Toddler Bed Fall-out Prevention

[Brandi]

We have three children between the ages of 10 and 22 months. I love having them in my bed, but sometimes that is the only time I have with my husband, so we try to avoid having them in bed with us. We put both of our youngest in toddler beds by the age of 15 months. We went to Wal-Mart, and in the baby section they sell a rail with a soft net on it. You simply slip it under the mattress. It does not cover the entire side of the bed so the child can climb out the end if needed. We put one side of the bed against the wall and the other has the rail. It has worked very nicely for all three of the kids.

[admin]

Thanks so much for all the feedback! That is great! I am like a couple that I saw where I don't want Sam sleeping with us because that is our time alone. Last night, Sam didn't fall out of the bed so I am hoping that this nice streak will work out from now on although I am not putting all my eggs into that basket, yet!

[admin]

Null,

I am with you. In the 20 months since she was born (and when at home) my daughter has spent only one night not in her crib. It was the first night she came home from the hospital and she slept on my chest in a chair. Ever since then she has been most comfortable in her crib. She is a very independent little girl and really enjoys her time in her crib. Plus she is a restless sleeper, so none of us would get any sleep if she was in the bed.

We haven't decided when to move to a big bed, but I know it's not anytime soon. She's in no danger of climbing out yet so what's the rush? She is safe and comfortable in her crib. I'm not looking forward to her tapping me on the cheek at 4am just to tell me she was awake! When I want to see her precious sleeping face, I sneak into her room for 5 minutes. Otherwise, I like my sleep.

To each his own!

[Brenda]

Hi everyone. I was just reading through all the neat advice. As a warning please read this.

Please don't put one side of the bed against the wall and a rail on the other. My sister-in-law's toddler had this same set up and is no longer here with us today. He was 14 months old.
He slipped between the bed and the wall and with the blanket....
I don't want to freak anyone out. But I would much rather spend the money to have a second rail OR let the child fall to a pillow covered floor than find them in the morning.
Once your child is old enough, then of course the bed can safely be put up against the wall.

Thanks for hearing me out! And sorry if I offended anyone.

Brenda

[admin]

Wow. That is a really sad story Brenda. I am really sorry to hear that. I can't imagine having to go through something like that.

I do have two railings, one for each side, so I feel more comfortable with having Sam's bed pushed against the wall. He does have pillows on the side that he falls out of although he hasn't fallen out of the bed but once since I posted on here.

I am sorry about your loss though. I am kind of clueless as to what to say as like I sad before, that is really sad.

[anotherbpimom...]

I HAVE YOUR ANSWER...

I got mine off of craigslist, but you can rig this yourself. Purchase a wood toddler bed with rails on each side. Instead of mounting them on each side, put them both on one side of the bed at each end of the bed. You will wind up with a few inch gap in the center that they cannot fall out of. However they can crawl through the space to get in and out of bed. Just place the other side of the bed against the wall. The person that rigged our bed drilled extra holes in the bed, screwed and glued the rail to the bed and used zip ties for peace of mind I guess. It sounds strange, but turned out very secure. My little one is a wild sleeper. Spins, turns and tosses all night. It's the only way we can pull it off. And as for crawling into my bed in the middle of the night, I keep an ugly rail on one side of my bed, so she's wedged b/t that and me.

[determined]

I read post from Brenda who lost her toddler nephew when he went between the mattress and the wall. Identified with that immediately. I still remember my little brother was a baby and was sleeping on a bed with the mattress right up against the wall on one side. Someone walked into the room and found him rolled over, stuck between the bed and the wall. He wasn't breathing. I remember someone pulling his lifeless body from down between the mattress and wall, and it was so traumatic witnessing this, as I was only 7 or 8 at the time. While someone called for an ambulance, an older relative gave him CPR and brought him back. Thank God, my brother is alive and well today. For that reason, my children never slept on a bed with mattress against the wall. In fact, I just googled "baby on mattress against wall" and came up with many precautions against this practice. For example, http://safebedsharing.org/safetyguidelines.html.

[anotherbpimom...]

OMG. I didn't read the previous post by Brenda. So sorry to hear that. I appreciate you posting that.

[BreannaLeigh74]

well...my son is nearly 6 and still falls out of bed about once a month...perhaps i shouldn't have his bpi arm to the outside? yowzas!

[bfaithda]

I have seen something I was going to try with my son since he is in a regular bed. I read if you put a pool noodle under the fitted shit it will keep them from rollin out. My son is 2 and he is doing good so far so I have not tried it. I t sounds like it would work!