Toddler Beds
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Toddler Beds
June 2004
Hi Everyone,
Would you give me advice on transitioning from crib to bed? Lily is 2 1/2 now.
We are considering getting an inexpensive fun toddler bed (with fun characters
or fun design) for Lily. We wonder the kid's bed might be too high for her even
though we can install rail. When she sleeps, she moves a lot. She can end up
at the bottom of the bed. Besides, when she wakes up in the middle of the
night, she might be a little disoriented and get off the bed on the wrong side
which does not have the rail guard. If we get her a toddler bed, how long will
she be able to sleep in it?
Any experience or wisdom to share.
Appreciate it very much.
Teresa
Hi, I was just looking at my 3.5 year old daughter last night
and thought she was getting too long for her toddler mattress.
She isn't especially tall for her age. Just my experience.
thinking about the twin bed
Why we just did this 3 weeks ago with our 26 month old! I
always thought the concept of a toddler bed was a waste of money
(we didn't have them when we were kids). Instead, for our
daughter, we bought rails for both sides of the bed we were
going to put my daughter in (since the bed was not flush against
the wall), to minimize her falling out. So far, so good. The
first night I laid in bed with her rubbing her back for about a
half hour while she scratched the mesh net the entire time (then
I gave up and put her back in her crib). The next night, my
husand laid in bed w/her for about 45 mins. doing the same.
That's all it took! After that she went to sleep alone in her
(as we keep calling it) ''big girl'' bed. Also, my sis-in-law has
been having a real tough time trying to get her 4 year old out
of his toddler bed and into a regular bed. So I say don't waste
the money on a toddler bed!
barbara
With a regular twin bed it is easier for you to lie down with your child and read
stories and cuddle. This makes the big bed even more attractive than the crib. You
can get fun characters on the sheets, comforter, pillows, etc. (BTW, when our
daughter moved to a twin bed at 2 1/2, we forgot to get the rail so we just put
chairs with their backs against the bed to prevent her from falling out. It turns out
she never even needed them as she somehow knew where the edge was, just as
grownups do. You can also put cushions or pillows around the bed until you are
sure she won't fall off.)
Good luck!
For what it's worth, we moved our 2 year old into a regular twin
mattress on the floor. He kind of fell out on his first night
in it - but it was no big deal. The transition was easy and he
loves it. Good luck!
anon
We moved our now almost 3-year-old into a twin bed in January.
I definitely am glad we skipped the toddler bed. The toddler
bed is not bigger than a crib, and our daughter is very tall and
was simply too big for a toddler bed. It would have been one
more thing to buy (and eventually get rid of), and I hear that
finding bedding for toddler beds is difficult. We have a twin
bed against the wall with an average-size bed rail and it has
been great. She has to climb to get into it, but if that is a
concern you can put the mattress on the floor until your child
is taller. I would say get a twin bed and place it against a
wall, get an extra-long bed rail (I've seen them online), and if
you need to, put something soft on the floor at the end of the
bed.
Liz O.
You might want to consider just a twin sized mattress on the
floor. That's what we did for my son. I was also concerned about
the chances of his falling out of a big bed. I didn't want to get
a toddler bed because I figured that he would grow out of it so
quickly. With a twin mattress, you can always buy the bed frame
for it later.
Ruth
March 2004
I want to move my son from the crib to a bed and I am wondering
if the extendable beds which have 3 sizes (start as a toddler
bed, go to a medium size and extend to a regular twin size) are
really of good quality. It would be convenient for us, because
my son's bedroom is very small and we could use it there in the
smallest size; by the time we need the twin size we will have
hopefully moved to a bigger house. However, I've seen many
people selling these beds in the marketplace newsletter and I am
wondering if it is because they are not sturdy or good quality
enough for a more grown-up child. If that's the case, I'd rather
buy a twin size now and have the bedroom a bit more full, than
to have to end up buying 2 beds down the line. Any advice from
people who have bought this extendable beds would be very much
appreciated(I believe they are sold at Ikea, I am not sure if
they are sold at any other place, and i, that's the case, if
they are of better quality than the Ikea brand).
Bed searcher
I bought the Ikea model to which you seem to be referring, and
I think it is just great. For six months we had it in its
smallest configuration (starting when my daughter was 2 years 2
months), until just a few weeks ago (she'll be three next
month). It was just the right cozy size for her when she made
the transfer into her own ''big girl bed'' (she was moving from
my own queen size bed, not a crib, so we wanted her to feel the
bed was just for her -- ''big girl''-sized!) I was worried at
first about her falling out -- but the bed is relatively low to
the ground, so it's not a far drop. I propped some pillows next
to the bed for the first few weeks, and after one little
tumble -- no harm done -- onto those pillows, she never fell
out again. We put lots of pillows on top of the bed, and a
canopy with fun, whimsical sheer panels draped on the wall
above it (all available extremely reasonably at Ikea as well)
and she was just thrilled when she saw it. (They have motifs
that are just as fun for boys as for girls, by the way). She
showed it off to everyone who came to the house! Now that we've
lengthened the bed to its intermediate configuration, I can lie
down in it fully extended with her (I am 5'4''), Daddy is more
comfortable cozying up with her when it's his turn to put her
to bed, and she feels cool because ''she's getting so big Mommy
had to make her bed grow.'' It's very handy, feels perfectly
comfortable, and the quality seems quite decent -- solid wood
head and footboard, and slats to support the mattress. I'd
definitely recommend the product!
daly
We too have this bed, and it was wonderful for my daughter for
a year or so.
My only caution-- we purchased the Ikea mattress that went with
it, and it outgassed for several months in the other room while
we tried to get it safe enough for her to sleep on it.
Mattresses have the most foul chemicals--and I assume that Ikea
is worse than usual due to the price point. This mattress
continuted to stink for about 3 months, at which point we threw
it away, unused, and purchased an all cotton futon, which
worked well with that bed as you could still fold up the tail
and head and expand as needed.
Nancy
March 2003
Any stores in the area that have a good selection of toddler
beds? I've seen the prior posts which deal more w/ kid furniture
and not toddler beds.
anon
We looked around at the larger furniture stores: Macy's,
Ethan Allen, etc. and found the quality on the cheap side
(pine and veneers) and the price quite high ($1000.00 and
up). There is a store on Shattuck at Blake (?) called
Berkeley Kids' Room, but they too are expensive for what
you get. We eventually went where the quality matched the
price, IKEA. They had a very solid pine toddler bed that
expands to a twin size for approx. $150.00. They have other
choices as well.
anon
check out IKEA--they have several.
anon
An excellent place to find toddler beds is at Berkeley Kids Room
at 2474 Shattuck Ave downtown. Be sure to check out their
upstairs - great designs and terrific service.
Cassandra
Feb 2003
Where does one buy inexpensive yet tasteful bedding for toddler
beds? Used is fine.
elisabeth
One place for toddler bedding is Carousel Designs, Ltd. on the
web: www.carouseldesigns.com/. It's a good place for toddler
pillows and cases, and top sheets for toddler beds. Their
quilts and comforters are pricey, tho, and I did not buy one
because I'm lucky enough to have a seamstress for a best friend
and godmother to my daughter.
For blankets that will fit well on a toddler bed, we use
standard throw blankets. My father just got our daughter a down
throw for Christmas that I love. Down throws aren't even very
expensive!
For used, just go to a used baby/children's shop such as Once
Upon a Child (one in Newark that I know of).
Oh yeah, 2 other good resources for childrens bedroom stuff and
bedding are Sears' Room for Kids catalog and Lillian Vernon's
Lilly's Kids catalog (www.lillianvernon.com).
Have fun!
Jennifer
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