Big Boy Bed - trundle? bunk bed? twin, full or queen size?

[azzeps]

Hi all,

Just wanted to see if anyone had any feedback for us about the big boy bed purchase.... we had planned on getting a Hemnes daybed from Ikea, but they no longer carry it (in the dark espresso finish) so we're back to researching options. My daughter has a metal day bed with a pop up trundle. We'd like an extra sleeping space in my son's room too, for sleepovers... also trying to factor in that we don't have a guest room any more, so we might like to be able to move children around to accommodate my in-laws in the future for short stays. So I'm wondering what configuration works well for you - twin with a trundle underneath? Full or queen sized bed? Bunk beds (if the ladder can be removed so that the little guy can't get up there til he's old enough not to fall off)? Other ideas I haven't thought about?

thanks for your ideas!

[HipMama]

If you have the room I'd at least get a full size. Twin size is so small.

[nfowife]

My kids have twins. It was big enough for my 6' DH until he went to college! Both have trundles which are nice for sleepovers.

[onyx8]

Full size. Twin is not big enough after like age 7 IMO.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Twin is fine. I did buy my 11yo a full just the other day but I expect him to be tall and full was easier to find than extra long twins. I guess I'd lean to full. Not bunk beds.

[KrisM]

We have twins. I slept in a twin until I had a real job at 26. But, our bedrooms are not huge. They are not tiny, but maybe 11x11 or so. I wouldn't want to lose more floor space to a bed.

[nfceagles]

My kids both have full size beds because they had convertible cribs. They're nice, but sometimes I wish we had more floor space. I think a twin is plenty big for any single person, child or adult. If I didn't have a separate guest bed room, I would rather have a twin with trundle, because I think asking a couple to sleep in a full size bed is hard. My DH and I sleep in a full when we visit his mother and it is miserable and sleepless. The twin plus trundle is essentially a king size guest bed. Plus, depending on the relationship of sleepover guests asking two kids to share a full may be awkward.

[BunnyBee]

We've done twin beds as first beds while kids tend to play on the floor more, then upgrade to a full bed. Their bedrooms aren't huge, and a twin vs full makes a big space difference. Real wood twin bed frames are plentiful on CL here, but I had family HMDs to use. My kids, DS especially, will outgrow a twin height wise. DH has many unfond memories of sleeping with his feet hanging off the end of his twin bed at home. He's over 6 feet. Our oldest daughter will probably be 5'10" and once you figure in a pillow, a 6 foot 3 inch mattress will not be comfortable for stretching out.

[KrisM]

A twin and a full are both 75" long. So people buying Full size for more length aren't really getting it. It's just wider. A Queen is 80" long.

[SnuggleBuggles]

A twin and a full are both 75" long. So people buying Full size for more length aren't really getting it. It's just wider. A Queen is 80" long.

Except my tall dh said that he could lay diagonally on a full to keep his feet from hanging off.

[BunnyBee]

Except my tall dh said that he could lay diagonally on a full to keep his feet from hanging off.

Yes. Full is 15" wider than a twin, so even though it's the same length, there's much more space. We know DS will be really tall, but a queen bed in his room feels so much bigger than a full. (We taped off the floor.) It would be uncomfortable for him to share with another person when he gets bigger, but I don't plan on him having a bedmate through high school. ;)

[123LuckyMom]

I think a twin is fine for a child/teen. All college dorm rooms have extra long twins. DS has a trundle, and DD will, too. I like trundles because you have a real bed for an overnight guest to use, but it goes away most of the time to save space.

[specialp]

I prefer a twin w/ trundle for that age for floor space for toys and guests, having it go away, and easier to arrange family sleepover guests which won't always be a married couple. (We've had our nephews stay with us and use the trundle bed and they 13 & 15). DH is 6'4" and our kids are tall so I'm sure we will need to do full once they are older, but twin w/ trundle is our plan. [eta: their rooms aren't small.]

