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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

Teen wants to sleep on a huge beanbag

52 replies

Sleepybanana · 04/02/2024 14:23

My 15 year old is complaining her bed is uncomfy (it’s not) and saying that she prefers the big chair and footstool combo. She wants us to buy her a huge round beanbag type thing and looking online they seem fairly cheap (we would keep her current bed in another room in case she changes her mind)

my worries are that it

  1. wouldn’t be warm enough and
  2. wouldn’t be great for her back
  3. be easy to burst etc

has anyone ever done this? Did it work out okay? And any recommendations would be appreciated.

OP posts:
pizzaHeart · 04/02/2024 14:25

Has she slept on big chair and foot stool already? And if yes, was it just one night or several in a row?

BonjourCrisette · 04/02/2024 16:12

How are you going to get a sheet to fit (and stay on) a huge round beanbag? If you're not planning on a sheet, it's not going to smell too good after a while.

Honestly, I don't know how old this teen is, but I don't think it sounds particularly practical even if it is comfortable.

BonjourCrisette · 04/02/2024 16:13

Sorry, you said she is 15.

I would be asking her to tell me how she is going to sort out the sheet issue first.

HowDoTheyGetThroughLife · 04/02/2024 16:14

It sounds impractical and uncomfortable.
How about just a mattress on the floor? A futon?

NoCloudsAllowed · 04/02/2024 16:16

She'd spend one night on it and change her mind. But if it's not too expensive, you could just sell it on after easily enough!

Typical teen thinking they have a better solution to the rest of the world ;)

Original poster
Sleepybanana · 04/02/2024 16:24

pizzaHeart · 04/02/2024 14:25

Has she slept on big chair and foot stool already? And if yes, was it just one night or several in a row?

Several in a row. She likes it so much she won’t go back to bed which I’m not best pleased with …

OP posts:
Original poster
Sleepybanana · 04/02/2024 16:26

BonjourCrisette · 04/02/2024 16:12

How are you going to get a sheet to fit (and stay on) a huge round beanbag? If you're not planning on a sheet, it's not going to smell too good after a while.

Honestly, I don't know how old this teen is, but I don't think it sounds particularly practical even if it is comfortable.

I did bring this up to her and she’s found some sheets which do fit it… but I agree it’s not practical. Such a difficult age and obviously she knows best and I’m just an idiot ughhhhh 🙄

OP posts:
Original poster
Sleepybanana · 04/02/2024 16:26

NoCloudsAllowed · 04/02/2024 16:16

She'd spend one night on it and change her mind. But if it's not too expensive, you could just sell it on after easily enough!

Typical teen thinking they have a better solution to the rest of the world ;)

Of course. Beds are so 2023 😛

OP posts:
Hellocatshome · 04/02/2024 16:31

I would say fine but she can't not have a bed so it has to fit on her room along with her bed. Also she pays for it herself as you have already provided her with a perfectly suitable bed. She will probably soon get bored of the idea but the more you say no the more she will want it.

IrisVonEverec · 04/02/2024 16:33

Isn't having an actual bed one of the things social services look out for? Maybe point that out to her? I always think about that because for much of my teen years I didn't have one and had to share a single sized bed with my sister (there were other issues at home too).

My teen has a high loft bed and a giant (rectangular) beanbag - bought instead of a gaming chair. Every now and then since he was a toddler he has had phases of sleeping on the floor (and now on the beanbag). I just leave him to it. He always goes back to sleeping in his bed eventually, so keeping the bed would be non negotiable.

Caswallonthefox · 04/02/2024 16:34

I used to sleep on a beanbag bed when I slept over a friend's house. It was extremely comfortable and warm. You can shuffle about and get in the perfect position because the beans move. And polystyrene is really good for warmth. No idea about fitting sheets because I used a sleeping bag

RichardsGear · 04/02/2024 16:39

Beanbags flatten eventually so you'd have to buy new beans every so often to top it up. If it was my dd I'd say fine but she'll have to buy it out of birthday money and let her get on with it. I wouldn't be farting about moving the bed out of the room though.

I'm sure the novelty would wear off pretty quickly.

Alphabet1spaghetti2 · 04/02/2024 16:48

A friend bought one, admittedly she was in her 20s. Think she lasted about a week actually using it then it became the dog bed/foot rest for about a year - when it mysteriously disappeared. This was after the year of the futon ‘for health benefits’. (Has a history of wanting the latest must have). I’d thought the bean bag bed dad had passed 30 years ago!
Keep the bed, if the bean bag bed is cheap, maybe she puts say 50% towards it and the rest is a birthday present from you? Could be useful for unexpected teenage guests?

yikesanotherbooboo · 04/02/2024 16:51

Why does she think it is alright to expect you to fork out for this when she has a perfectly good bed? The max I would do would be to wait for birthday or Christmas and get it then if she still wants it.

whyamiawakestill · 04/02/2024 16:51

Show her a futon. It's a great middle ground and very teen.

Itslegitimatesalvage · 04/02/2024 16:54

Those things aren’t cheap. Almost all of them, when you see them online, will say they are just the cover and don’t include the filling. Bean bag filling is quite expensive, and the amount you need to fill those things goes into the hundreds.

Itslegitimatesalvage · 04/02/2024 16:54

(And they squash down and need refilling)

They also won’t provide the right support for her back. She’ll end up with back problems later in life or with deformity in her spine.

Gettingbysomehow · 04/02/2024 16:58

I would sleep on one I love them. You just throw a non fitted double or king sheet over it and take it off during the day simple.

TheFTrain · 04/02/2024 16:59

Have you checked her for scoliosis and Hypermobility? Mattresses can be really uncomfortable for people with these conditions.

pizzaHeart · 04/02/2024 16:59

Is her bed single or double?
If it’s a single it might be not comfortable enough. However it might be just some tik tok trend.
I think her buying it from her birthday money and keeping in her room alongside her bed is a good compromise.

Iwishmynamewassheilah · 04/02/2024 17:06

DS slept on a mattress directly on the floor. Bad idea as they rot due to lack of circulating air underneath. I would suspect the same may happen with a beanbag?

Mumsnut · 04/02/2024 17:13

We have one of those huge beanbags. About four or five feet across. DD soon got bored of it but no one wants it and it is too big to fit in the car to dump it

petermaddog · 04/02/2024 18:36

niece had one lasted about2 years as a bed /it had cover washable.now for movies and eventhat is being push out the door the dog and cats love it / in the garage soon

BlueSkyBlueLife · 04/02/2024 18:37

Id let her have the beanbag and sort out the bedsheet if you can afford the expense.
I wouldn’t make a fuss out of it. Wouldn’t mention it.

I suspect she will back in her bed soon

Im assuming no other potential issues such bad back or a mattress that does give her back issues (even if it would be ok for most people - eg I can’t sleep on a mattress that is hard wo waking up in pain even though said mattress doesn’t bother anyone else)

MyLadyTheKingsMother · 04/02/2024 18:41

Bean bags flatten really fast and replacement beans are NOT cheap.

Just tell her no.