How bad is a bed w/ a slide?

[Aubrey]

I'm thinking about one of these for ds9 & ds2:

 

 

Ds2 would be ground-level either way. Ds9 would be (I think) low enough to kiss goodnight. 9yo doesn't like the army fatigue look (neither do I), but these two are what's avail on Craig's List. He *loves* the slide & tent.

 

I'm wondering a) how soon will he be too old for this? & b) how bad is the slide, really, when it comes to going to bed? We don't have bedtime issues right now (most nights), but...2yo is still in a crib at this point.

 

Thoughts?

[KS_]

Is the slide removable? How much room is it going to take up? I think it might be fun if you have the room for it, but it might also cause trouble with the 2yo wanting to play on it and not being able to. And if the slide isn't detachable, then you're stuck with it and don't have any other option. The second bed might be more functional.

[Aubrey]

Is the slide removable? How much room is it going to take up? I think it might be fun if you have the room for it, but it might also cause trouble with the 2yo wanting to play on it and not being able to. And if the slide isn't detachable, then you're stuck with it and don't have any other option. The second bed might be more functional.

 

I like the 2nd bed a lot better, & I don't think we'd get a slide bed for the girls (I wonder if that would be a problem?), & the room is beyond tiny.

 

But price-wise, used, there's only $20 difference (& the slide's the cheaper one).

 

I'm thinking I'll probably hate the slide, but I thought I'd see what hive experience has been. :D

[Chris in VA]

I think there's such a small window of time for the fun of a slide that you should...go for it! :001_smile: They just grow up so fast.

 

OTOH, you could hook a slide to the blue loft bed. I do like that bed better--it's an Ikea, from the look of it. You can turn it upside down, too, and put curtains around it, if you ever want to use it as a single bed for an older child.

[gingersmom]

I would be worried about my 2 year old playing on it unsupervised and getting hurt. Plus they would outgrow it.

 

I got my son an Ikea bunkbed 5 years ago and still loves it. I can see him using it for at least another 3-4 years.

[elfgivas]

our girls were 5 and 7 when we got them loft beds with slides. they loved them. i loved them. no one got hurt. we did it because they were forever taking the mattresses off the beds to turn into slides. lol....

 

our 12 year old has kept her loft, and removed the slide. our 10 year old has gone back to a traditional bed because its "cozier".

 

they take up a lot of room, which was fine with me, as they are really reading and sleeping places for us.

 

hth,

ann

[Aubrey]

I think there's such a small window of time for the fun of a slide that you should...go for it! :001_smile: They just grow up so fast.

 

I hadn't thought of it like that, lol.

 

OTOH, you could hook a slide to the blue loft bed. I do like that bed better--it's an Ikea, from the look of it. You can turn it upside down, too, and put curtains around it, if you ever want to use it as a single bed for an older child.

 

I know--I've been wanting this particular IKEA bed forever, even considering paying full price, lol. Now it's finally on CL, & the difference? The kids are in 2 different bedrooms, so instead it will be 9yo & 2yo sharing instead of 2yo & 3yo as I'd imagined.

[Aubrey]

I would be worried about my 2 year old playing on it unsupervised and getting hurt. Plus they would outgrow it.

 

I got my son an Ikea bunkbed 5 years ago and still loves it. I can see him using it for at least another 3-4 years.

 

I think 2yo's going to get hurt about the same amt w/ any bed. :lol: He's HUGE & 3yo's a daredevil. She "helps" him, lol. They had literally found a way to climb up the side of the fridge before we moved. Hopefully it will be a while before they figure anything out that dangerous here, but I wonder if a slide would help w/ that. He's at an age where he thinks slides are the best thing on earth. :001_smile:

[Aubrey]

our girls were 5 and 7 when we got them loft beds with slides. they loved them. i loved them. no one got hurt. we did it because they were forever taking the mattresses off the beds to turn into slides. lol....

