Kids Toddler Beds
Kids toddler beds are miniature-sized beds meant to be transitional furniture for a child moving between a crib and a ‘big’ twin bed. A twin bed has a lot of space for a little person, and it is also, most likely, high off the ground. Your toddler is probably used to sleeping in a compact, safely railed crib, and going straight into the enormous expanse of a twin bed may not be the easiest for him.
Kids Toddler Beds: The Specifications
To be considered a toddler bed, a bed should be:
- Standard sized: 27 by 52 inches is the norm
- Safe for active sleepers: low to the ground, with rails, or both
- Easy in and out for toddlers: this is what sets the bed apart from a baby crib
Getting Close to the Ideal in Toddler Beds
There are lot of kids toddler beds on the market. Budget line toddler beds can be quite cheap; often, well under a hundred dollars. Plastic and steel or cheaply manufactured wood beds, these mini beds do their job: they provide a reasonably safe place for your child to sleep during the two or three years he’ll need it.
They work, but they’re not ideal. What is your ideal toddler bed? Here are some ideas:
- A bed that is beautifully crafted, and makes your toddler’s room look a class apart
- A bed that is sturdy, and can last through the time your toddler will use it, pristine; and then be ready to be passed on to younger siblings or cousins
- A bed that is made in a sustainable, eco-friendly way
- A bed that doesn’t give out any toxic fumes or chemical smells
- A bed that is made with only non-toxic paints and finishes
- A bed that doesn’t let the toddler fall out, but doesn’t make him feel caged; and gives him an easy way in and out.
Does such a bed exist?
Looking for something that met these criteria I came across Sodura’s Blonde Aero toddler bed. Here’s a simple toddler bed with clean, modern lines, made entirely of sustainably produced wood. That means it smells like wood; not like nasty toxic plastics or paints. It’s made in the USA, too, which means you don’t have to worry about involvement in Chinese or Bangladeshi sweatshops. No sharp corners: every edge is taken gently. The walls are just high enough to keep your toddler in bed, not high enough to make her claustrophobic, and there is an outlet on both sides for climbing in and out.
Many toddlers aren’t completely independent about falling asleep, so that’s why it’s also important this bed is as sturdy as it is: there should be no problem with an adult climbing in next to the child for a bed time story. Or with the toddler pretending, for the fun of it, that his bed is a trampoline. Or a boat, or a racecar. The bed has a boldly stated weight capacity of 1000 pounds.
This bed takes a standard sized crib mattress; it is recommended you use a mattress no thicker than six inches, in order to take full advantage of the bed railing.
What is your ideal in toddler beds and why?
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