How Old Is the Child Before Start Playing on a Bed?

My daughter just started playing and "reading" on her bed at about 3 1/2. She has been sleeping in a twin since about 2 1/2 (she actually asked for a big girl bed) - otherwise just like you say - she prefers to be on the floor.

why does this child need a bed to play on?
i can think of no earthly reason to keep a bed in a baby's room for him to 'play on.'
babies should play on a nice clean floor.
get rid of the bed.
khairete
S.

Bed is not a play place. If you want your son to learn how to fall asleep in the future, dont let him play in bed, since then it will be a play place, not sleeping place.

I suggest you put it away. When he is ready for sleeping in the bed, you can bring it out and set it up and talk about how exciting it is to be moving to the big boy bed. If it is furniture in the room for a long time, there is no special quality to it. If your husband wants to promote him playing on the bed, invite your son into your bed to play for a few minutes as a family play time. Then it is more special and you can be together to help teach him the safer way to play. We insist our girls can bounce but they must stay on their knees. You'd be surprised how high you can bounce from your knees. We stay on each side so we can monitor accidentally falling off and we can warn when they are getting too close to the head or foot board.

I think a bed is a potentially dangerous toy to have in the bedroom, takes up too much space and takes the joy out of moving to the big bed. Every kid feels special when they get their first real bed with fun sheets. Why take that excitement away from him?

On a side note, we moved our first child to a bed at 20 months because she was getting a sibling and we wanted the crib for the baby. She was so excited. It was in the hallway, wrapped in plastic for 2 days waiting for us to find the time to fix up her new room (moved to a new room so the baby could have the nursery theme) and hang curtains. When we brought it in, we unwrapped it and laid it on the floor in the middle of the room. My husband and I worked on the curtain/blinds and when we turned around, she was fast asleep on her new bed, curled up with her dolly. It was a great transition. Later that day, we actually got sheets on it and moved it to the corner.

Our second child moved to a twin bed when she was about 18 months because she was so excited about her sister's bed. We think in hind sight, she wasn't quite ready, because she seemed to be a little less secure and needed the comfort of the crib a little longer. She did fine, but it took a little longer for her to be comfortable in the bed on her own. I would say closer to 2 is a good idea, unless they just wont stay in the crib. Our children never climbed out.

We put the box spring on the floor and mattress on top and then put a long rail on one side and pushed it up against the wall in a corner. That way, there is only one way in and out of the bed, the bottom short side. It worked great.

my boy's 9.5 months old and he joins me and my husband on our bed every morning for 10-15 minutes of cuddling/crawling around. He has quickly outgrown the stage where he wants to play on the bed with us, he would prefer to get down, crawl on the floor and explore a little bit. So in MY experience babies much prefer the floor. Especially if they are able to cruise and crawl on their own. They just want to move! If you don't need the bed as a spare for anyone, then I say take it down!

T.:

Hello! I hope this finds you well! Most children do not move in to the "adult" beds until age 2. I would recommend storing the bed standing upright in a closet or if you have a garage, hanging in there inside large, sealed plastic bags until you are ready to use it. No sense in throwing it away or even giving it away.

If you guys only have two bedrooms, I can see that you can't leave the room as a guest bedroom. I sooooo understand your wanting to get baby toys out of the living room! At 10 months, the swing and jumper should almost be too small for him anyway. If you don't plan on having any more kids, sell them on ebay or at a yard sale. They are too cumbersome for storage and if you aren't pregnant now, get rid of them for the extra money and room. things change so fast that by the time you have a second child, you'll be surprised at what's changed in baby gear!

Take care!

you could take the bed down and put the mattress on the floor then he might play on it and you wont be worried about him falling. isnt he kinda old for a swing?

My son is 20 months... climbs onto everything. I'd say jumping on the beds is our number 1 "time out" issue. (We only have 2 beds - one is the master and one in the guest room... only the crib in his room). Definitely, get the bed out of the room, if you want his room to be "safe" for babies and toddlers.

