What do small children guests sleep on at your house?

[northerngoldilocks]

We are sorting out the kids rooms as the youngest is ready to come out of her cot. This causes an issue in that we had been using her room as the spare and just moving her cot in with her brother when people stayed as there was a double bed in there.

Once we put up her single bed we will get rid of the double bed, and we have got a new sofabed for the spare room / study which is fine for accommodating grandparents, but leaves me wondering what to do when friends with kids visit as the parents will have the sofabed but that leaves us with no where for the kids.

Neither of my kids has a pull out bed under their bed as I thought that underbed storage would be more useful for us. I've been looking at roll up bed in a bag type things from GLTC but think they would probably take up too much room when not in use and be quite large to store. Other alternatives are airbeds like the aerobed, but I'm not sure whether to get a couple of singles or doubles (most of the kids who visit us are currently under 5, but obviously will grow bigger!) or camping mats (but conscious this might be a bit of a harsh option given we have wooden floors in bedrooms)

Any advice as to how people accommodate this would be gratefully received.

[ArthurMcAffertyhastwocats]

We have self inflating mats which we use for camping as well. Tiny when rolled up or thin when stored flat. No child has ever complained.
At least one of my children will happily (and does) sleep on the floor on a blanket in these situations but I realise it's not the most guest-friendly solution.

[northerngoldilocks]

Thank you. The thin inflating camping mats might be the best option. Would they be uncomfy for a 10 yr old though on wooden floors? We would have spare pillows and could get single duvets

[TeddyBear5]

We kept the matteress from our cot bed and it's kept under the bunk beds.

[Phineyj]

Lidl/Aldi (DH can't remember which) had inflatable toddler beds recently. Argos will almost certainly have something similar.

[Greenrememberedhills]

Spare lighter mattresses under the kids beds.

[Loveleopardprint]

I have had the roll up mattresses from GLTC for ten years and they are still great. They are a little bulky to store but fit back into their bags ok. I now have teenagers and they still use them. Must get them out at least once every two months. Well worth the price.

[TeWiSavesTheDay]

Airbeds are great, unless you have a cat that likes to dig their claws in!

I made a little roll out like the gltc ones from pillows but it's not that comfy apparently (according to DD!)

I'm going to get under bed pull outs when they get bigger.

[northerngoldilocks]

GLTC ones sound like they might be a good option then- we could store them in the loft so the size might not be an issue. I was a bit worried they would be lumpy to sleep on, but seems not

[Watto1]

We have a couple of single air beds for child or adult guests. Don 't get a double! Dh and I had the worst nights sleep ever on one. When one person moves, the whole bed moves and wakes the other person up. It's like being on a boat out at sea! 2 singles are better.

[Penfold007]

We have a couple of roll up futon style mattresses that we use for child guests. We also chuck them in the car boot if visiting friends or relatives and the dcs sleep at the foot of our bed.

[wiltingfast]

Can she not sleep in a double bed? One of ours does.

Visiting kids are put in with her

It's one of those bunks with a single on top and a double below.

[northerngoldilocks]

The double we have is a divan so it's pretty high if she falls out, plus through random ordering we actually have a single bed frame otherwise I could consider something else, but part of her room has a sloping ceiling so a normal single will give us most options. Will look further at roll up futons and single air beds, although think air beds may just scoot across the floor anyway!

[OffTheBackOfALaurie]

Camping mats
Decathlon have some quite thick roll Up foam mats which are inexpensive, or Lidl have SIMS on sale soon.

Fine for 10 year olds.

[Lweji]

I use inflatable single mattresses. My DB has a fold up mattress.

[peacefuleasyfeeling]

Thermarest self inflating camping mats -awesome.