 

our 12 year old has kept her loft, and removed the slide. our 10 year old has gone back to a traditional bed because its "cozier".

 

they take up a lot of room, which was fine with me, as they are really reading and sleeping places for us.

 

hth,

ann

 

I know--I dream of a neat row of 4 matching beds, maybe in an attic room, all Madeleine-esque, lol. Traditional beds *are* cosier!

 

Glad to know no one's gotten hurt. Taking up a lot of room is sort-of an issue: the bedroom it would go in is so small that there's really not room for anything *other* than a bed. So might as well get a bigger bed, right? :lol:

 

But if the slide comes off, that shouldn't really be an issue, I'm guessing.

 

(I wonder why they all 4 insist on playing in the smaller room? I guess it makes sense to put a slide there if anywhere, though.)

[The Girls' Mom]

Having seen the bedrooms, I would go with the blue one. For one, the ladder is on the side, not the end, which really gives you more placement options, and takes up less room. The slide...I think it would drive me insane.

[Aubrey]

Having seen the bedrooms, I would go with the blue one. For one, the ladder is on the side, not the end, which really gives you more placement options, and takes up less room. The slide...I think it would drive me insane.

 

Thank you. This is what I was afraid of, lol, but you know how small I'm talking!

 

If I call about the Ikea one, & it's already sold, I'll still think about the other one, but...*sigh* "fun" is so...messy. :lol:

[Gwenhwyfar]

my friend's son has one with a slide very much like the picture - i'm wondering, how big is your 9 year old? her son is 6 and the slide is pretty puny for him, know what i mean?

[Chris in VA]

BTW, dd has wanted that Ikea bed off and on for about 7 years...lol.

:D

[Aubrey]

my friend's son has one with a slide very much like the picture - i'm wondering, how big is your 9 year old? her son is 6 and the slide is pretty puny for him, know what i mean?

 

My 9yo is small, but not small enough that I expect the slide to be "fun" for him. They love to play imagination, & I figure stuffed animals would go down the slide more than 9yo. But 2yo & 3yo would get plenty of use out of it.

 

I just emailed the lady w/ the Ikea bed, though. If she's got it, we'll go w/ that one. :001_smile:

[Aubrey]

BTW, dd has wanted that Ikea bed off and on for about 7 years...lol.

:D

 

Do you know why? I'd love to "sell" ds on it (since it's my fav).

[mamapjama]

My oldest son has this one from IKEA http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://justshootmenow.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/ikea-loft-bed.jpg&imgrefurl=http://justshootmenow.wordpress.com/2008/01/20/frugal-vs-sensible-and-which-is-which/ikea-slide-bed/&h=120&w=160&sz=3&tbnid=r_lUe5g862CJ3M:&tbnh=74&tbnw=98&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dikea%2Bslide%2Bbed&zoom=1&q=ikea+slide+bed&usg=__I4WtYKW6L41Yk4ospZesbhN0dO0=&sa=X&ei=dYaaTK7hLs6MnQfZ2ZUg&ved=0CCwQ9QEwAw

 

OK That is one long link!

 

The bed holds up to 100lbs I believe and it can be made without the slide if you wish. We got it when my youngest was two. I really had to be strict about one child on the bed and no standing up etc. when he was younger. Now at 4 they still love the bed and have surprised me by never acting dangerously or getting out of hand. I love to hear ds slide down the slide in the morning. It cracks me up!

 

The kids love to string blankets etc. from the side and make their own forts.

 

I was really concerned about buying it as my oldest was very active at the time, but he adores it and has never mis-used it, not once. So I say go for it!

[Socalmom]

My DD had a bed very similar to that one (no camo :)) when she was 6 and we got rid of it when we redid her room for her 10th birthday. She loved the slide and we had curtains around the bottom to make an enclosed play area. We needed more sleeping space for guests so it was replaced with a trundle bed.

