When should you remove the crib rails?

First, keep in mind that there are no absolute rules. 

In reality, the moment you decide to remove the safety rails depends on many factors, and they are all directly or indirectly linked to your child. We'll come back to this in a few lines.

However, according to child development stages, it's very often around a certain age that the question of whether or not to remove the crib rails arises.

Generally, crib rails are not removed before a child reaches the age of two years. And from age four, it seems a bit absurd to keep them in place. At this age, children are more independent, particularly regarding toilet training. They are often able to get up alone at night to find you and go to the bathroom.

To determine the right time to remove the baby crib rails, ask yourself these questions:

• Does the child seem bothered by these rails? Do you have the impression they want to climb over them? Do they seem uncomfortable during the night or during naps?

  If the answer to any of these questions is "yes", then it might be necessary to remove the rails... while avoiding rushing, as safety must remain the priority.

• Has your child developed sufficient autonomy?

  If the answer is "yes", then keeping this barrier might become unnecessary. In a way, removing them has a symbolic dimension: it marks the moment when they can manage their space without needing a visual boundary.

• Has the child grown enough that a potential fall wouldn't be dangerous?

  Often, parents decide to keep the rails to prevent their little ones from falling and hurting themselves during sleep. When they have grown enough and this danger has passed, it becomes possible to reconsider this choice!