Strength of typical baby crib railing

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cobul
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Strength
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the strength and safety of typical baby crib railings, particularly focusing on their structural integrity when subjected to forces exerted by a child. Participants explore the design, materials, and potential testing standards related to crib safety.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Experimental/applied

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes the dimensions and construction of a typical crib railing, questioning its strength when a child pushes against it.
  • Another shares a personal anecdote about a child climbing out of a crib, suggesting concerns about safety and structural failure.
  • A participant expresses skepticism about the existence of formal studies on crib strength, noting that similar designs have been in use for decades without reported issues.
  • Some participants argue that safety structures like cribs are likely designed with rigorous testing and engineering standards, proposing hydraulic tests as a method to evaluate strength.
  • One participant references the Code of Federal Regulations and ASTM standards for full-size baby cribs, indicating that there are established requirements for crib safety, although specific strength values are not provided.
  • Concerns are raised about the flexibility of pine wood used in the railings, with questions about how much it can flex under load.
  • A participant discusses a potential modification to the crib using a moldable thermoplastic to enhance stability, seeking advice on how to create a suitable formwork for this adjustment.
  • There are warnings about the safety of modifications, emphasizing the importance of ensuring that any added components do not pose choking hazards or void warranties.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of personal experiences, skepticism about the availability of studies, and confidence in existing safety standards. No consensus is reached regarding the specific strength of crib railings or the adequacy of current safety measures.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the absence of specific numerical strength values in the referenced standards and the potential limitations of anecdotal evidence regarding crib safety. There are also concerns about the implications of modifying cribs and the associated risks.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to parents, caregivers, safety engineers, and individuals involved in child safety product design or testing.

Cobul
Messages
100
Reaction score
11
A typical baby crib look like.

crib1.jpg


For the above, the width is 30 inches. The length of the railing is 52 inches.
The railings were only connected top and bottom at the sides with a a single Allen screw and round nut (inside the New Zealand Pine Wood). (Taken out temporarily to photograph it)

crib2.jpg
crib5.jpg


This is the dimensions of the railing (with installed screws (left side)). The vertical is 1.25" and horizontal side is 0.75".

crib4.jpg


How strong is the railing when say 1 to 2 year old baby tried to push it outward before it breaks?
This crib is very common so there must be studies or standard computation about its strength?
What is the unit of the force? Can you please help compute the force? Thank you!
 
Engineering news on Phys.org
My IKEA chair is supporting me with four bolts like those.

We had a baby climb out of a crib onto a dresser beside it. He climbed onto a drawer we had left open. This tipped over the dresser, flinging him across the room. He was OK, but loud.
 
  • Wow
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Cobul and russ_watters
I'm not at all sure that there have ever been any studies about crib strength. This is a time honored design, such that we might say it is verified by the many cribs in service with essentially this design. I built similar cribs from scratch for my twin children some 45 years ago, using yellow pine wood; there was never any problem.
 
I can't imagine that a mass produced safety structure would be designed without a team of engineers dedicated to figuring out what it takes to defeat it. And I can't imagine such a structure existing without rigorous safety standards and testing. Sticking a hydraulic jack between the railings seems like an obviously necessary test to me.

Google should be able to answer this.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Cobul
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: russ_watters
Whew! Finally tracked down the standard.

The Code of Federal Regulations as presented in the Federal Register:
https://ecfr.federalregister.gov/current/title-16/chapter-II/subchapter-B/part-1219/section-1219.2

§ 1219.2 Requirements for full-size baby cribs.
Each full-size baby crib must comply with all applicable provisions of ASTM F1169-19, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Full-Size Baby Cribs approved March 15, 2019.

The ASTM site has a brief (useless) abstract at:
https://www.astm.org/Standards/F1169.htm
That page shows the 20 page standard available for US$58 in PDF file.

One site I searched mentioned a minimum strength for the slats on the sides, without giving any numbers.

Good Luck!
Tom
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Cobul and 256bits
When I look at the rail side view or from the edge. I can see the rail pine wood flex when baby tried to hold the rail outward from middle of crib. How much can pine wood flex?

Anyway I have a bag of Instamorph, a non-toxic, lightweight polyester thermoplastic that is moldable at low temperature (150 degrees Fahrenheit) and solidifies at room temperature

moldable1.jpg


instatamorph scissors.JPG
Anyone has idea what housing or formwork to create to make a bar made of Instamorph that would brace the ends of both rail about 2" from the edge? I'm thinking of enclosing them in plastic sheet but the plastic may melt. This is to make the rail more stable. To mold the moldable thermoplastic. I have to put it in a bowl of boiling water. But the bowl is small. How can I make it into a 31 inches bar bent at 90 degrees at end to hold the rails 2" away? Any idea? Thank you.
moldable2.jpg
 
Your baby was lucky not to get hurt. This is such a problem that all hardware stores sell straps to anchor a dresser to the wall, preventing tip over.
 
marcusl said:
Your baby was lucky not to get hurt. This is such a problem that all hardware stores sell straps to anchor a dresser to the wall, preventing tip over.
This was in the bad old days before anchors were invented. My point was that if the baby is big enough to break the crib, it is more likely to climb out and fall on the floor (even without the help of a dresser).
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Cobul and russ_watters
  • #10
Cobul said:
When I look at the rail side view or from the edge. I can see the rail pine wood flex when baby tried to hold the rail outward from middle of crib. How much can pine wood flex?

Anyway I have a bag of Instamorph, a non-toxic, lightweight polyester thermoplastic that is moldable at low temperature (150 degrees Fahrenheit) and solidifies at room temperature

View attachment 284571

View attachment 284573Anyone has idea what housing or formwork to create to make a bar made of Instamorph that would brace the ends of both rail about 2" from the edge? I'm thinking of enclosing them in plastic sheet but the plastic may melt. This is to make the rail more stable. To mold the moldable thermoplastic. I have to put it in a bowl of boiling water. But the bowl is small. How can I make it into a 31 inches bar bent at 90 degrees at end to hold the rails 2" away? Any idea? Thank you.View attachment 284572
You want to make an adjustment to the crib?
Make sure the baby cannot loosen any of the added parts, chew on it, break a piece off and choke.
And any additions may void recourse if any future event does occur.
 
  • #11
https://law.resource.org/pub/us/cfr/ibr/003/astm.f1169.2013.html

Tom.G said:
Whew! Finally tracked down the standard.

The Code of Federal Regulations as presented in the Federal Register:
https://ecfr.federalregister.gov/current/title-16/chapter-II/subchapter-B/part-1219/section-1219.2
The ASTM site has a brief (useless) abstract at:
https://www.astm.org/Standards/F1169.htm
That page shows the 20 page standard available for US$58 in PDF file.

One site I searched mentioned a minimum strength for the slats on the sides, without giving any numbers.

Good Luck!
Tom
good hunting!

They to not use wood screws, and a bunch of other stuff.
and some testing methods which I skimmed through.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Tom.G

Similar threads

Graduate Big Bang Big Schmang, astronomical redshift is an artifact of distance
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
3K