ᐅ How can I make Billy shelves child-safe for a kid’s room?

Hello everyone,

I am planning to use IKEA Billy bookcases in my twins’ nursery, but I have serious concerns about safety. The bookcases are quite sturdy, but I have read that they can tip over if children climb on them or pull on the furniture. My question to experienced parents here is:

What options are there to make Billy bookcases child-safe so they won’t tip over and at the same time pose no injury risk to children? I am particularly thinking about measures such as wall anchoring, door or drawer locks, or possibly special protective profiles.

Do you have any proven tips or recommendations? And what about the slotted back panels – should these be left in or removed?

Thanks in advance for your help!

The most important thing is securing the shelf to the wall to prevent it from tipping over. Furniture anchors from IKEA or your local hardware store work well for this. You can also install child safety locks on the drawers as an additional measure.

Wall anchoring is essential, especially for children's room furniture. I also recommend keeping the back panel in Billy bookcases with open shelves, as it significantly improves the stability of the unit. Additionally, corner protectors can be installed to reduce the risk of injury from bumps.

I can fully understand how important safety is to you – as a mom, I’m always concerned when the little ones climb on furniture. For us, securing shelves firmly to the wall with sturdy brackets and adding soft corner protectors helped a lot. Even with these simple measures, we felt much safer.

Good morning,

to make Billy shelves secure, anchoring them to the wall is essential. IKEA offers special anti-tip brackets that can be attached behind the shelf to the wall. Additionally, all drawers should be fitted with child safety locks to prevent children from opening them on their own.

Some parents remove the back panels to have more flexibility when arranging items, but I would rather advise against that – the back panel significantly increases stability.

For the corners, there are pre-made corner protectors that are easy to install and help prevent injuries.

Be careful when fastening! Always screw into the wall and not just into the clay beams of the shelves. Otherwise, it can break quickly.