**No—crib use is far from universal, including in wealthy countries.** Sleeping arrangements vary with culture as well as housing and income.

For example, a **2010 study of 29,287 children from birth to age three across 17 countries and regions** found that reported bed-sharing ranged from **5.8% in New Zealand to 83.2% in Vietnam**. Those figures include toddlers and come from a parent survey; they establish substantial variation, rather than a precise worldwide rate of crib use. [Mindell and colleagues, *Sleep Medicine*](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389945710000377)

Japan provides a counterexample to your assumption about families who can afford cribs. Research documents babies sleeping on their own futons beside their parents’ bedding, sharing a futon or bed with a parent, and sleeping in cribs. A 2014 study examined these arrangements among Japanese mothers, although its small sample of online discussions cannot establish national prevalence. [Shimizu and colleagues, *Frontiers in Psychology*](https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00718/full)

The alternatives therefore include:

- **A separate floor futon or mattress**, sometimes beside the parents’ bedding.
- **Sharing the parents’ bed or futon**, common in some cultures.
- **A portable crib or sleep-approved play yard**, which provides a separate, enclosed sleeping space. Bassinets serve that purpose earlier, within their size and developmental limits.

For your decision, **prevalence and safety are separate questions**. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants sleep on their backs on a firm, flat surface in a safety-compliant crib, bassinet, portable crib or play yard, with only a fitted sheet. It recommends sharing the parents’ room, ideally for at least the first six months, and advises against bed-sharing. An ordinary adult futon or floor mattress does not automatically meet infant sleep standards. [AAP safe-sleep guidance](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/A-Parents-Guide-to-Safe-Sleep.aspx)

A crib’s practical benefits are its **contained sleeping area, regulated construction and convenient access for caregivers**. Adjustable mattress height can reduce bending while the baby is small; the mattress must be lowered as the child develops to prevent falls. [AAP guidance on sleeping spaces](https://healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/sleep/Pages/Suitable-Sleeping-Sites.aspx/1000?form=HealthyChildren)

Your friends’ point about fall height is reasonable: a floor mattress reduces the distance of a fall. Overall safety also depends on mattress firmness, gaps where a baby could become trapped, bedding and everything the child can reach after leaving the mattress. Baby-proofing the room addresses only part of that problem.

**For the transition from a bassinet, a safety-compliant crib or play yard is the option supported by current infant safe-sleep guidance.** You can still give your son opportunities to explore his room during supervised awake time.