The History of Baby Cots & Cribs

Baby cots and cribs have a gone a long way to being what they are now: a safe place to leave your baby in, while versatile enough for all sorts of devices for both play and learning for your child. Their history is said to have dated back several hundred years.

The first baby cots and baby cribs were nothing more than hollowed out logs, which were primarily meant to keep a baby lying inside from accidentally falling off the crib. Then came the innovation in the form of the suspended frame, which allowed baby cribs to be rocked, the swaying motion simulating the feeling of being in the womb of a mother and being carried around in it, with the rhythm imitating the relaxing heartbeat of a mother. All baby cots have some type of baby mattress in them.

Baby cribs, however, were not famous then, as large houses were not in fashion until around the 1800s. This was the advent of hand carved cribs, ornate wooden pieces that were passed from generation to generation, and lived through years of abuse due to their being constructed out of solid wood. This was also the time when the nuclear family became larger in general, with more children than before. This allowed for a system where the crib would be used by whoever was the youngest at the time, until he or she outgrew the crib. This way, one cot or crib could be used by many children before it was passed on.

Nowadays, baby cots & cribs have evolved not only regarding their overall construction, but on the rules for constructing them as well. Organizations such as the British Standards Institution and the Consumer Product Safety Commission now circulate a set of standardised regulations regarding the construction of cots and cribs for babies, with precise requirements regarding measurements of bars, protrusions, sides and openings. This is to ensure that when inside the cot, your baby is as safe as possible, hearkening back to its original purpose.

Whether you have a brand new baby crib or baby's cot that has been passed on from generation to genertaion, here at Baby Mattress Online we can make you a perfectly fitting baby mattress. We make any size or shape of baby cot mattress. you only need to look here for a custom size or made to measure child's mattress.