side rails on bed- yay or nay and when to take off?

groovygrl · September 2013

our twins are a little over 4 and have had side rails on the toddler (DD)/full sized (DS) beds they've been in for the last year or so. We finally assembled their convertible cribs into full sized beds w/ headboard & footboard & did DS's first- we didn't have a side rail that would work so we piled pillows on both sides of the floor & hoped for the best. He has slept every night in there for over a week and hasn't fallen out. We did DD's this weekend & did put a side rail on one side of hers b/c she tended to sleep right next to the rail on her toddler bed & also was more nervous about being in a 'big' bed in general... I just put two pillows on the other side of the bed itself & some on the floor, thinking if she rolled around in the night she'd run into the pillows on the bed & probably not go any further.

MH wants to out & get new side rails for both of them on both sides (we can't push the beds against the wall on one side b/c of the headboard & I really don't want to b/c of the room layout anyway)...I say it is silly, he has been fine for a week now, and at what point do you take them off anyway? I am up for leaving the one she has on for awhile to help her feel comfortable in the bed but to put them on his bed after not having them and to bother w/ the other side of hers just seems weird.

Thoughts & what did you do w/ your kids once in a regular bed (not a low one like toddler bed, etc)?

cedge05 · September 2013

My son was about 2.5 when we converted his crib into a toddler bed. We didn't have a side rail on it. He has only fallen out once and he moves around a lot when he sleeps. If we have another baby we will move him to a twin size bed but won't worry about side rails. He has done so well up until now, no need to worry about it. If your son has been fine for a week now I wouldn't worry.

Spin313 · September 2013

DS moved into a twin bed a few months before turning three. He had a side rail on his bed for a year. When we moved, he was about to turn four and his bed was no longer against a wall...he went rail-less and was perfectly fine.

LoveEeyore · September 2013

I would leave DS as is. If DH is really uncomfortable, what about rolling up towels and putting them on under the fitted sheet along the edges- like a bumper?

For DD I would give her the rail and let her tell you when she doesn't want it. SHe will reach a point when she goes on playdates and start to notice they don't have them and want to ditch it. OR. Put her on just the mattress on the floor for awhile, and when she is comfortable, but the box spring too, then eventually the frame, too.

My girls, 4 and 5.5 share a queen and are still on the boxspring and mattress. I'll let them decide when to switch to 2 twins and move on then.

CareBear0607 · September 2013

Ditto, PP

I would leave DS as is. It sounds like he is doing great with no rails.

As for DD, I would give her one rail for as long as she feels she needs it. There will come a time when she will tell you she doesn't need it/want it any more. DD told us just before her 5th birthday that she didn't need her rail anymore. She fell out twice the first 2 weeks and has been fine ever since.

jc&cat · September 2013

another little trick instead of side rails is to get a pool noodle and put that under the sheet. little easier than towels but gives a little push back if there is some rolling! We still have a rail on DS's bed and we're all fine with that. We visited some family this summer and he fell out of bed 2 of the 4 nights. Granted it was very narrow (a converable chair into a bed thing) but it works for now.

meg1974 · September 2013

I used side rails for DD1, but I didn't for DD2 b/c I heard about a toddler who died from getting their head and neck caught in one. DD2 did fall out of the bed a few times, but it was on to large pillows and she didn't even wake up when she fell.

thismuch · September 2013

Our boys slept in mattresses on the floor for about a year and I never found them on the floor.(Now they have rails but they are in high beds, not standard). At their grandparents house we don't use rails just put pillows on the floor to help us feel better.

TheRealNJhousewife · September 2013

We converted our sons crib into a full size bed a few months ago. I got the inflatable bumper from Buy Buy Baby and it's great. He's never fallen out and you can't even tell its under the sheet when the beds made. I also read cutting an old pool noodle and putting it under the sheet is basically the same thing!

DTNZ4Ever · September 2013

DS went from his crib to the full size bed. For the first few months we had the mattress on the floor he never fell out. Then we put the mattress on the bed and still never fell out. He has never had rails and his bed is in the center of the room. He did fall out bed when he slept at my parents house over night but they only have a twin size bed. DS has been in his full size bed since he was 3 and is now 4.5. He also moves around a lot.

rsd12 · September 2013

I just removed one side rail on my sparkling new 4 year olds bed. Hoping he does not fall out that side! He is in a twin. we removed one side with my middle son when he was 4 too and we removed both sides this summer at 5 and a half. He is also in a twin. Both of them move a lot. I can't remember when we removed the side rails from my 7 year olds bed. But he never moves, except for the time he fell off the foot of the bed!

VTbride05 · September 2013

My 5 year old still uses a foam bumper that goes under the mattress pad. I don't see a need to move it. Great idea on the pool noodle!

katie_cj · September 2013

I never did a side rail, but DS has a platform bed, so it's fairly close to the ground anyways. He's never fallen out, but if he did, he wouldn't get hurt.

rsd12 · September 2013

So my son's side rails went back up last night. He was not ready. Three nights ago he woke up to tell us he almost fell out of bed. Last night he fell out of bed and asked for the rail to go back up!

groovygrl · September 2013

Thanks all! He is still doing fine so I think MH is convinced finally...we will just gauge how she is doing w/ hers but definitely not investing in new ones. She doesn't seem to be lying as close to it as she did in her toddler bed so maybe we can do a trial run at some point...unfortunately she fell out of a bed in a hotel room once and was really scared by it so we'll see how that goes

side rails on bed- yay or nay and when to take off?

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