I'm trying to figure out the best configuration for my kids sharing a room. I have a new 5yr old, and an almost 1.5yr old. We'll be in this house for at least three more years - so until ages 8 and 5 basically. The room is fairly small. Like a twin on each wall with a bedside table inbetween size.
If you have experience with this what kind of bed situation did you have? I've been debating between loft (high or low?), bunk beds, two twins...
Furniture is so expensive to get out here I don't really want to buy something to test out how it works I want something that will last for the next few years.
My kids had bunk beds from when they were 2/5 to when we moved house when they were 5/8. It worked well as we could reach my younger son and my daughter could escape him (though he did learn to climb up really quickly so just a warning that any sort of loft/bunk bed will be an open invitation for your toddler to learn how to climb! That left enough room in for a bookcase / toy shelf and a bit of space to play.
Post by expectantsteelerfan on Apr 26, 2023 6:51:03 GMT -5
I am mean. I loathe bunk beds (because of how hard they are to change the sheets) and I would just do 2 twin beds so there would never be any arguing over there being anyone with the 'better' bed.
I’d do everything possible to avoid bunk beds, personally. Especially with kids that young. There’s no bunk bed low enough that I’d feel comfortable having in a room with 1.5yo-2yo.
Technically per the AAAP you should be 6 for a bunk bed. I think that's your best option though so maybe an Ikea Kura which is a low profile bunk bed? My kids are 6 and 3 and the 3 year old knows he's not allowed up. He listens, but he's a chill kid.
Post by maudefindlay on Apr 26, 2023 7:24:28 GMT -5
Do they need their room to be a play space or is there a separate area in the house for playing? If they don't need play space I'd do 2 twins. If they need play space then bunk beds.
My boys briefly shared a room till DS1 felt ready to move to his bedroom in the basement. They had bunk beds. DS1 was 3.5 and DS2 was 1.5 (he was on the lower bunk bed) and it was fine. Ours had stairs instead of a ladder and had a railing around all sides on the top.The upper bed is a pain to change sheets on, but lower one is fine.
I tried making my kids share a room when they were at similar ages. DS had left his crib right around when he turned 1 and DD was still wanting me to take her to bed for bedtime stories at age 5. It didn't work because DS couldn't get on the earlier sleep cycle DD needed to be on since she was in school. They still shared, I just took the younger one up to bed later. Then DS went through this a phase of waking up MOTN and it was disturbing DD's sleep. That's when we started making plans to give DS his own room.
When they did share, they were in 2 separate beds. DD was on a higher up platform bed, and DS was on a mattress on the floor.
Another vote against bunk beds, one of our kids actually has one but the top is used for toy storage.
Two twins is fine, they might have less room but that just means they will probably play in other areas of the house. Under the bed storage and wall storage will help a lot, we store a decent amount of toys under our kid's beds.
My daughters have a big room, but due to the placement of doors and windows, it’s very difficult to put furniture in there. We currently have a twin over full bunk, because it fits perfectly in one corner of the room, and gives them space for two dressers And play space on the floor.
It’s worth it for us right now because of the way it fits in the room gives them a lot of space. However, I agree with everyone that changing sheets and bunkbeds is a massive pain in the butt and I hate it.
Maybe as they get into 13 years will have to transition back to two twins and move some furniture around. But right now they are 10 and eight and they like the bunk.
Technically per the AAAP you should be 6 for a bunk bed. I think that's your best option though so maybe an Ikea Kura which is a low profile bunk bed? My kids are 6 and 3 and the 3 year old knows he's not allowed up. He listens, but he's a chill kid.
ugh so I loved this bed as a loft for my older one, but we don't have Ikea and it's $600 to get here 😭 and of course now I'm getting all the targeted ads and articles about how it's the best bed ever lol.
Also sorry I prob should have said we will prob keep the baby in a crib till 3ish. But, she is wild and has always been a climber so it does give me pause for a higher bed because I'm sure she would be climbing it every chance she got. But we also have a small house, and I think the high space could be a nice alone place for my older one...
Currently the baby is still in our room in a pack n play, and my older one is on a toddler bed using the crib mattress. I want to move the baby into the crib in the "kids" room. So I've been debating buying a second crib mattress, or upgrading my older one to a twin/loft/bunk since she can't be in a toddler bed for much longer anyways.
Post by pittpurple on Apr 26, 2023 15:41:47 GMT -5
My daughter probably would never have climbed up there as a toddler but my son has always been a climber so he was up the bunk from like 2 days into having the freedom to do so. We had to move him into a bed really early too as he was climbing out of his crib.
For me it really depends on where else they have to play. Our kids mostly played in the living room but it was really nice (for me) to sometimes be able to clean that all up and just stick them in their rooms - they had enough space to play in there for a while. If they'd had two twins they would have just played on their beds so I'm sure they would have been fine but it was just nicer to have space for duplo and whatnot.
My son's room now is teeny tiny so he has a loft bed with lots of his toys underneath and it's perfect for him.
This is going to sound un-American but if you’re worried about floor space to play, do they need separate beds at this age? My kids are 2.5 and 5 and each have their own rooms, but say they prefer sleeping together and I usually wake up to find that one or the other of them has woken up during the night and gone to snuggle with their sister (awww). What about one full-sized fun shared floor bed?
We got a double over double bunk bed when our kids were 2.5 and 5, and they both slept on the bottom for a year, with stuffed animals on top (they could go up there supervised during the day). At 6. my older son moved to the top bunk.
But neither kid has ever been a climber and neither one thinks the top bunk is any more exciting than the bottom one (which is so weird to me…as a kid, I was so jealous of friends with bunk beds if they got to sleep on the top bunk!).
I would do twins with underbed storage. I like IKEA for kids, or even something used from ReStore or the FB Marketplace. A lot of families trade out furniture when they move to a forever house, and you might find something on a smaller scale that works well.
My BIL is an ER doc and thinks bunkbeds should be banned. He feels that way about trampolines and diving boards as well.
Post by pinkpeony08 on Apr 30, 2023 10:04:13 GMT -5
I agree with two twins or could even start with the one twin and one crib turned to toddler.bed until truly need a second twin. I would consider investing in a good closet storage system if clothes storage is an issue with space or get twin beds with a storage drawer underneath. At our first house, we had two kids in a small room though they were both small enough we had a toddler bed and a crib in the room with dresser and recliner.
The main reason was that we have no air conditioning in a hot climate, so when using the bunk bed, neither felt the air from the ceiling fan or fan.
oh hi are we neighbors? Because same lol. Thank you though that's something I hadn't even thought about!
Thank you all! I think I'm going to do a regular twin + crib, and eventually change that to the toddler bed that my 5yr old is currently using. Then maybe another twin if we're here long enough. Bunk beds are def out! They don't really play in their room too much. Our house is 1,000sq ft, and most of that is the living room/kitchen/dining so the bedrooms are tiny. Which is fine its worked well with little kids I can always see them when playing. And weather is nice basically year round so they play in the yard a lot as well.