Bunk Beds - Plano, TX

I'd definitely wait to put up the bunk beds. The kids are too young right now.

If you're tight on space, I would just put some foam mattresses on the floor that they can use to build forts with on rainy days!

We did bunk beds. My son's are 3.5 years apart and we bought the bunk beds when my youngest was born. If I had to do it all over again, I'd have waited! As soon as the younger one was walking he was totally interested in climbing up the ladder! We had to remove the ladder (my oldest was scared to sleep on the top anyway!). Then they wanted to sleep together as they got older, but neither would sleep up top alone, so they BOTH slept on the bottom (a twin size)! They also liked "playing" on the top one and putting things on the ceiling fan etc. Thank goodness we never had any bad accidents! Now the beds are seperated and each has one in his room! They both sleep together in the guest room "big" bed and when they want their "space" they sleep in their own room! Talk about musical beds!
Also one last point.... making the top bunk was a *!*!#!

Bunk beds are great but I would wait until they are a little older. Or you could take the ladder down dailey. What about a bed that had a trundle underneath and you could add a bunk bed later. FYI, my boys have always shared a room until my 14 got his own room 2 months ago. The other two still share a room. I think when they don't know any different then they will work it out. Mine have. We also have two sets of bunk beds and a captains bed. When my two older ones got theirs they were 5 and 3, but their younger brother learned to climb the ladder at 9mos. We just took it down and put it under the bed everyday. But it was a pain.

Good luck,
L.

Yoy can get the kind of bunk bed that seperates for when they are young then when they are about 5 you can stack them again. If you still have the beds when they are even older you can seperate them again.

I agree with the suggestions of the trundle bed or the bunk bed that is stackable and can start out as twin beds. My son recently got a bunk bed (5 years old). My daughter (19 mo.) likes to climb the ladder so we keep the ladder up and door closed so that she cannot get in there. It's dangerous and I too feel like your kiddos are too young.

One mom said that you could just talk with your kids about the dangers, but they're boys and most boys I know like to experiment and will most likely try to jump or have an accident. Don't put yourself or them in a dangerous situation. Wait until they're older for the bunk bed.

I think children SHOULD share rooms. There are so many parts of their relationship that will be formed during the early morning and late night hours when you are not around. They will turn to each other for comfort when they are afraid or have a bad dream. It is a wonderful thing to see brothers that are close to each other.

Bunk beds---put up a rail. Then, expect that they will absolutely climb up, push each other off, hang by their feet from the top bunk, etc. They are BOYS, this is what boys do. Do your best to keep them safe, and then patch them up when they get hurt. If they DON'T get hurt, they are not getting the opportunity they need to explore their environment. Mothers are just there to keep it from being a fatal wound and to wash the dirt off all the others.

From the mother of 5 boys,
(and 3 girls)
D.

J.,

I did a great deal of research on bunk beds, lofts, etc several years ago. All the wisdom I fond said you should not put a child younger then 6 on the top bunk. Climbing up and down, especially at night to go t the bathroom can be treacherous. They also don't have the maturity to NOT do foolish things on the bed.

I did buy a loft for my then 6 year old. I made sure it had a "cage" around it that came up more then 10 inches over the mattress. The cage is made of bars that are no more then two inches apart and goes all the way around the bed at the top. Does that make sense? It keeps my daughter from rolling off.

My 2c,
T. - mom of two 7 & 8

I too would get bunk beds that can stand alone as twin beds. That is what we have and I have yet to stack them we have slate floors so the thought of that fall is just to much for me. As far as sharing a room goes we have a girls room and a boys room. Our boys 6 and almost 4 share a room and our girls 6mos and 2 1/2 share a room. Before our last one was born they were all in the same room because they wanted it that way. At some point in time we may find the need to separate them but for now it is good for us.

I think sharing a room is a wonderful thing. My son and daughter shared a room when they were little (under 6) and they got along great and became good friends during that time. Later, we had another girl, and the 2 girls have shared a room since, even though we have an extra bedroom. They stay up and whisper and talk, and they are also close. Sure they have sister arguments, and even ask for their own rooms at times, but I'm more convinced now than ever before that sharing a room helps their relationship. Sharing a room helps you learn to respect others and be considerate and mindful of how you keep your own space. Their room used to look like a coordinated decorated room from a magazine, but as they've gotten older (now 10 & 13 yrs) I let them each have their own expression and design, and we don't care if thing match. It's their space, and except for certain standards like no clothes on the floor or food in thier room, it's not a worry. I also don't allow TV or computers in our kids' rooms. They have desks and bookshelves for quiet study in their rooms, but most of the homework is done in our playroom/den with the computer and big table.

