The difficult economy, and the even more difficult housing market, are causing many of us to think two of three times before moving to accommodate our growing families. Therefore, conserving space has become an issue for millions of us who are living in smaller homes, apartments, and condominiums. It’s not surprising then that kids bunkbeds have become more popular than ever.
Selecting the Right Bunk Configuration
There are any number of factors that could make their way into your shopping criteria, but your first move in selecting a bed is to know what’s available. When considering bunkbeds, most of us think of the classic twin over twin that is also popular for more grown-up consumers in college dorms and military barracks.
There are, of course, other options, including the twin over full size configuration, which is ideal when you have a recently grown teenager sharing a room with a small, pre-growth-spurt sibling. If both children are on the large side, full over full size configurations are also popular. Finally, if there is only one young person, or you already have an appropriate lower bed available, loft beds are another classic option.
A Matter of Style
It is also a good idea of course, to consider the style of kids bunk beds you want that not only fit the aesthetics of the room in question, but also match the tastes of the people who will actually be sleeping in them. Boys and girls tend to have very strong opinions about what’s appropriate, so it’s probably a good idea to get their input. Kids bunk beds styles can vary wildly from ultra-colorful and playful to wood based and classical, to stylish constructions using metal. It’s simply a matter of matching the style of the beds to the young people sleeping in them.
A Matter of Safety
It’s only natural for parents to be concerned about preventing injuries, though the fact is that kids bunk beds today are safer than ever. The one advance that has contributed the most to that reality is the near universal use of guardrails to ensure that there are no gaps between the wall and the bed that are large enough to trap any part of a child’s body. Another important precaution is to never permit a child younger than six to sleep on a top bunk.
Finally, of course, both for the sake of your child and the investment in the bed, you want to prevent the kind of roughhousing that can destroy furniture while causing nasty injuries. It’s important to talk to young people about the correct way to treat their beds and to remind them that destroying furniture, and possibly breaking a limb in the process, is something they’d really rather avoid.