You know your baby isn't a baby anymore when the time comes for them to move from a cot to a bed. It can be a daunting experience for both baby and parents. To go from a small enclosure with bars all around you, to loads of freedom all in one swift movement. It's anybody's guess as to what could happen next.
I shopped around quite a bit before getting this bed guard from Mother care. I remember having a guard with my older daughter that sometimes didn't appear altogether safe and my reassurance in the product wasn't that great. Years have passed and technology has changed thankfully, as there is a lot more choice on the market now than a few years ago.

This bed guard comes in pink and blue. We obviously chose the pink one to co-ordinate with her new bedroom, and I also like the fact that it folds down for during the day. I remember that bed guards act better when a weight is placed on the mattress i.e. in the form of a hopefully sleeping child. Without the weight, there is less support for the guard itself and if it were to be pulled away from the bed in an act of children playing etc then it could result in an accident.
I was keen obviously for this not to happen so the fact that this guard folded down was a bonus as we would be able to fold down during the day, and if I am upstairs with my daughter I know she won't be getting stuck through it or pulling it over on herself without a bit of a struggle.

My bed guard costs £19.99 which is a bargain in itself, but I managed to get it for half the price in a recent sale Mother care were doing online.
I was a bit scared when I saw the guard arrived in an almost flat packed state. My previous one had come all together and I just had to open the legs. This one truly was in bits. I'm a woman and I can do this without the help of a man. In fact I'd probably do it better than a man as I'll read the instructions!

Putting the guard together actually isn't that hard, but I do recommend you read the instructions before you or even as you are doing it, as well as providing yourself with some space to work with.
The main part of the guard that hosts the netting and plastic outer casing is already intact with a bar connecting it together. The rest of the poles need to be assembled by placing the two hinged poles in first. I found this quite tough as the book didn't quite tell me which angle I should be placing through the holes in the plastic. Once these pieces were in I found the rest of the assembly fairly straightforward.

Once made, the guard looks quite a lethal object with turned up metal poles at one end. These are designed to fit underneath the mattress at the opposite side of the bed to where you want to prevent the child from falling from. I found that on a slatted bed that we have you have to make sure you position the guard so the poles sit on or near a slat to ensure the guard stays even.
On our first try we did place this in slightly wrong and the guard didn't look right or safe so I wasn't going to be contemplating letting my daughter sleeping with this one. We adjusted the positioning and also the length of the poles coming out from the guard and found it fitted better, so if you have this guard then make sure you are happy with the positioning before you use it.
Once you have it placed right, there should be no pole poking out from the other side of the bed. This could be very dangerous to a child playing through the night etc and could cause accidents.

As you are able to fold the guard down we also had to learn how to do this. Thankfully this procedure is very simple to do by holding both buttons in on the hinges and the guard folds down easily.
The upkeep of the guard is simple in that it can remove stains by spot cleaning, but you can't place in a machine.

Through watching my daughter sleep in her bed with this guard as her safety net, I am pleased to report that I feel safe as a parent with her using it on her bed, and she seems to be happy with the colour and design as much as a two year old can be.
We manage to fold the guard down every morning and it fits nicely against her bed without hindering any space in her room. The guard also feels secure with her the other side of it and I know she won't topple it with little effort. Peace of mind is worth any money.