Baby Cribs: Do I Need Drop-Down Sides?
Posted August 7, 2008 by Mister Knowitall

My younger sister has been looking at baby cribs for her impending new baby. Since I’m a dad, she asked me about baby cribs: How important to you both were the drop down sides? Did you guys use that all the time? Even when [your son] was wailing crying? Or did you just bypass that and reach into the crib and pick him up?

All the advice in the world doesn’t mean anything, because it’s mainly opinion. My opinion is that a crib without drop-down sides is harder on your back, arms and shoulders, and that comes from my wife picking a crib that was really pretty, but sacrificed a lot of utility and functionality in exchange for those good looks.

So to illustrate why drop-down sides are needed on a baby crib, I instructed my sister to do a simple experiment that would illustrate my point.

Here’s a test to show you how important drop-down sides will be in a crib. Put a 2-3 foot deep box on your coffee table and have your husband put something heavy in it… stock pot with 6 liters of water should do.

Now lean over the edge of the box and lift the stock pot out slowly and gently. Remember, this is a simulated baby. Quick, sudden movements are not a good thing. If you spill the water or even cause significant sloshing, you’re being too rough.

Put it on the floor. Rest a minute or two, now lift it and put it back in… slowly and gently.

Now cut the top 12-18 inches out of the side of the box facing you and try the same lift-out/put-in maneuver with the pot.

You’ve basically just done a quick, practical lab experiment in which type of crib will be harder on your back, arms, and shoulders, one with sides that lower or one with sides that don’t.