When do I take off my child’s bed guard from his single bed?

[megclarke30]

My stepson turns 3 years old in 2 months and we’re planning to redo his bedroom and transition him into a single bed. I am wondering when is the right time to take off the bed guard that he has always used on his bed to stop him falling out onto the floor?

None of mine ever had a bed guard.
dc1 used to fall out of bed regularly, until he was about 9 or 10.
dc2 never fell out of bed in her life.

So- they are all different. How wriggly is your dss ?
Other ways (if you don't like the guard) are to have a thinnish mattress (camping roll mat or yoga mat or even a spare duvet) on the floor to make the landing a bit softer - just push them under the bed in the day
or
get a pool noodle and put it under a fitted sheet at the edge of the bed, and that will prevent him rolling out.

I didn’t know bedguards were even a thing! My DD1 slept on a mattress on the floor from 15 months, so I could use her cot for DD2. We put the mattress back up on to the bed when she was about 2. I never heard her fall out - if she ever did, she must have just climbed back in!
Maybe things were just more relaxed 28 years ago?

I would just take it off when you transition him to the new room, unless you want to do it now. Mine never had a bed guard. She went right into a bed at 17 months. We put a duvet rolled up on the floor next to her for the first week just in case she were to roll out. She never did. She's fallen out maybe 3 times ever (she's nearly 6 now). So very likely he would be absolutely fine. But I would just change everything when you go to make the change to his room so it happens along with all the other excitement of the new room.

I'm Still using a bed guard for my 4 yr old because if he rolls out in the night it's me that has to get up and put him back in so we're keeping ours on for a bit longer yet.

My 3 year old had the side taken off his cot at about 22months and transitioned to a single bed a few months later. He’s never had a guard and apart from the first week or so he’s very rarely fallen out of bed. We did put a folded duvet down the side near the wall so he doesn’t get stuck in the gap there.

Maybe just take it off when you move to the new room and see what happens. If he falls out then you can always put it back on

The sense of knowing where the parts of the body are is proprioception, its how an adult can walk about (somewhat warily) in complete darkness - and it's why adults rarely fall out of bed. In can be affected by illness (and booze!).

Babies and young children do not have proprioception, its something they develop as their bodies grow and they learn to get around, 'rough and tumble' play, climbing, running, skipping and the likes of trampolines help them to acquire it.

Children typically have proprioception by the age of 3, but all children are different! How does he get about now? If he still easily trips up, then maybe give him longer, but if he seems confident in his movements and rarely falls, then he has probably got it.

My DS is 2.5 and we just took the side off his cot a couple of weeks ago. He fell out a lot the first few nights. I put a rolled up towel under the fitted sheet and that seems to have done the trick and he hasnt fallen out since.

Ours is still on (6) because DD only has a hazy idea of where her arms and legs are when awake, is a very frequent faller, and often turns 90 degrees and sleeps squished with feet against wall and head against bed guard! I anticipate it staying on for quite some time yet. She manages on hol without one, but we share a double bed then, then put chairs down one side and she has 95% of the bed.

Mine never had a bed guard. Much higher risk from badly made bed rails than from toppling out from a normal bed height.

There are deaths in several care homes related to bed rails.

DD is just turned 5 and I have no intention of taking hers off yet. She moves A LOT in her sleep and squishes herself up against the guard.