gate (or drop side), a side which lowers to ease the process of putting the child into the bed, but can be raised again to restore the integrity of the enclosure. However, assembly problems and malfunctioning hardware on drop gates can cause the formation of gaps, which have been attributed to infant deaths and other major injuries. In June 2011, the United States implemented new safety standards requiring all infant beds manufactured and sold in the country to have fixed sides. In June 2016, Canada implemented a similar ban on the sale, importation, or distribution of any infant bed containing drop sides effective December 29, 2016. Variations Infant beds can be stationary or portable (portacots, portacribs or folding infant beds). In their portable form the beds generally don't feature a dropside, and portability factors are emphasised. Portacots are often made from plastics, are often smaller and fold into a compact package. Rather than bars, they will have breathable mesh sides with an aperture too small for any finger to fit into (less than 5mm by the standards). Standards for folding infant beds exist for Australia and New Zealand, Europe and international (adopted by various organisations including the American National Standards Institute). Convertible cribs or convertible cots that can be converted into a standard sized bed as the child grows larger have become increasingly popular due to a longer useful life for the furniture. By removing both sides it becomes a toddler bed with unusually high head and foot boards, or removing just one side it becomes a daybed. Although in the U.S. there is a standard size for an infant bed (~71 cm x ~133 cm), 12% of the 2.4 million infant beds sold annually are not of this size; "mini cribs" are an example of this. The "mini crib" is an umbrella term that covers all cots smaller than the standard size. It means that travel cribs and many play yards can also be called mini cribs. This said, people often use the term for small baby beds with hard sides. Larger infant beds are manufactured, generally for hospital use or for those with special needs. They may include a top, generally made of plastic or metal, to prevent a child from climbing out. A cradle is an infant bed which rocks but is non-mobile. It is distinct from a typical bassinet which is a basket-like container on free-standing