Changing table or chest of drawers - we solve the dilemma for the interior of a children's room

The purchase of any goods for newborns always causes a lot of questions for future parents. It is not easy to create a comfortable, convenient, safe and beautiful environment in the room for the baby, in which it will be pleasant for parents to be in and the child will be interested. Considering that safety, beauty and environmental friendliness of goods are inevitably associated with additional expenses, the correct distribution of the budget is another problem for parents. In this publication, we will try to deal with the difficult issue of choosing a changing table or its possible alternatives.

Why do I need a changing table?

Before the birth of a child, future parents have to solve many problems, make many purchases and preparations. In the general whirlwind of endless acquisitions, the thought of a possible saving involuntarily creeps in. But the question is whether the family, where the baby will soon appear, needs a changing table, there can only be one answer - of course, it is needed. Only at first glance it may seem that on the changing table or dresser you will only change the baby, and this is a couple of minutes. And this process will last less than a year. For some, the use of a changing table or board ends even before the baby reaches six months of age. But even such a period is several months of constant use. On the changing table, you will not only change the baby’s clothes, but also do gymnastics and massage, clean the nose, ears and trim the nails, treat the baby’s delicate skin and perform many other procedures and even games.

If you imagine that all these actions will need to be performed several times a day, not on the mother’s convenient growth plane, on the changing table or on the carrying board, but on the bed or sofa (depending on the layout of the children's room or the absence of a separate room for the baby), then it is clear that no back will be able to withstand such a load. So, a swaddling surface is necessary, any experienced parent can convince expectant mothers and fathers. Consider the variations of creating a convenient, safe and ergonomic place for changing (and not only) the baby.

Options for creating a swaddling surface

Changing table

Modern stores selling children's furniture and accessories for it offer us a wide selection of goods designed for customers with different preferences and wallet sizes. When choosing a changing table, you need to pay attention to the following aspects:

• the presence of sides is an important design criterion that affects the level of product safety (until the child begins to actively roll over, the sides will be able to keep him on the changing surface even if the mother is distracted or reduces the level of vigilance);
• if the model is equipped with wheels, i.e. the changing table is portable, then they must have reliable locks;
• the child’s position on the table will depend on its shape and size, the most convenient option is to place the baby with her legs forward to her mother (in this position it is convenient to dress the baby, do gymnastics and other manipulations). If the child is lying sideways (along the table), then changing his diaper and clothes is not so convenient, but it is easy to clean the ears and nose;
• from the point of view of environmental friendliness of the product, the performance material plays an important role. Ideally, the changing table should be made of wood, which does not harm humans and the environment, is able to "breathe" and looks great in any interior;
• the table should be coated with a special mattress or a changing pad with a surface made of a material that does not slip, repels moisture and is easy to clean;
• significantly facilitates the process of using the table the presence of pockets, shelves and other types of storage systems that allow you to keep "at hand" all the necessary items of hygiene and care for the baby.

There are models of changing tables designed for use in the bathroom. When choosing such products, it is necessary to pay attention to the water-repellent properties of the frame material. Most often, such models have a built-in bath. The advantage of this symbiosis is that parents will not have to bend down to bathe the baby and you can immediately shift the baby from the font to the changing surface - to wipe and put on. The lack of models with a built-in bath in a short life. Usually after 3-4 months, babies no longer fit in a small font, and they still cannot swim in a sitting position.

No less attention should be paid to the size of the table. The height of the changing surface is often adjusted in many modern models. If there is no such function, then it is necessary to proceed from your own growth, go to the table and imagine that you are carrying out manipulations to care for the baby. Take the choice of this parameter very seriously, because you will need to spend a lot of time over the swaddling surface and it is better not to create a load on the lumbar spine.

A changing table is rarely used for more than a year. Most often, the use of this convenient device ends much earlier, especially if the child is large or very active. Children grow very quickly, so it’s better to buy a table, which is called growth. At first, for conditional fixation of the baby, it will be possible to use a mattress with a rigid base.

When choosing a changing table, you will also need to find out what maximum weight the child can support. Of course, it is impossible in advance to know how actively your baby will develop and how to quickly gain weight, but it is better to have at least a small margin for the baby’s maximum permissible weight for using the product.

The main disadvantages of changing tables is a short life. Unlike a chest of drawers, which can be used for as long as you want (until the product itself has exhausted its resource), a changing table rarely serves anyone for more than a year. At the same time, it occupies some room space, which is extremely essential in the conditions of small-sized apartments.

