BUNK BEDS - Why All the Worry?

ROFL.... Okay. I have to just say first off Like! Love!

"Notwithstanding his propensity to walk around with his eyes closed"

Is my favorite line of the week :D

_______ (Back on Target)___________

My son had a bunk bed at 3 for several months, whilst night time potty training. It was a "short" bunk bed (about 4 and a half or 5' off the ground)

He did stellar.

This is also the kid who climbed walls, jumped off EVERYTHING, was a killer gymnast, etc. He also listened, followed direction, etc. (Yep. ADHD CAN do these things ;).

His COUSIN? (Also ADHD for the record) I wouldn't have (and didn't) allow him within 10' pole's distance of the bunk. This kid couldn't keep his arms and legs straight EVER, and was constantly coveted in bumps, bruises, stitches, casts. Just from "walking". His other cousin? (Ditto ADHD) No problem. MOST of my son's friends? No problemo. His "one friend" ((non listening, rule breaking, "But I just wanted to... (Stab him with a knife a little, set the couch on fire, go down the stairs first, swing the cat into the roof, make a pool in the car, etc.)")) In the category as Cousin 1. Back AWAY from the bunk! Back, back I say!!!

I suspect most kids are FINE with bunks. But you've got the uncoordinated & the non-listeners... That really need to sleep on the floor. Wrapped in cotton. Possibly forever.

Freak accidents. Everyone seems to know someone who knows someone who heard of someone who's child fell the five feet in such a way he died on impact. Apparently around 10 kids a year die from these freak accidents. So you have a better chance of winning the lottery while being struck by lightening, still everyone says they are dangerous.

When my husband was 7, he fell out of the bunk bed and broke his collar bone. It was the "bottom" bunk and the floor was carpeted!! LOL!

Probably because there are 36,000 ER visits a year due to bunk beds. There are 250,000 kids who are injured in car accidents each year. (2,000 of those are fatal.) So bunk bed cause roughly 1/7 of the amount of injuries that cars do. However - here's the real question - What percentage of kids own bunk beds compared to the percentage of kids that ride in cars? I have no idea. But I COULD see that 1/7 of kids in America that ride in cars have bunk beds. (I would imagine it could be even less.) But if it was 1/7, that would mean bunk beds would statistically be just as likely to cause injuries great enough for an ER visit as riding in cars - with a lower death rate. Yet we strap our kids in carefully in cars and we're aware of the dangers there. So I don't know. I also know of several kids personally who were injured on bunk beds (two concussions, one broken bone, and a very scary ALMOST injury where the child tied a jump rope around his neck and to the top railing and then tried to jump off the top, just as his father casually walked into the room and was able to stop him just in time. He was 4 years old and told his daddy he was pretending to fly.) ALL of these kids could easily shimmy up and down ladders - even with their eyes closed. So I know injuries have nothing to do with ability to get up and down a ladder. I just don't see the point of taking the risk when I know there's a high risk of injury with young kids. That's probably why the AAP recommends waiting until kids are 6. (And I would wait until the youngest in the house was 6, because two injuries I know of were with kids who's older siblings owned the bunk bed.) Sure lots of kids are fine. But I could put my child into a car, not buckle them in, drive all around town, return home and he would be fine. Does that mean I have the right to boast that riding without a car seat/seat belt is perfectly safe? Absolutely not.

so, let me get this straight....your 2 year old is SO stinking talented and advanced, that you just can not, no matter how hard you try, see the danger?

smh. notwithstanding your propensity for using big words - i think you're full of it on this one.

I haven't read the bunk bed questions, but your questions a good O..
There are over 36,000 binkbed injuries per year reported (who knows how many unreported?) they include cuts, falls, broken bones, bruises, etc.
Your question: why all the worry? could apply to lots of things.