As for bunk beds, we had one with a twin on top and double on the bottom. Our son had several near accidents tumbling from the top to the bottom while playing with friends. A couple of the tumbles were scary.

You could try a trundle bed or 2 small toddler bed while they are young. Later arrange 2 twin beds in an L-shape so that you maximize the floor space. But, really you want play time to be in the main living areas, and a bedroom is mostly just for sleeping, changing, and relaxing.

My husband is one of three boys that shared a small room and bunkbeds with trundle. The ages were 7,11, 15...something like that. They did fine together, and they have very different personalities. I think bunkbeds are fine if the oldest is on the top bunk, and a strict rule of no jumping off the bed. I would be sure that they learn that the boys each have a bed exclusively theirs. I'm sure it will be a challenge to enforce this, but I would think that it would work if you stay consisitent early on. You can probably get a bunk bed tent for the top bunk, put a cover around the bottom bunk, if needed.

Well, the first answer is yes, you can have young children share a room!! I have had mine all sharing rooms, different kids at different times, and it was no problem. My 3 year old son and my 22 month old daughter have shared a room since she was 6 months old. Now, as far as the bunk beds, personally I would wait. Maybe you could put a set in there, but I personally dont like to take the younger ones out of a crib until they are closer to 2.5 or so. I also prefer to put them to bed at 2 different times. Actually, my oldest goes to bed before my youngest, because she naps and he does not. But whatever works best for you, I would space them out about 30 min. I love that time with the other child too, so it might help with the new baby jealousy! Rarely has the crying of one woken the other in the middle of the night, but even if it happens, they are quick to go back to sleep. If you do bunk beds, make sure you have a removeable ladder, and I would take it down everyday to ensure the safety of both kids. Only put it up at night for big brother to get in and out of his bed. I also found that napping together is a bit harder, but I tend to put the older one of the group in my bed, which they love:) Again, though, I just dont agree with bunk beds (that are put together) for kids that age. If you have room, maybe you could keep them separated until the boys are like 5 and 3 or something. Sorry for the long post, but I have done this for several years, so if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. ~A.~

I agree with those who say to wait if you can. It also depends on the kids. Are they accident prone like one of mine. I did get bunk beds when the youngest was 4 and the oldest was 6. It was lower to the ground. One mattress was on the floor and the other on top. It came with a slide and a tent for both top and bottom. It was in our game room, and now it's at Grandma's house for their weekends over there. I got it at Haverty's in 2006. Good luck!

Hi J., I have 2 1/2 yr old twins and they share a room. They each have toddler size beds and they do great together. Recently we went to Rooms to Go Kids Store and they have a really cool bunk bed! It is more like a loft, not a traditional old fashioned bunk bed. It is thick wood and had a little stair case to climb up, and thick wood rails to keep child from rolling out during their sleep. My 3 1/2 yr old son loved it. He climbed up there with no problem and thought it was the coolest thing. The bottom area has the bed coming out in the other direction, instead of having the beds stacked over each other the same direction (does that make sense). It offers you the option to put a twin bed or even full size bed on the bottom. I think this style of bunk bed is much safer then the simnple kind with more of a ladder type way to get up to the top bunk that is not as stable and safe for smaller kids. Hope this info helps!

Our generation is so funny about wanting all of our kids to have their own space. I shared a room with my sister and two of my brothers shared a room, too. That was just standard and expected. Sure, we have different personalities and sometimes we were a thorn in each other's sides, but other than that there really is no downside to room-sharing -- we all turned out OK with no emotional scars! My sister and I had bunkbeds and I distinctly recall falling out on my head when I leaned over to talk to my sister -- very lucky I didn't get injured!

On the note of bunkbeds, I say NO right now because neither of your children is old enough for the top bunk. There is a lot of support for this position, with the recommendation of being that kids under 6 should not be in the top bunk. Here are some useful links to bunk bed safety: http://pediatrics.about.com/od/safetytips/a/05_bunk_beds.htm, http://www.napsnet.com/articles/60470.html, http://www.caymannetnews.com/2005/08/900/real/beds.shtml

I am a mother/step-mother of 4; ages 10(f),9 (m),8 (m) and 6(f) . Until recently our kids had bunk beds. We invested in the DETACHABLE bunk beds. For safety reasons,we switched the bunk with the brace to the bottom for the little ones. The older kids slept on top and all of them loved this. Now my son, 9, has a full side bed and when the other boy comes over he prefers the sofa bed. However, my daughter (6) has the bunks detached and uses them like twin beds. One bed is her relaxing "sofa" bed and the other is her sleeping bed. When sister comes over each can sleep in comfort. We believe theses were the best bunks for our family.

