Protecting your newborn - Buying appropriate baby furniture

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Author: jonathan swift

Article source: http://www.articledeshboard.com/. Used with author's permission.

Make sure to place a functioning smoke detector in your child's nursery or outside the door. When your child starts to wander it's important that any spare electrical outlet is sealed with a cheap plastic plug protector to prevent your inquisitive child from sticking his fingers. It's also a sensible idea to situate bedroom furniture in the way to stop your child from discovering outlets.

Your child's cot is the piece of nursery furniture where she will spend the most time during her early months. Cots are also one of the leading causes of baby harm and death so it is essential to ensure your cot abides by the recommended safety regulations. Your cot must be deep enough so your baby is unable to climb out. Check that the spacing between the rails is not capable of permitting the child to trap their head.Ensure that cots with lowering sides secure automatically and cannot be unlocked by baby. It's important that used cots are inspected thoroughly for wear and tear of fastenings and fixtures and that you purchase a brand new mattress for your child. The mattress must have a gap of not more than 4cm around the outside of the cot to stop your child from becoming trapped.

Remember the 'back to sleep' advice designed to prevent sudden infant death syndrome and always lay your child down on his back. If you have a nightlight in your nursery, place it away from the cot so the bed clothes doesn't create a fire and avoid locating the light near curtains, plastic, or other items that may spark from the heat.

When creating your nursery plan ensure no furniture is located near windows, when your child learns to stand they might try to climb up and have a peek out. Never place small nursery furniture your toddler one may use to climb on or furniture like cots or changing tables in front of windows to stop her from possibly falling out. Window locks are a perfect way to guarantee your little one's windows can only be opened by you. If you have to open the window to permit ventilation make sure the window is secured and never open more than 5cm, there are fastenings on the market that stop windows from being opened any more than this.

Another piece of baby furniture responsible for many infant injuries is the changing station. Always fasten your child firmly with the changing station's safety straps and never leave her on the table unattended. Changing equipment must be positioned beyond the child's reach in a drawer of on a shelf. Babies and toddlers are naturally inquisitive and nappy sacks or rash creams are potentially harmful.

Rather worryingly one of the most common causes of harm in a child's room are curtains and blinds. It's vital that short curtains are used that small children can't become trapped in and that the pull cords on Venetian blinds are kept short. When using blinds make sure the cords are fastened up to keep them short and are never within a child's reach.

Select your toy storage carefully. Seek out toy chests that have no lid or have fabric. Boxes are tempting places for toddlers to climb into so it's important they won't become shut in. Drawers are also potentially harmful and ideally should have a safety close action. Cupboard and wardrobe doors are also a potential hazard to your youngster and you must consider fitting child safe catches to stop your child from injuring themselves

By following sound recommendations and making sure their furniture complys the European standards new parents can produce safe, warm and welcoming bedrooms for children and babies for their new baby.

Gary is an expert on contemporary nursery furniture and writes for a variety of sites including his blog.With lots of experience Gary is able to give assistance on a wide range of issues from furnishing a nursery to a humble changing mat.