Children's Bed Guards - What To Bear in Mind When Choosing Yours

Bed guards (or rails) are designed to stop a young child, usually aged around 2 yrs old, from falling out of bed. When a young child moves from a cot, with sides, to a bed without sides they are prone to rolling out and so it sensible to invest in a side rail to prevent this.

Things you may consider:

* The type of bed base you have eg solid base or slatted. Some guards that attach on the side of the bed will not attach to a slatted base.

* Do you need a specific colour or finish? Guards are available in a range of colours eg blue, pink, white and finishes eg wood, mesh or foam.

* Is your child very active at night time? If so you may want to consider a guard that stretches the length of the bed (and even along the bottom too).

* Would you like to be able to take your bed guard out of the home? If so you need to opt for a lightweight guard eg a foam one that can be folded into your luggage.

* Does your child have special needs? If so they may well be very sensitive to having a side put onto their bed when they really want to be a big boy/girl so may be better to choose a guard that either sits under the sheets or rises only a minimum amount off the bed.

* Are you conce
ed about your child banging their head against the guard or getting trapped between the guard and edge of the bed? In reality very few children bang their heads on guards but if you are conce
ed then don't choose a wooden one. The subject of entrapment is key and all bed guards should carry a statement to show they have been tested and passed the UK Safety Standard for Bed Guards. Passing of this standard ensures that entrapment cannot occur.

* The prices of bed guards vary considerably from around 10GPB for a foam guard to 50GBP for a wooden one. If you need one on either side or have more than one child then cost must be a major consideration.