EN 17191:2021 "Children's Furniture – Seating for Children – Safety Requirements and Test Methods" is Published

2021-10-26

This new European Standard EN 17191:2021 was approved by CEN for publication in July 2021. Titled "Children’s Furniture - Seating for Children - Safety Requirements and Test Methods", it specifies safety requirements and test methods for seating specifically intended for children who can walk and sit by themselves. It applies to seating intended to be placed on the floor for domestic and non-domestic use including in daycare centers and for indoor and outdoor use.

For the purpose of this standard, "seating" includes, but not limited to, chairs, benches, stools, bean bags, deckchairs, rocking chairs, reclining chairs, armchairs, foldable chairs and swivel chairs.

It is noteworthy that this standard does not apply to children's highchairs, childcare articles such as reclined cradles and seating in educational institutions for which other European Standards exist. It also does not apply to swing chairs, wheelchairs, electrical safety or seating for children with special needs.

It is expected that this new standard will be cited in the General Product Safety Directive (2001/95/EC) soon.

Contents of this standard EN 17191:2021 are as follows:

1 Scope
2 Normative references
3 Terms and definitions
4 General requirements and test conditions
4.1 General (see B.3)
4.2 Preliminary preparation
4.3 Application of forces
4.4 Tolerances
4.5 Seating sizes
4.6 Accessibility
4.7 Testing range of seating
4.8 Testing seating adjustable in height

5 Test equipment
5.1 Entrapment test probes
5.2 V and irregular shaped template
5.3 Small parts cylinder
5.4 Feeler gauge
5.5 Additional loading position template
5.6 Angle measuring device
5.7 Test mass

6 General safety requirements
6.1 Hazards from glass (see B.4)
6.2 Surfaces, edges, corners and points
6.3 Entrapment hazards (see B.5)
6.4 Hazards caused by folding of the seating
6.5 Hazards caused by deckchairs (see B.14)
6.6 Hazard from moving parts (see B.6)
6.7 Hazards from enclosure (see B.7)
6.8 Entanglement hazards (see B.8)
6.9 Choking and ingestion hazards (see B.9)
6.10 Suffocation hazards (see B.10)

7 Chemicals requirements (see B.11)
8 Fire and thermal hazards (see B.12)
9 Strength and durability requirements (see B.13)
9.1 Test conditions
9.2 Seating size and test levels
9.3 Requirements
9.4 Strength and durability tests

10 Stability requirements
10.1 General
10.2 Alternative rearwards stability tests for rocking and reclining chairs

11 Product information
11.1 General
11.2 Marking
11.3 Purchase information
11.4 Instructions for use

Annexes

Annex A: (informative) Dimensional guidance for designing seating for children
Annex B: (informative) Rationale for the inclusion of the safety requirements
Annex C: (informative) Guidance for applicable tests according to seating size
Annex ZA: (informative) Relationship between this European Standard and the safety requirements of Directive 2001/95/EC aimed to be covered

Effective Date:

Date	Milestones	Meaning
2021-07-07	Date of Availability (dav)	Date when the definitive text in the official language versions of this Standard is distributed by the Central Secretariat of each European Member State.
2021-10-31	Date of Announcement (doa)	Latest date by which the existence of this Standard has to be announced at the national level for each European Member State.
2022-01-31	Date of Publication (dop)	Latest date by which this new Standard has to be implemented at the national level by publication of an identical national standard or by endorsement for each European Member State.