[mom_hanna]

We have twins. I slept in a twin until I had a real job at 26. But, our bedrooms are not huge. They are not tiny, but maybe 11x11 or so. I wouldn't want to lose more floor space to a bed.

Same here. My kids sleep on the floor when they have sleepovers.

[JBaxter]

Full size is what we have done. I wouldn't buy twin beds unless the room is really small

[Philly Mom]

I would do twin unless you have a very large room. Full size beds take up lots of floor space so there is less room for playing. Both my brothers are well over 6 FT. They slept in twins and now can't sleep in a bed with a footboard because they like their feet to hang off. That said, their rooms at my parents now have queen size beds and their once large rooms look quite small. Just not worth it for a kid to lose that much floor space.


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[BDKmom]

We got my DS a full b/c we had the convertible crib, but I really like that there is plenty of room for me to lay beside him.

[KrisM]

Except my tall dh said that he could lay diagonally on a full to keep his feet from hanging off.

Oh that would bug me. I need to be the right way :).

[Mommy_Mea]

We do twin bed with trundle. Our rooms aren't huge, and it allows more space for the other furniture. I much prefer to give our guests nearly a king size bed, than a full size. I hate sharing a full size, it is just too small and I never sleep well.

For the kids, I just don't see the need for a bigger bed, and I don't want to spend all the extra money to buy full or queen size sheets, blankets and comforters/quilts.

[fedoragirl]

We got DD a full because we had the room and we wanted to get a natural latex mattress which is $$$. So, essentially we want her to use this bed till she leaves homes. I really like the full bed because we read books together, snuggle and sometimes, sleep in the same bed. It's very convenient. It has its cons--I can never find cute/decently priced bed linen in that size because most of it is tailored to the twin bed size. I end up with Pottery Barn Kids bedding which is more than I want to pay.
I slept in a twin bed till I got married so I don't see the problem with a twin. It really depends on how much space you have. We will get DS a full sized bed as well even though his room is smaller. We have a separate play room so we don't need the floor space other than the necessary furniture.

I just wanted to add that you should buy a bed that fits yours and your child's needs first, then think about guests. They are not around all the time unless you have guests popping in every month. People can sleep anywhere when it comes to it. I always slept in my sleeping bag on the floor for all my sleepovers. No complaints.

[Indianamom2]

Well, we've had everything from a former guest room queen bed to a twin. Ds has a full size bed only because his crib converted to that. He'd be fine with a twin and I wish that we had a twin because it would give him more room to play. Still, the full is definitely workable due to the way his room is laid out.

DD has the old queen bed from a guest room that is now Ds's. Even though her room is bigger than Ds's, the layout is such that a queen bed is just too big. Even a full will be bigger than we want. I am in the process of finding her a new twin bed with trundle or daybed with trundle. I have the pop-up trundle already solely for when we have a sleep-over (never happened yet) and when my family comes once a year (they stay for about a week).

[carolinacool]

We went with a twin bed. Our secondary bedrooms aren't shoe box size, but they are still pretty small. I didn't want to give up floor space. We don't have a play room or basement or bonus room, so eventually I would like to start moving more of DS's toys to his room and out of our living room. The trundle bed idea is great! I never thought about that. We just got him a twin bed from IKEA for $99 in the spring, so it'll be easy to upgrade when he's five or six.

[123LuckyMom]

For me it's not even an issue of room size. Our bedrooms are pretty large (15'x20' and 19'x20'). There's plenty of room for a larger bed and play space. I just think twins are the right size for a child or teen. I don't think it's a good idea for a single sleeper to get used to having all that sleeping room. Moving from a larger sized bed to a smaller sized bed is hard whereas moving to a larger size is luxurious! I don't want my kids complaining when they get to college and have a twin, or when they have a partner and have to share a queen. What if they move to Europe and end up in a master bedroom that's 10'x12'? They should be able to share a double/full as a grown up, not be accustomed to having all that space to themselves! Otherwise they'll never be comfortable as a married person in anything less than a King. That's fine in most places in the US, but not in many big cities, and not in most places abroad. It's just my opinion, of course, but I think a twin is plenty big enough for a child (and I snuggle and read with my son on his twin bed no problem.)