 

Cons: It did take up quite a bit of space and limited how the furniture could be arranged because of the room needed for the slide. Whenever any kids came over to play they always ended up climbing all over that bed. Changing the sheets was a bit of a challenge. I imagine it would be the same for any bunkbed.

 

Pros: My older DD slept in it first and when she got tired of it she passed it on to her sister. You could always pass it along to one of your younger children when your son outgrows it. My older DD was 4 when we bought it second hand from a friend. We could hide a lot of toys under that bed. It was fun and both of my girls enjoyed using it. We had no problem selling it when we were ready to let it go.

 

Margie

[Chris in VA]

Do you know why? I'd love to "sell" ds on it (since it's my fav).

 

She loves the space under it--but that wouldn't work as a reason for your ds!

[AuntieM]

We once took a set of tall bunk beds (some real old heavy solid ones - they could support a couple of linebackers, no joke), and attached a regular playground slide. We didn't set out to do it that way, we just moved and brought the playset parts and chose to not reassemble the playset.

 

The bunkbeds were moved to the basement at that same time, and, well, it just seemed like a good combination all around... :001_smile:

 

Anyway, I think your kids will love it! Our only caveat was that supervision was required when we had certain company come over.

[DragonflyAcademy]

We had the second bed for many years, from Ikea.. first it was flipped so the child was closer to the floor.. as they got older it was flipped so they were higher. The kids loved that bed and we were pleased with how it held up. It needed tightening on occasion but it went through 2 kids and part of a third until we went to true bunk beds..

 

Ikea had a bed with a slide.. I considered it for all of 2 seconds and then decided it was a bad idea..

[LuvingLife]

:w00t::svengo::svengo: Don't do it! Unless your kids won't argue or play on it all night then don't get one. My best friend's brothers' had one and it was a complete nightmare. One of her brother's ended up in the hospital with a broken arm because her brothers were being little 7 and 5 year olds, playing and jumping little boys and the 7 yo fell off the slide and landed on his arm wrong. He broke it in half!:smash:

 

Unless the slide is removable and your kids are supervised, please be careful! If not then run away!!:gnorsi:

 

I like the other part of it though!

[lisamarie]

I bought the slide bed for my DS planning to have my DD sleep underneath it. When you see the bed in person, you will see the ONLY way you could put a bed under there and have room to turn over is if you have a mattress on the floor. No bed springs, no frame, just a mattress. I want to say that it is only 4 feet off the ground, but I can't go measure it right now since DS is sleeping in it.

 

As a bed with a slide goes for just one kid, my DS6 likes it a lot and even when it was brand new, we never had any issues with him playing at all hours. But then my DS is a "by the rules" kid so that is more his personality than anything else. My DDs would have a field day with it at 2am. The slide is removable, so he goes through phases of having it up or down. He mostly uses it as a car track. My DD3 really likes it a lot and any friends who come over like to play on it. And the ladder can be moved to another location on the bed if you want. It may require drilling 2 new holes, but it can be moved.

[lisamarie]

:w00t::svengo::svengo: Don't do it! Unless your kids won't argue or play on it all night then don't get one. My best friend's brothers' had one and it was a complete nightmare. One of her brother's ended up in the hospital with a broken arm because her brothers were being little 7 and 5 year olds, playing and jumping little boys and the 7 yo fell off the slide and landed on his arm wrong. He broke it in half!:smash:

 

Unless the slide is removable and your kids are supervised, please be careful! If not then run away!!:gnorsi:

 

I like the other part of it though!

 

My DS jumped off his slide bed (not the slide, but the bed) trying to be superman and ended up at the ready care clinic with a broken wrist. I thought by buying a lower to the ground loft bed that it would be safer than a really high up full bunk bed. Not so. My kids have never tried jumping off the bunk beds we got for the girls because they're so much higher off the ground that it's more scary, but that lower to the ground slide bed was a real problem for a while. Thankfully, they've outgrown the thrill.

