3 year old and 10 month old in bunk beds?

[someonesmum7]

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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?

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.

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.

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

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?

Definitely not for either child.

Have you considered just putting a grill on the window. Similar to a stair gate. It can be removed in an emergency but prevents children getting access to the windows. If your DH is DIY handy they could make something.
It would also mean you could safely open the window for ventilation.
Shutters ( plantation style) could also be an idea. They are a great alternative to curtains since they can be used as blackout. And you could attach a locking mechanism when they are small.

As pp said, if worried about the window then focus on making that safe.

Safer than bunk beds at such young ages.

A 10 month old is far too young for a bed, and a three year old should not be in a top bunk (not until at least 6).
Please make your children‘s safety a higher priority than how you store their clothes

I’d be tempted to use a divan single bed to store bedding and some clothes (to replace the Kallax).
We have a large wire shelf, rather like an old fridge shelf, which we bought years ago from Ikea and have used to dry clothes on hangers in the utility room. Something like this could perhaps take some of the items from the chest of drawers and wardrobe, be screwed and bolted very securely high up, giving you the space for two beds, neither of which is under the window. Alternatively have you considered over the door clothes hangers?
Can you post a diagram?

I wouldnt
I would make the window safe.
Put baby in that room in cot, put 3 year old in single with drawer storage underneath ie ikea hemnes as single. Those drawers are huge and can fit lots of clothing/ toys

Take clothes storage out if needed for now. But they don’t need hanging storage at that age, hand the odd Dress on behind door hook or in your wardrobe.

I'm sure my youngest was in a toddler bed before 18 months, so I don't think you necessarily need to wait until he's 2. It had a small rail at the top, nothing anywhere else. It was better for him because he could climb out of cots and the toddler bed was near to the ground, like your idea.

Stuff made for kids has to go through such strict testing and safety regulations, I don't think this would be a good idea

Also, a child locked in their bed- what if there's a fire? That's what I thought as soon as I read your reply

Hi OP,

We are in a similar situation regarding housing. Hoping to upsize next year.

We put our daughter in the top bunk aged 3. I'm sure I'll get flamed, she is super sensible, its got high sides, stairs instead of a ladder. Never had an issue and shes 4 now. I should add my daughter is in aged 6-7 clothing as shes incredibly tall for her age so had to be in a bed.

We offered her the bottom bunk temporarily but she was adamant she wanted the top bunk.

Our son is 16 months and still in a cot with us but I'll be putting him in the bottom bunk with a bed guard in the next couple of months. Bottom bunk is a small double.
I was really worried about the sleep situation but you have to do what's right for your family.

In terms of the bed we bought, it's from sleepland beds- Harvard small double bunk. The service from them was incredible.

Obaya Maya shelf in Dunelm has been reduced by £10 to £40 and might be of interest to you.

We did it at 4 and 18 months but got our then 4yo an ikea kura bed (a low loft bed) and put the Cotbed under it . It worked really well and when DDs were 5.5 and 2.5 we got a normal bunk bed instead. The youngest has never attempted the ladder which really surprised me.

I reckon your DH could make a set of bunk cots.

We took the bottom rungs off the bunk beds so the younger ones couldn’t climb them

What is your plan when they are older?

Buy a cheap cot and dismantle the cot bed until
He is old enough