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Original poster

3 year old and 10 month old in bunk beds?

60 replies

someonesmum7 · 29/03/2026 17:05

We live in a 2 bed and currently our baby is 6 months and in our 3 year olds old cotbed it’s beside my side of the bed up against the wall and I have to climb into bed at the bottom.

DD will be 3 next month and by time we are thinking of doing this DS will be 10-11 months.

DD currently in a single house bed, she had a 4x4 kallax unit, chest of drawers and wardrobe. We can get rid of chest of drawers but need kallax for toy/spare bedsheets etc storage, no room in any other part of the house. Realistically we cannot fit 2 single beds in unless one is pushed under the window which I don’t like.

The only thing we can think of is getting a very low bunk, the one with a floor bed on the bottom for DS and the thick 2 or 3 stairs up to the bed on top (some of these even open up for extra storage). DD doesn’t ever get out of bed she just shouts for one of us however I know this could change. We will add additional safety rail to top to make it higher and also one to the bottom to stop baby rolling out.

Bed will also not be anywhere near the window.

Again, I’m not talking about the high bunk beds with ladders. I’ll attach photos of what we are thinking. Yay or nay?

TIA

3 year old and 10 month old in bunk beds?
3 year old and 10 month old in bunk beds?
3 year old and 10 month old in bunk beds?
3 year old and 10 month old in bunk beds?
OP posts:
Eenameenadeeka · 29/03/2026 19:18

Agree with the previous posts that children under 6 shouldn't have bunk beds. Can you swap they have the bigger room with 2 beds, and move your bed to the smaller room?

Octavia64 · 29/03/2026 18:47

We had twins.

we did a floor bed Japanese style. So bought a futon double mattress. Roll it up in the day and put it out of the way. Advantage is that you can’t fall off it.

you’d need to put most of the storage in your room

Bearbookagainandagain · 29/03/2026 18:41

One option you could look into is the IKEA Kura. It's much lower than a regular bunk bed, and you have plenty of hacks on Google to add steps (particularly if you're relatively good at DIY).

Check the height, but our cotbed fits underneath it for our toddler. Longer term we will add a lower bed to use it as a bunk bed.

3 year old and 10 month old in bunk beds?
LIZS · 29/03/2026 18:38

And is your 3yo reliably dry at night yet, otherwise toilet training from a top bunk will be awkward and needing to change bedding there is hard enough let alone at night.

Pleasealexa · 29/03/2026 18:34

Get a small clothes rail or a hanging rail secured to the wall if you are really that bothered. it's only the older child clothes surely?

Mammyloveswine · 29/03/2026 18:33

My two went into bunk beds when eldest was 5 and youngest 3.. he was in a cot next to our bed until then!

PurpleThistle7 · 29/03/2026 18:27

My kids were in a bunk bed from 2/5 and that was still challenging as my toddler wanted to climb up but wasn’t reliable yet.

Have scanned through replies and think the best option is to consider swapping rooms if your room is bigger.

Bearbookagainandagain · 29/03/2026 18:19

The 3 yo will be fine in the top bed, but I wouldn't put a 10 months old on a bed like this without being 200% sure it's safe.

The main issue for me will be the gap between the wall and the mattress. Cot beds are specifically made so the gap is as tight as possible.

sesquipedalian · 29/03/2026 18:17

OP, I wouldn’t dream of putting children so young in a bunk bed - I wouldn’t be putting a ten month old in a bed, full stop. Can you not fit a toddler bed and a cot into the bedroom? My DD as a child fell off a bunk bed and broke her arm, so I really would advise caution.

blushroses6 · 29/03/2026 18:12

The shorty bunk beds are pretty low some have the bottom bunk on the floor even, I am considering for my 3 and nearly 2 year old. There are some companies that can put a locked gate on the bottom of the stairs which stops the younger child crawling up. I think the company I was looking at was funky bunk beds maybe. For a normal ladder, there are devices on amazon you can buy which clip on to stop younger child climbing up again.

SomethingUniqueThisTime · 29/03/2026 18:00

Far too young.

A family member was A&E paediatrician - not an over-protective parent at all, however she would never allow her DC bunk beds (at any age), she saw too many admissions where children had life-changing injuries from falling.

