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New parents, particularly first-time parents, are extremely diligent about safety around their infants or toddlers. You babyproof medicine cabinets, cleaning supplies, doorknobs, and kitchen cabinets. But do you babyproof your furniture?
It is important to consider how a piece of furniture might cause injury before you purchase it. Doing so will allow you to think about whether or not the furniture is safe or can be made safe with proper precautions. The last thing you want to do when buying a dresser is getting one that can be easily toppled and cause injury.
Here are a few of the safety features you should look for when shopping for your next dresser.
Able to be firmly mounted to the wall
Most heavier dressers today come with mounting brackets so you can firmly attach them to the wall to prevent toppling over, particularly onto a child. But toddlers are small enough that even lighter weight dressers can pose a serious hazard if not mounted to the wall. If you aren’t sure whether or not a dresser can be mounted, you should probably look for a different design.
Dresser mirrors should be mounted to both wall and dresser
Dressers that come with large, heavy mirrors always mount to the dresser itself. But this might not be enough stability if you have small children. Mounting the dresser mirror to the wall as well gives it more stability so that it can’t fall if the dresser is rocked. Most mirrors are heavy enough to be mounted in the same way as the dresser, with similar hardware purchased at your local home improvement retail store.
Large and heavy bottom drawer
It is no secret that toddlers love to climb and explore their surroundings. Anticipate the behavior by making it difficult for them to climb up the dresser using the drawers. A particularly heavy cedar drawer with hard-to-pull hardware keeps toddlers from having that first step needed to climb their way to the top. Having a cedar drawer is also very helpful for storing sweaters, throws, and other knits safely and protected from moths and other factors that can ruin these items.
Choosing safe accompanying bedroom décor
When you get a dresser for less, you can spend a bit more of your budget on the perfect décor. If you love to layer textures and dress up the furniture in your bedroom to reflect your tastes and passions, make sure that you are keeping your child safe by avoiding some potentially dangerous mistakes.
When choosing décor to dress up your bedroom dresser, keep the following safety hazards in mind:
Don’t use runners that hang low enough for a child to reach when standing on the nearest moveable furniture in the room. They can climb up and pull down everything on the dresser onto themselves, causing injury.
Don’t place heavy items on the dresser that can topple if the dresser is shaken.
Toddlers often don’t pay attention to what is in front of them, and they could run
into the dresser, knocking things down on their head or body.
Start browsing for your next bedroom dresser with these safety tips in mind to find the perfect dresser for your bedroom.
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