A number of child injuries involving products such as toys, nursery furniture and equipment, occur each year. These injuries can occur due to reasons including flaws in the design of a product, poor maintenance, failure of the product and/or incorrect use of the product.
When purchasing nursery products, it’s not only the colour and style that you have to consider – child safety should be the priority.
Some nursery furniture products including household cots and prams have mandatory Australian standards which they are required to meet, while others such as change tables, high chairs and bassinets don’t have to comply. Mandatory standards are designed to help protect children, however they do not mean that a product is 100% safe – it is still important that any warnings and instructions that come with the product are followed and that children are supervised while using the product.
If a product poses a safety risk or is non-compliant with a mandatory standard or ban, it may need to be recalled. The best way to keep up to date with product recalls is to visit the ACCC’s Product Safety Australia website page and sign up to receive product recall updates.
The resources below provide some practical information and advice to help you choose, set up and use nursery furniture products safely.
The ACCC’s ‘Keeping Baby Safe’ resource provides information and advice on what to look for when purchasing infant and nursery products (including things such as relevant Australian Standards, safety features that you should look for etc.) and safe habits to consider when using these products.
CHOICE undertake independent testing of a range of baby products and provide recommendations on which products you should purchase for your baby
