Longevity of themed twin sized bed?

[YouAreTheFocus]

So, I have a 4 yo DS who is still content in his crib. Since his 4th bday passed, I have kind of been feeling like it's time for him to move on. He is a super sleeper, 12 hrs a night and 2-3 hrs at nap, so I am loathe to change anything. But...he's 4. Feel free to weigh in on this decision!

Anyways, we are thinking about getting him a "themed" twin sized bed for the holidays. We've come to realize there aren't many of these--most are toddler-sized. I am assuming at 4 yo we have missed the boat on a toddler bed. The twin sized ones I've found are a low lofted playhouse, a car, or a boat.

Until what age do you think a kid would enjoy a themed bed? This would somewhat determine how much we're willing to spend and if we'd get one at all.

[Momit]

I have no idea since DS is only 5, but we got him a full bed with a regular headboard and matching bedroom set. I figure the bedding and accessories will be easier to change out every few years as his tastes mature.

[twowhat?]

Well, ours are 5 and we transitioned them out of their toddler bed (which was just the crib with one side removed) when they were around 4 straight into twin beds. We just did a generic girly theme (from PBK - pink floral with birds) and they love their girly beds but the beds themselves are a classic style. We had a falling-out-of-bed adjustment initially but now it's fine. The beds are low to the ground anyway so I didn't worry.

So I would consider doing the theme using the bedding and room decor rather than the bed (furniture) itself. You can always change the bedding and room decor as they grow (at this age you could incorporate vinyl wall decals too!). We wanted beds that the girls could use until they move out so we got nice classic white beds from PBK and as their tastes change we can just change up the bedding. There's lots of cute boys bedding on PBK and LON with generic themes (robots, dinos, surfboards, etc) and you might be able to find something you like. Or if he's into characters, hit up Target.

I don't think you've necessarily missed the boat (no pun intended) on a theme bed like car, boat, whatever...but it won't give you the biggest bang for your buck. If you don't care about cost then I say why not if you think he'd love it!! And now that I think about it, PBK or LON or sometihing like that had a twin bed with the front (pointy end - whatever that's called - the hull?) of a boat at the foot of the bed which opened up to reveal toy storage. That looked super fun but I'm not sure how a teen would feel about it:)

eta: if he really sleeps THAT long (and naps THAT long) I think I would be REALLY hesitant to change anything at all. Once we moved to twin beds, naps were a complete goner but I didn't care because we were already at the point where sometimes they'd nap if really tired but more often they wouldn't. At 4 years old I'd be even more concerned that changing the bedroom would impact naps, given that a lot of kids that age don't nap anymore (still can't get over how much he sleeps!)

[Percycat]

My uncle made DS a really cool truck bed when DS was 2 and his crib went to his little sister. He used that bed until last year when DS turned 10 -- mostly because I decided he was too big for the bed. DS is very easy going and doesn't complain or ask for much, so he never complained about sleeping in the truck bed when he was older -- but when asked, he did feel too old for the bed and wanted a new bed.... so, sometime before 10 : )

[YouAreTheFocus]

Thanks for weighing in! Yeah, this kid needs a lot of sleep. As an example, I was home with him yesterday and he napped from 1:45-4:15. Then he went to bed at 8 and I had to wake him up from a dead sleep at 7:45 this morning. One reason I am glad he misses the K cutoff next fall, since an extra yr of preschool=an extra yr of naps. And I've noticed the more he sleeps, the better his daily preschool report is :)

We could just leave him in the crib, it's not like it's causing anyone any problems. I guess I've just started feeling kind of silly/sheepish about the fact that I am heaving a 4 yo in and out of bed everyday! But once we put him in, he's in for the night (never uses the bathroom or needs out for any reason). And he's shown zero interest in getting a normal twin. We took him to Ikea awhile back and looked at beds and he was like "Huh? I already have a bed." But I'm sure he'd flip over boat or a house, and the crib would be a distant memory. I'm not sure how much impact bedding would have. We also could take the front rail off, but I don't know what that would do for us at this point.

So would you just leave him in the crib until he drops naps or is at least winding down?

I should add that I've been looking on CL for the fun twin-sized bed...for example there's a Little Tikes lofted playhouse for $150 and a PBK boat knock-off for $175. So we wouldn't be spending a ton. But I'm curious what age these would be considered babyish (by him/friends). K? 1st? 2nd?

[twowhat?]

Thanks for weighing in! Yeah, this kid needs a lot of sleep. As an example, I was home with him yesterday and he napped from 1:45-4:15. Then he went to bed at 8 and I had to wake him up from a dead sleep at 7:45 this morning. One reason I am glad he misses the K cutoff next fall, since an extra yr of preschool=an extra yr of naps. And I've noticed the more he sleeps, the better his daily preschool report is :)

We could just leave him in the crib, it's not like it's causing anyone any problems. I guess I've just started feeling kind of silly/sheepish about the fact that I am heaving a 4 yo in and out of bed everyday! But once we put him in, he's in for the night (never uses the bathroom or needs out for any reason). And he's shown zero interest in getting a normal twin. We took him to Ikea awhile back and looked at beds and he was like "Huh? I already have a bed." But I'm sure he'd flip over boat or a house, and the crib would be a distant memory. I'm not sure how much impact bedding would have. We also could take the front rail off, but I don't know what that would do for us at this point.