[JBaxter]

Teen boys of size ( my oldest was 6ft and 200lbs by 16) do not fit well in twin beds. So if you are buying a bed to keep him till he heads off to college get a full or queen. If you plan on replacing it before he's a teen then sure a twin will work. I'm not saying they wont FIT but when they morph into your man-child they need room for comfort.

FYI colleges have gone to XL Twins but the newer remodels we were seeing full size beds.

[twotimesblue]

I think a twin is plenty big enough for a child (and I snuggle and read with my son on his twin bed no problem.)

:yeahthat:

Some of my friends have bought queen sized beds for their 2 and 3-year-olds, and it just seems so extravagant to me! I think a toddler would get lost in all that space! I slept in the European equivalent of a twin (even smaller than the US version) until I moved out of my mom's home in my early 20s… I think it has made me more appreciative of my California King now!

[daniele_ut]

We bought a twin bed for DS1 when he was 3 and then another twin bed for DD when she was 2.5. We recently moved DS1 to the former guest room to make room for DS2 so he inherited a queen size bed. I would MUCH rather that he have his twin bed back in there, but we have nowhere to put the queen until we finish the last bedroom in the basement.

I slept in a twin until grad school. Hundreds of thousands of college students still do and they seem to do just fine.

[lmh2402]

DS has a full converted from his crib. i kind of wish we were able to get a queen b/c I think he's going to be huge - he's already huge for his age - and a full will likely not cut it by teen years. but we'll deal with that then

DD will also have a full b/c of her convertible crib.

when we were crib shopping i remember seeing a crib that converted to a queen-sized bed. i didn't like the look of the crib, which was disappointing b/c i would have preferred to get a queen size.

oh well. for now, full works well.

[#2ontheway]

I hope this doesn't seem like a hijack. We're thinking about a bed purchase too. Ours is almost 4 and still in the crib with the toddler rail and we'll probably buy a twin. Do you all buy some sort of bed rails too? I just can't imagine that he'll actually stay in the twin without falling out. Are you putting the twin pretty much on the floor or is it elevated? Is that one of the reasons to buy a bigger size, that they won't roll out? Whenever he's slept in a bigger bed (traveling or whatever) we use pool noodles or pillows and still sometimes he falls out.

[SnuggleBuggles]

My boys have maybe fallen out of bed two times each. Not worth rails, IMO.

[azzeps]

Huh, so nobody voted bunk beds? In fact, I think there was one "NO bunk beds"? Whenever I look in PBK or Land of Nod catalogs, they always look so COOL! But I'd imagine the top bunk is a pain to make up. I guess we will start with a twin and a trundle and see how he grows. I only ever had a twin until I was married, but I am short. My brother was a little taller and he did have a full or queen or something. It does seem like overkill at this point, though. Both DH and I are on the shorter side, maybe our kids will be, too. DS's room would accommodate a queen because it used to be the guest room and that's what we had in there, but it would be pretty snug. Not much room for anything else. I'd guess we'd get at least 10 years out of a twin sized bed with him and then when he hits teenagerdom, maybe we'll have to get him a bigger bed. I think we will buy a bed rail for the twin, too. He's in his crib with the side off and stays in with the pool noodle. Eventually I think they learn to stay on the bed. We didn't even use a noodle with my DD, we just put pillows on the floor - she rolled out maybe 2-3 times and that was that. Some kids are movers & shakers when they are sleeping, though!

Thanks for all the input - if anyone has an idea for which twin/trundle we should get, I'm all ears!

[Indianamom2]

My boys have maybe fallen out of bed two times each. Not worth rails, IMO.

