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NEW Mandatory federal crib standards for safer children

Starting December 28, 2012, child care facilities, including family child care homes and infant Head Start centers must use only cribs that comply with the new crib standards. The new standards aim to prevent tragedies and keep children safer in their cribs.

Child care providers should check manufacture dates and replace cribs as warranted. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), cribs made prior to July 2010 will not meet the new standards. 

As of June 28, it is illegal to provide for use, sell, resell, offer or donate a crib that does not comply with the CPSC’s new standards for full-size and non-full-size cribs.

Some of the new rules include:

1. Stopping the manufacture and sale of dangerous, traditional drop-side cribs;

2. Strengthening mattress supports and crib slats;

3. Requiring crib hardware to be more durable; and

4. Making safety testing more rigorous.

The 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) required an update on crib standards – the first major revision in more than 30 years - to ensure that the standards provided the highest level of safety possible.

For more information about the new crib standards visit www.cpsc.gov/cribs