It is probably a hazard without adult supervision. My daughter started sleeping in a twin around two and a half with rails. But she only recently at age 4 has started sitting there with her dolls and toys. I wouldn't encourage playing on the bed for safety reasons.

But you could get your son a little chair (or even a full size one), once he outgrows the swing and bouncer - which will be very soon anyway.

My opinion, get rid of the bed and childproof his room. You both will enjoy the play space.

T. - hello my son who is now four grew out of his crib at 1 year of age - he refused to sleep in the crib so we moved him into a full size bed that we had. We purchased railings to cover all three sides of the bed. At 10 months he was already climbing off our bed which sounds like your son is doing the same. I have to say this was a shock to us because our other two children didn't move into their beds until they were 2 years old. It's not the age that's important it's whether he can be safe - if he knows how to get off the bed and you put railings to protect him from rolling off he might be okay. If you teach him with the railings to play now he might just want this to be his bed permanently - better for all parties. Try it, if it doesn't work well no harm done because you'll eventually need the bed railings anyway.

Unless this bed is on the floor, it's DANGEROUS! Even older children can get hurt falling off a bed; I can't imagine how much a 10-month old could get injured. My son was only 3 when he was involved in a "bed accident". He chased the cat through the house; the cat ran into the bedroom, up onto the bed, off the other side and out the door. My son chased right after him and fell off the bed, landing right on his head. Ended up with a trip to Children's Hospital for a concussion.... sigh..... It's not worth it for a little one to be playing on the bed. Anyway, I wanted my kids to understand that beds were for SLEEPING, not for playing!! Bad habit to break later.... Just my two cents' worth.

P.

Hi there,
No, we never let our littlest ones play on the bed without direct supervision, but my youngest transitioned from our bed to his own bed at around 14 months, no crib. We put a rail on it and made it safe for him, plus a bit plush and with his favorite things around, like pictures of animals on the walls, and a picture of mom and dad. But if you're not planning to let him sleep in the bed any time soon, I don't think I'd leave it in there either. Plenty of other things he can play with that are more age-appropriate.

I would say not before 2 at least and maybe a little older before the child would really "play" on the bed. Before that age the only thing my daughter wanted to do on the bed was jump on it which I try to discourage her from doing. By age 2 you could also put a rail on it and use it instead of a toddler bed for your little one.

T., trust your own good insticts and also heed the other moms here: Don't leave the bed in the room. A twin bed seems small to an adult like your husband, but think about how far that fall from the bed to the floor really is for a baby or toddler, especially if the child falls head-first! It's not worth the risk. A bed isn't a toy or a playpen and you don't want your son to get the message that it is. He'll just use it for what most kids do: A trampoline. You won't be able to say to him, "Don't play on mom and dad's bed, don't play on the bed at grandma's" etc. if he's allowed to play on the bed in his room.

Can the bed be taken apart, broken down into its headboard, footboard, etc., and stored somewhere? Or sold or given away until you can get him his own big-kid bed in a few years? Also, depending on how the bed itself is made, it might have slats or other decorations on it that could present other safety hazards -- spaces where your son could get his arms, legs, or even, much worse, his neck or head stuck.

I'd present this to your husband as a really basic safety issue: A bed's not for play, it's for sleep, and it's a good while until your son is old enough to sleep in a twin bed even with a side rail. Your son will benefit much more from having that space for crawling, walking and playing appropriately for his age. Good luck and tell us here what happens.

I put my vote in with Leigh R. Beds are for sleeping and anything else could be dangerous. When he's fifteen and doing homework on the bed, that's different. But while he's still small? No way.

-S. Kav

Unless you are going to have frequent guests put the bed away for now. Your son will be much happier AND safer playing on the floor. Then when he is ready to sleep in a twin size bed put it back. Leaving it there for him to "play" on is an accident waiting to happen and will probably be a problem when you want him to sleep in a big bed not play. Good luck.