Hint Mama

The Big Blog of Hints: Sharing hints to make parenting easier, cheaper and a bit more humorous

  • Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
    • Share a Hint
  • Gear
  • Preparing For Baby
  • Toys
  • Childproofing
  • Traveling
  • Mealtime
  • Activities & Classes
  • Parties & Entertaining

Today’s Hint: How to Cheaply Save Cribs from Little Teeth

October 7, 2013 By Hint Mama

One thing I didn’t expect my daughter to use as a teether: her crib.

But lo and behold, a few months ago, I walked into my tot’s room after naptime and found her gnawing on her crib’s top rail. I looked closer and saw lots of teeth marks on the wood, not to mention chipped paint.

Now, however, my daughter no longer chews on the wood and paint. The reason: Two swaddling blankets tightly tied around the crib top protect the furniture from my daughter’s teeth (and my daughter from the wood and paint).

In fact, the blankets have done such a good job at keeping my daughter’s mouth at bay that today’s hint is to skip shelling out cash for crib rail childproofing products in favor of my super easy DIY crib teething guard solution.

Not only does this approach save you  $15 to $50, it also provides a new use for old swaddling blankets, which otherwise would be lying unused in a drawer or packed away somewhere (kids who are standing and chewing on the crib top are almost certainly not going to bed swaddled). And like all crib teething guards, it helps protect the crib and keep it in good shape for any future kids or for resale. It may also work even better than store-bought solutions, based on some reviews.

To be sure, for those of us with anxiety, having a blanket anywhere near the crib can be scary. And during the first few nights our homemade solution was up, I did feel a little nervous. But the blanket is tied so tight that even I have trouble undoing it and if it comes undone, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. By the time a child gnaws on a crib, they probably can sleep with a blanket too.

But if you don’t want to go the blanket route, the good news is that there are other DIY options. Blogger Baby Rabies, for instance, offers a tutorial on how she made a pretty guard for her son’s crib, and if you’re not so crafty, there are instructions online for how to make crib teething guards with no sewing required. Blogger Simply Abby offers a step-by-step how to for an easy DIY crib teething guard, and you can find other instructions here and here.

What are you tricks for protecting cribs from little teeth?

Share Button

More Hints

  • Today’s Hint: How to Childproof Vacation Home PoolsToday’s Hint: How to Childproof Vacation Home Pools
  • Today’s Hint: Six Tips for Childproofing When You TravelToday’s Hint: Six Tips for Childproofing When You Travel
  • Today’s Hint: 5 Hacks for Summer Travel with Babies, Toddlers and Young KidsToday’s Hint: 5 Hacks for Summer Travel with Babies, Toddlers and Young Kids
  • Today’s Hint: The Skinny on Barely-There (i.e. Retractable) Baby GatesToday’s Hint: The Skinny on Barely-There (i.e. Retractable) Baby Gates
  • Today’s Hint: How Hair Ties Can Help You Childproof on the GoToday’s Hint: How Hair Ties Can Help You Childproof on the Go

Filed Under: Childproofing Tagged With: childproofing, crib rail guard, crib rails, diy crib teething guard, easy diy crib teething guard

Drop Me a Hint

Contact Hint Mama

Comments

  1. Scattered Wrecks says

    October 7, 2013 at 3:12 pm

    OMG. I wish I would have read this three years ago with my twins. I am totally passing this on to my friends having little ones now.

  2. Green Mommas says

    October 7, 2013 at 3:35 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing! The only question I have is— isn’t this a hazard if baby is able to get the fabric to untie? yikes!

    • Hint Mama says

      October 7, 2013 at 5:06 pm

      As I write above, having a blanket anywhere near the crib can be scary and I did feel a little nervous about this DIY solution at first. But the 2 blankets are tied so tight around the rails that even I have trouble undoing them. Plus, if one of them comes undone, my daughter is old enough to sleep with a blanket (and note that we didn’t put this solution up until my daughter was standing up and chewing on her crib, and she didn’t get her first tooth until around 10 months). Still, like everything in parenting, this solution may not work for everyone and it’s up to each parent to decide what they’re comfortable with.

