LlamaMama Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I've been reading some Montessori books recently and was intrigued by the idea of placing a mattress on the floor for an infant. My infant is currently sleeping in my bedroom in a co-sleeper during the day and in my bed for the majority of the night-time sleeping. Her older sisters share a small room where they sleep on a bunk bed. In the room is also a crib waiting for the grand arrival of the wee one. Here's my issue: the crib takes a great amount of visual space in such a small room. I think just placing the crib mattress on the floor would create more flexibility in the room. Would it be safe to have my infant sleeping in the same room as the two-year old without the protection of the crib? Do any of you have experience with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claire Posted April 17, 2008 Share Posted April 17, 2008 I think I'd be afraid of someone accidentally stepping on the baby in the middle of the night, unless you have some way of constructing a barrier around the floor mattress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bess Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 I'm a super Montessori fan. But honestly, the floor idea for the infant never sat well with me. It's our job as parents to do what is best for the child. Besides the obvious safety concerns an infant on a floor mattress would pose... what about the sleep issue? An infant, baby, toddler *NEEDS* their sleep. Needs *sufficient* sleep. I'm sorry but a baby or toddler does not yet know what is best for them concerning sleep issues. If I put my baby or toddler on a floor mattress, the moment they first awoke, they would get off of their bed and toddle around. I always viewed me enforcing their nap and bedtimes as *helping* them. We are helping a child gets what he needs to function appropriately the rest of the day. By being "enclosed" in a safe crib, they are sure to get more sleep than placing them on a floor mattress where they could decide whenever they wanted to "escape". Just my two cents. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 I remember considering this, too, but once I thought of how drafty and cold the floor usually is, I nixed that idea pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 The Michael Olaf company catalog has such a bed, basically a wood frame that sits right on the floor...I thought it was a nice idea, but I would say the room would have to be totally baby proof- and having a toddler sharing the room wouldn't be baby-proof to me. I was really big on setting good sleep habits for my kids too, I don't know if free rein would be conducive to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ummix3 Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 Hi, I agree that the room should be baby proofed before trying to leave the baby on the bed. You can check out http://www.alisonsmontessori.com for furniture, they also have lots of educational materials at a reasonable price. nycmom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyBelly Posted April 18, 2008 Share Posted April 18, 2008 It would probably work for awhile (as long as the baby didn't roll off or get stepped on) but I remember with my 3 oldest boys, they all went through periods of resisting bedtime (or naptime) and if they weren't "caged" in their crib they never would have stayed in (and they would have driven me crazy.) I have a friend who planned to do that (just put the baby on a little futon thing) but I think the whole family shares a family bed so I don't know if/how it worked out for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LlamaMama Posted April 20, 2008 Author Share Posted April 20, 2008 Thank you all, this has helped me think through her sleeping situation. It doesn't seem like it will work out for us to put her on the mattress. The girls' room is fairly baby-proof with the exception of the toddler who looks monstrous next to the infant. Our bedroom is baby-proof too, but having her sleep with us is a short-term scenario. Our third room is an office/playroom which would not be safe to leave a crawling infant there during the night. Eliana, I do have more questions for you regarding the Montessori method. I was looking at the Michael Olaf catalog you recommended in a thread on the Curriculum section. I love seeing the pictures of the itsy-bitsy children sweeping floors and making meals and generally be allowed to be capable. When I have time to formulate my questions, I'll start another thread on that topic. Thank you for your helpfulness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sahm99 Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 We actually always had a matress on the floor in our room...in addition to their crib/bed in their room. That avoided us being "invaded" in the middle of the night (or for naps) and the kids always (even very little) perceived that as a privilege, so they stayed right on it... BUT, once asleep, all of them, at all ages, tended to roll off the matress and I can tell you that we have woken up to the strangest sleeping positions: child UNDER our bed, dog on the matress...matress upside down, child kneeling in front...child under the matress...we have seen it all... So, while I still think the matress on the floor has its advantages (and we'll certainly keep it available for this next baby) it certainly is not for the very tender parents:lol:...and, I also believe, that their own bed/crib is still best (at least for us, it always was first choice...). HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 I don't know what you mean age wise by infant, but my kids started sleeping on a mattress on the floor at age one; we did it as soon as they could walk, all of them did 2 weeks after turning one. They hated the crib though as in screaming if the woke up in it, could not put them down awake in it. Yuck. I could see it working as early as 6 months when babies start to get around on their own, but before that I would be afraid of them rolling off. Babies are so little and I would be nervous they would get hurt when they fell which would not aid in my sleep at all. Just my .02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 My kids did not like the crib (youngest dd did until about 8 months). They all got moved to a mattress on the floor, whether it was with me or by themselves. This was much better for all of us and we have never had any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punks in Ontario Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 I'm not sure how old your little one is, but I've put the younger children on mattresses on the floor when they were anywhere from 14 mos to 18 mos. They had to learn to stay in bed, but could get up whenever they were done sleeping. Unlike the older ones, I never had to worry about them falling out of bed (or climbing out of a crib). We never had overly drafty places for them and had taught the other children to leave them alone when they were resting. I'd do it again. Karen 4 boys (13, 11, 6,5) and a girl (22) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 (edited) I don't see this as a Montessori thing, but I prefer a mattress on the floor because there's nothing to fall out of. I guess if you're the sort of person who uses it to confine the child, which I know some people do, then, no, it won't work. But even so, most doctors will tell you that the crib is not appropriate after a certain age because kids will climb out -- I have a friend whose son broke his arm this way. One must be careful to keep dangerous things out of the room, obviously. Edited August 19, 2009 by stripe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.