Bunk Bed Safety – Keep the Kids Safe and the Parents Happy
Bunk beds are one of the best ways to make best use of children’s bedroom space. Kids love bunk beds, they’re so much fun, and parents love them because it allows them to house 2 kids in one bedroom, and the kids are happy.
But although bunk beds are some of the best things you can do for a children’s bedroom, there are some bunk bed safety issues. You need to be aware that, if used improperly, or set up improperly, kids can hurt themselves. Do it right and you should have years of safe fun for your kids who will love their bunk beds, both for sleeping and playing.
Bunks are a great choice when looking for great children’s bedroom furniture. Kids adore bunk beds, they can have so much fun. Hang a sheet from the top bunk and you’ve got so many options for fun for kids.
And for parents buying bunk beds there are some huge advantages, they give you multiple options for best use of space in kids bedrooms. Bunks take up far less space than 2 single beds, and kids are much happier if you put 2 in a bedroom using bunks than if you put 2 kids in a bedroom with less room because of the 2 beds and they sleep in single beds.
Here’s a few things to remember about bunk beds.
1. Make sure that the top bunk has a railing right around the top. Ideally it should have a railing around the entire top of the bunk, however it is essential to at the least have a railing around the open sides. If there are to be 3 open sides then you need a railing around 3.
The railing should be fixed and not removable. It’s possible if a railing can be removed that kids can remove it, and if they do then they can fall off. It should be solid and fixed.
There should be no gap wider than about 3 inches between the top of the mattress and the bottom of the railing, because it has been known for kids to fall through the gap between the bottom of the railing and the mattress. So make sure there is very little gap.
And the top of the railing should be reasonably high, I would prefer 10 inches at least, above the top of the mattress. A railing that’s 2 or 3 inches high isn’t good enough. You can get double railings which are great.
Make sure the mattress is the right size for the bed, mattresses come in different sizes and should fit the bed correctly so that there are no gaps for kids to fall through.
Don’t get a bed with a corner post (or anything else) that sticks up on it’s own. It’s possible for kids to catch clothing on anything that sticks up and fall off, hanging from the post.
Don’t get a bunk bed with loose slats for the mattress to sit on for the top bunk. It’s perfectly possible for some bunk beds that can be taken apart easily and put together easily to have loose slats that are put in place for the mattress to rest on. However if there is a child underneath who pushes on the slats and moves them then the mattress, and all the bedding above, can fall onto the child below.
And even better, get online and search a little bit more about bunk bed safety, and learn more before you buy, and you, and your kids will absolutely love their bunks to sleep in.