Changing board

In fact, this piece of furniture is a changing device and is a board that is either tied with an easily cleaned cloth and has soft sides, or can serve as the basis for installing a mattress, and is equipped with wooden (latex) sides. Boards are available in different versions and sizes. Most have a length equal to the width of cribs (the concept of a standard in this case is very vague, domestic and foreign manufacturers often differ in parameters and it is necessary to choose a “under the bed” board in each case). For small-sized dwellings in which all functional segments are located in one room, this option of saving usable space is very relevant.

The undoubted advantage of changing boards is their low cost (compared to tables and chests of drawers). Given that this interior item is purchased for several months, it will have time to amortize its relatively low price.

But the disadvantages of such alternatives to the changing table exist. If the board is located between the sides of the crib, then you will often need to move it to put the child to bed, and then return it to change clothes or perform other manipulations. But, we repeat again, in the conditions of small areas of the home, this option of castling will be a small obstacle.

Chest of drawers or mattress

One of the most expensive, but at the same time durable options for organizing a changing surface for a baby is to purchase a chest of drawers with sides or a folding part for changing, as well as a conventional storage system on which a changing mat or board is installed. The advantage of this approach is that you can use your chest of drawers and purchase only a mattress with a rigid base, which is significantly cheaper than a full changing table.

Obviously, a storage system such as a chest of drawers will be used for many years. First, you place in the bowels of the drawers all the necessary items for caring for the baby, over time they are replaced with clothes, toys, books and other items necessary for the growth and development of the child.

Among the shortcomings of this method of providing a children's room with a changing surface, one can single out only the relatively high cost of a piece of furniture and the need to purchase a mattress or a changing board with sides. But on sale there are many models that are already equipped with sides and have a folding surface for changing. Subsequently, when the need for swaddling devices disappears, the hinged board can be removed from the hinges or simply left folded, and the sides can be used solely as a surface limitation for storing toys, for example.

Given the long-term use of the chest of drawers, you need to purchase it based on the general nature of the room, the chosen design style and color palette. In this case, there are two ways to go - the first involves the harmonious implementation of the chest of drawers in the overall image of the room, the use of neutral color solutions and a common style of performance for all furniture. The second way is expressed in creating an accent - color, textured or stylistic. The easiest way is to choose a bright color of the chest of drawers, which will be located on the background of neutral wall decoration and similar solutions for the rest of the furniture in the children's room.

There is a swaddling chest model that is part of the crib. On the one hand, such an ensemble is very convenient - it is easy to pull the baby out of the crib and just a few centimeters from the berth to put it on the swaddling surface. But on the other hand, the whole structure is rather bulky, not every children's room is capable of accommodating the entire set without damage to the rational distribution of usable space. Within a few months, the need to use a changing surface will disappear, and after a couple of years the child will not fit in the crib and the entire structure will need to be replaced with a larger bed and storage systems. But each parent has his own ideas about the comfort of the child and his convenience, and therefore such models are quite popular.

Something between the dresser and the secretary is a shallow shelving unit with a folding surface for changing. When assembled, it looks like a conventional storage system, takes up little space due to its shallow depth and allows you to place a large number of items and various devices on shelves under and above the changing surface. When choosing such a model, the maximum allowable weight for the folding board will be an important factor, since it does not have supports on the floor or other surface.

Where to install a changing surface?

There is no definite answer to this question - too many factors affect the choice of place for installing a table or dresser for changing (everything is clear with a changing board - it will be located most of the time between the sides of the crib or will always lie on the surface of the dresser). If the installation of a changing table or chest of drawers is carried out in the room for the newborn, then the choice of a suitable zone is simple. Experts recommend placing the swaddling surface near the window, because you will need to be able to examine the child in detail, clean his ears, nose and cut corners, and in good natural light this is easiest to do.

But in Russian apartments (and most private houses), heating radiators are most often located under the windows, which means that for more than six months there will be an increased temperature and dry air in this zone. This means that you should be guided by the rules of ergonomics for installing desks - we install a swaddling surface at the wall perpendicular to the window on the right side, in case you are right-handed (so that sunlight falls on the changing table on the left).

In addition to being located near the window as a source of sunlight, it is obvious that the changing table or any alternative to it should be close to the crib. But in this case, a lot depends on the dimensions of the room, layout, location and number of window and door openings.