Toddler beds come in two basic types, those that convert into a regular twin bed when the child gets older, and the fantasy child’s bed that will have to be replaced when the bed is not longer suitable for the age and height of the occupant.
The fantasy bed is more fun from the child’s point of view. It is in the shape of a race car or castle or other fantasy form, or it may have cartoon characters on the head and foot boards. The size is the step up from a crib, but not as large as a standard twin bed. This is a standard toddle size mattress and uses toddler bedding, which also carries out the fantasy theme or cartoon character decor. The sides are usually built up a little to provide more security in case the child rolls from side to side while sleeping. At least it provides psychological security to child and parent in seeming to prevent rolling off the bed.
The toddler bed intended to survive this stage of life is a twin bed with half rails at the head end to provide security from rolling of the bed. The rails are removed when the child reaches a suitable age and the bed is then just a twin bed. Standard bedding fits the twin mattress, and luxury bedding is available if desired. A trundle bed can be added for sleep overs. A metal bed, like brass, can serve the child for his entire youth and go off with him to the first apartment.
Is a toddler bed really necessary? That rather depends on the child and the parents. If the child is a very active sleeper, the parents may feel better if the move out of the crib is into a bed with some enclosure to help keep the child from accidentally rolling out of bed in the night. The half side rails are more visible restraints that the built-in, taller sides of fantasy beds, but the scale of the toddler bed used in the fantasy beds may seem more appropriate. Economics would dictate the twin bed with the additional half rails, both because the bed will be useful into adulthood and because it does not require special bedding, allowing bedding from other twin beds to be used on this bed as well. A canopy can even be added so the occupant can have a canopy bed.
The decision about a child’s first non-crib bed is likely to be influenced by the furniture of the child’s friends. There may be considerable pressure to go with the fantasy bed if there are a few in the child’s circle of friends. But, at the end of a few years, the “graduation” to a real bed may occur sooner if the toddler bed was only side rails on a twin bed and a new purchase of bed and bedding is not required. For children whose interests change quickly, the race car bed may be undesirable well before the need for a longer bed indicates a change, in which case the twin bed with rails will be less mortifying when the group’s interest changes from race cars to dinosaurs or space stations.
Toddler beds can provide a chance for parents to indulge in lost hopes from their own childhoods by buying the fantasy bed instead of the modified twin bed, but, hopefully, thoughts of future use and growth will lead to the right decision for all concerned.
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