4.5 year old in a top bunk?

adri77 · April 2011

Is this possible? Safe? It's a little early, but we have another baby coming, and with 3 bedrooms, the boys will have to share, and it's a small room, so I'm thinking it's our only options....any success stories for me?

GinandTonic · April 2011

That's the age we put mine in one. But, it's also a loft-style one that's a little lower than a standard bunk. My kids share right now because the other bedrooms are on the main floor and I wasn't ready (nor was he) for him to sleep on a floor below us. We're moving him down there this summer though - he's ready for his own space - it's a very tiny room they're in now.

I trust him. He's safe and far from a risk-taker. He's also a really sound sleeper and doesn't move around much. You have to sort of judge your own kid...

shopgirl78 · April 2011

I am curious about it too. When DS2 is ready for a bed, I want to get the boys bunk beds. They also share a room. I imagine DS2 will be ready round 2-3 years old making DS1 (4-5), he'd also be on the top bunk.

I have a friend with her girls in them and they are almost 5 and 3. I think they do well....

Temp108743750006959 · April 2011

I know DS would be fine, but here's my only issue:

DS has friends over to play, they play rough and no doubt the bunk bed is a key attraction. For this reason, I've put it off. And no, I don't watch them while they are in his room -- I just check on them.

juniper19 · April 2011

"They" say not until 6 years old. I think it depends on the child. I can't see how a kid could possibly roll out. If your son gets up a lot at night to pee or wander around then I might be apprehensive. Or if he's not good at following rules. We ended up not getting bunk beds for other reasons, but I would have put my dd in at 4.5. She is very good about following rules - especially if I explain it is about safety. And she never needs to pee. All I would have had to do is tell her to call for me if she wanted to get out of bed in the middle of the night and not try to climb down herself.

GinandTonic · April 2011

vccake:

I know DS would be fine, but here's my only issue:

DS has friends over to play, they play rough and no doubt the bunk bed is a key attraction. For this reason, I've put it off. And no, I don't watch them while they are in his room -- I just check on them.

To address this, my kids don't play in their room (well, they do, but friends aren't allowed upstairs - it's a really, really small room). We have a playroom on the main floor that they play in (and a basement, actually). The playroom is going to become DS's room and of course, they'll be allowed to play in there (DD is keeping the bunkbed because it's not going to get down the stairs without it being taken apart). I'm still on the fence about friends allowed in her room upstairs - it will still be small, even with one kid in it.

I am excited about doing a girly room though - I've never done one. They shared from the start and I just stuck with the fish/ocean theme that was his nursery (although she has tinkerbell sheets now). Tangent, sorry

zigby · April 2011

DS has slept in bunk beds before and was fine (though I was very nervous about this)...my friend's little girl has slept on one since she turned 4...though it's a lower one and her sisters mattress in on the floor below but it has worked out fine for them and is a super cute set-up. I say go for it and just have a good rail system

Ciarrai · April 2011

I think it depends on the kids. Also remember that just because your younger one isn't actually sleeping on the top bunk doesn't mean that he won't climb up there. My girls have bunkbeds and have since last November. It works great for us, but the girls are both very good about being careful on the top bunk and they're not exactly rambunctious. DD#1 was 4.5 and DD#2 was 2.5. We wanted to get them the year before but opted not to b/c we knew DD#2 was going to climb up to the top bunk. I wish we had since we paid a fortune for beds the girls were only in a year. (Their bedroom in the new house isn't big enough for two twin beds comfortably.) Anyway, yes, DD#2 goes up to the top bunk all the time. We have this one:

The stairs are nice because I worry less about the girls going up and down, especially if DD#1 wakes up in the middle of the night. The stairs are also a problem because DS can climb stairs and I've found him at the top of them a couple times trying to get into DD's bed. I try to keep their door closed, but... And yes, as some of the pp said, it's a novelty for kids without bunkbeds so kids are constantly up there during playdates. I leave it up to their moms if they don't want the kids up there or whatever. It's a concern, but it's what fit in their room so we did what we had to.

J&A2008 · April 2011

I think it depends on the kid. Until a couple years ago, our middle kid was still falling out of his bed. I wouldn't want to depend on the railing to keep him in. He sleeps on the top bunk with a railing now, but I wouldn't have moved him until after going for a year without falling out.

rebbieW · April 2011

We put our (then) 4.5 year old in the top bunk on vacation for 2 weeks and he did great. I would not have them at home, though, because of the risk to the younger siblings (ours are 3 and 1.5).

Halo79RN · April 2011

this gives me palpitations ... I would not. but I will not buy bunk beds. At my old job, we had an 8 y/o pt who was at a friends house... on the top bunk , fell off , perpendicular to the floor and suffered a fatal brain injury. I know , I KNOW it's rare... but no, no, no. one of those things I will never forget . I will never own bunk beds. I would never recommend them.

my brothers had bunk beds... but my mom did not bunk them until they were tweens. I remember them being side by side when I was 4... which would make them 9 and 11.

jlw2505 · April 2011

Knowing my 4 1/2 year old DD - no way would I let her be in the top bunk. Heck, when I walked into her room last night and saw how she was playing (trying to do a forward roll off her bed onto the floor) I don't know that I love her being in a trundle bed!!!! I have read to wait until at least 6 to do bunk beds but I think it really depends on your child.

jessicaclare · April 2011

Not with my DD, and I'm one that probably won't buy bunk beds at all. My two girls will be sharing a room when this baby comes and we're doing a trundle bed for now. They don't play in their rooms much so its not really an issue to not have a lot of floor space.

Our playroom is downstairs but its actually a bedroom, so we figure when they are old enough to be wanting more time in their room we'll reevaluate.

MommyofAlissa · April 2011

We just got Alissa one (I know she is 2 years older than what you asked for) but when we added the mattress, she basically didn't have any rail left on the bed, so we used one of those mattress rails that you put on regular beds to create a rail. It does say not use w/ bunk though, but I think it's way safer to use that than have her fall off!

joy143dh · April 2011

We just put DS (4.2) into bunkbeds (these). It's twin on top, full on bottom - so I thought (hoped) he would want to sleep on the bottom because it is bigger. But of course, he wanted to sleep on top. It's been a week and it still sortof scares me. DH tried to tell me that even if he fell out from the top, he'd just land on the full bed underneath - but I don't think so. It does have the siderails, so he's not falling out unless he stands up (although like MommyofAlissa said, the mattress makes it so there is very little railing left). So far, so good though. I think I will make it a rule that when he has friends over, they are not allowed to play up there. A friend of mine looses sleep over it and so she lets her DS sleep on the top bunk on the weekends only (as a treat).

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