Bunk beds - yes or no?

[TheGrandPooBah]

Friends are getting new bunk beds so have offered us their old, but good condition bunk beds. DS (7.6) and DD (3) already share a room and like the idea of bunk beds, DH is unsure, scared they'll fall out. Any advice please on good reasons to get bunk beds, or to avoid them? Thanks.

[foofooyeah]

We had bunk beds, there were not any problems with falling out etc but think my youngest was a little older. The main gripe was changing the bedding. What a faff!

[PrincessScrumpy]

I had a high sleeper as a child and did fall out once - apparently my parents rushed upstairs to find I'd dislocated my little finger but in my sleepy haze I just looked at it, clicked it back in and climbed into bed again while my parents watched in horror. It was a bit bruised the next week but otherwise fine (I have no recollection at all). My brother never fell out of his and he's a very fidgety sleeper.

We plan to get some later this year for dtds (but to have a singles until they are older)

[SKYTVADDICT]

Changing them is a nightmare and you can't sit or lay with the child in the top bunk when they are ill. Also if they injure themselves (legs or arms) it can make getting in and out very tricky. And if they are sick off the top! Not pleasant. Yes we had them, don't any more

[TheGrandPooBah]

Ooh, now I'm worried. A bunk bed isn't exactly something you 'try out' for a week - what the heck do you do with the other two beds, for starters?! Don't want to get rid of them, in case it doesn't work out. Not sure what to do ...

[PrincessScrumpy]

Maybe my brother and I were lucky but we were never sick in the top bunks and how often do children injure legs and arms so they can't climb? If you dc is feeling poorly pull the mattress off the top bunk and they can sleep on the mattress on the floor with a bowl next to them. As for making the bed - duvet and pillow is easy enough and the back corners of the sheet? Well my mum got my brother and I to untuck them for her and I think I made my bed at a fairly young age - probably due to it being a pain for mum but I just thought I was being helpful at the time. There is always a compromise so I guess it depends if you are willing to have a bit of hassle changing sheets for the extra space.
My parents still have my brother's bunk beds as they can be 2 single beds so they had them as guest beds and now their grandchildren are older they are back as bunk beds. They bought them in 1988 and so they've definitely been worth the money. Hope we get as much use from ours when we get there.

[nicksey]

I have noticed that some have higher sides than others to stop them rolling out but make sure the mattress isn't too deep otherwise it reduces the effectiveness of the sides.