Since 1800, cribs were built off the ground because of the belief of that time that harmful fumes hovered on the floor and near the ceiling. The word, “crib” comes from an old English word for an animal feeding trough or a stall enclosure. Early on, the wooden cribs with the cage-like enclosures were painted with white lead-based paint and infants enjoyed licking and sucking on the sweetish taste of the paint. Sometimes the space between the “bars” was wide enough that the baby’s head or body became stuck between the wooden bars. Now, the hazards have been worked through and corrected with safe finishes and narrow spaces between bars. The convenient baby beds are still much in use in the Westernized world.
Widely advertised on parenting and baby sites, new cribs are manufactured by the top-name brands in fine furniture today. Many furniture stores carry a few models in different styles and finish colors to match the baby room decor. People can also purchase them online such as American made cribs at BabyFurniturePlus.net. The market for baby beds does not usually have huge surges or drastically slow years, but the market is fairly steady. The baby and furniture industries will continue to sell lovely baby cribs to new parents into the future.