heights for babies as they grow. 
2. Crib Safety Tips – U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Crib slat spacing and mattress fit standards.
3. SaferProducts.gov Recalls – U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Product recall lookup for secondhand cribs and furniture.
4. Infant Safe Sleep - A John Hopkins Medicine article on how to create a safe sleep space for babies. 
5. CPSC Adopts Final Consumer Product Safety Standard to Prevent Tip-overs of Dressers and Other Clothing Storage Units – U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Mandatory furniture anchoring standard (ASTM F2057-23 / STURDY Act).