Baby nursery decoration is not just about creating a welcoming, happy environment for your little bundle of joy. It’s essential to think about all the safety issues surrounding how you decorate this room. Here are the most important things to consider as part of your preparations for life with a baby:

1. Blackout curtains or blinds are popular these days, because experts say that a darkened room helps newborns sleep better. However, you must be careful that there are no loose cords hanging anywhere near your infant. It is horribly easy for one of these cords to get wound round a baby’s neck, causing unthinkable consequences. Cut the cords, or at least tie them back securely.

2. Long items such as curtains that are trailing on the floor are especially dangerous if these curtains have blackout lining, beacause it means a fall in the dark.

3. Rugs. If you have a large nursery, a rug can be an attractive addition to the decorative interior. However, it may be worth avoiding if you are more pushed for space, as you could easily trip over the rug as you cross the floor in a hurry in the middle of the night. The question to ask yourself is this: Can I position it so it is not in my path from the door to the cot?

4. Wall sockets – everyone knows that these can be dangerous for babies if they get any fingers near the electric supply, and socket covers are widely used these days to deal with this. However, wall sockets have another risk – that of infants cracking their heads on the sharp corners of low positioned sockets. Removing the socket is impractical, so move the cot or another large item in front so that it blocks access for little one.

5. SIDS – or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is a worry for every parent. Because they are thought to block air flow around the infant, cot bumpers are not advised for the under one’s. If your baby hurts their head on the cot bars, try this novel solution: if your cot mattress fits the travel cot, just use that instead. The sides are much softer.

To sum up, safety in the nursery is mostly a question of common sense. If it’s your first baby, don’t be overwhelmed by worries that will very probably never materialise. When you start to feel anxious, do something positive to make the nursery – and the baby nursery decoration – as safe as possible. A checklist of safe behavior is a good place to start.