Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Cots and beds

This topic is for discussing cots and beds. We've spent weeks researching and testing newborn beds in real homes with real families.

Original poster

What's the point of a toddler bed??

17 replies

ElusiveMoose · 02/02/2010 13:57

Baby no.2 is on the way, so DS (2.4) is going to have to move out of his cot some time in the next six months. Need to decide what sort of bed to buy. Shops seem to be full of toddler beds, but I can't see why he can't go straight into a normal single (to save me buying yet another bed in a couple of years' time). But I know nothing about these things, and I may just be being a bit dense. Is there a good reason for getting a toddler bed apart from their general cuteness? (His room's quite big, so space is not really a problem BTW). Thanks.

OP posts:
paisleyleaf · 02/02/2010 13:59

I can't see the point in the extra expense either.
DD went straight into a single around 2 yrs old.

MavisEnderby · 02/02/2010 13:59

I think they are a pointless marketing gimmick designed to get gullible parents to spend more money.

Both mine went straight to a gbog standard single,well actually ds had a toddler bed but it was given by a friend,I wouldn't have bought one.

I have a bedrail for dd in hers to stop her falling out (She has SN) and she has coped fine with it as did ds.

EleanoraBuntingCupcake · 02/02/2010 14:00

dd went straight to single bed. i wouldn't bother wtih the toddler bed.

bran · 02/02/2010 14:01

I only bought a toddler bed for the cuteness factor really, and because it didn't take up as much space as a full-sized single. Go stright to a single bed if it suits you. Probably best to get a low one though, and perhaps fit a bed guard to it as he will probably fall out a few times at first.

bobblehat · 02/02/2010 14:02

I've never seen the point of them. With ds1 we had a cotbed, so when he no longer needed to be in a cot, we took the sides off and it was a small bed (toddler bed I suppose) when ds2 came along 3 years later ds1 went into a full size bed and the cotbed was for the baby.

I suppose the only thing is size - a normal singe might be quite high for a little one to get out of in the night to go to the loo, but I don't think I'd have bothered with a toddler bed otherwise

Egg · 02/02/2010 14:03

Dts have cotbeds, so have just changed cots into beds, which are toddler sized beds. Would not fit two single beds in their room and they are not old enough for bunks yet really.

DS1 I moved into a toddler bed purely because we got him a car shaped bed to make it more exciting for him, and also his room is teeny and I don't think a single bed will actually fit in there!

Otherwise though, if space is not an issue, then single beds are fine!

choppychopster · 02/02/2010 14:04

We got a toddler bed for DD when she was about 2.5-ish, but mainly because her bedroom is teeny (the built in bed rail is handy too). Hopefully we will move to somewhere bigger before she needs a proper single bed in a couple of years time.

displayuntilbestbefore · 02/02/2010 14:04

I didn't bother with a toddler bed either, waste of money IMO and I agree with all the other posts.
If your toddler falls out (they often do to begin with) then use a bedrail.

meltedmarsbars · 02/02/2010 14:06

The point of a toddler bed is to make profit for the retailer flogging it and the bedding!

MoChan · 02/02/2010 14:06

I inherited one, but I probably wouldn't have bought one. The main plus point, in my opinion, is that they are lower than most single beds (certainly much lower than a divan) and therefore it's less of a worry if they are prone to falling out.

bubblagirl · 02/02/2010 14:11

i only got mine as it was cheap on ebay at time and we were short of money they can last until about 7 not as high or scary looking to small child

but in all honesty he didnt really like it as he likes to spread out and the width wasnt big enough so we gave that to my friend and got him a single bed it wasnt that much higher but single bed did take up much more room than i wanted and toddler bed allowed more room for his toys and as they get older they dont need as much so by the time grown out of toddler bed they wouldnt have as much toys etc by then anyway and single bed will be fine

we ditched the single bed and got midsleeper so we could have all the storage space underneath which has solved our problem lol

Original poster
ElusiveMoose · 02/02/2010 14:13

Thanks everyone, glad it's not just me. Hadn't thought about the height factor, though, that's really helpful - I'll keep that in mind when I'm shopping.

bubblagirl, what's a midsleeper?

OP posts:
LadyintheRadiator · 02/02/2010 14:17

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bubblagirl · 02/02/2010 14:17

here

we had single bed and struggled for storage so when he was 3 we got this bed so we can have all toys in storage box under the bed its not overly high and its not too space taking and obviously its handy having all hidden away under the bed

PureAsTheColdDrivenSnow · 02/02/2010 14:22

we'll get one when we move DS out of his cot (he's 2.2 so little while longer yet)

I don't want to get a full size single as in a few years I'd like him to go in a cabin bed that has storage underneath. His room is smallish and storage is a problem in our house.

Now... if I could find a full size single that converts into a cabin bed, that's be brilliant

Plus - we're planning a fairly big age gap, so both cot and toddler bed will (hopefully) get a whole second lot of usage.

Anythingoes · 10/02/2010 10:57

I purchased a toddler bed by KidKraft as my little one kept climbing out of her cott and I was scared that she would hurt herself. The only reson I purchased this one was because of the price and the fact that my normal cott mattress fitted exactley so I did not need to buy a new one. see wooden-toys-direct.co.uk

LHB43 · 04/06/2013 14:57

Hi,

We bought a toddler bed for our son as we were worried about him falling out of bed from a height.
He is just about still in it and he is 6 years old.
It was a good buy in our experience as it is perfect if you have small bedrooms.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page