Travel cot guide: What to look out for when buying a travel cot
A last-minute trip to visit your grandparents at the weekend? A spontaneous short holiday? Travelling with a child presents some challenges. The right equipment and planning make relaxed travel and spontaneous short breaks possible. The decisive factor for a successful trip is the right travel cot. With the right model of travel cot in your luggage, you can not only travel comfortably, but also sleep very relaxed.
In our travel cot guide, we look at the questions: Which factors you should necessarily consider when choosing, which types of travel cots are available and which accessories can be considered as a useful addition for your trip. For example, if you need a changing mat, a travel cot with a changing mat is perfect. If you have a small car, transportability and practicality are important for every journey. The safety aspect should also be considered at this point. Sleeping comfort and convenience through a high-quality mattress should also be a given.
Which bed is suitable for my child?
Whether it is a space-saving permanent solution or a mobile bed with mattress for travelling, the right travel cot for a child or baby makes every journey easier. The most important criteria when buying include:
- Quick, logical and easy assembly and disassembly.
- Weight
- Size
- Transport conditions
- Comfort, mattress and padding
- Safety and stability
- Quality of material and workmanship
- Accessories such as changing mat
Before making a purchase decision, you should think about the purpose of use. Of course, you have different requirements for a travel cot for permanent use than for a cot that is only used when travelling. There are countless versions of these for children. Practical, classic or multifunctional, with accessories such as a changing mat or without; the decision to buy the right travel cot for children is not always easy.
Comfortable travel beds for children focus on high-quality mattresses. Safety and sleeping comfort are in the foreground here and are in no way inferior to a real children's bed. For reasons of space and price, parents often take the opportunity to convert a travel cot into a permanent solution for their own four walls. This option offers numerous other advantages. In addition to price and space-saving efficiency, a travel cot convinces with its flexibility. It can be quickly carried or rolled from one room to another. There is no need to buy a second bed for spontaneous visits to grandparents and close relatives.
No matter what you need it for in the end, the focus on practicality pays off in addition to the price. If you travel a lot, the weight also plays an important role in the purchase decision. Wheels on the bed are extremely practical and sometimes very helpful for transport.
Why is a travel cot important?
When talking about the classic children's travel bed, a construction made of metal or plastic quickly comes to mind. A fabric cover or fabric-like cover guarantees safety and a high-quality mattress provides padding. Most children's travel cots have practical accessories sewn into them in the form of viewing window mesh or changing mat so that you can see your baby or child at all times and turned around.
The baby travel cot that has the folding function as a practical accessory is usually very easy to set up and take down, but also expensive in price. The pop-up travel cot, for example, is currently in vogue. It convinces with its tent-like construction and its easy and quick assembly time. Baby travel cots are also convincing because of their weight advantage. Light children's travel beds of this type often weigh only between 2 and 4 kilograms. It should be noted here, however, that not every pop-up travel cot focuses on sleeping comfort and additional elements.
Inflatable travel beds for children can be inflated quickly and easily on the go with an air pump. However, they do not have a high-quality mattress. They are enormously space-saving. However, these children's travel beds lie directly on the floor. A surround is often missing. For this reason, travel cots of this type are not recommended for toddlers and babies.
Many parents ask themselves the question about a travel cot or baby travel cot for on the road. There are only a few manufacturers for baby travel cots in comparison. Travel cots for babies are characterised by their oval shape. The decisive factor in terms of safety is the fact that the permissible total weight of your child is not exceeded.
What should I look for in a travel cot?
There are a few things to consider when buying a travel cot. In addition to practicality, weight, size and transport conditions also play an important role. Finally, the ease of transport also plays a role in the purchase decision. Besides the bed, you usually have a pram and luggage with you when you travel. Travelling with a baby or child generally involves more effort. However, numerous travel beds have the decisive features that make travelling with a child sweeter and easier.
Depending on the nature of the bed and its construction, the dead weight varies. The material of the mattress also has a fundamental influence on the weight of the bed. For some models, accessories also play a role in the weight. As a rule, the tare weight of travel beds ranges from about 5 to 13 kilograms. With frequent use, every kilo less is noticeable. The same applies to the size. The smaller the travel cot when folded up, the more relaxed it is when travelling.
If you prefer a travel cot with wheels, you will not have to lug it around. When buying a travel cot with wheels, make sure that the model has brakes. This increases safety on uneven floors or when children are running around in the bed.
When it comes to accessories, you should make sure that a carry bag is included. Ideally, this practical accessory has ergonomic handles that make it easier for you to carry it off the bed.
How long can you let your baby / child sleep in the travel cot?
Many parents ask themselves how long they can let their baby and child sleep in the travel cot with mattress. There is no general answer to this question. Rather, the length of time children can sleep in a travel cot is determined by three factors. Age, size and weight determine the point at which a travel cot is no longer considered suitable.
With a standard lying surface of common mattresses of around 120 x 60 cm, your child's body size is already predetermined. It is said that a child should no longer rest in a travel cot from a height of 100 cm. With a blanket and pillow, it would be far too cramped and very uncomfortable for your child in this bed.
Body weight also plays an important role. Most manufacturers design their travel cots for a maximum weight of around 15 kilograms. So if your child is not yet 100 cm tall, but not lighter than 15 kilograms, it is not advisable to let your darling sleep in a travel cot. Neither the construction nor the mattress for the bed are made for this.
Age also plays a decisive role. According to most manufacturers, a travel cot for a baby or child should not be used longer than up to 36 months of age. Very independent children in particular tend to climb out of bed. Travel cots are not made for this. In the end, however, you have to make this decision for yourself.
