After I shared with you some of the secrets of a bunk bed in the previous post, I think I might have convinced you to purchase one (if you are not interested in making yourself a bunk bed- it’s cheaper and more fun). Let’s focus on the first part: buying a bunk bed for your kids. There are a few things that you have to keep in mind when you decide to make the buy that I will share with you in this post.
1. Before deciding to buy the bunk bed, think of how much time your kids will be using it. Remember that children grow pretty fast and if you are purchasing a small bed, in two years, maybe, it will become useless; and you will end up back at the store, ready to pay another good couple of bucks for mistake that you made back in the days when you should of kept in mind that small details: kids grow! So, if you are planning to keep them sleeping in bunk beds until they are 18, think about choosing a pretty large one. They will be thanking you later. If you are not planning to do so, choose the size that is suitable for the room and for the kids.
2. Take the kids with you at the store when you want to buy their bed. Let them have a look around the store. Maybe they will find something they will like. If you want to make them happy, buy a themed bunk bed, in the shape of an elephant, car, army tent and so on. Fun is guaranteed.
3. Always, safety first! Make sure that the upper bed, especially, is properly secured. It must have guardrails on all sides! Some manufacturers build bunk beds for kids with guardrails only on one side, thinking that the other side of the bed will be pushed against the wall. WRONG! The bunk bed always has to have guardrails on all four sides!
4. Now you have to measure the distance between the mattress and the guardrail. Five inches of guardrail over the surface of the mattress will prevent the person sleeping on the top bed from waking up in the middle of the night laying down on the floor.
5. All bunk beds should be equip with a ladder. Climbing in the upper bunk bed should be just for fun:). Also, check to make sure that the ladder won’t break under the weight of the one climbing it. There are two types of bunk beds ladders: ones that can be removed and ones that are part of the frame of the bunk bed.
6. In some cases, bunk beds don’t come with a mattress. Therefor, make sure to buy the right size mattress for the bunk bed that you already purchased. Also, take your kid to the store with you and let him try it.
7. Maybe later you will want to separate the bunk beds (and put them in separate rooms) and not keep the one on top of the other forever. So make sure that the bunk bed has this feature.
8. Next to the upper bunk bed install a light in the wall. That will really help its inhabitant whenever he wants to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and can easily switch it on.
9. And our final tip for this post is not to let a child under six years old to sleep in the top bunk.
I hope these nine advices will help you make the right choice. And if you have others to share with us, don’t forget about the comments section below.
