20th Jun 2009

Bunk Bed Safety Tips

bunkbed

The bunk bed is the perfect way to free up space in the room that your two children share. Kids really love this setup because it gives them a larger area to play and is much more exciting to sleep in then normal beds. What makes the beds exciting for kids can cause parents to stay up each night worrying. Bunk beds are an excellent choice for many different reasons, but there are some safety precautions you must take before and after installation.

The main concern that parents have is that one of their children will fall off and injure themselves. This could be either by rolling off the bed in the middle of the night, or falling off when climbing up the ladder. This is a legitimate concern, as this is the number one way accidents happen with this type of bed.

The construction quality goes a long way in preventing this safety hazard. While it is possible to find inexpensive bunk beds, you should never compromise quality for price. A well constructed bed will have a guardrail designed to prevent falling off in the middle of the night. Make sure that this safety measure is certified by the government when buying it in a store or online. The ladder should attach to the top level to prevent it from falling over when someone is climbing up.

Even if you get a bed that is of excellent quality, it is only as safe as the person who puts it together. If you are doing this yourself make sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions to the letter, and test it yourself before letting anyone else go on it. If you have someone else do the job for you, make sure you double check their work. Accidents occur when a good bed is put together poorly.

The top bunk should only be used by those children who are over the age of six. Showing them how to properly use the ladder will go a long way to making sure they stay safe. Many kids will want to treat it as a tree fort, and can get injured when participating in horseplay. Sit down with them and have a talk about the importance of safety and tell them that you will not tolerate unsafe behavior on the bed.

If you take all of these tips and precautions seriously you should have little trouble with bunk bed safety. As long as you are careful the benefits of these beds far outweigh the downsides.

Posted by Posted by AJP under Filed under Bunk Bed Safety Comments No Comments »