We are considering getting a bunk bed for my son's room. He is three tomorrow and soon (after he learns to escape the crib) will move him to a big boy bed. Likely we'll put the mattress on the floor for a while. Eventually we'll get a frame. We are considering a bunk bed. He would get the bottom and his sister might occasionally sleep on top (4.5). She moves very little when she sleeps. However, I am concerned about safety. Can you please share your experiences with bunk beds - good and bad? Thank you!
NO, NO, NO!!!!!
My best friend in Jr. High and High School had a son who was in elementary school and he was on the top bunk and fell off and died. He was not rough-housing, he was not bouncing, just on the bunk and fell off. His head cracked open and he was dead before he got to the hospital. Don't get bunk beds for kids.
I slept in bunk beds for most of my childhood, with six siblings what else can you do! All seven of us at some point were in the top bunk of a bunk bed, and 6 of us did just fine. My little sister fell out once in the middle of the night and broke her wrist though! It was a military issue bunk bed without a good railing, my mom went out and bought a higher railing to add on the next day! Other than that, we had pretty good experiences with bunk beds, older kids will sometimes jump off the top bunk for fun so you need to have rules against horseplay, but just buy a good, high railing and you'll be fine!
We did bunk beds from the time our boys were 4.5 and 18 months. By the time the little one was 2 or so, he would climb up on top and then fall off when he tried to get down. It was very dangerous, and we were lucky that he didn't have a major accident. We switched to captains beds and love them. If you're looking to save space but have the occasional extra bed, I'd go with a trundle. I suppose if both our guys had been a bit more responsible like the older one, we'd still have bunk beds, though. They are a pain to make, though!
We bought bunk beds when we found out we were having our 4th child- a surprise:) We have a four bedroom house, so we had to move our youngest son in with his brother. What I liked about the bunk bed was that it took up less space in the room than 2 beds would. Really that's it.
I wound up HATING them. I thought they were a royal pain every time I had to put a fresh mattress pad, sheets, and blankets on the top OR bottom.
When my sons got stomach bugs in the middle of the night, and threw up all over themselves (1 one night, the other the following night) and their bedding....well, I'm sure you can imagine- not fun. If the child on top was sick and needed to have his temp taken or needed meds in the middle of the night, it was less than ideal.
We finally wound up separating the bunk into 2 beds. Yes, it took up more floor space, but visually, the room actually looked bigger because the bunk bed, because of its height, was kind of like a wall and made the room seem smaller and darker. I was a little surprised that the boys were happy when we suggested it. Turned out neither one of them liked sleeping in it- climbing on it, yes. We had a rule against climbing, but we found they would sometimes do it anyway when we weren't looking. That, of course, made me nervous.
So, unless I really had no other way around it, I'd never do it again. If we're surprised again.....we're moving to a bigger house :)
My son has one and he loves it...he is 6. We havent had any issues with it or with the kids being on it...our daughter sleeps on the bottom one night a week...We are going to get her one sometime but right now her twin size is good enogh...,we have a spare full size too we may use with her before getting her a bunk bed. But as far as safety/age and all I actually wouldnt consider one until child is 4 or 5...but thats just my opinion.
You could also get a trundle & bed combination. This is a regular height bed with a bed on rollers under it. Some of the under-beds pop up to normal height and some stay in a drawer and remain low. A lot of "day beds" have this combination. We even considered getting 2 "Murphy" beds, the kind that fold up by tipping them into a frame against a wall. In the end the least expensive was just getting 2 bed frames with springs and matresses but no box springs ( I am from Europe where box springs are not known and I do not like them).
We have two bunk beds and love them. Although, we waited until our youngest was 5. We figured we should wait to get the bunk bed until all of our kids were old enough to safely go up and down on their own.
My daughter had a bunk bed set up from the time she was about 3 (after being in a toddler bed from 22 mos old). She had a really small room and we needed the space for when my BIL lived here at the time (in our unfinished basement) and was going thru his divorce. This was the only OK'ed place for his visitations with his 2 kids...his son was the same age as my daughter, so he slept in the lower (full size) bed, and the daughter slept in a pack and play.
After that situation changed, we removed the lower full size bunk and made it a lofted upper bunk, with play space below. The ladder was a straight up and down one. She was in this room until she was 5 when we finished the basement and she moved down there into a regular bed. She never had a problem with the bunks, never fell out (there was a safety bar). We had rules, and practice drills for safety (we did the fire alarm and such..even a few times after she was asleep....I do home daycare and grew up in a firefighter family...so I feel these things are super important for all families to know!)
