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Bassinet

A small bed made for a young baby, often kept beside the parents' bed. CPSC says it's for babies up to about 5 months or until they can push up on hands and knees.

What It Means

A bassinet is a small, raised bed made for a young baby, often set right beside the parents' bed so the baby can sleep in the same room on a surface of their own. It is a covered product under federal law: the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has a mandatory safety standard for bassinets and cradles. CPSC says a bassinet isn't meant for a baby older than about 5 months or one who can push up on their hands and knees, so by then the baby needs a crib or play yard.

Try It: Is It Time to Move From the Bassinet?

Tick anything that's true of your baby today. Any one of them means it's time for the crib, per CPSC and the label on your bassinet.

Signs ticked0

None yet. Keep the bassinet bare, with only a fitted sheet, and check again next week.

How Parents Say It

  • "The bassinet's right by my side of the bed."
  • "She's outgrowing the bassinet already."
  • "We're moving him to the crib this weekend."

The Breakdown

A bassinet by stage

StageWhat to doSource
NewbornNewbornA baby in the first 28 days of life, the stage doctors also call the neonatal period. See more weeksBassinet in your room, baby on their back, only a fitted sheetSafe to Sleep; CPSC
Through at least 6 monthsKeep the baby's sleep space in your room, separate from your bedAAP; HealthyChildren.org
About 5 months, or pushing up on hands and kneesMove from the bassinet to a crib or play yardCPSC
Label limit reachedStop using it, whatever the baby's ageManufacturer's label

The federal rules behind it. Bassinets and cradles fall under CPSC's Safety Standard for Bassinets and Cradles, 16 CFR part 1218. Since June 23, 2022, CPSC's infant sleep products rule has also covered products such as compact and travel bassinets, in-bed sleepers, baby boxes and baby nests, and it requires a sleep surface angle of 1010,000 stepsA popular daily step goal that began as the name of a 1960s Japanese pedometer; later studies find health benefits begin well below it. See more degrees or less.

Buying or borrowing one. Look for a bassinet sold for infant sleep, with its own firm mattress, and check it isn't on CPSC's recall list. A secondhand one should come with its label and instructions so you know its limits.

When to talk to your pediatrician. Ask if your baby seems too big for the bassinet early, or if you're unsure whether a travel or bedside product is safe for sleep.

Good to Know

CPSC's "Bare is Best" advice applies in a bassinet exactly as in a crib: only a fitted sheet, with no pillows, bumpers, quilts or comforters. A bassinet is a separate sleep surface, and the AAP recommends keeping it in your room without bringing the baby into your bed, ideally for at least the first 6 months. Moving to a crib at 5 months doesn't mean moving rooms. If your baby isn't breathing or can't be woken, call 911.

FAQ

When should a baby stop sleeping in a bassinet?

CPSC says a bassinet or cradle isn't meant for babies older than about 5 months or who can push up on their hands and knees. Stop sooner if your baby reaches the weight or size limit on the label.

Is a bassinet safer than a crib?

Both are safe sleepSafe sleepThe AAP's rules for lowering the risk of SIDS and suffocation: baby on the back, alone, on a firm flat surface in their own sleep space, every sleep. See more spaces when they meet CPSC standards and hold only a fitted sheet. A bassinet is smaller, so it fits beside your bed for room-sharingRoom sharingHaving a baby sleep in the parents' room in their own crib, bassinet or play yard. The AAP advises it for at least the first 6 months, without bed-sharing. See more in the early months.

Are travel bassinets and in-bed sleepers regulated?

Yes. Since June 23, 2022, CPSC's infant sleep products rule has covered products such as compact and travel bassinets and in-bed sleepers, with a sleep surface angle of 10 degrees or less.

Do It in Buhata

Reminders and Shopping

Set a Reminder in Buhata for the week your baby turns 5 months to check the bassinet's limits, and add a fitted crib sheet to your Shopping list.

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Related Terms and Categories

  • Room sharing

    Having a baby sleep in the parents' room in their own crib, bassinet or play yard. The AAP advises it for at least the first 6 months, without bed-sharing.

  • Safe sleep

    The AAP's rules for lowering the risk of SIDS and suffocation: baby on the back, alone, on a firm flat surface in their own sleep space, every sleep.

  • Crib transition

    Moving a child from a crib to a toddler bed or regular bed, which the AAP ties to height or to the crib rail getting too low for them.

  • Co-sleeping

    A parent and baby sleeping close together. Bed-sharing on the same surface is the form the AAP can't recommend; room-sharing on separate surfaces is the one it advises.

  • Newborn

    A baby in the first 28 days of life, the stage doctors also call the neonatal period.

Baby and toddler

Sources

CPSC, "Bassinets and Cradles" (FAQ); CPSC, "CPSC Approves New Federal Safety Standard for Bassinets and Cradles"; CPSC, "CPSC's New Federal Infant Sleep Products Safety Standard Takes Effect" (2022); CPSC, "Infant Sleep Products" (FAQ); CPSC, "Safe Sleep/Bare is Best"; NICHD Safe to Sleep, "Safe Sleep Environment for Baby"; HealthyChildren.org (AAP), "How to Keep Your Sleeping Baby Safe: AAP Policy Explained"

Last updated .