What age to stop using the bed rail?

[Gena]

My son broke the side rail on his bed today and now it will not lock into position. He only had a rail on one side because the other side is against the wall. DS will be 4 next month and has been sleeping in his twin bed since a month after his 2nd birthday. He likes to sleep up against the wall. When we travel he sleeps in a bed by himself and never falls out, but it's a bigger bed (a full or a queen). He often naps on the couch and has never fallen off.

Hubby thinks we need to buy another bed rail, but I think DS may be fine without it. What age do kids usually stop using the bed rail?

[new_mommy25]

We moved my DS to a twin around his second birthday. We never bought a rail. He fell out once and that was it.

Maybe give it a few days without the rail and see how he does? You can put some pillows on the ground to cushion the fall.

[katerinasmom]

DD turns 4 in June. She's been in her own bed since 2 years old and we took the rails off her bed about four months ago. She sleeps in a queen size bed but usually sleeps only on one side fairly close to the edge. We put pool noodles under the mattress cover to give her some guidance about where the edge is. She has never fallen out.

[bluestar2]

deleted......

[deannanb]

we moved DS to the twin bed when he was 2.5 - never used a bed rail - I think he may have fallen out once or twice (not sure if he was just trying to get out of bed).

Take off the bed rail and see what happens. DS may like the comfort of the bed rail - good luck!

[Gena]

Thanks for the responses.

DS has slept the last couple of nights without the bed rail. He has not come even close to falling out since he sleeps against the wall. However, he has had a very difficult time dealing with the fact that the bed looks different without the rail. (This is a common problem when we make minor changes to daily life.) The past two nights DS has had major autistic meltdowns about his bed being "broken". Unfortunately it is not possible to reason with him about this and we just have to give him time to get used to the bed looking different. Hopefully it will only take a few more nights.

[Corie]

We never bought a side rail for either of our kids.

My DD moved into her big girl bed before she was 2 yrs. old.
It is a twin bed. She has fallen out once.

My DS moved into his big boy bed at age 3 yrs. old. It is
also a twin bed. So far, he has not fallen out of bed.