Crib Against a Window?

The only problem I would have for now is blocking a potential exit--and I like to have fresh air whenever it is nice enough outside. Hate to have to move the crib to open the window for some air.

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The only problem I would have for now is blocking a potential exit--and I like to have fresh air whenever it is nice enough outside. Hate to have to move the crib to open the window for some air.

I'm scared to death of lightening because I guess I'm a little crazy and I saw an episode of Rescue 911 where a woman was hit by lightening sitting at her kitchen table that was next to a window. Personally, I would not put a bed or crib under a window because of my fear.

I've noticed you have had a lot of questions about your sons' room. You are trying to be a good mom, I know... I just wanted to share one thought which helps me a lot:

"If you have to ask..." A wise woman once suggested to me that if something was so out of my comfort zone that I had to ask, it probably wasn't a good idea. So, I'm passing it along to you, you know, just to streamline your process.

And no, I wouldn't put in infant by a window.

I wouldn't put it there because:

1. all windows let in cold or hot air
2. if there is a tree outside that could break through in a storm
3. if the room is on the ground floor (more likely to have a break in)
4. curtains or shades will always become a toy to a very young person
5. You should never block potential emergency exits

I would put the older child's bed near the window or non at all.

My kids crib was right under the window. I did not have blinds or curtains on the window. It was not too hot or too cold, no one tried to break in, it looked out into a private yard, no trees or lightening came in, I could still access the window for fresh air or to escape if necessary and a baby would have been incapable of opening the window on his own. I would get rid of the curtains and blinds, and check for (and address) any drafts around the window.

ETA: Who has homes with rooms so large that they can avoid putting furniture in front of a window? Must be nice!

If that's the only window in the room, I'd be concerned about the safety bars. Would they prevent a firefighter from entering the room if necessary?

And I would be concerned about the window breaking, and those long curtains becoming a tangling hazard.

So I guess my vote is: no.

In the short term, it's probably okay because the baby can't get tangled in the floor length curtains or pull up on the safety bars. That's assuming there's no draft and the curtains are black-out types so the rising sun in the spring doesn't have both kids up at 4:30 AM!

Long-term, be sure you don't ever need to open that window, that the 5 year old won't decide that the crib gives him a nice boost so he can grab onto the safety bars and play "Spiderman" to climb to the ceiling, and that the curtains don't give an 8-month old something to grab onto when learning to pull himself up to a standing position. Some kids do fine when you rearrange the room down the road, and others freak out with a change.

Be sure you are bolting bookshelves and tall dressers to the wall so that kids who climb them (including using the drawers as "steps") don't pull things down on their heads - which make make later rearranging more problematic unless you don't mind unbolting and then sparkling and repainting.

No, windows tend to be drafty and although a newborn wouldn't have a safety issue with what your described - a baby that is into chewing (shade or curtain) could get into trouble and the floor length curtain could be a strangulation hazard.

I wouldn't if you had other options.

My reasons would be:

I find them drafty no matter how new. I suppose if you had curtains that would cut down on that, but they are also noisier than a wall

Hot in summer

Once they can pull up on a crib, I just see him getting into drapes and shades.

i dunno, hon. perhaps it's not ideal, but i can think of a lot of circumstances under which i'd do it.
it just requires common sense, right? if the window is a good tight one that doesn't let in cold air, and the locks on it are solid, and since yours has child safety bars and sensible window dressings, i'm sure it's fine.
and sharing a room is also fine.
just check it out beforehand and imagine all the likely disaster scenarios and eliminate them, which it seems you've done.
don't make yourself crazy.
khairete
S.

If the baby in the crib is not pulling up or rolling over, I would probably do it until that point. But, I think I would get worried that once the baby could access the window or the curtains he would be banging on it or trying to "eat" curtains and I'd be scared to death! :)

We had DD's crib/toddler bed such that part of it was over one window and the other side of the window was free. We pulled the blind cords up out of the way (you can also get things online for free to fix them so they are no longer a hazard. Our window doesn't have bars, but it's not easy for a small person to reach/open. In other rooms, we have windows that don't crank, but have latches to keep it from opening more than a couple of inches. If you have that, use them. We kept the curtains to the valance only when DD was little. If you have 2 kids, can you put the older child's bed by the window and the crib where his was?

It wouldn't bother me as long as:
- it's a solid window and doesn't get a draft in the winter.
- you don't plan on opening it.
- I'd probably take the curtains off completely so little hands can't pull at them.

A child small enough to be in a crib can't open windows on his/her own (and even a 5 year old might not be able to if it is locked), so I don't see any risk of falling out.

Once the baby starts to pull up the least bit, the curtains and shade will become things he can grasp to use as he tries to pull his weight up to stand. That could bring down the curtain rod or the shade on top of him (And I'm not talking about pulling the cord which isn't there, I'm talking about pulling on the shade itself). And if the crib is right up against the window really I'd remove those curtains entirely; if the baby or his brother pulls them inside the crib, even while they are still hanging up and just the long ends are inside the crib, the fabric could end up over the baby's face as he sleeps. Too many things nearby to grab, with curtains, shade, and even the safety bars will be something to explore and pull up on eventually.

I really would find another configuration for now and maybe start considering what to do when older son is in elementary school and keeping very different hours from baby/toddler.

I wouldn't put a crib against a window. Period. Even if it's well sealed, there is a temperature differential with glass versus walls.

No because one good wrap against the window with a toy will have broken glass in your crib.

i did. with a curtain that only fit the window, and the window faced north and we have a pirvacy fenced in yard with 2 dogs that will bark a warning if anything is amiss. dd did just fine with it. when she got a big girl bed it didn't fit that wall so she no longer has er bed touching the window. if you are comfortable with it the go for it

When my fist nephew was born, his crib was near the window. He would pull the curtain back so he could look out the window and as he got older he would yell out the window at passersby. He was the only child with the crib near the window and there were 15 kids in the family.

My only concern would be blocking an exit if there were an emergency.

No. I'm sorry my first thought was what if fire fighters tried to enter the room and had to try and climb over a crib to save my kids. Even if you have a fire escape plan your 5 year old can't get to the window to get out.

Windows should never be blocked. That's just a good rule to have.