Toddler Beds

Has anyone used a toddler bed (the kind that fit cot mattresses)? My daughter will use my antique wrought iron half tester single bed (my neice calls it the fairy bed) which is beautiful and will be great when she's old enough but it's much higher than most single beds. If I didn't have this I would buy a single bed with a trundle but would like to try a toddler bed if it will last her long enough so I don't have to keep buying mattresses (the antique bed uses an odd sized mattress, close to single). I would appreciate a reply from anyone who has used a toddler bed to find out the pros and cons.

i have 2 children, both of which have used small toddler beds. my son had a little tikes racing car bed which was fantastic. he used it for 3 years, untill he got too tall. my daughter went into a small timber bed that used her cot mattress. i found that because she is a tall child she kept hitting the sides and the wall. we had bought my son a set of bunk beds and the top bunk had railings on both sides, one went the whole length of the bed and the left a gap for the child to climb up on the bed. so i pulled the apart so we had 2 single bed and put her in to the bed.we have now taken off both rails and she has never fallen out of the bed.she is 21 mths so to be cautious i lay her fold out lounge on the floor next to her just in case she falls. i think the small bed are excellent to get the kids use to a bed.

Hi there
I moved my son into a single bed when he was ready which was at 12mths.
He has one of those car beds. It's really good as it has high sides but not high of the ground.
It was a bit expensive but he can use it for a long time as it is a single bed size. That is the kinda bed that I suggest
Mel mother Tristan (30/4/02)

Hi Beth

Just a thought - you might wanna consider a trundle bed. Your child can sleep on the bed and pull out the trundle incase he falls and on unsettled nites, you can lay there with your child too. As I said, just a thought for you.

i've seen toddler beds at toys are us they seemed to hve a wide vriety we hve a cot thtau can remove the sides and lower the bed hvent tried it yet our 3 yr old went staifgt to a bed my hubby made a rail tp prevent falls

I too am having the same problem. I was living in the USA and came to love the beds but Braydon was too young for a bed, but now I am kicking myself for not bringing one back with me. Have you had any luck finding a good car bed that is actually 3d?

ok i have a friend with a 3 year old and a well nearly 1 year old , the baby has never been in a cot, she was co sleeping with mum and dad at first and now sleeps on a matress on the floor - and as the matress is quite thick like a ensumble matress she has on of the bed side things you can buy, from big w. i was looking at it the other day and as we are entering the big girl bed stage, i have decided to start with the spare queensize matress we have, on the floor and move up to a single bed matress when she can sleep in one place!, and then an acutally bed! lol

the other thing i was thinging was buying a set of bunks - as all new bunk beds have to have the sides onthe top bunk, if you buy a set that can be pulled apart and used as 2 ground level ones then i would use the one with the sides to start with and as we progress we move into the normal bed and the next baby moves in to the sided bed. and in the end after all kids have outgrown the sides, we just remove them!

well thats what we have been thinking, so i hope it helps.

I think the place to try would be ikea. A friend of mine bought her's there and she said it was great as it was very low to the ground. She said that Alani has never fallen out of it - it was cheap also.

Hi,
If you take the side off the babies cot it is much the same as a toddler bed and much cheaper!
Sue

my sons cot is to high to take the sides off and use it as a bed... would be a bit dangerous in our case

the wiggles have a 'big red car' bed but it is $450 shipped to perth, $400 everywhere else in australia i think its at www.thewiggles.com.au

is that to much to spend on a bed? its a full size single mattress so a bit longer use.....but he will grow out of the wiggles of course

maybe i should just buy a toddler bed $200 ........fits cot mattress

who knows hey ..partner thinks its to much money

love melissa x

Hi

I saw a first bed advertised in toys r us for $159.
It was only abot knee height with two little steps and wooden bars all around it (apart from where the steps are)

Hi there, we are looking around at the moment for a bed for our daughter. I wouldnt bother with a toddler bed, they are a waste of money as you will need to buy a proper single bed anyway. We are looking at getting a bed with a trundle underneath. That way we can either start her out on the trundle as it is really low to the floor OR put her in the bed with the trundle pulled out in case she falls out. I think this would be the best way to go because then we have a spare bed and would also be great for later on with sleep over's.