At what age would you be happy with your child sleeping in a top bunk bed?

[Disenchanted3]

Am considering this for Ds's. but wondering if eldest is actually old enough for top bunk!

Around six

Mine is 4 years and half and has been sleeping for a week in the top bunk bed and the youngest is 20 months old.

DS turned 4 in December, but is 'old headed'.

My ds is 5 in April, has been in top bunk for a month or two.

He's quite sensible, although he is clutzy. He would have been in it earlier tbh but wasn't trusting dd (she's 2.5 and very naughty!)

DD is 6 and about to get a bunk bed for her room, and I am assuming she will want to sleep on the top bed.

She has had a cabin bed since being 4y, but that is a fair bit lower.

Bunk bed manufacturers recommend minimum age of 6y for top bunks.

Depending on the child I'd be happy a bit before this though.

I've been having this debate with my dad - the bunks say 6 years, but think DS would be ready now as he's very sensible

HOWEVER my friends DD has been in the top bunk since 18months - I was very but shes been absolutely fine...

We let DD1 use a top bunk (on holiday) at five. But waited until she was six at home - mainly because that was the point where we felt that her little sister could understand that she mustn't climb up there in the middle of the night. Little sister is now 3.5 and they have bunks.

ds1 went into his when dd moved into the cot so about 4. Never had any problems. He did sleep in a toddler bed prior to that so was used to a bed

ds1 has been in a midsleeper since he was 3 and will go in bunks when baby needs ds2's cot. so will prob be about 4.5/5ish

My dd is in the top bunk and she is 3.3. She was in a toddler bed in a room shared with her cousin (in a cot). Cousin has emigrated so dd has gone into top bunk that was vacated by older cousin in ds room. Ds (almost 5) is on the bottom. DD refuses to sleep in her own room. DS says he is too scared to a) sleep in his own room alone and b) go on the top bunk. It is a toddler bunk and the sides are very high so she seems ok. I've tried making her sleep in her old bed or in the bottom bunk but when I go and check on her she is back on top.

I can't remember exactly. Ds1 must have been in the top bunk before his 4th birthday, because we didn't have space for two beds, so once ds2 was too big for the cot they had to go to bunks.

We gave strict instructions to both of them as to how bunks were to be treated. We had no problems whatsoever.

IMO the difficulties can arise if a bedroom with bunks is also a playroom. My boys had no toys in that room, and only ever spent time in there sleeping or going to sleep.

If you have bunks in your house and young children have unsupervised access to them, and you don't have strict guidelines that are followed, that's when accidents happen.

It doesn't matter who is/is not sleeping in the bunk. It's who is playing on it, climbing up to it, jumping off it.

I was thinking of moving DS1 into the top bunk sometime in the next year (he's 4.5; DS2 is 13m and still in a cot).

Agree re sleeping vs playing. My sister's friend broke her arm jumping off our bunk bed/spaceship.

do any of you find it necessary to put a protective guard up on the top bunk? (Tomy type)?

agree with roisin about the playing. ds1 is allowed to play in his room atm (where his midsleeper is) but if ds2 is up there we supervise all the time as he is only 15m.

most bunk beds will have a rail round the top, so shouldn't need an additional one

We set the bunkbeds up way before we needed them (because ds1 abandoned his cot very young), so they got used to them being there and the top bunk being 'out of bounds'. Then when necessary we moved ds1 into the top bunk.

We haven't put a guard on - but we did choose ones with pretty deep rails and DD1 sleeps at the end which does not have a gap for the ladder.

DD was about 2 and a half, but bunk had quite a slanted ladder, rather than vertical ladder. Never needed guards as rails are quite deep. Guess it depends on the bed and child!