So would you just leave him in the crib until he drops naps or is at least winding down?

I should add that I've been looking on CL for the fun twin-sized bed...for example there's a Little Tikes lofted playhouse for $150 and a PBK boat knock-off for $175. So we wouldn't be spending a ton. But I'm curious what age these would be considered babyish (by him/friends). K? 1st? 2nd?

It sounds like he really needs the nap at this point...I think I wouldn't dare try to make any changes:)

[BunnyBee]

We did a Little Tikes ugly, plastic race car bed to bribe DS to sleep in his own bed. It was a Craigslist purchase, and we resold for close to the purchase price after 3 years.

As PP said, if he's sleeping well, I'd be hesitant to change anything!

[Simon]

I agree with the Pp. Don't change anything if he's in a great sleep pattern. Also, FWIW, Ds1 would probably be embarrassed to have friends see a themed bed (any of the little tykes, ikea ones at least) and he probably would have last year too, in 1st grade, so already at age 6. To my thinking, that gives you barely 2 full years of use. I vote keep the crib until K and then think about a move, sooner though if he starts asking.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I'd consider taking the side off the crib and see how that goes.

[♥ms.pacman♥]

I'd consider taking the side off the crib and see how that goes.
:yeahthat: i'm all for keeping kiddos in cribs, but at 4, i'd just take the rail off. i dont' think i could deal with heaving a 4yo in and out of the crib everyday. i guess my perspective is skewed in that i already do that for dd, who is a huge 2.5 year old.

i don't think no crib means the end of naps. ds will be 4 in january and has been in a toddler bed since he was 2.5. he still naps 2-3 hours on weekends (2 hrs at school on school days bc that's all they allow). and he sleeps in a lot..not the type to wake up at 5am or whatever. we got him a Thomas bed off Craigslist. my ds is extremely tall (he wears 5t), most people think he is in kindgarten, etc but it's not an issue..he loves the bed. we got it fairly cheap and i just know we can resell it for essentially what we paid. sure, it's sort of an eyesore and not as nice looking as PBK toddler/twin bed, but he loves it and loves to sleep in it .

[PunkyBoo]

I guess I've just started feeling kind of silly/sheepish about the fact that I am heaving a 4 yo in and out of bed everyday!

So would you just leave him in the crib until he drops naps or is at least winding down?


I'd leave him in the crib. If heaving him in/out is hard on you (my back hurts just thinking about lifting my 4yo that high/that much) I'd take the rail off.
If it makes you feel any better, Punkin has a girl friend who was in a crib until 1st grade. They lived in a small house and her room was tiny (I think the mom told me they created the room out of a closet or part of a hall), too tiny for even a twin bed. The rail was off but yes I was startled to see a crib in there when we were over for a play date. Punkin never noticed or said anything about it but we spent most of the time in their living room. Halfway through 1st grade they moved to a much larger house and she got a "real" bed.

[YouAreTheFocus]

:yeahthat: i'm all for keeping kiddos in cribs, but at 4, i'd just take the rail off. i dont' think i could deal with heaving a 4yo in and out of the crib everyday. i guess my perspective is skewed in that i already do that for dd, who is a huge 2.5 year old.

i don't think no crib means the end of naps. ds will be 4 in january and has been in a toddler bed since he was 2.5. he still naps 2-3 hours on weekends (2 hrs at school on school days bc that's all they allow). and he sleeps in a lot..not the type to wake up at 5am or whatever. we got him a Thomas bed off Craigslist. my ds is extremely tall (he wears 5t), most people think he is in kindgarten, etc but it's not an issue..he loves the bed. we got it fairly cheap and i just know we can resell it for essentially what we paid. sure, it's sort of an eyesore and not as nice looking as PBK toddler/twin bed, but he loves it and loves to sleep in it .

I'm curious how much longer you think your DS will fit in the Thomas toddler bed? We were only considering twin size at this point b/c we thought DS was too old to just be getting a toddler bed. There's a toddler little tikes boat bed that he would totally flip over, but I'd hate to give it to him now just to make him give it up in a year. But since others are suggesting we leave him in the crib for 2 yrs (til he's 6 and going into k) then I guess he could be in a toddler bed for those 2 yrs as well. Sounds like a themed twin would only get us 1-2 more years than the crib/toddler options.

Lifting him in/out doesn't bother us, we still carry him if we're in a rush or something so I guess we're used to it!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Ds2 outgrew his crib with the side off when he was 5.75. I think it's the same length as a toddler bed. He was too long for it. He's a peanut though so many kids would outgrow it sooner.

[YouAreTheFocus]

Ds2 outgrew his crib with the side off when he was 5.75. I think it's the same length as a toddler bed. He was too long for it. He's a peanut though so many kids would outgrow it sooner.

Hmm, good to know. DS has bounced between 50-75% for height so we probably have another year, 2 would be pushing it!

At this point it seems most reasonable to just leave things as-is (as you all have said :)) and then re-visit in a year.

[clc053103]

We did a Little Tikes ugly, plastic race car bed to bribe DS to sleep in his own bed. It was a Craigslist purchase, and we resold for close to the purchase price after 3 years.

As PP said, if he's sleeping well, I'd be hesitant to change anything!

We also got an ugly little tikes race car bed, free from a neighbor, when ds was 3. At 8, we are now shopping for a full bed.5 years- not bad for a free bed!