Beds: Which Do You Choose, Which Do You Use?

So your kid is growing out of the crib. What next? The options are vast and the decision making process may drive you crazy. If you are like me, it wasn’t like my kids were telling me they wanted a bigger bed. This decision was self-imposed. This is mostly because my kids are spaced roughly 2 years apart from each other and I was too cheap to own 2 cribs.

So…my wife and I slowly transitioned our kids out of cribs and into beds. But the dilemma of what type of bed stressed me out more than the night after night of screaming while transitioning them.

Here are a few of the most popular bed solutions and the pros and cons for each.

Crib Conversion to Toddler Bed
This is a popular solution. Some cribs have the ability to perform an Optimus Prime and transform into a toddler bed.
PROS: You don’t have to buy a new bed and it is an easy transition emotionally for your kid.
CONS: If you have another baby on the way, it would make more economic sense to keep the crib for the baby and buy a new bed for the older kid. These conversion toddler beds tend to be smaller than standalone toddler beds.

Toddler Bed
You may choose to buy a standalone toddler bed to move your kid out of.
PROS: Low to the ground so your kid and their tiny legs can get in and out by themselves and you aren’t as afraid of them rolling off and breaking their arm.
CONS: They will outgrow it in less than 3 years. Do you really want to have to buy another bed when they are 6 or 7?

Novelty Beds
Novelty beds are the names I give to the beds shaped like cars, pirate ships, princess carriages, etc.
PROS: Your kids will love it and their friends will beg their parents to get one too.
CONS: Like other toddler beds, they will outgrow them quickly. You can still satisfy your boys car obsession with something less limiting: like Lightning McQueen bedspreads and sheets.

Twin Bed
Another option is to go ahead and buy a twin bed.
PROS: You only have to buy this bed and you are pretty set until they come back for winter break with a girlfriend they want to sleep with. (Then you wish you bought a queen sized bed with a brick wall running down the middle). Another “Pro” is it is large enough and sturdy enough for you to climb in too.
CONS: It is higher than toddler beds and it is recommended you buy bed rails so they don’t roll off in the middle of the night. Nurseries tend to be smaller rooms and the twin will fill it up real quick.

Lofted Bed
A lofted bed is a good option for rooms where space is a premium.
PROS: Kids love climbing up and being up high. Leaves space below the bed for storage or a play area.
CONS: Kids also love climbing up ladders and falling off. Not sturdy enough for you to climb up. Pain in the rectum to change the sheets. This is especially painful as this age is prime bedwetting territory.

Bunk Beds
Bunk beds are a great option when kids share rooms.
PROS: Rack’em and stack’em: bunk beds are the ultimate in highly space-efficient sleeping quarters. If you get one that detaches into 2 separate beds you have the ultimate in flexibility.
CONS: Tall ladders, big falls. If you buy a small one it tends to be less structurally sound. If you buy a sturdier one it takes up a ton of space. Once again, rectal pain when changing sheets.

Mattress on the Floor
Perhaps the easiest and most common solution.
PROS: Why buy a bed when they can just roll on and off a mattress? Low to the ground, easy to move around.
CONS: Your kid looks like a homeless person.

Space constraints, budget, and your kid’s urinary control play huge factors in these decisions. You have to do what works for you. In my experience, we bought a twin bed for our daughter with bed rails and realized it was way too big for her small room. So we put that bed into the attic for later and bought her a lofted bed where she sleeps up top and plays below.

For my son, we moved him into the bottom of a bunk bed. By the time his younger brother outgrows the crib, my older son will be old enough to handle the top bunk and we will move the younger one into the bottom.

For you more experienced parents out there: what option did you choose and why?