  3. Heather Johnson says

    October 7, 2013 at 6:44 pm

    My daughter never slept in a crib. She slept with me in my bed. Her crib is now just for time out, and she has never chewed on it. But, really, chewing on the crib is the least of my worries!

  4. Vinma says

    October 7, 2013 at 10:24 pm

    Oh my god! I have started noticing my baby girl doing this while standing upon the crib. I could certainly use some help and your post is a great start to that. Thanks for sharing 🙂

  5. Jackie says

    October 10, 2013 at 2:37 pm

    Great idea! My 13-month-old daughter started chewing on her crib and in a pinch I taped blankets to the top rail. Definitely not as cute as using swaddle blankets. I plan to make the switch today to swaddle blankets today. Thanks! P.S. My daughter has slept with a blanket in her crib for a few months – I agree that if they can chew on the crib, they’re probably okay with blankets.

  6. Allison says

    October 16, 2013 at 6:21 pm

    Hey girl! Thanks for linking to my blog on this post! The blankets look cute! For another option, to the mamas afraid of having blankets tied, is the fleece that I got and cut, and tied. Too small of a strip for a hazard and it has been on our crib for 7 months and I’ve only had to re-tie about 4 tabs total that have come undone! Lemon doesn’t even notice it! Thanks again! 🙂

  7. eliza says

    February 12, 2014 at 5:09 pm

    Hi- this is great as I just noticed the same markings on my son’s crib! Do you have detailed instructions on how you did it with the blanket?? Thank you!

  8. Ltrain says

    March 15, 2014 at 6:08 am

    Would you mind sharing how you did this? I’d love to do this w my sons crib. Thanks!!

    • Hint Mama says

      March 15, 2014 at 7:06 pm

      Thanks for reading! Basically, you tie one end of a swaddle in a tight knot around the top of the crib rail closest to the end of the crib (the type of knot where the one end goes around itself into a knot). Then you wind the swaddle up, around and down (and repeat) the other crib rails and tie another tight knot when the swaddle is about to run out. We used two swaddles to cover the length of the crib and I tighten the knots and retie it every so often. We also try to cover the knots with the swaddle blankets as well. Hope this makes sense:) Posting detailed pictures of this process is on my to-do list:)

      • ltrain says

        March 16, 2014 at 2:11 am

        thank you!! I tried this tonight and hope it works! I’m hoping his crib isn’t his new “security blanket”!!

Trackbacks

  1. Today’s Hint: The Frugal Before-Blankets, After-Sleep-Slack Solutions – Hint Mama says:
    February 25, 2014 at 3:23 pm

    […] year, this wasn’t an issue. During her first weeks of life, she was kept warm at night by her swaddle. Then, once she could rollover, we traded in the swaddle for a sleep sack (like this one, our […]

  2. Today’s Hint: 3 Surprising Uses for Swaddling Blankets – Hint Mama says:
    August 19, 2014 at 2:39 pm

    […] them as gifts, probably because they’re so useful for swaddling, as crib and stroller blankets, as DIY crib rail covers and as stroller […]

  3. Today’s Hint: The Crib to Get & Delta GIVEAWAY – Hint Mama says:
    August 22, 2014 at 2:02 pm

    […] daughter scratched away much of the paint on the top of our top-of-the-line crib before we came up a clever DIY crib rail cover solution), so parents should expect scratching to occur not matter the crib price […]

  4. Today’s Hint: Baby Blankets Make Great Gym Towels – Hint Mama says:
    January 20, 2015 at 2:47 pm

    […] child, now an infant, outgrows the swaddling stage and we no longer need blankets to serve as crib-rail covers and stroller […]

  5. Today’s Hint: Hint Mama’s Top 20 Parenting Hints – Hint Mama says:
    October 8, 2015 at 11:13 pm

    […] How to cheaply save cribs from little teeth […]

aaa

SEARCH HINTS

[instagram-feed]

Advertise Here

You can find more information about advertising on HintMama.com, month- and quarter-long sponsorships, guest posts, press relations and disclosures here.

