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Buying essential baby equipment

You’ll need to buy a range of specialised equipment for your baby, including plates, bowls, cups, highchairs and baby-seats.

What to look for when you’re buying

Check for the seal of approval from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. You may also want to check the product against the additional voluntary guidelines that have been established by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association.

Some good general safety guidelines are:

Pass your hands over the equipment: You’re checking for any rough surfaces or areas that could catch on your baby’s sensitive skin.

Think about different conditions: Are there any surfaces on the product that could become dangerously hot if exposed to the sun for too long?

Play close attention to moving parts: Look carefully at all the hinges, springs and moving parts. Are there any places where a finger, toe, foot or hand could become caught?

Look closely at small parts: Examine small parts, straps and anything else that’s small that could be pulled off, chewed and swallowed.

Plates and bowls

It’s a good idea to choose small plastic containers with lids when your baby first starts on solids. Buy lots of them and make sure they’re able to withstand the microwave, freezer and dishwasher. If your baby develops a strong interest in throwing food onto the floor, try using bowls with suction cups on the bottom.

Forks and spoons

You’ll need to buy special spoons with a shallow bowl and a long handle to reach into jars. Some spoons are heat sensitive and will change colour if your baby’s food is too hot.

At some point your baby will develop an interest in feeding herself, so it’s worth having a spare spoon to hand she can use. Choose utensils with wide or looped handles she’ll be able to easily get hold of.

Cups

Any time from six months of age your baby will come off her bottle and move onto a trainer cup. Choose a cup that’s easy to sip from and that doesn’t leak.

Highchairs

Choose a highchair with a wide base to help keep it steady. Make sure the model you buy has a good harness, and fasten it firmly to prevent your baby from climbing or falling out.

Ensure that the mechanism that keeps the chair open can be securely locked when the chair’s in use. Check for any problematic hinges, clips or any other surfaces that could cause problems for your baby.

Wooden highchairs

Some parents choose to use wooden high chairs because they wear very well and can be passed on through the family. Some people also find them more attractive to have in their home than a plastic chair.

They can be harder to clean, and may not come with a harness. Also, a wooden seat may not fold away quite as well as a plastic chair, so if you’ve got limited storage space a wooden chair could be a more difficult option.

Plastic highchairs

Modern chairs tend to have a wider array of settings and adjustments that can be made, and they’re always easy to clean. But you may feel a modern chair lacks a certain stability or isn’t as durable as a wooden chair.

Booster seats

You can buy booster seats that strap onto a dining chair, allowing your baby to eat at the table with you. This can be a good choice if you live in a small space, as the seat can be easily unstrapped and put away in a cupboard in between meals. They’re more portable and flexible than highchairs, but may not be as stable or comfortable.

Clip-on chairs

You can also buy clip-on chairs that fit on to your table. These fold flat for easy storage, and are also quite cheap. It’s also important to make sure the table you attach the chair to is extremely stable. Make sure the seat is very securely attached before you put your baby into it.

Car seats

Drivers have a legal responsibility to ensure passengers aged under 17 are appropriately restrained, so whenever you travel in a car with your baby or young baby you’re legally obliged to use a car seat. Make sure the one you choose conforms to the United Nations standard, ECE Regulation 44-03. To be certain it conforms, look for an E-mark on the chair. The seat must be suitable for the child’s weight and height, rather than their age.

Remember the following safety points when fitting a chair:

• Incorrect use of car seats is dangerous as well as illegal.
• It’s safer to fit the child seat in the rear of the car.
• You should never fit a rearward-facing baby seat in the front passenger seat of the car if there is an airbag fitted.
• Make sure the seat is not difficult to use or confusing to operate, as you may need to use the seat in more than one car.

Restraints Data Table

Type of Restraint	Weight Range	Approximate Age Range
Group 0 Rearward-facing seat	For babies up to 22lbs	Birth to 6-9 months
Group 0 plus Rearward-facing seat	For babies up to 29lbs	Birth to 12-15 months
Group 1 Forward-facing seat	20-40lbs	9 months to 4 years
Group 2 Booster seat	33-55lbs	4-6 years
Group 3 Booster cushion	48-79lbs	6-11 years

Cribs

When buying a crib check that it’s portable, storable and stable. Make sure that the mattress fits well. If you can get two fingers between the mattress and the side of the crib, your baby’s head could become wedged there.

The slats of the crib should be less than eight inches apart so your baby’s head cannot get caught between them, and you should avoid headboards with cutouts or decorations that could trap the head or neck.

Check for hinges and screws, and make sure they’re set well out of reach. Look out for a smooth finish with non-toxic paint, in case any small chips of paint ever make their way into your baby’s mouth.