With so many beds on the market, how do you choose the right one for your child and do you need all of them? Well you certainly don't need all of them. If you have more money than you know what to do with, you may choose to buy your child every type of bed out there. However, if you are looking for a way to save money, you can plan well and use one or two beds for the entire time your child is at home. When buying a bed for your child, you have two stages to consider. Stage one is the "baby stage" starting at birth and lasting until about the age of two. The second stage is the "growing child stage" starting around age two and lasting until age eighteen.
During the "baby stage", the most important consideration is the safety of the baby. Bassinets and cradles make an excellent first bed but these can only be used for a couple months. The baby will feel secure but will outgrow them quickly. A port-a-crib is another excellent option for the baby years. These cribs can go anywhere you go making it easy to have the baby with you. If you travel, take the baby in to your room at night to sleep, or have a two-story house and want to have the baby downstairs during the day, a port-a-crib might be a great option. Some people even find that a port-a-crib can take the place of a fixed crib. A crib is the primary bed you want to buy for the "baby stage". Some good quality cribs even convert into various beds that grow with your child..
The second stage is age two and beyond. Once the child is able to climb out of the crib, you need to start thinking of other types of beds. Again, safety is the most important consideration. You don't want the child to fall out of a bed so you will be looking for something close to the ground or you will want to use portable side rails. Toddler beds or cribs that convert into a crib bed usually come to mind. Crib beds are a little larger than toddler beds but both can be used up to about the age of five or six, depending on the size of your child. There are some pretty cool styles in toddler beds and they aren't expensive but you may not really need one. Choosing a bed that will work for the growing years and placing the mattress on the floor alone is an option that eliminates the need for these special toddler type beds. Once the child outgrows the toddler bed, you will want to consider a conventional bed - twin or full size, bunk, loft, futon, divan, trundle, etc. One or more of these can be used for the rest of this "growing child stage." There may be many reasons why you want to change your child's bed over the years such as a change of tastes, the need for a study loft area, the desire for bunk beds, or just the fact that a larger room becomes available which allows for a larger bed. But, you don't need to buy all these different beds.
Here is something to ponder. Can a two-year old, a twelve-year old, and an eighteen year old all sleep in the same type of bed? Of course if you do it right. A twin size bunk bed or loft bed makes so much sense for a young family. You can separate the bunk beds at first for the two-year old and use just the mattress on the floor for a while. Then, use just the single twin size bed alone for the preschool years. Use portable side rails if necessary. When your child is old enough to sleep in a bunk bed (age six for the top), you can make the twin size bunk bed into bunks. The extra bed can be used for overnight guests or room sharing siblings. When desired, the bed can be separated into two beds again. If you choose and have the room, bunk beds even come in full sizes. This type of bed can serve the needs of your child for the entire time they are home. If the bed is going to last eighteen years or more, you will want to buy a good quality bunk bed as well as a good quality mattress.
So, as you choose what your child will be sleeping on for the next eighteen plus years, choose carefully and save dollars. Consider a crib and a bunk bed for optimum versatility.
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