How to Select A Safe Cot for Your Baby

Fol­low­ing the news of the US cot recall par­ents are seek­ing cot safety guide­lines. Mind­ful Mum asked guest author, Sarah Jane Matthews, owner of British nurs­ery fur­ni­ture com­pany Bam­bizi, for her top ten tips for select­ing a safe cot for your baby.

Although you might rea­son­ably expect all cots to be safe, they are respon­si­ble for almost 20 per­cent of injuries to chil­dren in their first year of life. It is not cur­rently a legal require­ment for man­u­fac­tur­ers to test their nurs­ery fur­ni­ture to any safety stan­dard — which makes it dif­fi­cult to know how safe your cot really is. How­ever, if you fol­low my ten top tips, you’ll all sleep more easily.

1. Read the label. Cots which carry the British Stan­dards Insti­tu­tion (BSI) num­ber BS EN 716 – 2:1996 com­ply with required safety stan­dards. If a prod­uct meets these stan­dards, the label should say so.
2. Buy new if pos­si­ble. Cots made before the advent of safety stan­dards are more likely to have safety prob­lems. Used cots may have splin­ters, lead paint, slats that are too far apart, or metal rails and bars that are bent or damaged.
3. Get hands-on! Run your hand along the cot and check for rough sur­faces, sharp edges, points and pro­tru­sions. If a cot has been tested to British Stan­dards, there should be a 3mm radius applied to all the exte­rior cor­ners and edges.
4. Shake it. Give the cot a good shake in the shop. If it wob­bles or rat­tles or the frame seems flimsy and loose, it might be poorly and cheaply made.
5. Check the catches. The drop side of a cot will be opened and closed thou­sands of times, and must lock in place when it is closed. It should also take two move­ments to put the drop side down so that the child can’t open it.
6. Watch for footholds. Most cot-related injuries are the result of chil­dren falling. To pre­vent this, there should be no footholds, between 1.5cm and 5cm above the mat­tress base. Cot bumpers should be removed once your baby is mobile.
7. Take a tape mea­sure. Although it’s unusual, small fin­gers and limbs can get caught in gaps, and head and upper body entrap­ment can cause death by suffocation. A cot should be at least 49.5cm deep so your baby can’t climb out, and the bars should be ver­ti­cal with spac­ing of 5cm to 6.5cm between them. Watch out for spaces of 3-5cm (which can trap limbs), and gaps of more than 9.5cm (which can trap heads).
8. Buy the mat­tress with the cot. That way you can ensure that they are a good fit. Accord­ing to British Stan­dards, a cot mat­tress should fit snugly with gaps of no more than 2cm between the cen­tred mat­tress and the sides or ends of the cot.
9. Reg­is­ter your cot. Every new cot comes with a prod­uct reg­is­tra­tion card, which you should fill in and return. This will ensure that you are kept informed if safety issues arise with your product.
10. Call in the assem­bly crew. Cots are typ­i­cally deliv­ered unassem­bled, and assem­bly tends to be a two-person job. If you are unsure or ner­vous about assem­bling your cot, ask the retailer to send a qual­i­fied assem­bly crew to your home. This might seem expen­sive but it can give you valu­able peace of mind.

About Bam­bizi

Bam­bizi is a spe­cial­ist in styl­ish, prac­ti­cal and safe nurs­ery fur­ni­ture made in Britain. Bam­bizi cots and nurs­ery fur­ni­ture are made using the finest tim­ber and organic mate­ri­als to cre­ate fur­ni­ture that is beau­ti­ful, nat­ural and durable. For more infor­ma­tion visit Bam­bizi. Bam­bizi fur­ni­ture is tested to British Stan­dards, mak­ing it some of the safest nurs­ery fur­ni­ture cur­rently being sold.

Author: Sarah Jane Matthews

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