She was never allowed to "play" in her upper bunk, it was just for sleeping. Its just what worked for us so when playing in there we had no up and down the ladder going on. We made the under part fun with home made curtains and it was her dress up area!
Good luck with your choice!
We bought a bunk bed from IKEA, and it was very reasonably priced. In fact, ours was on clearance for only $80, but full price they are less than $200.00. It is a metal frame and very sturdy.
We have had no accidents or injuries. I like that it saves a lot of space in the bedroom. It is really annoying to make the top bed though because of the height. Changing the sheets is especially difficult.
I don't like bunk beds for young kids as they tend to fight over who gets to sleep where and when they get older it is a bit more ackward. If you really want to go this route, I would suggest you get one like my sister did for her son. It has a side running down the length of the top bunk so they can't roll off and has steps rather than a ladder. My daughter is a climber so a bunk bed would be tempting fate.
We had bunk beds growing up and really loved 'em. We had one that was staggered like an L with a dresser. We didn't fight, and we didn't fall. (We were 3 and 7, or 4 and 8).
I just bought bunkbeds for my son who is 4 and he's beside himself. We got the one that's a T, with a dresser, bookshelves, and a desk. Right now, we just have the bottom bunk made (in his new bedding---he's been begging for a "cowboy room" for 2 years, we just moved, so we gave his new room the theme he'd been asking for). He's happy to sleep in it, and I've got him in the bottom bunk for a little while longer, just to buy me some time to discuss safety and all that. And I want the thrill and newness to be just a LITTLE bit gone before I let him sleep on the top (a couple months). No qualms about it though.
Bunks are good for giving the older girl a little privacy from little brother, if they have to share a room. What you worry about right now may not be an issue in a year or two ( the bed is a long term purchase). One of mine fell off once but no injury. Here in California I liked the overhead as a little protection during earthquakes. We no longer us the top, but continue to use the bottom as a twin so it's nice to have one that works separtely.
We love ours....but I HATE changing the sheets and making them! But the kids think they are great!
Any child can hurl him/herself off the top bunk just for fun. But most contemporary designs are safe. My husband has a crooked nose from falling off his upper bunk as a child, striking a toy chest on the way down. But he's the only person I know who's ever fallen out of a bunk bed.
We've been fine with ours. Our 4 yr old and 2 yr old sleep on them. :)
I slept in a bunk bed from childhood through til HS (when we split rooms again) and then again in college. I only fell out once, and that was only because we'd set up the bed so that the mattress was too high. I was fine. When my SD was little, we had a bunk bed for her sleepovers so the girls could giggle in there all night instead of the livingroom. I didn't start sleeping on a top bunk til I was over 6 yrs old. I think 6 or 8 is the minimum age suggestion. I'd get a set that could be 2 beds later if necessary. My sister had the bottom bunk and when we split rooms, all we had to do was pull mine off the top and take it down the hall. Go high quality, too, so they last.
My stepdaughter has one now that's a loft with a desk under it.
Bunk beds sure free up a lot of floor space in a small area. I had one when I was a child. I slept on the top bunk. I only fell out once, and I lived to tell the tale. And, my sister and I still have a great relationship.
Where does your daughter sleep regularly? Are you buying the bunk bed with an eye towards future sleepovers, etc? Keeping her from roling out is easy enough they sell safety bars for most models. A more immediate concern would be her wanting to go to the bathroom/ get a glass of water, see you in the middle of the night. Is she going to be able to negotiate the stairs/ ladder safely? also, are the stairs ladder going to prove too irresistable to your son?
bunks are excellent, but you might want to hold off on setting them up until they are a bit older.
We got ours a few months ago--LOVE IT. Pros our kids sleep great and don't thrash around on there. I have 4.5 boy on top and 22month boy on bottom double bed. Works great. Cons--they tend to climb and hang and jump so its a habit that we are trying to break. But we for the most part, love it. GL
M
We have had bunks for my daughter who is 8 now and son 4 since my daughter was first in a bed. We knew we were going to have another kid and thought it would be easier to have her go right to it from her crib. They are still using it and sharing a room. We haven't had any problems. It's more of a problem if they don't sleep in the same room because my son has gotten used to having his sister with him.
Making the beds is kinda a pain, but I have never been a person that needs the bed made up nice every day so changing sheets a few times a month isn't all that big of a deal. Love the extra room it gives for play space.
We have bunk beds and love them!! Most bunks I have seen have a rail on the top bunk so kids won't roll out.
We also chose a set that can separate into two twin beds.
The only thing I don't like about them is that they are tough to change sheets when they are stacked... it's a small price to pay for the space saving though.
You might also consider a trundle bed!
