Hello Mama's!
Long story short, our house is small... tiny, in fact - especially when you consider that all three of my kiddos (my oldest is 5 1/2, middle just turned 4 and youngest just turned 1) have to share the same bedroom. Currently, my boys are in toddler beds and my daughter is in her crib. My boys, especially my oldest, are very quickly outgrowing their toddler beds. The room that the three of them share is probably around a 10x10 so really our only option is bunk beds and even then it's going to be a tight squeeze. Anyway, wondering what your thoughts are on having children that young in bunk beds? I am panicking at the thought of my oldest falling out of the top bunk. Do any of you have your little ones in bunk beds? How old are they? How is it working? Would you recommend it? Have you ever had any real troubles with bunk beds in terms of anyone getting hurt? Any thoughts, suggestions, etc. would be greatly appreciated, especially from those of you who have had experience with bunk beds. Thank you so much for your time!
K. :)
it's an easy one! Get a bed rail, available in most baby departments, and slide it under the mattress to keep the little one up on top. They still put a small rail on the bunks in college dorms!
My daughter is 21 months she has been sleeping in twin bed that is part of bunk bed set(could be used as bunk bed or two twin beds) she has been sleeping there for about 3 months now. Her bed is against the wall and there is a full length rail on that side, on the other side is a shorter rail that has small oening at foot of bed that's where she gets out of bed. Haven't
had any problems yet.
No direct experience here, but we are contemplating the same thing for our boys who are almost 4 1/2 and 3.
(we also have a 1 year old, but he is in a separate room currently - next year some time though, he will be moved in with the big two, as #4 will need his/her own space eventually...oiy!)
I have the same fears as you, but ultimately the space saver will be worth it, I think!
I have been looking at mesh side railings for both of their beds - the almost 3 year old is still in a crib, so I think this will help him feel more secure.
One Step Ahead has a good product, though you can find them elsewhere (I've even seen them at Once Upon a Child consignment shop) too.
We'll also be putting the bunks up against the wall, for space, and my sanity purposes.
Good luck, Mama!
My sister and I were in bunk beds when I was little and we were 3 and 5. There was the toddler bar on the top bunk. The only time people got hurt on it was when we were messing around during the day....not while actually using it for its intended purpose. Just lay down the ground rules. Can they get out of it in the middle of the night? Is there a night light so that they can see the ladder? Etc.
We got bunk beds when my son was 3 to add an extra bed for foster children. My son loved it and when we don't have a foster child, he switches back and forth between upper and lower beds. We went over the rules of bunks - can't stand, if you play up there must stay on hands and knees, etc. When we get a new foster child, they sleep on the bottom bunk and we repeat the rules.
We had a similar situation where we had to bunk up the older kids to make room for baby. My oldest had just turned 5 and my middle was 2 1/2. There was really no other option for us even tho we felt the 5 year old was too young to sleep up top. We bought bunks with the highest railing we could find and did not permanently attach the ladder. After he got up in the morning I lifted the ladder off and set it on the top bunk so he couldn't climb up there, and we made the rule that beds are for sleeping on not playing on. They did great with the bunks and even tho my oldest is now 8 I still take the ladder off daily. There are enough nooks and crannies in the house that if he wants some quiet time away from his brothers he hauls a bean bag around and reads there so he can still have his own 'place'...just not in his bed.
Absolutely not! We also have a very small house and when I needed the crib 5 years ago for my daughter soon to be born, I had to move my DS 16 months at the time out of it. We bought IKEA bunk beds for the boys, youngest went on bottom and 4 yr old on top. Neither of them ever feel out either.
I put my five year old in a top bunk of a bunk bed and he slept BETTER than in his twin bed. He couldn't get out of bed for books at night so he went to sleep faster! He's never fallen out (he's been in it for two years now). If you're worried about him falling you can always get a safety rail to keep him. They run about $15 at target. Good luck!!
K., My boys have been in bunk beds for years, I bought side rails and built up the side of the bed with them and used that. It works, now my oldest who has the top bunk is 7 and is asking for the rails to be removed. He feels safe so therefore I do now and have taken it off. I had a single rail at the foot, and a single rail on the side not by the wall and the head of the bed is by the wall. For the bottum bunk I bought a double rail to keep the little one safe too. I have a loft bed but if you get a regular bunk bed a single on the bottom should be fine, the wal will act like the other side.
Oh my Younger boy is 4. So yes I think it is fine.
Good luck.
I don't think they are too young. You can get one of those side rails to go on the top bunk until you feel the oldest won't fall/roll out.
K.,
My Mom and Step-Dad made bunkbeds for my kids. My daughter is 3 years old and sleeps on the top bunk without any problems at all. We were in the same situation you guys are in. We had our second child on the way and knew we needed to do something to make more room for sleeping in the kids room. The height of this bed is tall enough to slide a crib underneath it as well. I like the fact that each step is a drawer. Great place to put toys and clothes. Check out the website.
You can visit the website at www.tlkfixit.com to order the plans for the beds.