When I had a cat seat inspection done, they told me that SIXTY percent if child safety seats were improperly installed or improperly used. Most people are happy enough to read the manual, consult the cars owner manual, install the seat & drive off into the sunset.
Most people driving their kids around in improperly installed and improperly used child safety seats aren't going to be in a fatal crash, right?
I'm sure some of the same types of stats can be produced for cribs, pack & plays, walkers, baby swings, tub seats, bathtubs, fans, attic stairs, lawowers, quads, hammers, guns, chewing gum, hot dogs and just about anything g you might find in your house!
So, enjoy your bunk beds. Be snart about it. google bunkbed saftey and obey the tips. But don't discount others that have decided its O. less danger they have in their home. It's a personal choice. I wouldn't lull myself into a false sense of security by thinking an accident could never happen though--that's why they're called 'accidents'!

Well I know of 2 kids who've fallen off of one and broke their arms and then my nephew was over our house a month ago and fell off of ours and broke his wrist. So while I haven't rushed out and sold ours I do think they can be dangerous.

Children have died from accidents I guess I look at it this way; I always tried to reduce the risk of bad accidents when my kids were young. My husband thought bunks were great but when we talked about the risks we both decided it was not a good choice. I was in no way over protective, but this was something that I had control over. So not a fan of bunks. You have to decide what works best for you and your kids..

We have bunk bed (they are single beds that can be bunked). We did not bunk them until our kids were 6 1/2 and 4. For us, the concern was not the ladder, but the kids understanding that they could not play on the top bunk. Also, I wanted to make sure my 6 year old could easily get out of the top bunk to use the bathroom half asleep and in the middle of the night, if necessary.

I'm with you...they really aren't anything to be concerned about.

My boys have had bunks since they were 2 and 3. My 3yo slept up top. We've never had a problem.

When my GD was very little and her older brothers wanted her to stay out of their way, they would put her on the top bunk. She fell off. Not saying that anyone else's child would do that, but it does happen. The truth of the matter is that you are paying closer attention at the park than you are when the kids are playing in their rooms.

Also, the slide ladder goes to the top of the slide. Nothing to do there but go down the slide. The bunk bed ladder goes to the bed where kids can play around and fall off.

To me, it's not the ladder that's the problem - it's kids playing on the elevated bed.

A lot of houses are built on a concrete slab. That's a LOT harder than the soft impact material or grass that most kids play on. Even a hard wood floor is harder than impact material or grass. Carpet with pad on top of a solid floor is still harder than impact material. The rails, the slats, the sides, or the legs are all harder than what most kids fall on from climbing toys.

Kids can fall and hit the corner of the coffee table and die, they can be playing in the front yard and a car driving by hit a pebble and that pebble fly and hit a child in the temple and that child die. That happened to a child in my toddler classroom in a child care center in S. OKC when I was just 19 or 20.

Kids get hurt and can die. Why in the world would someone purposefully give their kids something that has shown over and over that it is dangerous? And yes, there are thousands of kids out there sleeping on bunk beds and they're fine. They don't have an accident and fall to their death. If they did every person in that family and every friend of that family would instantly get rid of every bunk bed and they'd tell everyone they could that bunk beds are not safe and kids can die if they fall off of them.

That is my experience.

My friends son accidentally slipped off the top bunk when he was moving around and fell off. She was standing right there in the room, he fell, hit his head and died. I will never let anyone I know get bunk beds without telling them his story, how he was just a little kid who was not roughhousing, who was not bouncing around, who was not un-able to climb a ladder without slipping, nor was he clumsy. He was not a pre-schooler with poor balance due to their head weighing more than their whole body, he was a school age child that played sports, was athletic, and a good kid.

He was just an elementary school aged kid who slipped and fell to his death accidentally.

My boys had them but accidents happen. A lot of times the thing that happens is a fall between the bunkbed and the wall, causing strangulation.
I know, shudder!

I'm glad you are having a good experience with bunk beds.
I was once doing a home visit for a preschool family; the child was three and when she headed up the ladder of her bunk bed, she did have a mistep; I caught her little body mid-air.

I also know a kid who jumped off a top bunk for fun and ended up breaking his shoulder. Mainly because our children have no long-term sense of consequences. Basically, it works until it doesn't, right?

So, I think it depends on personal experience and the child themselves. I know some people have had sad tragedies with bunk beds, just as some families have had them with stairs. Like many things, there is a risk-- it's up to each parent to decide how much risk it is and how to ensure those risks are minimized.

