My 11-year old has a very small bedroom, so we got her a loft bed so she could have more room. Right now she has her play area under the bed, but I'm sure that soon her toys will be gone and I was planning on putting a desk under there.
We live in a 2-bedroom apartment so it's not like she has a basement or any other room to do things. She has room for her bed, a dresser and a TV in her room. With the loft bed she has a play area. There would be no room for a desk or anything else if we got rid of the loft.
My husband thinks she is getting too big for the bed because her head is near the ceiling when she sits up. He thinks it's dangerous for her to be close to the ceiling. He would like to get rid of the bed very soon.
I slept in a loft bed all through college and I wasn't able to sit up in it! I crawled up there to sleep and that's it. I was a full-grown person then and I was just fine. My daughter just sleeps in her bed, she does everything else on the floor.
What are your experiences with loft beds? Do we need to worry when she's too tall to sit up in the bed?
Thanks!
My daughter goes back and forth on whether she wants the loft bed. My husband will get her all scared that she's going to hit her head so then she says she doesn't want it anymore (she's never hit her head once). Then I will say "Okay, we can get rid of it but then you won't have your play area anymore," and then she wants to keep it because she doesn't want to give up her play area. Basically I don't think the decision is going to come from her!
I was wondering if her hitting her head on the ceiling was a legit worry. She's a competitive gymnast so balance and coordination are not a problem.
I would keep it too. Is she upset that she's getting close to the ceiling? If not, then I agree not to worry about it since you have such limited space. Ask her what she wants, she's 11 and should have input on this decision.
Considering space limitations, if I were you, I'd keep the loft. You can put a desk under the loft in the future and would probably have room for an additional comfy chair or bean bag. This will be important as she becomes a teen and wants a retreat of her own.
As you said, you were fine in a loft, so I don't think the concern about her being so close to the ceiling is your biggest issue. It's really more about what kind of space she wants and needs. I'd ask her what she thinks and what she'd like since it's her room.
In our house, when our 19 year-old comes home from college, he still sleeps in the top bunk, even though the bottom bunk is empty! It's always been his space, and it's where he feels most comfortable!
Good luck!
J. F.
I'm with you. We all had lofts or slept under them in college. It just makes more floor space -- as long as she's not jumping up in her sleep, she's fine. And she's used to it.
My son has a loft bed and we absolutely love it. It frees up so much space. Unless she is frequently hitting her head or feeling claustrophobic I'd keep it.
She isn't getting closer to the ceiling, she's just getting bigger. Why does your husband think it's dangerous for her to be near the ceiling? Her bed hasn't gotten higher, but she has gotten older and more capable and more spacially aware...she knows where the ceiling is at. If this is what she's used to, she's not going to suddenly forget and start banging her head on the ceiling.
A bed should be a haven for sleeping and nothing more, in my opinion, (well...at least when you're a kid) so there's really no reason for her TO be sitting in bed.
I think a desk under the loft sounds like a wonderful idea, if there's no other place to put one. I really don't think safety is an issue here.
I had a loft bed from 14-21. I never hit my head once. I think they are genuis space savers! Can you shorten the legs to make it lower?
I got a bunk around age 12 and it was my bed through college, and still is an an adult. I like the top. I don't see the problem but you can get different height ones, depending how tall your ceiling is. Good luck!
We're betting bunks for the kids once they turn 6 and it will be their '"forever" beds.
I have two girls, 10 and 13. The older ones has friends who JUST GOT a loft bed, and others that have gotten rid of theirs. My older one gave hers to her sis when she was 11 cause it was hard getting up with an alarm clock for school from it, my younger one gave hers up last year after she had surgery and couldn't climb into it without hurting. (she's fine now, but it was like having a csection with how she was operated on). So, let HER DECIDE. She'll let you know, trust me. Personally I LOVED my bunk beds when I moved into my first apartment. My future hubby had the bottom bunk and we liked to say that I was always on top, lol. (we did go to a king size bed when we got a bigger place but twin was all that fit in that first place)
when you say a loft bed is it a lot higher than a bunkbed? I have never seen one so high you would hit your head. my kids slept in bunkbeds till they left for college and my boys are all over 6ft tall. now having said that how much actual "playing" does she do under the loft bed? I would think that at pre teen age she is not doing a whole lot of tea party type playing anymore anyway lol.
I have a 16 year old that loves her loft bed. She has a smallish room, so in order for her to have the furniture that she wants in there along with a desk (that I want her to have to do homework on), the loft bed was the only option. She loves that she can have friends over, and they sit on bean bag chairs and not all over her bed.
Um yah, she's too big/tall for it.
I would get claustrophobic like that.
But that is me.
Where to put the desk?
What about in another room?
Just ask her.
