Post by twodogsandababy on Jan 20, 2013 0:38:45 GMT -5
What age do you think bunk beds are okay? DS is 3 and still in a toddler bed. I've wanted bunk beds for him for a while, but now I am having second thoughts. He is kind of a wild child and very much into showing me his "tricks" which usually involve jumping. His friend has bunk beds and he talks about them all the time.
I've wanted the one from Costco with a twin over a full with stairs up the side instead of a ladder for awhile.
Post by darthnbjenni on Jan 20, 2013 0:44:34 GMT -5
We bought something similar from Rooms to Go for our 3 girls. They were 3 (twins) and 4 when we bought them. We set very firm ground rules - no jumping, no climbing, no swinging, only crawling on the top bunk (no standing). It has gone exceptionally well for us.
Post by fortmyersbride on Jan 20, 2013 8:28:49 GMT -5
Oh gosh, DS is 4 and I can't imagine having him in a bunk bed. He's a pretty responsible kid too, but a very restless sleeper and prone to the occasional stunt idea. I don't think I would want him to have anything that tall to climb in his room until at least age 6, but DH is pretty firm on no bunk beds or trampolines so it's kinda a moot point in my house.
We have them. I think we got them when DS1 was about 5.
i'm shocked we haven't had broken bones. They also went through a phase where it was fun to pee off the top bunk to the brother sleeping in the bed across the room (we had the orphanage set up for a while until it started sounding too much like the Lord of the Flies when we closed the door at bedtime)
We bought DS his bunk bed at 3. We removed the ladder and had a firm, no going on the top bunk, rule until he was 5. He stuck to that rule and it was never a problem.
I think we bought ours when DD1 was 4 & DD2 was 2. Maybe even before but we didn't buy the top a mattress for a year or so. DD1 slept on bottom & DD2 slept on the trundle for a while. When DD2 was 5 she moved to top bunk (DD3 moved to bottom & DD1 got her own room). It's been fine but they aren't rambunctious around them. Most nights DD2 sleeps in DD1s room in her full size bed. It's musical beds around here.
Post by whosthatgirl on Jan 20, 2013 10:27:50 GMT -5
I had bunk beds as a kid. My sister was on top when she was about 6. At 8 she got her own room (I was 4) and I took over the top bunk because it was cool. I was a very curious kid who would jump off the top of our swing set and climbed up on the roof of our house. I never had a problem with the bunk beds. We had rules, and if I wanted to get to sleep in the cool top bunk, I couldn't jump from the top.
Post by ellipses84 on Jan 20, 2013 10:36:46 GMT -5
We got a double over single with a regular ladder when our son was 9, but that was because we moved into a new house. It has a typical ladder, which I prefer, because I can move it out of the way when smaller children are around. I probably wouldn't get one until 6, but my nephew transitioned to one from a crib and only sleeps on the bottom with no ladder. If you don't buy a mattress with it, makes sure to measure and get a mattress that has no gaps on the sides and a thin mattress (not pillowtop) for the top bunk.
Age 6 for the top bunk. Younger than that and they aren't developmentally ready to get in and out of it safely in the middle of the night. Also, the guardrails are designed for larger children, so younger children can get caught in them.
My twin sister and I slept on a bunk bed for many years. My parents got if from our in home day care provider for free so it was already old when we were sleeping on it. After my twin sister fell off the top bunk while she was sleeping and broke her collar bone my dad nailed wooden 2x4 type sides on.
When we were older (8-10) we'd pad the carpet with blankets, pillows and stuffed animals and do flips off the top bunk to the ground.
DD has had a loft bed since she was three, and we haven't had any issues. The first few nights I covered every inch of her room in pillows and blankets, but it was completely unnecessary. She is a super cautious child and does really well up there.
I must be a terrible parent then, because DD2 went straight from a crib to the bottom bed of a set of bunk beds. She was about 17 months old. DD1 slept in the top...she was almost 6 when we got them. Even when DD2 was so little, we had no problems with her trying to climb the ladder or anything, and DD1 was cautious and careful about sleeping on the top. They are 6 and 10 now and we've never had an issue of any sort.