There is sand or wood chips on the playground, hard floors at home. Head injuries in small children can be very serious and symptoms of such sometimes don't show up for years...so why risk it? JMO.

When he's bopping up and down ladders on the playground it's broad daylight and he's wide awake.

Imagine him waking in the night and trying to get up on his own (especially if you want him to potty train to get up and take himself to the toilet in the night). It's dark and he's half asleep.

See the problem there? That lower, seemingly safer bunk bed ladder is going to be a hazard when he's going up or down it while wobbly with sleep. I would not equate his playground prowess with his ability to negotiate a ladder in the night when tired.

I slept in a bunk bed starting at age 3 and I was in the top bunk. The bunk bed had 2 rails, My parents pushed the bed up against the wall, put one rail at my head and one rail at my foot with the ladder in between. I'm not sure if that was how it was supposed to be or if the rails were supposed to go on both sides of the bed.

Comparing to today, I would say the rails were a lot higher. There was no way, I'd roll off the bed with the rails in place. My sister, on the other hand, rolled out of the bottom bunk and under the bed, which is pretty amazing since there isn't much space under the lower bunk. One time, I woke with my head against the wall and my legs hanging out over the ladder. But I couldn't tell you if I got up in the night and fell asleep that way when I got back or if I actually maneuvered myself that way in the night.

I have twins boys (age 4) in a room that is really too small for two beds with frames. They sleep on mattresses on the floor right now. I really want to get them a captains bed type bunk bed set up, but I can see how they are not ready. I go back and forth trying to figure out which one could be on top and I change my mind frequently based on their current behavior.

My concerns are the following:
- that they will jump off the top bunk thinking it is fun.
- that they will find a way to fall off the top bunk as the rails do not seem nearly as protective as when I had bunk beds. Adding extra rails might solve this concern though.

And then I have a fluffy reason that isn't about safety but more about making it convenient to comfort them in the night. There can be concerns about managing the ladder in the middle of the night (like having to go potty), but I'm not worried about that as the beds I want to get have big steps not a ladder.

I still want to put them in bunk beds, but based on their maturity level, I don't think they are ready. I think it's more about whether your children are ready than anything. And some of it can just be a matter of training (them not to jump, etc).

My son did not stop falling out of his regular bed until well after he turned four. Bunk bed - I don't think so. However most of the reported 36,000 injuries/year severe enough to warrant an ER visit seem to be due to kids playing on the beds.

When my Godson was a little over 4, he and his sister were playing on their bunkbeds. He fell off, but his leg got caught as he fell. He broke his leg and was in traction in the hospital for over 6 weeks. I think he broke his pelvis too. Imagine a 4 year old in the summer lying in a hospital bed for 6 weeks with a rod going through his leg and it elevated in the air. It pained me so much just to look at it for a few hours that I was beside myself. I cannot even imagine how they got through the whole 6 weeks. When he got out out of the hospital, they put him in a body cast from him chest to his ankles. They set his legs with a bar between the knees holding them apart. It was about August at that point...in a body cast. He used a mechanic's flat rolling thing to scoot himself around the house. Thank God kids are so resilient because that whole experience was brutal. And, thank God it was his leg that got caught and not his head, as that would've snapped his neck and killed him. Bunk beds are dangerous.

We had them when our kids were little (starting at 3) and I knew the risks.
Not much different than trampolines, backyard swimming pools, or allowing your kids to do competitive cheer or play football, two extremely high injury sports.
I think we all decide what risks we are willing to take when it comes to our children. I tend to be of the less protective camp (though I must say I was thrilled when I realized my son had NO interest in football, that would've been a hard one for me!)

When my son was 5 he fell/kinda pushed off of a kid type slide 5 ft tall and broke his arm. Accidents happen BECAUSE THEY ARE ACCIDENTS!!!!
Same accident with a 2yr old could have a broken neck.........

Accidents can happen anywhere - kids break bones on the playground all the time. Bunk bed accidents tend to happen when no one is watching - kid rolls out or slips while climbing down in the middle of the night, when it's dark and they are drowsy. Parent thinks kids are playing in their room, but they're really bouncing around on the bunk beds and fall off.