Best of luck to you.

My two oldest are girls and they have been in bunkbeds since they were 2 and 4. My son is 16 months younger than his sister. Thinking back I can't believe they were that young, but I know they were in bunk beds before my oldest started kindergarten so that had to be how old they were. They are now 8 and 11. We have the beds with the rail all the way around the top bunk with a small opening for the ladder.
Good luck.
S. G.

I wound not put any child under 5 in bunk beds they are dangerous for little ones cause they dont understand they have to be careful. I would stick with a toddler bed for the little one and a twin for the 3 year old f I were you. Personally I would never buy a bunk bed I fell off of one as a child and broke my arm and leg.

I have two boys and we put them in a bunk bed at the exact ages your boys are now. It's been a year and a half, and they have loved it since day 1. We got the loft bed from Ikea because I feel traditional bunk beds are too high for younger kids. The Ikea bed can be set up as 1 twin tent bed, or as a bunk bed (or loft bed if you don't put a mattress on the bottom). When set up as a bunk, the bottom mattress is directly on the floor, and this in turn makes the upper bunk lower. I'm 5'3" and the very top of the bed doesn't even reach my armpits! Yes, the boys will climb and jump and push and fall off (my youngest just fell off for the first time the other day, but we had 1.5 yrs with no falls), but teach them your safety rules and they will learn. My friend has the same bed and she attached a safety gate (one that cannot be climbed) to the ladder (using zip ties) during the day so her kiddos could not climb up. Sometimes my boys play on the upper bunk, but I have found they like to play on the bottom more. There are many bed options when sharing a room, so if bunk beds will cause too much anxiety right now, wait till they get a little older. As for sharing a room, my boys have shared since my second was born, and we're about to add #3 to their room (it's a big room!). I shared a room for most of my growing up years, and I think it's great for kids for the many reasons others have already listed. If they're not used to sharing, it will take some time for them to adjust, but it's worth it. My boys are the best of friends now and don't like it when they have to sleep apart. Good luck and have fun!

We had bunks for our sons when they were very young and they did fine. No one ever fell and the bed don't even have the guards! When they were little they bothered each other a bit at bedtime (kept each other up). Good luck.

Hi,

We have 5 kids, and since our two youngest are both boys and 15 months apart they share a room. One of them is 2 (will be 3 in July) and the other just turned 4 in March. We got them bunk beds for Christmas and they are great. They take turns sleeping on the top bunk sometimes, but most of the time they end up sleeping in the bottom one together. We decided to move them because they both had toddler beds and every morning when I went to get them up, I found them crammed into one toddler bed. An option for you since yours are a little younger than mine would be to maybe get a twin over full bunk bed and have them share the bottom bunk until you feel the older one is old enough to move up top and just don't put the ladder on until then.

Good luck!

When we bought bunks for my son they were specifically marked that no one under 6 should be on the top bunk. We never put the ladder out and when he turns 6 we will celebrate and make a big deal of it. Maybe this is a little extreme but at least it will prevent accidents. Getting twins that can become bunks later might be a better option for the current ages of your children.

Hi J.,

I considered bunk beds for my son's who are 17 months and at the time they were 4 and 3. But read way too many articles on the hazard of them (I'm including one for you). Since our rooms are small, we used toddler beds and actually moved the toys out of their room to free up floor space. It worked out fine. They are now 6 and 4 1/2. One falls to sleep fast, the other is up telling stories to his animals, but it works out ok.

http://www.mychildsafety.net/bunk-bed.html

My almost 6 year old daughter and 4 year old son (they are 21 months apart) have shared a room since my son was 6 months old. We got a bunk bed when my daughter turned 4 and my son was 2. We got the wooden bunk that they carry at WalMart- what a great bed for the price! It has a top railing, so there's no way anyone can fall out, or be pushed off. When the bed was new, my son wanted to climb up top often. Our rule from the beginning was that my son was not allowed up top unless mom or dad and big sis gave him permission. It took a few months for him to get the concept, but he eventually got it. Now they respect each other's space in their room. When my daughter wants to "get away" and be on her own, she climbs up to her top bunk. I think sharing a room is great for kids- it teaches a lot of valuable lessons. I shared a room from age 2 to 18, when I moved out (& then I shared a dorm room after that). Of course there will be some fighting and bickering, but there will also be a lot of fun memories to look back on.

