Bunk Beds - Pros and Cons?

Hello. I recently moved my 2 children into the same room and they have bunk beds. My 5 year old sleeps on top and loves it. My 2 almost 3 year old sleeps on the bottom. I was also very nervous about putting my oldest on the top bunk. I was afraid she would fall or something. Now to my surprise my youngest ends up on the floor from the bottom bunk. Lol. The only thing I would suggest is to make sure the top bunk has the side railing so that they can not roll off in their sleep while they are getting used to sleeping up high in the sky. Thats what my daughter calls it.

I have always heard that age 6 is the youngest you should put a child in a top bunk, so your son probably will be safe up there. Make sure you buy a bed rail that extends the entire length of the bed, with the only exception being where the ladder comes up. If he frequently wakes up in the night to use the bathroom, I would not put him in a top bunk - you don't want him climbing the ladder in the dark or if he's really sleepy.

The bigger issue will be teaching your 3 year old NOT to climb the ladder. Set firm rules from the beginning that he is not allowed up there for any reason.

I know someone whose daughter has been in a top bunk since she turned four and it's been ok for her, but her little sister (3) did fall trying to go up the ladder.

K.
http://oc.citymommy.com

dI have two boys (14 months apart) they are now 5 and 4, they have been in bunk beds for about 2.5 years. The top bunk has railings all the way around it except for the spot for the ladder, the bottom bunk goes the opposite way of the top bunk. This allowed me to use the smaller size toddler bed on the bottom until the younger one was big enough to get in and out of a regular twin size bed. During the daytime I would put the ladder on the top bunk so that the boys did not climb up there and try to jump off while playing in thier room =} Now the ladder stays down all the time and I have not had one problem with either one of the boys and the bunk beds. The boys are on the young side (one was 5 in July and the other just turned 4) Safety all depends on what kind of bunk bed you buy, but I do suggest the top bunk having the rail all the way around, besides keeping the boy ON the top bunk, it also helps keep toys from fallin onto the boy on the bottom bunk.

my 3.5 yr old has been in a bunk bed for a year. he sleeps in the top sometimes and the bottom others never had any problems