Bunk beds are a lot of fun and can be great space savers, as they contain one bed on top of another. However, the main concerns with bunk beds are safety problems. There are many injuries due to bunk beds every year. You want to purchase bunk beds that have a safety label from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and ensure that the beds are used in a proper fashion. Does this Spark an idea?
Lights
An issue with bunk bed safety is going up and down the ladder at night in the dark. To make sleeping in the top bunk safer, mount a cordless nightlight on the ladder. This makes it easy to get up in the middle of the night, and your child will avoid falling off the bunk bed, falling down the ladder or missing the ladder completely when trying to go back up it.
Safety Features
Ensure that the bunk beds have the proper safety features. The top bunk should have a guard rail with a maximum 3 1/2 inch gap between the side and rail. The supporting slats or wires on the top bunk must be fastened at both ends and run completely under the mattress with no gaps. A small child may get caught between the frame edge and a mattress if the mattress is too small. Make sure that the mattress is snug and does not have any gaps.
Activities
A bunk bed is made to sleep on and is not for any other activities. Avoid injuries or damage to the bunk bed and prohibit any jumping. The bunk bed is not a trampoline and does not have the proper support for jumping and other violent activity. The bed can collapse and hurt the child underneath and throw the child on the top bunk.
Age
Children who are under the age of 6 should never sleep in the top bunk of bunk beds. If your child is older than 6 and is not comfortable sleeping on the top bunk, do not push your child to sleep up high, but wait until he is ready. Manufacturers have set the age of 6 based on the child's size, but there is more than size that goes into having a child be comfortable sleeping up high.
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