Hotel Baby Crib Safety - Safe Sleep Advocates

Sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID) has declined considerably since 1992^[1], but in 2015 alone there were still about 3,700 sudden unexpected infant deaths in the United States^[2].

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a safe sleep environment that can reduce the risk of all sleep-related infant deaths^[3].

Breakdown of SUIDs by Cause, 2015

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Unknown Cause Accidential Suffocation and Strangulation in Bed

Crib Safety is Everyone’s Business

Far too often, unsafe sleep environments lead to accidental infant injury or death. As tragic as they are, most of these incidents can be avoided with proper education and appropriate sleep environments.

When families travel, they depend on you to provide a safe sleep solution for their children.

Keep Children Safe
Enhance Guest Experience
Simplify & Reduce Costs
Reduce Liablility
Be Compliant to Federal Law

It's our mission to provide the information you need to create safe sleep environments for your most precious guests.

For Owners & Corporate

Have a Crib Plan and work the plan

Provide properties with an approved crib specification list for both cribs and bedding. Ensure there are adequate resources dedicated to having the correct number of cribs per property.
Provide properties with a safety inspection plan for both property managers and housekeeping. Proper training and materials are necessary to provide a safe sleeping environment for guests.
Enforce compliance to your hotel’s crib specification list and safety and inspection procedure.

Develop a Crib and Beding Specification

Identify and communicate the assortment of commercial-grade cribs and bedding that are appropriate for your properties. Designate how they may be procured.
Only select commercial cribs that are appropriate for use in a hospitality environment. Avoid buying retail cribs.
Proper bedding is equally as important as the proper crib. Improperly fitting bedding creates a suffocation risk. Make sure the crib sheet specified is appropriate for your selected cribs.

Understand and Ensure Compliance

Under federal law, all places of public accommodation must have compliant cribs in use, and all non-compliant cribs must be removed from service and destroyed. If your crib was manufactured prior to December 2010, it may not be compliant to the new crib safety standards.
To prove compliance, request a certificate of compliance from the crib manufacturer. For a Foundations® crib, visit the website at www.foundations.com or contact the Compliance Department at 330-722-5033 ext. 102.
Please note, this new crib law applies to traditional cribs only, not play yards.

For Property Management

Empower Your Staff

Ensure that a crib safety and inspection procedure is in place and that housekeeping is complying with your stated protocol. Provide adequate staff training for crib maintenance and routine inspection.
Dedicate the time and resources to adequately educate and train your staff.

Be Well Equipped

Make sure all cribs are compliant to the new federal mandatory crib standard. This standard mandates that all non-compliant cribs must be taken out of service. If your crib has a manufacture date prior to December 2010, the crib may not be compliant. Additionally, regulatory bodies such as CPSC may request certificates to verify that your crib is compliant. Certificates of compliance are available from crib manufacturers. For Foundations® cribs, visit the website at www.foundations.com or contact the Compliance Department at 330-722-5033 ext 102.
Be sure you have an adequate number of cribs for your property, particularly during peak family travel seasons such as summer and spring break, to avoid children sleeping with their parents in an adult bed. Recent studies have shown that sharing a bed increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) five-fold!

Enfore Corporate Specifications

Avoid buying consumer-grade cribs from retailers that are not designed for the unique demands of the hospitality environment.
Be aware of your corporate crib specifications and protocol. Follow them to ensure the safest sleep environment is being provided.

For Housekeepers

Always Inspect Cribs Prior to Delivering to Room

Inspect cribs to ensure there is no loose hardware, sharp edges, or missing parts. If problems are found, take out of service immediately and notify management.
Play yards must be checked to confirm that mesh has no holes or tears. Confirm play yard side rails are locked in their upright position. If problems are found, take out of service immediately and notify management.
Check manufacturing date on the crib. If crib was manufactured prior to December 2010, it may not be compliant to the new crib safety standards and should be taken out of service. To verify if a Foundations® crib is compliant, visit our website at www.foundations.com or call our Compliance Department at 330-722-5033 ext 102.

Always Inspect Mattress and Bedding

Crib mattresses should have a tight fit in the crib with no more than 1⁄2" on any side when mattress is centered in the crib. If the crib mattress has any holes or tears, it should be replaced. Use only Foundations® replacement mattresses with Foundations® cribs.
Crib sheets should be tight fitting and not able to be dislodged by pulling on a corner of the sheet. Never use adult sheets on crib mattresses.
Bare is Best! Never leave extra bedding, stuffed animals, toys, pillows, bumpers, or blankets in the crib for the guest’s use. Extra or loose bedding can be a suffocation hazard and increase a baby’s risk of SIDS.

Proper Crib Placement

Prevent strangulation! Do not place the crib or play yard near a window where blind cords could be accessible to the child.
Do not place the crib or play yard near other objects that would allow a child to reach items that could result in injury.
Do not use the crib near pools, heaters, irons, or other objects that could injure a child.
Educate the guest by providing Foundations® Sleep SafelyTM Crib Card on cribs.

Download Crib Safety Brochure Order Sleep Safely Crib Cards

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