From Latin cūna, a crib is a small bed for children. This piece of furniture usually has side rails or high edges to prevent the child from falling or leaving the bed. Sometimes, the crib has the necessary structure so that it can be rocked and, in this way, help the little one to sleep.
For example: “The baby will be born in two weeks and we haven’t bought the crib yet”, “I’m going to give Tomás’s crib away: it’s already big for her”, “It is best to leave the crib near the double bed to be together to the child”.
Cradles can be made of different materials. The most common are wooden cradles, although metal cradles and plastic cradles can also be found. The decoration of these beds, on the other hand, can be developed in various ways, with bows, ribbons or other ornamentation.
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There are cribs that have a canopy to prevent light from disturbing the child. These structures also allow you to hang mobiles or other elements that emit sound and that serve as entertainment for the baby.
There are cribs of different sizes according to the age of the child. The largest ones are usually used for children up to four years old: from then on, it is usual for the youngest to sleep in a children’s bed.
Closely related to the meaning of the crib as a bed for the baby, there is what is known as a crib house. We have to say that this is a charity and social center, non-profit, whose clear objective is to welcome all those babies or children that their families do not want or cannot support.
For centuries, these kinds of institutions have existed that, in many cases, are also in charge of caring for pregnant women who have neither resources nor families to help them get ahead. For this reason, in these places they find comprehensive support, a home for themselves and their future children, as well as the assistance they need at all levels.
In this way, for example, in the nurseries they also receive training so that they can find a path within what would be the world of work. In this way, what they will do is be able to have the necessary qualification to find a job with which they can get ahead in life with their little ones.
In Spain, in recent years a very serious case has been uncovered related to a nursery that exists in Madrid and that in past decades was guided by a nun. Specifically, it has been uncovered that for years allegedly that nun what she did with single mothers was deceive them at the time of childbirth, telling them that their children had died when in reality what she was doing was “selling” them to wealthy families who could not have offspring.
The notion of cradle can also be used in reference to the origin or beginning of something. In this sense, crib can be synonymous with family, homeland, lineage, etc.: “He is a boy of humble birth, who has worked hard to achieve success”, “Ecuador was my birthplace and I will always return”, “London was the cradle of punk rock”.
