Bunk Beds???? Good or Bad Idea?

We got bunkbeds when my oldest was 2 1/2 yrs. He climbed right up onto the top bunk and stayed there for 3 years. :) Loved it and never fell out or anything like that. My younger son started in the top bunk when he was 3 yrs. and no problems for him either. I guess it just depends on how comfortable you are with him on a bunk. For us, bunks helped out with space issues (small room) and the fact we have them sharing. Good luck!

<laughing> my son actually nighttime potty trained in a bunk bed. It was one of the IKEA short ones...where the bottom mattress would have been on the floor (or a toddler bed could fit underneath)...but the top bunk was only 4 feet off the floor. I've seen it in the store, but it's not online any more. My singleton slept on the top, and the bottom had a mattress, but was actually converted into a fort. He negotiated the ladder just fine in the middle of the night...but it DID make me nervous that one night he'd miss a rung and fall or get his leg stuck and fall. He only used the ladder at night. When he was fully awake, he preferred to do a flying leap off of the bed. It had a high railing on all 4 sides, and then we had a star canopy over it, so there was little danger of him rolling off, but the ladder really did make me nervous.

We actually switched to a double, so we could pal onto his bed for stories, "camping", fevers/nightmares, snuggles, etc., which was impossible in his bunk.

Growing up my sister and I who shared a room either had two twins shoved together, or bunk beds. Both had their benefits and drawbacks.

Good Luck

Hi K.: I didn't read all of your prior advice, so sorry if you already received this suggestion. I would suggest buying a bunk set that separates into two twins. There are many such models. That way you can use them as two twins until you are ready to move your son into the top bunk. You will know when and this weill give you flexibility for a while. The sets come with hardware to stack and secure the bunks when the time comes, and you can later separate them again as the kids go into their own rooms.

Out of curiosity, I checked the comment made regarding the legal requirement to provide separate rooms for children over the age of 6. I was only able to find a statute that addresses foster care children. I was not readily able to find legal information on this issue with siblings, and I would be surprised if there were such a law for siblings; although, common sense would dictate that you would want to separate opposite-sex siblings before one hits puberty at the latest. Here is the link to the policy I found. The specific clause states (again this is for children in foster care):
(b) Provide sufficient bedroom space to assure that children of the opposite sex over age six do not occupy the same bedroom, except as prior authorized by the private agency staff person, such as when care of disabled
children may necessitate otherwise;

http://www.dhs.state.or.us/policy/childwelfare/manual_2/i...

I started my kids (a girl about 4.5 and a boy age 3) in a bunk bed several months ago. I was a little concerned with how they would do, but for us it was a matter of having a small house and needing to squeeze three kids into one room. I have to say, it's been great! The kids absolutely LOVE it and the transition was no problem whatsoever. Our only rule is that the bed is not for playing on...just sleeping. They're not allowed on the top bunk during the day and my three year old is not allowed on the top at all.

Also, we went with a hardwood bunk bed that can be separated, that way when we eventually get a larger house and our kids get a little older, they can still use the beds in their own separate rooms. So far this has worked out perfectly for our needs and my daughter (who's small for her age) has never had any trouble being on the top bunk.

Bunk beds are wonderful! I'd highly recommend :).

I have put my kids in bunk beds before they were six years old, but there were a few things that I felt made it a little safer. 1) A good-sized guardrail around the entire top bunk and 2) a removeable ladder (we would take the ladder off during the day to prevent the kids from playing on the top bunk.)

If you get bunk beds get well made ones, and get ones that have built in rail--wooden--not melten. Look for ones that have a wooden latter that is nailed not hooked onto the bed.

Also have your husband get up on the top and try to take it apart before he lets you son up on top.

How about one of the lower loft style beds from IKEA? It's high enough that your daughter's toddler bed could go underneath, but low enough that your son should be able to get up and down easily.

I love bunk beds. I shared one with my sis for a couple of years and had a loft bed later on as an adult. I have to agree though that they are not appropriate for younger children - 6 seems to be an ok age to be sleeping in the upper bunk, though it really depends on your children and their sleep habits. It does take a lot of coordination to get up and especially down the upper bunk safely.
If they are moving a lot, getting up a lot or have a histroy of sleep walking or night terrors it may not be a good solution at all.
Good luck deciding.

Hi K.,
My boys went into bunkbeds when they were 4 1/2 and 2 1/2. I was always very paranoid that my 2 year old would try to climb up during the night (he is part monkey I think), but he did not. They are now 6 and 4 and it's worked out perfectly. We got ours at Ikea. It's just a standard bunkbed (no loft, etc) because we wanted it to be something they could use for awhile. For the top bunk, I put a long body pillow closest to the edge which keeps my son closer to the wall side. :)

I think it depends on the kids. That being said, I will never buy a bunkbed, I think they are a terrible idea... only takes a second for a kid to fall out and break their necks... why risk it? Kids have no reasoning skills and they don't think about things like that while they are playing and restling around up there. As well, I would be seperating my boy and girl into seperate rooms rather soon anyway if my kids were in the same room. But, thats just my opinion. I would just do two seperate twin sized beds. Good luck with your choice :)

well... if you do this now, get a bunk bed with very effective sides, and make sure you have carpet and good padding under the bed ;). I think all three of my kids-who-have-been-a-top-bunk-kid have at some point rolled off their top bunk once (or, in one case, twice). All of them were 4 or 5 ish I think ... currently we have all four bunkable beds with feet on the ground ... .

We started in bunks around 4 when I was a kid. I rolled out of my bunk while sleeping twice that I can remember, I think about age 6 and age 9 ... so, what're gonna do ;)??