I would trust DS1 (5.5) with bunk beds. He is a pretty mature, cautious kid by nature and probably would have done fine with them at 3 or 4, though I would still have been nervous.
DS2 will be 3 in April and is a total climber and daredevil. There is no way in hell I would trust him with bunk beds any time soon. We moved DS1 and DS2 to the same room recently to make room for a new baby, and while they would have LOVED bunk beds, we didn't do it. Crazy DS2 would pull some sort of superhero stunt and convince less crazy but more accident prone DS1 to do it, too, resulting in injury for DS1.
I think age 5/6 is earliest I would consider them safe in general, but I am sure some kids do fine with them before then. While I hate to stereotype, I suspect girls are able to handle bunk beds earlier than boys in many cases.
Post by twodogsandababy on Jan 20, 2013 11:50:31 GMT -5
Thanks ladies, DS is really good at following rules, but there are the few days when he goes a little crazy and thats what I am worried about. I think I will hold off for now.
We bought something similar from Rooms to Go for our 3 girls. They were 3 (twins) and 4 when we bought them. We set very firm ground rules - no jumping, no climbing, no swinging, only crawling on the top bunk (no standing). It has gone exceptionally well for us.
I love this setup! If we decide to have a 3rd child, we'll need something similar since we only have 2 bedrooms. I'm bookmarking your blog for future reference!
My kids are 5 and almost 3, we haven't built the bunk beds yet, but in a few weeks we will. I think it'll be fine. They are pretty good about following safety rules. I will drill into their heads when we actually put them up.
If anyone needs one, google wrangler bunk beds at target, $99. I used my red card, got free shipping and 5% off.
My oldest was not quite 2.5 when she was in a low loft (Maxtrix) bed. She was almost 5 when we converted it into a bunk bed and our second was 2 and in the bottom bunk.
Post by mollybrown on Jan 20, 2013 19:13:59 GMT -5
I think it depends on how high the bed is, in part. My son started sleeping in a loft bed just before he turned 4. But it's only about 4 feet off the floor (Ikea Kura bed). He's so tall that he barely has to use the ladder to get out of it. His bed also has a tent over the whole thing, so he would have to work pretty hard to jump out of it. He's very cautious, so I don't worry about him getting hurt.
I love all of the bunk beds with stairs that have been posted. I've never seen beds like those. Something else to consider if we ever get bunk beds in the future.
We bought something similar from Rooms to Go for our 3 girls. They were 3 (twins) and 4 when we bought them. We set very firm ground rules - no jumping, no climbing, no swinging, only crawling on the top bunk (no standing). It has gone exceptionally well for us.
My SS has had bunk beds essentially since he was sleeping in a regular twin bed instead of a crib/toddler bed. Granted, he is 6 1/2 now and still sleeps exclusively on the bottom, but we would allow him on top now if he wanted.
Post by imojoebunny on Jan 22, 2013 8:25:59 GMT -5
We bought bunk beds at Walmart that come apart to make two twin beds. You could just make one twin and store the second twin until DS is older. It doesn't take up much room, if it isn't assembled. They are really sturdy. DS is 3, and he sleeps in the bottom bunk at our cabin. Both my kids are cautious, so it has worked out fine. I don't remember the brand, but they are about $180 for the pair.
Post by liveintheville on Jan 22, 2013 9:08:21 GMT -5
Kid 1 is 5 and Kid 2 is 2.5. We're waiting. They could both climb ladders by 2. But we wouldn't trust Kid 2 not to jump and hurt himself and there's no way he wouldn't be climbing up there constantly. Kid 1 will totally jump, also, but he'd actually make it without killing himself.
We got DD a Kura bed from Ikea and positioned the bed as a loft style with a top bunk. She loves it. She isn't a risky kid though and I don't imagine her jumping off it and doing crazy things.
Post by MixedBerryJam on Jan 22, 2013 9:28:11 GMT -5
My younger (now 15) missed his first day of Kindergarten recovering from a concussion from falling out of the top bunk. I would have loved to have a double underneath, and I probably wouldn't do regular bunks again at all. After that episode, I split the bunk into two regular beds.