When should I stop using a changing table in the UK?

What limit is printed on the unit I already own?

The stop date is on your plate, not on a blog's age guess. EN 12221-1:2008+A1:2013 — the text still printed on a lot of UK stock — defined two types. Type 1: intended from birth up to 12 months and, on the marking line, up to 11 kg. Type 2: intended from birth up to 15 kg. Those figures come from the published amendment, not from a retailer slogan.

CEN published EN 12221:2026 in March 2026, merging the old parts 1 and 2 and adding changing pads. Conflicting national standards are due to be withdrawn by March 2027. New IKEA UK pages for SNIGLAR and GULLIVER already say “Complies with European standard EN 12221:2026” and “For children up to 15 kg”, while the same pages still print a max. load of 11 kg. Quote both lines from the unit in front of you; do not pick the higher number because a listicle did.

Should I stop once my baby can roll, sit or crawl?

Buying guides often say stop when the baby can roll, sit or crawl. That is shop language, not a second official weight. What official pages actually say is simpler: the NHS already prefers the floor, and if you use a table you never turn away. CAPT says even the smallest baby can wriggle to the edge of a bed or changing table and roll off, and that if you can, change on the floor.

Rolling, sitting and crawling arrive on a wide window. They are a reason the drop matters more, not a licence to ignore a 9 kg or 11 kg plate. A baby under the printed weight who can push up still meets the NHS “keep an eye at all times” line. A baby over the printed weight who cannot yet sit is still past the manufacturer's stated use.

US pages that stop at 30 lb are writing to a different standard. They do not belong on a UK label and they are not how EN 12221 types were marked.

How do I move from the table to the floor?

1. 1
   Read the plate and the manual together Note the type (if marked), the age, the weight, and any “whichever comes first” line. If two figures disagree, treat the lower one as the stop for that product.
2. 2
   Watch weight as well as the birthday Type 1's 11 kg can arrive before 12 months. Weigh using your own scales or the figure from a recent clinic visit; do not guess from clothes size.
3. 3
   Set up the NHS floor kit before the last elevated change Mat or towel, supplies in one place, sit down. That is the NHS method, not a downgrade.
4. 4
   Stop using the elevated surface when any printed limit is reached The standard and the maker set a use limit. Continuing past it is outside what the plate describes. The floor method has no type weight.
5. 5
   Keep the leftover furniture for storage only if the manual allows Convertible chests tell you to fold and fix the leaf. An open-frame table is leftover furniture, not a toddler climbing frame.

Does a Type 2 unit last until potty training?

No published EN 12221 type extends to potty training. Type 2's printed line is 15 kg. NHS nappy-change frequency drops from 10–12 times a day in the newborn weeks to about 6–8 later, but that is skin care, not a furniture lifespan. Many children are still in nappies after they have passed 15 kg.

EN 12221:2026 still uses 9 kg and 15 kg test masses in the laboratory method. That is a test tool, not a new “Type 1 / Type 2” stamp. Until the unit in your room is relabelled, the plate you already have is the one that counts.

In shortStop when your label's age or weight — whichever the manual says comes first — is reached, and move to the floor sooner if rolling or sitting makes the drop the bigger problem. Official pages already treat the floor as the default.