Toddler bed vs single bed

[Busybuzzybumblebee]

Hi,

Me and dp are having increasingly escalated arguments regarding our ds bed. It won't be long before he is out of his cot and I think it's better to get a normal single bed with a bed guard as it will last much longer and we'll only have to pay out one big chunk of money. He thinks it's still be dangerous and we should get a toddler bed as lower and still last for 5 years, and has in built bed rails.

So wise mumsnetters who is right?

The argument is getting beyond ridiculous now.

Thanks

Sounds like there are bigger issues here?

However the IKEA kura is your solution.
(I agree with you)

Why does he think it's dangerous?

If he's worried about him falling out, just put the old cot mattress under the new bed, and pull it out at night in case he rolls off

Sorry, I missed a line. Just get a low single bed. If you get a wooden frame one I think ikea do a bed guard that you can attach to the frame, rather than one that goes under the mattress

My toddler went straight into a single with a little IKEA bed guard and has been perfectly fine.
It's great for reading stories together and if they are feeling under the weather or have bad dreams is easy to get in bed with them if needs be.
As you said I didn't want to have to buy another bed/mattress/duvet/bedding a year or so down the line.

DS went straight into a normal single. We had one already so I wasn't buying a new bed for a few years!

Ds went into a standard single bad as we had a spare bed frame so just had to buy a matress and safety guard (got one of the Lindum ones that folds down when needed). He's never fallen out.

Buy a single bed with a seperate mattress and just use that on the floor (bed in another room/in the box) until he can stay on it OK.
then use the single with a guard rail if your DH is still worried.

How old is your kid, what is actually going to happen if they fall from the bed? My two yr old throws himself off the sofa all the time and hasn't hurt himself. I've rolled off top bunks and been fine. Whilst I'm not sugesting it I think your DH sounds overly worried about this.

Toddler beds rarely last for 5 years - IME. I bet your ds has climbed onto your bed and got off again perfectly fine which is probably higher than a single bed would be. Your DH is bu. You are right!

Single. It's quite difficult to fall out with a bed guard

I never did single beds, dd went from cot to my old single bed. Ds went from cot to the bottom bunk bed. I didn't even use bed guards I just put a few pillows on the floor and they didn't ever fall out.

We've got DD (22 months) an ikea kura bed as it's nice and low but will last for years as we can flip it into a mini bunk when she's older to reclaim some floor space too. We decided this against a toddler bed primarily for expense. You can pick up toddler beds really cheap but the mattresses are expensive and if you're only going to have them a few years then it's a lot to pay out again when you upgrade to a single.

DD is moving into her new bed tonight so she's hopefully settled in her new room but the time her wee sister is here in a few weeks time. We've not bothered with a bed guard atm as we're going to see how she gets on first. We're putting her old cot bed mattress down though so she'll have a softer landing if she does roll out. :)

We had a cot bed instead of a cot then bought a normal sized single bed for ds1 when ds2 came along.

we had toddler beds for dc until they were 7/8yo.
first because of being in a tiny flat with no space for 2 singles (or even a bunk bed) then we moved and kept the toddler beds so the dc had more floor space to play.
each dc moved/will move to single mid sleeper at 7/8 yo, so the (cheap ikea) toddler beds were in use for 6 years which makes the great value imo.

We never even used a bed guard. DD fell out of bed a couple of times in the night at first, but never woke herself up. We'd find her fast asleep ion the floor in the morning.
Single bed will last for years. No need for the extra expense of an interim bed/sheeting.

Both mine were in single beds at the age of 2 1/2. I think one fell out once, it was no big deal. These were beds which were given to me so it seemed silly not to use them.

If I'm honest I feel toddler beds are a bit of a con and totally unnecessary. The only exception is if the child is in a room where there isn't room for a single bed. I think they are for those with more money than sense!!

I would be with you except we ended up getting a toddler bed because DD got moved out of the cot for a younger sibling at an age when she couldn't even climb onto the sofa, let alone a bed, so we got her a toddler bed.

It's an ikea one so a bit bigger than others. Each child was fine in it until after their 5th birthday so it had about 6 years' use. For us, having the extra space in their small bedrooms for 6 years was worth it. And DS then went into a mid sleeper so we skipped the normal single altogether. If space is not an issue and you are sure you won't buy a mid/high sleeper later, the full size works out cheaper. With toddler beds think about the bedding too though. A full size duvet is fine and you can use full size fitted sheets but they fit badly and are annoying.

We actually removed the guard on the toddler bed. DS would climb over it so it just gave him further to fall. Instead, either don't bother and stick a duvet on floor for the first few nights, or roll up a blanket and put it along the edge of the bed, under the sheet. This is what my parents did in the 70s and it is really effective at preventing them rolling out by accident, without getting in the way when they want to get out. You can buy inflatable things that mimic them now, but a blanket does the job beautifully.

cot bed -> single mattress on floor -> single bed with pillow on floor next to it - they soon learn not to roll off!

We did toddler beds, well cot bed for eldest converted into bed now, due to lack of space. My eldest is 5 and still using it with plenty of space to grow. We bought a barely used cot bed for DD2 for £20 off eBay and mattresses were only about £30 on a well known website. The sheets are still good from the cot days and even the smaller cot sheets from DD2s bed can stretch to fit. We use single duvets on them so they will last a move to full size beds. DD2 is 3 and has fallen out of bed when sleeping with me - twice recently and I managed to catch her. She has the Lindam bed guard which is cheap too but her bed being low down is reassuring. We'll probably go for bunk beds next year when they are 6 and 4 - youngest on the bottom of course.

My DS has a toddler bed. His room is tiny so it gives him more space. It was super cheap from ikea with bed plus mattress under £100. He will be moving out of it in a few months when we feel he is ready for a mid sleeper/bunk type bed. We did toddler bed as we knew we wanted to go mid sleeper later.

I would have done kura bed but he is such a climber he would have been swinging from the bars accross the top...

Also after potty training I will be glad to ditch the mattress on this toddler bed!

We will have had a min of 4 years out of it when we get rid.

No bigger issues

Thanks all, I'll show him the replies. He's quote over protective of ds as he's been quite unwell over the last few months. I think he's just worried he'd fall off and hurt himself but you're right he can climb on sofas and our bed and rolls of sofa (on purpose) so think single should be fine

My boys are in toddler beds. DS1 in Ikea Kritter since 3.5yo (he is 7.5yo now) and DS2 in even shorter toddler bed since he is 1yo (he is almost 5yo now). DS1 could stay in his Kritter for about a year I think but DS2's bed is getting wobbly after 6 years of total use so we are changing to bunks now.

Toddler beds are worth because they gave us more space in the room before mine could go to bunks. Ideally it would be two singles but then there is no space for anything else. Kritter also looks very snug and cozy and I just like it.

DS1 went straight to a single. He's a crappy sleeper and wakes many times a night, often getting out of bed to find us/sleepwalking/night terrors etc, and he's never fell out yet.

Single bed with guard when he first moved. Handy when he sneaks into our bed and spreads out; I relocate to his!