Bassinet

The short definition

A bassinet is a small sleep space for the first few months. It should have a firm flat mattress and a stable base that is not tilted. The sides should let air through.

What it actually means

It is a bed, and a small one. The reason most people buy one is that it fits next to a bed where a cot would not.

Bub should sleep in their own safe sleep space in the same room as a parent or carer for at least the first 6 months. A bassinet is one way to do that.

It is outgrown fast. A bassinet should not be used once bub can roll over, or pull themselves up the side, or is over three months old.

The same word is used for the flat, bed-shaped attachment that clips onto a pram frame. That one is for going out, not for overnight sleep.

Where Dadda will hear it

In the shop, from the hospital, and from relatives who will offer him one that has been in the shed since 1994.

Not to be confused with

• A cot. A cot is bigger and lasts years. Both are covered by the same Australian law for infant sleep products. Neither is safer than the other just for being a cot or a bassinet.
• A pram bassinet. Clipping onto a pram frame does not make it a bed for overnight sleep. A pram is never a substitute for a safe cot.

Also look at

• Read the full item: bassinet
• Read the full item: cot and mattress