We would love to do bunkbeds for our daughters as their room is very small. Does anyone know the age a child needs to be before they can sleep on the top? Is there a requirement? She is almost 3 and is very brave so I think she would do well if its possible.
My brother and I had bunkbeds when he was 3 and I was 2... (This was before my 2 younger siblings were born, and before I got the 2 step siblings... lol) I would reccomend getting the kind with a twin size top, and full size bottom (and a safety rail)... that way if she happens to fall from the top she will have a softer landing! lol.
Please, please be careful. I am a nurse and have seen the difficulties that can arise from bunk beds--not just from falls while sleeping (actually, I've never seen a problem there) but from falls from playing on them and falling off. In one case, a little boy fell off the top bunk onto his brother, accidentally elbowed him in the liver, and the child died of internal hemorrhaging. I don't mean to be dramatic or negative, but consider a trundle bed or something like that. It's not worth the risk.
My nephews have had them since they were 4 and 6 (older one was on the top). But my Brother in law said the younger one would often climb up and sleep up there with his older brother...never had an issue. I am going to wait until my little monkeys are at least 4 and 6 (they are currently 2.5 and almost 4).
I think most say 5-6 is the recommended age. We got one for our kids (since their room is small, too) but my son is still in his crib so we just put the bottom part up (it comes apart to make two twin beds). I would be nervous about my daughter crawling down the ladder and falling. But I have friends who put their daughters in one at 4 and 2.5 and they have been fine!
It is definitely a judgment call on the safety and 3 is pretty young. We got beds that can be twin or bunk beds. Because of the space I would love to have them stacked but I don't feel like it would be safe right now. My kids are 2 and 5. I think the 5 year old would be okay but the 2 year old would want to get up there too and I it wouldn't be safe for her yet. I personally would want the younger child to be at least 5 and even then I'd have safety concerns. My husband and his brother are about 14 months apart and had bunk beds as kids. My husband fell off the top one when he was 8 or so and broke his collar bone. There is definitely the potential of serious injury.
Since you are in NJ and so am I here are some local places to try. I did see a bunk bed at National Wholesale Liquidators that has stairs that were drawers instead of a ladder. You can also look online to get ideas then see them in person. I've see variations on bunk or loft beds including ones that are lower, have slides as well as ladders, etc. I looked online and in person at Ashley Furniture, Bob's Discount Furniture and Ikea but we finally ended up getting one free from a relative.
3 yo is really young to be on the top bunk. It is a long way down. Even if
you put a side up, if she woke up and was disoriented during the night,
no telling what can happen. I would wait a while.
3 is too young. A child should be at least 6 before they sleep in a bunk bed.
IKEA has "bunk beds" that are lower to the ground. Basically, one child sleeps on a floor level bed while the other is slightly elevated above the ground. It won't work forever, but would definitely do the job for awhile, and IKEA is cheap enough I could justify the cost. Here is the link:
I would not recommend bedbunks. My son almost strangled himself with the stairs. I sold it to some college kids and purchased a Loftbed from Ashley Furniture. Look it up. Its like bunk beds with out a ladder. It has stairs on the side with storage/drawers. Its a fancy look between a daybed and bunkbed. The height is the best of all very low. Look it up you will see what i am talking about. My son is 3 and my daughter is 8. They love it! I do not have to worry about anyone getting hurt. :)
I think safety guidelines recommend kids be 5. But our son was sleeping on the top bunk at 3 1/2 (after he was nighttime potty trained). We put a large pillow next to him and he never fell off the top bunk. We also made him practice maneuvering the ladder. We had him call us at night for a while until we were confident he could get down in the dark too. It wasn't a problem for us. (We had one injury when he was 5, but he got shoved off the ladder.)
Never. I can only say they are the most dangerous thing you can give your child.
Please don't.
My best friend in Jr. High and High School lost her young son in a bunk bed fall. He was in elementary school and was not jumping or roughhousing. He simply fell out of the top bunk and died.
It was a simple accident that most likely would not happen to your kids but why take that chance. Your kids are much younger than he was and they are much smaller too. Please consider other options.
There are trundle bed that fit under a day bed. They pull out at bedtime and lift up making the day bed a bigger bed. There is also the kid of bedroom set that has a corner desk and one bed slides into the corner unit during the day. Only a portion of it stays out. This type of bed set fits in the corner of the room and is especially good for smaller rooms.
Here is a more modern set, the one bed doesn't slide inside the corner. They are not too horribly expensive if you shop around. You might even be able to make one yourself out of existing furniture too.
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/belden-corner-uni...
