Tips from our crib safety experts

About 7 million cribs, most with drop sides, have been recalled since 2007, many because of hardware failures that have injured or even killed children. In fact, ASTM International, a voluntary industry standards group, will no longer recognize cribs with drop sides as meeting its safety standard. To find out whether your crib has been recalled, go to the Consumer Product Safety Commission's recall database, at www.cpsc.gov. If your crib is on the list, contact the manufacturer as soon as possible for a repair kit. Don't fix it yourself! Here are some other shopping tips for cribs:

• Look for cribs with stationary sides and strong thick wood or metal slats. Avoid used cribs, particularly those made before 1999; they might not meet the current safety standards, which we think are still too lax. (See CPSC takes hard line on defective cribs.)
• Buy a mattress that fits snugly, with no gaps around the edges. Don't buy soft bedding such as comforters, pillows, or bumper pads; they can cause suffocation. (See crib bedding: what not to buy.)

For more crib tips, go to our cribs buying advice and crib ratings. And stay tuned for our updated crib ratings, coming later this year.