Nursery Furniture: Safety Before Style

FAMILY · GLOBAL

Nursery Furniture: Safety Before Style

Cot standards, anchoring furniture, changing units and planning the room

Nursery furniture is chosen from photographs and lived with for years, and a small number of safety points matter more than anything about the look.

Anchor everything tall

Chests of drawers, bookcases and wardrobes must be fixed to the wall with the brackets supplied. Toppling furniture causes serious and sometimes fatal injuries to small children every year, usually when a child climbs an open drawer.

Fix into a stud or masonry rather than plasterboard alone, and do it on the day it is assembled rather than later.

Cot and crib standards

Check the cot meets the current safety standard for your country. Bar spacing is specified so a child's head cannot pass through, and the mattress must fit the base with no gap at the sides.

No pillows, duvets, bumpers or soft toys in the cot for the first year. A firm flat mattress and a sleeping bag of the right tog is what safe sleep guidance describes.

Lower the base as soon as the baby can sit, and again when they can stand.

Changing units

Never leave a baby unattended on a changing surface, not for a moment, and keep one hand on them throughout. Falls from height are among the most common injuries in this age group.

A raised edge helps and does not remove the need for a hand. Many parents change on a mat on the floor, which removes the risk entirely.

Materials and finishes

Look for finishes conforming to toy safety standards, since everything in a nursery gets chewed. Let new furniture air in a ventilated room before use.

Buying second-hand

Furniture is fine used; check for recalls and that all fittings are present. Never buy a used cot mattress, which should be new and firm for each baby.

Buying for the room they will grow into

Cot beds convert to a small bed and last several years, which is usually better value than a cot alone. A chest of drawers with a removable changing top outlives the changing phase.

Buy storage you can reach with one hand while holding a baby, which is a real constraint.

Assembly and checks

Assemble on a flat floor, follow the instructions exactly, and retighten every fixing after a few weeks. Check cot fittings periodically, since a loose base is a genuine hazard.

Room temperature and window safety

Around sixteen to twenty degrees suits most babies. Fit window restrictors on upstairs windows and keep furniture away from them, since a child who can climb can reach a sill.

Planning the room

Keep the cot away from windows, blind cords, radiators and shelving. Blind cords are a strangulation hazard and must be secured high and out of reach.

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