Baby Furniture Safety Guidelines

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Follow These Baby Furniture Safety Guidelines to Make Sure That the Nursery Furniture You Choose for Your Baby Doesn't Cause Any Accidents in Your Baby Nursery

Furniture safety should be a primary concern in the baby nursery, therefore you should select your furniture items with baby protection in mind.

One would think that when it comes to specifically designed baby room furniture, safety would be guaranteed, but this is not always the case.

Each year, in the US alone, 92,000 babies sustain injuries, severe enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room, in incidents related to badly designed baby nursery furniture. Accidents can also occur when baby furniture is used incorrectly.

It is important that you are aware of the infant safety hazards associated with the incorrect use of baby furniture, as well as, the use of baby nursery furniture items that are not well designed for their intended purpose.

Follow the baby furniture safety guidelines on this page to ensure that your baby's nursery is safe and sound.

Baby Furniture Safety Standards

Most of the following infant safety guidelines are designed to prevent accidents from occurring when your fragile little newborn suddenly mutates into a mischievous, mobile munchkin!

All baby nursery furniture should be placed away from windows. (Baby will soon be crawling and climbing. Don't give him any opportunity to climb up to the nursery window.)
All nursery furniture corners should have corner bumpers.
Look for entrapment hazards on all baby nursery furniture.

Small fingers can get caught in holes between 5 and 12mm; arms and legs in gaps between 30 and 50mm; and heads in gaps greater than 85mm. (Head and/or upper body entrapment can result in death by asphyxiation.)
Dressers, armoires and bookcases should be strapped to the wall with baby furniture safety wall straps to prevent tipping. Furniture, even wide dressers, can be surprisingly tippable.
All drawers should have safety latches installed.

Crawling babies and toddlers open drawers and use them as a ladder to reach items higher up. The open drawer plus the weight of the baby can cause furniture to tip. Drawer latches also prevent trapped little fingers.

Look for latches that are easy to use and install, but that are sturdy enough to withstand pulls and tugs from toddlers.
Changing tables should have safety rails, preferably a gallery rail all the way around, and safety straps.

Please note that rails and straps are not a substitute for your hands on attention. Serious head injuries have resulted from babies rolling over and falling to the floor - and believe me - it can happen in a split second.

You should always have at least one hand on your baby. Drawers or shelves should be easily accessible without leaving baby unattended. If possible place the baby changing table against the wall and stand in front of your baby during changing.

Use a contoured changing pad, preferably with contour on at least three sides. It helps to prevent baby from rolling - Extra height contour pads are available to provide greater infant safety.
Make sure that the doors of your armoire close securely, with locks if possible. Door handles or knobs should be high enough, to be out of reach of wandering fingers. You don't want them getting pinched when baby starts playing "Who can make the most noise by slamming the armoire door"!
Preferably find a toy box with no lid.
If the box does have a lid, it should be lightweight and removable.
The toy box should have a support that will hold the hinged lid open.
Be sure to send in the product registration card received with your item of baby nursery furniture. This will ensure that you are notified in the event of a recall of that furniture item. For the latest baby furniture recall news, click here.

I urge you to take nursery safety seriously and give your delicate, little newborn the environment she deserves so that she can sleep safely. The best way to make sure you have all infant safety issues covered is to use a nursery safety checklist when you are setting up your baby nursery.

There are far more baby nursery safety issues than those covered above.

The best way to make sure you have everything covered is to use a nursery safety checklist when you are setting up your nursery.

For a complete checklist of precautions you need to take in the nursery to protect your baby click here...

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Disclaimer:

The above baby furniture safety information, is presented by Creative Baby Nursery Rooms for the purpose of educating mothers about baby furniture safety issues.

This information is accurate to the best of our knowledge but we make no guarantees in this regard.

We believe that the information provided on this site can help prevent baby furniture accidents, however, an infant's safety is the responsibility of its caregiver alone.

Creative Baby Nursery Rooms accepts no responsibility for any baby furniture accident, which may occur as a result of any information on this site.

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