how old for bunk beds?

[kltroy]

We have 2 kids and a 2 bed condo in the city - my son and daughter share a room and she just moved out of her crib at 18 months of age. Their room is on the small side so we're thinking bunk beds. Any thoughts on whether that is safe? My older son is 3 1/2 and quite agile - he certainly wouldn't have any trouble with the climbing, though I wouldn't want the ladder to be too steep...

[JBaxter]

I think the minimum recommended age for a top bunk is 6yrs old. I have 4 boys ( that I swear are part monkey) and no way I would get a bunk before the age of 5.

[lamairs81]

My daughters are nearly 5 & nearly 2. We just got them a set of bunkbeds. As long as there are railings on the top bunk I think that'd be ok. My SILs set of bunkbeds has no railing (and no ladder anymore, for that matter) and my 5yo niece fell off once. She was shook up a bit and scared but wasn't hurt, thankfully.

[SunshineJ]

I think a lot depends on the child. My dd could've probably handled bunk beds (top bunk) around age 3-4 looking back. Only real concern there was her getting up at night to go to the bathroom. DS is 7 and there's still no way on earth I'd consider him in a top bunk. I've never seen a kid travel in his sleep so much, not to mention the number of times he's up each night. I agree with the others too though, I wouldn't consider it much before 5 or 6.

[writteninkursive]

I have a 2-year-old DD and a 4-year-old DD (who just turned 4 today) and they have bunkbeds (with no top rail!) that they ADORE. Younger DD sleeps on the bottom (but climbs to the top during playtimes) and older DD sleeps on top. They love it and at first, I was just waiting for one of them to get hurt. It never happened.

[34me]

My 13 yo was on the top bunk at 4. He's never fallen out and still sleeps in a loft. If it's the ladder you're worried about, theese are cool http://www.sendmetomyroom.com/40415.html

[FiveLittleMonkeys]

We put our two oldest in bunkbeds when the oldest was five. The set we chose had rails on both sides of the top bunk.

[Red Pajama]

I have not read the responses. My boys have slept in bunk beds since about 3 1/2. However, the bunk beds are not full size. They are "trundle-able", meaning that the bottom bunk can super short (almost on the ground) and the top bunk is then 3/4 the hight of a traditional bunk. We don't use a ladder, but a large step from a infant climber we had. We use a large, built in bed rail for the top bunk. The bunks are arranged in an "L" shape with the bottom bunk half-way under the top bunk.

If you can't find the trundle-able bunks, I'd recommend mattresses on the floor rather than traditional bunks.

[hillymum]

My boys were 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 when they had the bunkbeds. My younger son was on the top. Both boys had walked from 10 months and were climbing steps before they could walk. It was my youngests sons idea to have bunkbeds.

[MJB]

We've had bunk beds since my boys were 5.5 and 2.5. The plan was for the little to be on the bottom and the big on top, but from the beginning they've slept together in whichever bunk suits their mood. They just recently started occasionally sleeping in separate bunks. Neither ever fell or got hurt.

[Polliwog]

Safety standards say six. I say five or six. Putting a younger child up there may be considered negligence if an accident were to occur while the child/ren were unsupervised. Especially if there wasn't a rail. There's a reason that bunk beds are required to have rails on both sides now. And that the rails on newer beds are higher than in the past.

My son is sporting a bright blue cast that has totally changed our Winter Break plans. He either fell down when he was climbing over the rail, or he jumped. I'm not sure. He landed on his foot and fractured several bones. He's five and still doesn't sleep on the top of his bunk bed.

It's one thing to play on a bunk bed during waking hours and with supervision. It's completely another to allow young children to sleep in them unsupervised.

[kltroy]

Thanks everyone! I need to check the height of the side railing from the set my dad built us when I was a kid.... I know it *has* one, but now that you mention it I'm not sure whether it's high enough for me to feel comfortable with. I do like the "el" shape - that's how these are. so much to contemplate....

[Pookietooth]

We got my ds a bunk bed last year when he was six, and he is fine but won't sleep in it (he sleeps with me or in the living room). I think 4 or 5 is the minimum but in our case co-sleeping kept us from needing any bed for him for longer than that.

[Polliwog]

If you are planning to use an old/homemade set, you should read this link: http://www.cpsc.gov/BUSINFO/regsumbunkbed.PDF

[Super_mommy]

Recommended age is 6 yrs.. But if they are trained to get on & get down, it wouldn't be a problem.. We must ensure that top bunk has guard rails on all four sides of the bed and the frame of the bed is solid..

[Polliwog]

The OP's oldest child is 3 1/2. That's much younger than 6 years. What happens during the night when the child wakes up? I wouldn't be willing to accept the risk. As I said earlier, my son is five and broke bones from falling (or possibly jumping) over the side. The steps have never been an issue.

[beanma]

We just got bunks this fall when my youngest was just turning 6. We got these from IKEA. For younger kids I would have considered this with a mattress on top and bottom as it's much lower.

Note that my oldest (almost 9) slipped last night on the ladder and got a bloody nose. I really wouldn't begin to think about bunks for kids as young as the OP's.

[leighi123]

What about one like this -
http://www.baby2teenfurniture.net/pi...with-Slide.jpg

I've seen other ones too but I cant find a pic where the top bunk is only like 3.5 feet off the floor and the bottom bunk is close to being on the floor. They can also go in an 'L' shape.


I got my bunk bed when I was 5, my sister who was 2 at the time could climb up and down no problem and we never got hurt. It was taller than a normal bunk bed too b/c my dad had it custom made b/c it was a loft underneith and he wanted it tall enough to stand up under.

[TiredX2]

While 6 is the safety standard, I really think that you need to look at your individual child. DD would *not* have been safe sleeping on a top bunk at six, but I have known 3-4 year olds who would be.

Mostly, I would not be concerned about agility, but about how the child behaves when woken up in the middle of the night. DD was so incoherant (couldn't necesarily find *doors* much less be expected to find a ladder and safely climb down) it would not have been safe. But there are two year olds who do wake up fully in the night and can do things like go to the bathroom and get a drink without problems.

Maybe you could consider a trundle bed? A lot of kids think those are really cool!

[Drummer's Wife]

I don't think I would use them for a 1 and 3 yo. My almost 7 yo has bunk beds, but he sleeps on the bottom portion (full sized) and occasionally the almost 5 yo sleeps with him (also on the bottom). The top is for stuffed animals/blankets and my DD (age 8) when she doesn't want to sleep alone in her room.

We first set them up when the kids were similar in age to yours, but they stressed me out too much as even the 1 yo could climb up to the top easily - but not get down by himself - we ended up taking them down and they sat in storage for a few years.