Since the introduction of a mandatory safety standard for cots in 1998, CHOICE tests have shown a real trend towards improvements in safety. Most cots in each test meet all the key safety requirements, and the cots that fail usually do so only by small margins.
Moving on up
Children are ready to move onto a bed when they can:
- stand confidently in a cot
- shake the sides of the cot
- start to attempt to climb out.
Making this change at the right time will help to prevent injuries associated with the child falling out of the cot. Most cots come with a junior bed conversion kit that will increase its longevity, although sometimes these parts are sold as an optional extra (see the table).
Brands and models tested
This test includes results for 10 new models. Previously tested models still currently available are included in the table, and we separately list the results for models previously tested but now discontinued.
Newly tested:
- Babyhood Maya
- Bebe Care Hollie
- Bertini Miko Cot
- Bloom Alma Papa Crib (A)
- Boori Country Paddington Cot 3 in 1
- Boori Urbane Sleigh Cot 3 in 1
- Childcare Harper
- Grotime C50 Hadley (B)
- Tasman Eco Sleigh (C)
- Troll Sun Cot Bed
(A) This model is a timber folding cot and isn’t included in the comparison table.
(B) This cot has been discontinued and superseded by the C50 Hadley10.
(C) This cot has been discontinued and superseded with a new version of the same name, Tasman Eco Sleigh.
Previously tested (including models now discontinued):
- Babyhood Amani
- Babyhood Georgia Sleigh
- Babyhood Luna V2
- Babyhood Milano
- Babyhood Qtee
- BéBé Care Coventry XT
- BéBé Care Surrey Cot Slat End
- Boori Classic
- Boori Madison 3 in 1
- Boori Matilda
- Boori Pioneer
- Boori Urbane Hamilton 3 in 1
- Bootiq Annabelle
- Bootiq Brijette
- Bootiq Madison
- Cariboo Q03
- Cheeky Bub Joey
- Cheekybub Scallywag
- Childcare Balmoral
- Childcare Durham XT
- Childcare Grange XT
- Childcare Harbour XT
- Childcare Lullabye XT
- Childcare Sandford XT
- Childcare Sussex XT
- Delta Jasmine
- Fisher-Price Newborn-to-Toddler cot bed
- Funtastic Humphrey's Corner 2 in 1
- Grotime C34 Babe
- Grotime C48 Ritz
- Grotime C49 Harriet
- Grotime Tempo
- Grotime Venus
- Ikea Gulliver
- IKEA Hensvik
- IKEA Hermelin
- IKEA Leksvik
- IKEA Mammut
- IKEA Sniglar
- IKEA Sundvik
- King Parrot Byron
- Kingparrot Daintree
- Kingparrot Scout
- Kingparrot Yarra
- Leander Walnut
- Love N Care Classic
- Love N Care Euro
- Love N Care Florida II
- Love N Care Linda
- Love N Care Regal
- Love N Care Sereno
- Love N Care Vogue
- Mamas & Papas Orchard Sleigh
- Mothercare Summer Oak
- Mothercare Takeley
- Mother's Choice Bellevue
- Mother's Choice Melrose
- Mother's Choice Orlando
- Nature's Purest 91550
- Regent Ascot
- Regent Mayfair
- Regent Nu Gembrook
- Regent Sherbrooke
- Stokke Sleepi
- Sunbury Dreamtime C102
- Sunbury Lombok C124
- Swallow Jessie
- Tasman Eco Capri
- Tasman Eco Modena
- Tasman Eco Siena
- Tasman Eco Tuscany
- Tasman Elegance Verona
- Zuzu Serenity
Notes – the Kingparrot brand, owned by Boori, has been phased out and rebranded as Boori Urbane. The Regent brand, owned by Regent Nursery Furniture, is discontinued as the company went out of business in July 2012.
How we test
Safety Our testers, Antonio Bonacruz and Matthew Tung, assess each cot against the mandatory safety clauses from the Australian Standard AS/NZS 2172:2003. Only cots that meet these requirements are recommended. They also test them against some non-mandatory clauses that add to the cot’s safety, such as tests for finger traps. These are not considered critical so cots that fail these other clauses may still be recommended.
Information They assess the cot’s instructions, labels and markings against the requirements of the standard. Clear and correct information, such as maintenance and usage instructions and date of manufacture, help make the cot safer to use. However, we do not consider the information requirements as critical as the safety tests, so cots that fail these requirements may still be recommended or worth considering.
Setting standards
We have reconsidered how we rate cots. In the past we took a fairly hard line; even a failure of information requirements was not good enough and we would rate such a cot (assuming it passed all safety tests) as worth considering rather than recommended. We also took the view that finger entrapments were enough of a hazard to warrant not recommending a cot.
Given that the mandatory requirements for cots do not include the finger entrapment clauses – there are no indications these are causing significant injury problems – and that most information failures are due to incorrect formatting or minor omissions (and don’t in themselves make the cot unsafe), we have revised our ratings so that a cot that passes all safety tests but fails some information requirements can still be recommended. A cot which passes all the key safety tests but has some finger entrapment hazards (which usually only occur in hard-to-reach areas, and may be covered up when a mattress is put in) is worth considering.
Reputable cot manufacturers and distributors (like the brands tested here) take safety seriously and have their products certified to the standard. Nevertheless sometimes manufacturing problems or inconsistencies arise and can result in some samples not meeting the standard. In most cases, the manufacturers rapidly address the problems we find.
