mid sleepers and high sleepers - from what age?

[Ole]

My nearly 4 year old is desperate for a mid or high sleeper and I think they could be a good solution because his room is quite small so we could fit some furniture underneath them. However, most of the websites I have visited say that they are only appropriate from 6years old onwards so I was wondering if any forumites have put younger children on one? he has outgrown his toddler bed and really needs to upgrade to a proper sized bed so I am keen for somebody to tell me that it is OK in their experience.

[Bishberro]

Hi - my 5-year-old has been in a cabin bed (which I suppose you could describe as a mid-sleeper) from the age of 4 and he's been fine. It's got slightly raised sides and he's never fallen out. I think they say from 4 for a mid-sleeper and 6 for a bunk bed. I think I would be inclined to wait until 5 or 6 for a high sleeper as it's a long way for them to fall and also a bit tricky if they're getting up in the night down the ladder for a wee.

[nicmc]

my son moved into bunk beds (top bunk) at 4.5 and I've never had any problems

[sillywoman]

My son fell out of his high sleeper when he was 14. :D It was the middle of the night, he was deeply asleep and my husband & I thought a bomb had dropped with the noise he made when he hit the floor (He's not small)!

He survived to tell the tale though my nerves were rattled. We put the side guard back on :D

Other than that he's been it it since he was 4 with no problems. Go for it I say. But keep the side rails on even when he thinks he's big enough (and so do you) to go without.

[oimissus]

out of interest, from those who have high sleepers - we were planning to get one for Miss Oi when she's a bit older but her room gets insufferably hot in the summer and I wonder if sleeping higher will be even worse for her?

[Mrs TP]

Oimissus - our house (like most) has been unbearably hot recently and our 9yr old with a high bed took to sleeping on the floor with a fan pointing at her. She was half in the den under her bed and half out - v. bizarre but she found it more comfortable on those intensely hot nights.

Ole - I think she was 7 when she got it. She has bashed her legs endless times in the day time, going up and down the ladder to fetch stuff but fingers crossed has never fallen out. It has a metal ladder with really thin slats that hurt my feet like hell when I have to stand on it to change the bedding!

[Curmudgeon]

My son has a Stompa high sleeper with desk and guest bed underneath it nd when he feels like it he pulls out the bottom bed and sleeps on that instead

I think 4 is too young though and to be honest they have to want to sleep in one. My daughter simply doesn't want one and likes her normal bed.

At the moment the house is in upheaval and he will be moving rooms in a couple of months and has asked for a double bed instead (at the grand old age of 12)

[Ole]

Thanks for all your replies. I think I will take him to a showroom with both high sleepers and mid sleepers and then decide. My gut feeling tells me he is far too little for a high sleeper but they grow so quickly and they are so expensive that I don't want to have to swap one for the other in just a couple of years.

[GinaG3]

My daughter has an ikea Kura mid sleeper. She is 4.5 and loves it although wont come down the ladder on her own. We have a stepped trofast unit at the head of the bed that she walks down like stairs, but goes up the ladder. Front door, back door. The thing I love about the Kura is it can be a mid sleeper and then turned upside down it can also be a four poster bed, so if they decide they don't like midsleeping you can just reverse it over by lifting. Only costs ?120 unless you can get one second hand locally and it is solid pine. I was up on my daughters the other day putting up things on the walls and there was no movement at all with my 'adult' weight. Underneath she has a den with her old cotbed mattress as a sofa and loads of cushions, the underneath of the bed has been threaded with reused christmas lights that no longer fitted our larger christmas tree. She absolutely loves it. Took me 5 hours to put the bed together, by myself, with help it would take a lot less time.