[katilac]

Does it have to be bunk beds? My dds have beds that used to be bunk beds, and they're pretty small (they are 10 & 12 but more the size of 7 & 9, lol). I don't think I'd buy a bunk for a 9 yr old, unless it was an extra big one.

 

Also, I would not want to have a daring toddler in a bunk bed. The bottom may be 'his,' but he can climb up easily enough. And fall down.

[Audrey]

I'm thinking about one of these for ds9 & ds2:

 

 

Ds2 would be ground-level either way. Ds9 would be (I think) low enough to kiss goodnight. 9yo doesn't like the army fatigue look (neither do I), but these two are what's avail on Craig's List. He *loves* the slide & tent.

 

I'm wondering a) how soon will he be too old for this? & b) how bad is the slide, really, when it comes to going to bed? We don't have bedtime issues right now (most nights), but...2yo is still in a crib at this point.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

It's not bad, per se, but I don't think it's practical. You'll get it in the room and it will take up way more space than you thought and you'll say "why did I buy that?" Then the kids will grow out of the whole slide thing and you'll say "why did I buy that?"

[Lizzie in Ma]

Just for me. :)

[Saille]

I have nothing intelligent to say; I just love the question.

[DragonflyAcademy]

I also wanted to add the second bed pictured, from Ikea.. is not a full height bunk bed.. in theory you could put a thin mattress on the floor under that bed and a child could sleep there.. however a full thickness mattress would not work well, imho and certainly not a mattress/box spring.. there just isn't enough headroom..

[Once Again]

If we had one of these beds, my littles would be up to play the second I turned the lights out.:)

[Aubrey]

Does it have to be bunk beds? I don't think the room is 8'x8'. Maybe two twin beds could fit in there, but it doesn't seem likely or like a good idea, kwim?

 

As far as these being lower bunks, that's what I like about them. The big kids had loft beds for a couple of yrs, & I just *didn't* like not being able to kiss them goodnight or *look* at them while they were sleeping. (And fwiw, the littles always climbed up to the tops of those, played there, & hid there.)

 

Mattress on the floor: that's what I figured. That's what they're doing now--we haven't replaced the loft beds yet. Most bunk beds don't have room for box springs; you just use a bunkie board. And for the time being, 2yo's sleeping in his pack & play. I figure I should get a chance to recover from the move before we add the challenge of keeping a 2yo in bed, lol.

 

I haven't heard back from the lady w/ the slideless one, though, & I'm thinking I might ought to call the one w/ the slide before I miss out on both of them. Hmmm...

 

I wish there weren't such a huge age difference between dss. That makes it hard. :glare:

[DragonflyAcademy]

just another tidbit about that second bed (no slide) it does not fit through a doorway put together.. and you have to take it nearly TOTALY apart.. I speak from experience.. It is nearly impossible to just take it a little bit apart to get it to fit through a doorway.. and we've tried.. It has to nearly come completely apart to be moved from room to room..

 

and take down and put together is about an hour each..

[KJsMom]

My girls had a slide bed similar to the first one. We bought it for my oldest when she was 2 because it looked like so much fun! We put a trundle underneath and she slept there. When she was older she slept on the top and our younger dd slept on the trundle underneath. It was great and terrible.

When dd1 was 3 she decided to go over the side and try to lower herself to the ground. She banged her mouth on the rail as she was falling, chipped her tooth, and ripped that flappy thing that holds your top lip to your gums. It was awful. She still loved the bed and flipped out when we said we were getting rid of it, so we kept it. It does take up much more room than you expect. You have to make sure that the slide is in an unobstructed area so they don't crash at the bottom.

[Aubrey]

Well, shoot. They're all already sold anyway.

[katilac]

If you're fine with a mattress on the floor, why not just get a big one that can be tilted against the wall during the day? Or you could make it more of a real Murphy bed if you're somewhat handy. I would also consider nice sleeping bags; if the floor is very hard, you can add a comforter underneath, and everything is easily folded up and put away in the morning, so the room can be used.