SparkyBlue · 29/03/2026 17:58

I put my baby straight into a normal double bed at around 1 . It was bunks with a double on the bottom and her seven year old sister on top. Seven is a lot different than three though

boulevardofbrokendreamss · 29/03/2026 17:52

That will not work.

Sprogonthetyne · 29/03/2026 17:52

Take everything out and put two beds in, with toy boxes, or draws for cloths under the beds. Cloths that needs hanging can go in your room.

EmbarrassmentLovesCompany · 29/03/2026 17:47

What would it look like with both kids in your room, and a double bed in the smaller room? Could you fit in enough storage in one room or another for that arrangement?

Rounder888 · 29/03/2026 17:40

Can you swap rooms for now? We are doing this once our 4 month old will be old enough to go in with sister who will be around 3. Going to move them into our bigger room for a couple of years, then swap back once they are big enough for bunk beds (or we move)

Simplesbest · 29/03/2026 17:28

Im doing this soon..my eldest was in mid sleeper top bunk by 3 and sibling went on the floor bed bit at 1year when they left our room. Kept the bed and will be doing it again with my current 2yr.old and 6 month old. We never had an issue. Does depend on how physically capable your three your old is. Mine was walking at 9months and crawling up and down stairs before that so he had a couple years practice. He always came down backwards. I put a bed guard all the way along the bottom bunk and it was boxed in at the ends so baby never came out until we took him out.

PinkFrogss · 29/03/2026 17:25

someonesmum7 · 29/03/2026 17:21

Original plan was for the wardrobe and chest of drawers to go and get another kallax unit fixed high on the wall for their toys, move other kallax under that one and put their clothes folded in it but I hate not being able to hang clothes up for them so they’re not creased but think it’s the only way we can do it unless we put a bed under the window which really freaks me out even though we are in a new build with secure windows and good safety locks etc I don’t want anything under the window that they climb to get onto the windowsill full stop. My best friends sister fell from her bedroom window at 4 years old and is brain damaged and paralysed, it was a freak accident and her windows were locked but she managed to push it down to lean out of it to call for her mum hanging out washing.

Edited
Show quote history

I’d get rid of the cupboard then, at that age there’s not really much to hang up. Or could you find a much smaller cupboard?

LIZS · 29/03/2026 17:22

Not suitable for that age. Can you squeeze a single and cotbed in there and move everything else out?

Original poster
someonesmum7 · 29/03/2026 17:21

ObjectiveTent · 29/03/2026 17:14

Have you looked at bunk cots?

Never heard of these will have a look thank you!

OP posts:
Original poster
someonesmum7 · 29/03/2026 17:21

PinkFrogss · 29/03/2026 17:13

What was the original plan for them both - has this changed and if so is there any way you can get back to the original plan?

Otherwise I think you just need to keep for in your bedroom. Its inconvenient but not unsafe.

Original plan was for the wardrobe and chest of drawers to go and get another kallax unit fixed high on the wall for their toys, move other kallax under that one and put their clothes folded in it but I hate not being able to hang clothes up for them so they’re not creased but think it’s the only way we can do it unless we put a bed under the window which really freaks me out even though we are in a new build with secure windows and good safety locks etc I don’t want anything under the window that they climb to get onto the windowsill full stop. My best friends sister fell from her bedroom window at 4 years old and is brain damaged and paralysed, it was a freak accident and her windows were locked but she managed to push it down to lean out of it to call for her mum hanging out washing.

OP posts:
Tiptopflipflop · 29/03/2026 17:17

If you do find yourself looking at bed guard/rail type arranged have a read up on the risks of positional aphixiation so you can mitigate against that.

user2848502016 · 29/03/2026 17:16

You can’t put a 10 month old in a bed like that! They will need to stay in your room until they’re closer to 2. It would work when they’re 2 & 5 if you put the youngest on the bottom

Fullofpudding · 29/03/2026 17:16

Absolutely not. The baby needs to be in a proper cot and even with a side rail your older one will probably want to climb out.

Plantlady10 · 29/03/2026 17:15

Could a fold-up bed work for the youngest?