We are about to have our 6th, so all of our children share a room with someone else. After my husband got out of the Navy, and while he went back to school we were living with family. During that time they all shared a room. Now they want to share rooms, they do not like to be by themselves. My daughter had her own room for a short time. It was fun the first few days, but then she wanted to be back with everyone else. We have bunk beds, we got good deals on them (one set separates into two twin beds). For boys a bed and trundle might be better, if there is room. We had two sets of bunk beds with little ones (3 under age 4). Due to limited space, we had little choice. We, also had a playroom, and the bedroom was for sleeping only. There were rules for safety when it came to the beds, and consequenses if the rules were not followed.

We have bunk beds for my 2- and 5-year-olds. My 2-year-old daughter decided that the top bunk would be hers (she climbed up the ladder and said "mine" and laid right down and went to sleep. I was worried at first, but we made sure she could get up and down the ladder with no problems. She did fall off it once when her brother was avoiding her and she bent too far down. However, since the beds are a T shape, she fell on the other bed with no injuries.

She's been in the bed since September (she turned 2 in October) of last year--the top rails are high, so she has no chance of falling off while she's asleep. I'm sure I'm in the minority when it comes to allowing a 2-year-old to sleep on the top bunk, but it's worked out great for us.

My son and daughter (twins, age 5) share a room and have bunkbeds. Our bunkbeds can also be used as separate twin beds so we started out with them as twins and then made them into bunkbeds when they were 4. My youngest is 2 and she climbs up there and plays sometimes but no one has ever fallen off. I shared a room with my sister my whole life and like a lot of the other responses think it's great for siblings to share rooms.

My boys have shared bunk beds since they were 18 months and 3 years old.

Yes, my older one fell off twice, once right onto his head. But that was probably my fault, as his guard rail wasn't sufficient for him. (Please don't report me! LOL! He's 8 and a straight-A student now!! LOL)

My two boys have VERY different personalities and at times it does cause a problem, but I think it's important for them to learn to deal with problems, not get them solved by separating them.

In real life, we have to deal with people we don't like, not run away from them. I think you will really be teaching your boys something great if they share a room, even if it's not with bunk beds.

Bunk beds do save on space, but yes they can be unsafe. However my kids have never had a problem with pushing each other off. Our biggest problem has been the younger one talks and keeps the older one awake. Or, the younger one tries to climb up and the older one yells "MOM make him get in his own bed!" Or the older one stands up and nearly gets his head whacked with the ceiling fan.

Just a few concerns to think about!

But, we have a 4-bedroom house and we're about to have our 5th child, so having our boys share a room is the only option.

I hope you can work it out well.

Oh, one more thing, if space is a concern, using a toddler bed will be less space in a room. You can consider that too.

My son was put in a bunk bed at 2 1/2 because I was pregnant with his baby sister. My husband and grandfather built it together so it could go from loft to bunk (the bottom bed is optional). That way we could still keep the toy box and play table in our 2 bedroom apt. It has a built in rail and a removable ladder. He is now 4 and my daughter is 1 1/2. Soon enough she'll be big enough to sleep on the bottom.

Sure there are dangers, but you just communicate them to your child and train them to use it all safely. We keep the door closed during the day when I can't be there to supervise. My daughter loves to climb the ladder now. My son fell out once, but learned from the mistake after stitches in the ER. He still calls for us to help him down to the potty in the middle of the night.

I myself was in a bunk bed from an early age and I only fell out once. Kids learn fast. Good luck and enjoy your new little one.

Wellllll, we just put bunk beds in my sons room, of course all of the girls wanted to sleep in there the first night, my 6 yr old ended up getting on the top to sleep. We heard a crash at 3 in the morning, followed by a trip to the ER, where she had fractured both bones in her arm that connect to her wrist. Needless to say, the top bunk is off limits and the ladder is put away. She was trying to get down in the dark, still mostly asleep and missed the ladder. Most kids will catch their fall with their hand which typically will brake or fracture the radius and or ulna. I guess I'm not for bunkbeds for your children's ages bc I won't let my kids get up there and they are 2, 5, 6.
Suddenly our bunkbeds got a lot more expensive!! But seriously, for the safety of your little ones I would be weary of them.
Blessings to you and yours,
J.
www.gliffik.com/J.

Yes, sharing is a great experience for them and they will love it while they are young. As for the bunk bed, well it's a bit too soon. How about a trundle bed for them? The kind where one bed pulls out like a drawer under the top one. Those are great for space too. ")
C.

I would definitely do something other than bunkbeds. They are not recommended for kids under six. People will tell you that their kids did fine but I think the risk of a serious head injury is too great.

If you are set on bunk beds, I would get a set that work as 2 twin beds also. I would never put a 3 year old on a top bunk. You could start with twins and when he is 5 or so then stack them. I have a friend that did that and it was a fun change when her son was old enough.