My friend recently put her 3 year old in a bunk bed and he absolutely loves it. She says she puts him in the bottom bunk at night for bed but when she checks on him in the middle of the night he some how is in the top bunk...and they don't have their ladder up yet. He has never fallen out and seems to be working out great for them. If you are concerned I would simply put up the bed rails on the top bunk until you are comfortable that they won't fall out. I think bunk beds are a great ideas and will create such a wonderful bond with your children.
For other great ideas for your family check out my website
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We got my son bunk beds when he was about 4. He always wanted to sleep on the top, but I didn't let him. One night I woke up to him screaming at 2 am! He said his arm hurt. I assumed that he had dislocated his elbow somehow (nursemaids elbow) because he had done that a few weeks prior. (plus I was half asleep trying to figure out where I was! haha) I packed us up and went to the E.R. They started to cut his PJ top off so they could look at his arm and OMG it was huge and bruised and the nurse turned around and said "how far did he fall??" it wasn't until that moment that I thought, oh no....he must've got up on the top bunk! I called home and told my husband to look and sure enough the blankets were draped down from the top bunk, he got up there and fell out. They took an X-ray and it was horrible! his arm was compound fractured...broke in two! his bone came down from his shoulder, stopped just above his elbow....moved over an inch or so, then continued. They had to call in the "pediatric orthopedic surgeon and his team" at 4am! They did surgery to put his arm back together and he was good as new in a few weeks.
NOW....that being said.....I admit that I did not have proper safety measures in place. It was a cheap, hand me down, metal tube style bunk bed. The top mattress was a normal size mattress so it sat too high for the safety bar to help.
If you make sure that the top mattress is nothing more than what they call a "bunkie board", they sit at the correct height for the safety bar.
I would also purchase a body pillow and have that sit against the side so that your little one can't roll over it.
My kids were 5 and 2 1/2. We got a bunk bed that had stairs with drawers for storage in them instead of the ladder because I was afraid of a fall at night. It also has a 1/2 length rail on the top bunk. It's all wood and really nice. We found it on-line at Nebraska Furnature Mart and then, once we found out the name/make/model we went and price shopped it. The one we have also had the option for a third trundle or set of drawers under the bottom bunk.
It doesn't seem too young. I purchased a KURA "loft bed" from Ikea for my 3 year old son, as he has a smaller sized room (but no sibling underneath.) And I found an Ikea mattress that was under 4" thick -- so it's well below the side panel. Hence, I've had NO problems or concerns about him falling out or injury whatsoever.
Whether you choose a bunk bed or something else, you know what's best for your family! Good luck!
They aren't too young for bunk beds. We had them when our girls were 4 and 2. My daughter has them for her girls and started at 4 and 1 1/2....they slept together in the bottom for awhile. ALL bunk beds have guard rails and the small space where the ladder is could have a big pillow in front of it since it should be at the foot of the bed. No worries.
My three boys share a room too and we put them in bunk beds at ages younger than your boys. We have two sets of bunk beds and they both have guard rails on the top bunks and so they have never fallen out.
The only issue we've had with the bunk beds is arguments because when they were younger they all wanted to sleep on the top bunks, but now that they are older they all want to sleep on the bottom bunks.
Good luck!
My kids went into a bunk bed and a loft bed when they were 4 1/2 and outgrew the toddler beds. All 3 share a room (12 x 8) so it can be a really tight squeeze. We had no trouble with either one of my girls falling out of the top bunk or my son with the loft . The beds we had at the time were from IKEA and were actually higher than a regular bunk bed that both my brother or my sil had. Look for one with a full rail rather than a small guard area. The top of the rail should be at least 3 inches above the top of the mattress and you shouldn't have a problem. If you are worried, you could save the toddler mattresses and put them down during the night until they are used to sleeping in the new beds.
No they're not to young. My two oldest had bunk beds when they were 2 and 4. And thanks to a nightmare I saw how fast a kid can get out of the top bunk!
A bed is a bed. If they're tired, they'll sleep. If the mattress is comfortable they'll sleep. If the room is conducive to security they'll sleep. Later on they may want separate rooms. If the bunk can convert to two separate twins, you're set.
My daughters share a room. We bought them bunk beds a year ago, and they were three and four at the time. We put my four-year-old on the top bunk. We knew she was a calm sleeper, responsible, and wouldn't mess around. We knew there was no way on Earth we'd put our younger daughter on the top. She is too unpredictable. We made it clear they'd be sleeping on the floor if they messed around on the top bunk, played or roughhoused on the ladder, etc. So far they've been pretty good. It's worked out well for us.
That sounds like a good age. My oldest is 4.5 and youngest is 2, so I'm still a bit leery of doing this with the 2 year old. We definitely plan to in a year or so though. You can get bunk bed systems that convert to two twin beds or a double and a twin later if you think they'll want that as teenagers.
buy trundle beds.. they will last thru their teenage yearas... they grow out of bunk beds quick..
