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Kids Health Info

Safety: Nursery furniture and baby walkers

  • Every year, about 400 Victorian children need hospital treatment for injuries related to infant and nursery products that are:

    • poorly designed;
    • modified;
    • not being used according to instructions.

    Babies and children spend a lot of their time sleeping, so it is important to set up the nursery or bedroom with safety in mind. Consider carefully what nursery furniture to buy, how to heat the room during the colder months and whether it is safe to use a portable cot when travelling. Bunk beds are not safe for children aged under nine. 
    Additionally, prams and strollers should only be used to transport your baby or toddler around, rather than as a substitute for a cot for sleeping. Falls from prams and strollers are common and occasionally young babies are suffocated. It is vital that you never leave a baby or child unattended while in a pram or stroller.

     Avoid buying, borrowing or accepting any second-hand products that lack mandatory labels and safety features. Using these products increases the risk of serious  injury and possibly death. 

    Source: ‘Safe Products for your Baby,’ Consumer Affairs.

    For advice for parents and carers of children from birth to five years of age, please see our Growing Safely brochure.

    For more information

    Product Safety Australia (a division of the ACCC) www.productsafety.gov.au or 1300 302 502 
    Consumer Affairs Victoria - Toy & Nursery Safety Line 1300 364 894  
    ‘SIDS and Kids’ in your state or territory www.sidsandkids.org or 1300 308 307
    Check for product recalls at www.recalls.gov.au

     

    Reviewed 27/4/15

     


Disclaimer

This information is intended to support, not replace, discussion with your doctor or healthcare professionals. The authors of these consumer health information handouts have made a considerable effort to ensure the information is accurate, up to date and easy to understand. The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne accepts no responsibility for any inaccuracies, information perceived as misleading, or the success of any treatment regimen detailed in these handouts. Information contained in the handouts is updated regularly and therefore you should always check you are referring to the most recent version of the handout. The onus is on you, the user, to ensure that you have downloaded the most up-to-date version of a consumer health information handout.