Children's Beds: Safety and Choosing One

FAMILY · GLOBAL

Children's Beds: Safety and Choosing One

When to move from a cot, bunk and mid-sleeper rules, mattresses and guard rails

Children's beds carry specific safety rules, and the one about age is the one most often overlooked.

Moving from a cot

Most children move between eighteen months and three years, usually prompted by climbing out. There is no advantage in moving early, and a cot with the base lowered is the safest place until they outgrow it.

Make the room safe first — furniture anchored, blind cords secured, sockets covered and a stair gate if needed — since a child in a bed can get up.

Bunk and raised beds

Safety standards and manufacturers are clear that the upper bunk of a bunk bed, and mid-sleeper and high-sleeper beds, are not suitable for children under six.

Guard rails must be on all sides with gaps that meet the standard, and the gap between the rail and the mattress must not allow a child to slip through. A mattress that is too thick reduces the guard rail height and defeats it.

Check the maximum mattress depth stated by the manufacturer and do not exceed it.

Ladders and ceilings

Fix the ladder as designed, check there is enough headroom to sit up in the top bunk, and keep the bed away from light fittings, curtains and windows.

Mattresses

Firm and correctly sized, with no gap at the edges. Shorty and cabin bed sizes are non-standard, so check the exact dimensions before buying bedding as well.

Guard rails on a standard bed

Useful for a new sleeper and should be fitted according to the instructions. Do not wedge anything into gaps as a substitute.

Storage beds and drawers

Under-bed drawers and ottoman bases are useful in small rooms, and check a child can open and close them safely and that nothing can trap fingers. Gas-lift ottoman mechanisms are not suitable for young children to operate.

Check drawer clearance against skirting and carpet before ordering.

Bedding sizes

Shorty, cabin and European sizes differ from standard singles. Note the exact mattress dimensions and buy bedding to match rather than assuming.

Room layout

Keep beds away from windows, radiators and light fittings, and make sure a child can reach a light switch. Anchor wardrobes and drawers to the wall, since toppling furniture causes serious injuries every year.

Check that any blind cords are secured well out of reach, since looped cords are a strangulation hazard.

Keep the assembly instructions, since they list the fixings and the maximum mattress depth.

Assembly and checks

Follow the instructions exactly, retighten fixings after a few weeks and check periodically, since children's beds take a great deal of movement.

Anchor any tall furniture in the room securely to the wall.

WHERE TO BUY

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