:yeahthat:

[Indianamom2]

Huh, so nobody voted bunk beds? In fact, I think there was one "NO bunk beds"? Whenever I look in PBK or Land of Nod catalogs, they always look so COOL! But I'd imagine the top bunk is a pain to make up. I guess we will start with a twin and a trundle and see how he grows. I only ever had a twin until I was married, but I am short. My brother was a little taller and he did have a full or queen or something. It does seem like overkill at this point, though. Both DH and I are on the shorter side, maybe our kids will be, too. DS's room would accommodate a queen because it used to be the guest room and that's what we had in there, but it would be pretty snug. Not much room for anything else. I'd guess we'd get at least 10 years out of a twin sized bed with him and then when he hits teenagerdom, maybe we'll have to get him a bigger bed. I think we will buy a bed rail for the twin, too. He's in his crib with the side off and stays in with the pool noodle. Eventually I think they learn to stay on the bed. We didn't even use a noodle with my DD, we just put pillows on the floor - she rolled out maybe 2-3 times and that was that. Some kids are movers & shakers when they are sleeping, though!

Thanks for all the input - if anyone has an idea for which twin/trundle we should get, I'm all ears!

We debated the bunk beds but came to the realization that besides the pain in the neck they would be to make (I remember that from college!), DD wouldn't have enough room to sit up on the top bunk due to our low/standard ceilings. So that's something to consider if you do want bunkbeds. I agree, they look cool and DD really wanted them, but after trying to sit on a few in stores she realized that it wouldn't be so cool in reality.

[wendibird22]

Dd1 has a twin and we will be buying a twin for dd2 soon. I had a twin from 3yo until after college and I never minded.

[meggie t]

Another vote for twin with trundle. We bought that for our son and love it. I slept on a twin until after grad school. Would a full or queen have been nicer, sure. But not necessary.

[indigo99]

I'm planning to get a twin once DS moves out of his convertible crib. I had a twin until college too. The talk about teen boys needing more room makes some sense though. My brother couldn't have slept in a twin when he was a teen. For now, I think the extra floor space is more important for us though.

[daniele_ut]

I hope this doesn't seem like a hijack. We're thinking about a bed purchase too. Ours is almost 4 and still in the crib with the toddler rail and we'll probably buy a twin. Do you all buy some sort of bed rails too? I just can't imagine that he'll actually stay in the twin without falling out. Are you putting the twin pretty much on the floor or is it elevated? Is that one of the reasons to buy a bigger size, that they won't roll out? Whenever he's slept in a bigger bed (traveling or whatever) we use pool noodles or pillows and still sometimes he falls out.

DD is almost 6 and will still fall out of bed without some barrier and she moved out of a crib when she was 2.5. We use a single Go Bedbug bumper for her and we travel with them as well.

[AnnieW625]

We did two twin beds, but we could have put DD1 into a full size because that was our extra mattress in our guest room, but just decided to get twin beds. I was 23 when I first got a full bed and DH was 26 when he bought our queen bed (which we just got rid of this past January, it was 12 yrs. old). DD1's room is maybe 9x9, and DD2's is 10x9 so space is an issue.

Dd1 has yet to have a sleepover. We have a hide a bed sofa, and also have an Aero Bed for kids, and a queen size Aero Bed.

[arivecchi]

Both of my boys have full size beds (with gobedbug bumpers - highly recommend!) which we love because we can all pile in to read, I can comfortably cuddle with them when they are sick and we can use them as guest beds for adults in a pinch. We do have large rooms so space is not an issue. It was a no brainer for me since I hated having a twin bed growing up while many of my friends had full size beds (especially when I was a teen)!

[DualvansMommy]

We got DS into his full size bed in his bigger bedroom when we moved him out of his crib earlier this fall. That full size bed is from the same convertible crib, so all we had is buy a full size mattress. He's quite tall for his age, so figured he'll get a lot of use with his full size bedding and lucky enough to have a room that's big enough to hold his bedding plus plenty of floor space.

we didn't bother with bumpers as he never fell out of his bed since.