We have a bunk bed. My kids are usually very safe on them. One afternoon all three of us were playing in the room. My daughter was on the top bunk reading a book. My son started to climb up, she started to climb down, since my son and I were chatting, we didn't notice her coming down until they bumped into each other. Not hard. But enough to knock my son off the ladder. He only fell off the second step, so I wasn't too worried. Went to go kiss his boo boo and he fell to the floor and had a seizure. Definitely SCARY. We went to the ER and they said sometimes a small bump or fall could cause that in kids. Just had to keep and eye on him.

We still have the bunk beds. And I still love them. But there are dangers involved. (When we have certain friends over, I have to remove the ladder, because they just get too crazed at the idea of the beds (and now we are talking 7 year olds).) But there is risk in absolutely everything we do. Like anything you take precautions and learn from your mistakes. Now you would never find both of my kids on the ladder at the same time, ever.

I am not sure, but I think the concern is that the little ones will fall out of the top bunk causing serious harm.

The danger is kids playing on them and jumping off of them, it's a LOT higher to fall from than a regular bed. And it's harder for the younger ones to understand hey DON'T play on the bunks. Also potty training , it's harder to hold it going up and down the ladder than it is to just get up and go.

I didn't see the post with problems - the post I read LOVED bunk beds...most did NOT like trundle beds...

My boys have had bunk beds for a while. My youngest son was 2 or 3 when moved into one...my oldest son did the toddler/twin first then moved to bunk....

oh well. no problems in my house!! They use it as a fort...they use it for a lot of things and no one has fallen yet!

I think for SOME kids, it's just really hard to imagine having a bunk-bed. Take, my child. He has a propensity for jumping and flinging off of things. His only fault, really. He's a totally easy child, in almost every other way. He is 3 1/2 and able to understand cause and effect better, not to mention takes care to actually listen to me most of the time. So, we are moving on out of this stage. However, I would still NOT get a bunk-bed for him...not for a while, at least. He's just fearless, and I know he'd be jumping off the dang thing, or doing something else crazy. SO...when people talk about bunk-beds, my first thought is they are insane!! Then, I have to tell myself their child is different. I suspect many people couldn't imagine it for THEIR child, so they can't imagine it for any.

No danger here, 2 of my 3 kids were always in a bunk bed situation. Of course the little one got the bottom bunk and she was not happy about it. Unless your child in the top bunk is a mover and a squirmer at night and you fear him/her falling, then that kid gets the bottom bunk. Unless your child Happens to be rambunctious and you fear for his life, then no bunk bed. Trundles are fine as well. It becomes a personal choice and you gotta know your kids.

I would not get one with a ladder. Get the staircase kind.
Those are much safer, and easy!

The only bunk bed ladder we have ever had an incident with was the RV ladder to the bunk, while the RV was moving and came suddenly to a halt. That then catapulted the climbing child onto the floor upon the actual stop.

Otherwise, our kids have never had a mishap on a bunk. OK, now I remember my mother leaving my 6 mos. old sister on a top bunk in the trailer and she rolled off and hit her head. And we all think she turned out fine as she has a Master's in Education and teaches 1st/2nd grade combos.

I haven't read the responses but I think the worry is because it's possible they will fall out while sleeping if they roll over. Even with the side rail I think it's dangerous. On the other hand when I was growing up I loved my cousin's room because they had a bunk bed, I felt like I was camping since we put blankets to cover the front of the lower bed so it felt like we were inside a tent. :o)

I am with you.
HOWEVER.....
Middle of the night, race down the ladder half asleep, because I have to pee is a bit different than up and down at the park.
My kids slept on bunk beds for 3 years. My oldest was 5 and slept on the top and my younger boy was 2 and on the bottom. It worked out fine.
L.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24895552/ns/health-childrens_...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2346155

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12011194

Children can have accidents on bunk beds, but they can also have accidents jumping on any other bed. Fortunately, serious accidents are very rare. We've never had any bunk bed accidents here, and my boys were two and five when they got their bunk beds. They also sleep on bunk beds when they go to camp and those bunk beds don't have rails.