Box room - cot near radiator?

[mrshadders]

Looking for some help! Our nursery is a box room. This is our first baby (due in June) and we're a bit stuck. Because of the stair bulkhead and door in the room, our only (obvious) option is for the cot to go next to a radiator. This radiator is small and has a radiator cover on.
Would this be acceptable? We would put the thermostat in that room. The baby will be in with us for the first 6 months so it will be winter/cold when the baby moves into the nursery.
Is this a ridiculous idea? I'm not really sure how else it can work but we can try and think of other options if anyone has any thoughts please share!

Just make sure the radiator is never on when your baby is in there ,i prob would never have it on if it were me, being a small room i think it would be warm any way,maybe keep your baby with you until its a year old.

Even if the cover eliminates the risk of burns, I would be very worried about overheating and I wouldn’t consider that room a useable nursery/bedroom. Even without the risks for a baby, I don’t think it’s recommended to put furniture in front of a radiator at all as it can damage the furniture and stop the heat from circulating. Can you move the radiator? We did this in a bedroom a few years ago because it was awkwardly placed and I can’t remember the cost but I don’t think it was particularly expensive.

Could you get the radiator moved?

Thanks for the advice. This is my gut feeling too.
We could move the radiator but the room has just been fully wallpapered but if that's our only option then so be it.
I'm trying to think of a way to put the cot on/attached to the bulkhead but I'm just not creative like that!

Does the radiator occupy the entire back wall of the room?

Could you draw us a rough plan?

DD is in our box room with a cupboard occupying the bulkhead and the door to the room next to that.

We had the same when ds was little, we just turned the radiator off and never used it. The rest of the upstairs was heated enough to keep the room warm.

Just turn the radiator off and don't use it.

I would use the room but don't have the radiator on overnight when the baby is sleeping there. We had this for one of ours and we just made sure it was always off

You'll probably have the health visitor out to you soon as they like to come out now a few weeks before the birth to introduce themselves during this chat they will give you a picture and you have to spot what's wrong with the room one of these things is being next to the radiator.

As others have said either get the radiator moved or just turn it off. It’s not worth the risk of overheating. It’s better for a baby to get too cold than too hot. Unless you live in a very poorly insulated house you’ll probably find the room will be warm enough without it. You’ll be surprised how cool the ideal temperature for a baby’s room is. My DD was born in January and we live in an old house and we found ourselves turning the radiator off anyway as the gro egg was showing the room to be too warm.

The danger of overheating is primarily of concern due to the SIDs risk. The baby should be sleeping in with you (as in in your bedroom) until 6 months at least anyway. I ended up keeping DD in with me until 12m then she moved into her room in the Spring when the heating was off so she was 18m before the radiator even became an issue. By that point having the radiator on i setting isn't so much of a worry.

The radiator in DD's room is in the centre of the back wall. Her cot is then along an adjacent wall (so the end of the cot meets the end of the radiator on one side iyswim) rather than the cot having the radiator down it's side.

My DD has just gone into her own room at 18 months old which is the box room. We had the same issue as you with the radiator / bulk head issue.

Her cot is next to the radiator but is switched off/ turned right down.

The room is small anyway and should be warm enough from the other rooms heating it.

Keep a gro egg in there to monitor the temp and keep bedding to what the recommendations are.

Turn off the radiator now and monitor the temperature in there. A very small room might not get that cold anyway. Our first house didn’t have central heating and for some reason the baby’s room didn’t have a storage heater so we used a free-standing oil-filled radiator. It would be cheaper than moving the radiator!

They should be in your bedroom for the first six months (at least) anyway so just do that.

Either move the radiator to a more convenient place, or don't have it on.
I don't think you need one in a little room.

In our old house where the nursery was the box room we change the door to open outwards. Some friends of ours put a concertina door, one that scrunches into itself. It amazing how the space opens up if you don't have the door opening inwards.

Thanks everyone. The room is positively tiny so think we will turn it off, get some nice, thick, insulated curtains and get the thermostat in there. I can monitor it then and figure it out nearer to the time if needs be.
Appreciate all the advice!