Guard rail on spare bed for granddaughter - advice needed 28 October 2014 at 10:08PM in MoneySaving mums 11 replies 2.1K views

littlerock

Granddaughter coming to stay for a week next month. She is coming up 3 and about to move into her first bed. We can't really find room for or spare the expense of a separate child's starter bed and are wondering about a childs guard rail on our existing single bed.

Anyone recommend a good one and anything else we should look out for?

theoretica

If you can't find anything, do you have room to put the mattress on the floor so there isn't a fall?

Bennifred

If the bedroom your granddaughter will sleep in is upstairs, do you have a stair gate for the top of the stairs?

greenbee

My nephew has been staying with me since he was 3, in an ordinary single bed. We put a bed guard on it initially, but he's been fine. I have a set of steps which he doesn't actually need anymore, but likes using.

My niece (aged 2) sleeps in a truckle bed at mine, but was quite happy in a single bed at my parents during the summer.

We haven't had stairgates for them here or at my parents since my niece turned two.

Frith

A noodle swimming float works well as a guard rail if you put it under the fitted sheet.

pollyanna24

I took the rail of my daughter's bed when she was 2 as didn't like it and haven't had any problems. Is the bed up against a wall, so that it minimises sides the child can fall out of?

dizziblonde

Ask her parents if she'll need one or not - my 2 1/2 year old hasn't had one on her bed for ages now and has been sleeping in a bottom bunk bed (we got given them and it was stupid not to take them - just haven't got the ladder or latts fitted for the top bunk till the kids are older) at normal height for a good few months without any incidents at all. Her bed at grandparents has a rail on just because it's her old toddler bed and part of the design. Wouldn't even have stairgates to stop her coming up and down stairs if it wasn't for her younger sister (I'd still gate off the bathroom though since we're going through a phase of liking to play with taps) - very much depends on the child though.

Otherwise unless the bed's a tricky design or anything they all seem much of a muchness really - loads come up for sale second hand since they're one of these things you don't use for that long and a pain in the backside to store.

Mrs_Soup

Mine both went into normal singles at around 2 and never had a rail, we did however purposely choose quite low beds so there wouldn't be much of a drop. We don't have stairgates at the top of the stairs either- kids would climb over and fall down the stairs most likely. You say she isn't already in a normal bed though which might make a difference- if she is used to a cot with sides then she may or may not be fine in a bed. If there is no room to put the mattress on teh floor make sure there is nothing near the bed she could bang herself on and maybe put spare pillows or duvet next to the bed.

jackomdj

If her parents use a rail can't they bring it with them for your granddaughter? When ours used them we took it with us if we went visiting. Many of them are portable and fold down into a bag not much bigger than golf umbrella size.

mr_knight

You could try a rolled up duvet under a fitted sheet but the noodle idea is good too. My mil bought one second hand, she just asked a few friends My mum has a toddler bed with no guard and she regularly falls out of that she is obviously used to having it.

System

A bed guard on a normal bed should be absolutely fine. We put our son into a normal bed unusually early (around 14 months) because the cot broke and we already had the bed ready to go as it had been given to us. He had a bed guard for a few months, but we took it off when he was around 18 months because he could get in and out of bed on his own, and he's been fine. It's a normal bed; not a toddler bed. I'd definitely suggest a bed guard since she's not used to a bed, but on a regular bed should be fine.