Find a Hint

  • Activities & Classes (96)
    • Potty Training (10)
    • Preschool (18)
    • Story Time (4)
    • Storytime (3)
  • Baby Registry (24)
  • Bathtime (10)
  • Birthday Parties/Entertaining (43)
    • Baby Showers (11)
  • Childproofing (28)
  • Decorating (32)
  • Diapers & Related Products (21)
  • Exercise (13)
  • Gear (172)
    • Bibs (5)
    • Bottles (11)
    • Car Seats (18)
    • Clothes (24)
    • Hair Accessories (2)
    • Strollers (12)
  • Help (18)
  • Helpful Tech (61)
  • Holidays (60)
  • Loveys (4)
  • Mealtime (81)
  • Play (56)
  • Pregnancy (16)
  • Preparing for Baby (97)
  • Recording Memories (16)
  • Safety (36)
  • Saving for College (2)
  • Savings (63)
  • Shoes (4)
  • Sleep (26)
  • Staying Organized (37)
  • Taking Time for Yourself (44)
  • Top Hints (19)
  • Toys (88)
  • Traveling (71)
  • Uncategorized (5)

Shop: Hint Mama’s Picks

At Hint Mama's Amazon.com store, you'll find the select products Hint Mama recommends as well as those mentioned in Hint Mama's posts. Read Hint Mama's disclosures here.

Old Hints

  • December 2019 (1)
  • December 2018 (1)
  • October 2018 (1)
  • September 2018 (1)
  • August 2018 (1)
  • July 2018 (2)
  • January 2018 (1)
  • September 2017 (3)
  • August 2017 (1)
  • July 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (2)
  • April 2017 (1)
  • March 2017 (1)
  • February 2017 (1)
  • January 2017 (10)
  • September 2016 (1)
  • August 2016 (2)
  • July 2016 (1)
  • May 2016 (1)
  • April 2016 (1)
  • March 2016 (2)
  • February 2016 (1)
  • January 2016 (1)
  • December 2015 (3)
  • November 2015 (3)
  • October 2015 (5)
  • September 2015 (7)
  • August 2015 (7)
  • July 2015 (9)
  • June 2015 (6)
  • May 2015 (9)
  • April 2015 (11)
  • March 2015 (11)
  • February 2015 (11)
  • January 2015 (18)
  • December 2014 (17)
  • November 2014 (14)
  • October 2014 (23)
  • September 2014 (21)
  • August 2014 (20)
  • July 2014 (22)
  • June 2014 (21)
  • May 2014 (21)
  • April 2014 (21)
  • March 2014 (21)
  • February 2014 (19)
  • January 2014 (22)
  • December 2013 (21)
  • November 2013 (21)
  • October 2013 (23)
  • September 2013 (21)
  • August 2013 (8)

Before entering the corporate world, Jennifer Saranow Schultz (aka Hint Mama) was the lead writer for The New York Times “Bucks” personal finance blog and a reporter at The Wall Street Journal. Read More…

300x250 Mom Break POPSUGAR Select Moms USFamilyGuide.com

RIGHTS RESERVED

Hint Mama™ is a trademark of the author of this blog. Unless otherwise indicated, all text, images and (sometimes humorous) hint sharing were created and produced by the author of this blog. Rights reserved. So please enjoy (but do not reproduce without permission).

From the Blog

Today’s Hint: A Solution for Missing Puzzle Pieces

Today’s Hint: How to Talk to Little Kids About Alexa (and Robots)

Today’s Hint: Hint Mama’s Top Halloween Hints (Plus a New Halloween Hint)

Today’s Hint: What to Do With Old Coloring Books

Today’s Hint: 5 Outside-the-Box Bath Toys

Advertise, Sponsor, Press Relations, Disclosures

You can find more information about advertising on HintMama.com, month- and quarter-long sponsorships, guest posts, press relations and disclosures here. Google+

Find it Here

Copyright © 2014 · Hint Mama · Design by Anchored Design on the Genesis Framework