Falling off a bunk is pretty disturbing, but generally the kid lands pretty flat.

I agree with the previous answer, that the ladder situation is really the most dangerous aspect--on all the beds I've ever been around.

The main thing I'd say, is does your son have a very good idea of where his body is in space and is he generally coordinated? There are LOTS of kids who can't manage a bunk safely until about 6 or 7 because they haven't developed these abilities yet ... (hence, I had one who fell off TWICE in one year, before we moved him back down to a lower bunk).

First I'll start with my kids are climbers! They able to climb and get to places kids who are older wouldn't. We just got them bunk beds and they are 3 1/2( he'll be 4 in Oct) and just turned 2. She sleeps on the bottom bunk, but still climbs and goes to play on the top. If your kids, especially the older one, are good at climbing and don't have issues when they sleep you should be fine. We got ours at Walmart for $169 and the top bunk has the side rails closer together and the only opening is where the ladder is. My daughter does great on the bottom bunk. If you think that your kids are developmentally ready (being able to climb, not rolling out of bed that kind of thing) I say go ahead and get them.
ps. the mattresses are cheaper at kmart than walmart.

At what point will you have to put your kids in separate rooms? I think it's somewhere around the age of six, by state law. Given that you're going to have to separate them in a couple of years, I would go with separate beds.

Hi K.,

We put our son into his bunk beds a couple of months before he turned 4. Although he slept in the bottom bunk with a guard rail, he did just fine. He sleeps in the top bunk occasionally on special requests, but he doesn't come close to falling out or anything like that.

Changing the sheets and making the beds are the biggest challenge. I just hate them. Can't reach the top and bump my head on the bottom. If there's any way you can avoid bunks and do twins or trundle beds, do it.

Good luck with your decision.

I've been looking at beds recently, and one configuration i've seen is a 'low loft' bed, with another twin bed at a 90 degree angle below it. The high bed is not as high as a normal bunk bed, so it may be less intimidating to a younger child. There are also beds with trundle beds in them, which would leave space open during the day, but offer two low beds at night - not sure if trundle beds are used for daily use, though.

I think if you search for 'kids loft beds' you will see a lot of options.

Do you really have to separate genders by 6 years? That seems really weird to me.

My 6 and 3 yr old boys share a bunk bed, with the older boy on the top bunk. It's the only thing that makes sense in our small home. We had to keep a close eye on the kids for a few months after we first got it, to monitor them for safety's sake. After they got used to the idea that the top bunk was not for playing in, we didn't have any issues with it. We've had it since just after my oldest turned 5. I don't think age is an issue here.

It is all a matter of what your child can handle. Can you trust him to not do cannon balls off the top bunk? can you trust your 3 year old to not climb up and jump on the top bunk? Does your older one get up alone at night to use the potty? If so, how alert is he?

I got my daughter a jr loft bed for her 4th birthday and it has never been a problem! It is way safer than a bunk bed because if they do fall from the top, it is not as high. Also, if they fall from the ladder, it is only a couple rungs high. Our idea was to put another mattress on the floor under the jr loft to kinda create bunk beds, but lower ones. The loft we got has a slide too, so she'd have an alternate way to get down until she was older and could safely climb down the ladder.

Personally, I think it depends on the child, not necessarily the age. I have a 4-1/2-year-old and a 2-1/2-year-old and for a while they were sharing a room while we were finishing our downstairs and adding another room (we are expecting baby #3 at the end of the month). We decided on bunk beds that also come apart into two twin beds, solid wood, very sturdy and nice. When we purchased them, we sat both the boys down and told them about how the bed was not a toy and that the little one was not allowed to climb up the ladder and said if they didn't obey the rules, the beds would be taken apart. Fortunately they both listened and we NEVER had a problem with them playing, climbing, jumping, etc. Good luck!!!

We just recently put my 3 year old in his 5 yr old's room. I bought a JR loft type bed with a slide and ladder from a lady on Craig's list and saved a tone. (a $500 bed for $50. I love a good deal). We also put a mattress on the floor under the loft but at some point every night my 3 year old climbs up in bed with my 5 year old. It has good rails all the way around and the slide seem to be easier to negotiate in the night and early morning for both boys. Since you have a few months I would check Craigs list and thrift stores to save $$. Just be sure it's sturdy and not to old so you know it meets child safety codes.
My cousin's little girl fell out of a regular old twin and broke her collar bone so things can happen even with safety in mind. Hope this helps a bit.

A.

Hi, K.. My two sons are 4 1/2 and 3, and they are in bunk beds. They got them when they were 4 and 2 1/2. They do great! The younger one especially liked the idea of a "big boy bed." My older one missed his toddler bed for a little bit, but he was also outgrowing it. The older one sleeps on top. We practiced going up and down the ladder a couple of times and explained that the bar would keep him from falling down. That was the only problem. My younger son can climb up and down, too, just more slowly. They do great if you explain the dangers and rules of play in and around the beds. The only thing I would do differently is get some sort of a bar or side thing for the lower bunk so they can't fall out of bed! Anyway, they are expensive, but maybe you can find a used one. God bless the transition!

My two daughters share a room also. My youngest is in a crib still, but the older one (almost 4) is in what will be the top bunk bed when both beds are put together. Right now, it is on the floor and being used as a twin size bed. If you have the room for this, then go for it. I would say that if you have the room to get bunk beds and put them in the room and still have your daughters bed in there, then you could go that route as well.

I'd probably try to get bunk beds that can be separated. That way if they don't work out you have another option.

I'd buy bunkbed but just make top bunk off limits for now and keep toddler bed in room for little girl to sleep in and have son sleep on bottom bunk next year you can get rid of toddler bed and move boy to top bunk