Bed type to get for 3.5 year old??

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-24-2006
Bed type to get for 3.5 year old??
4
Wed, 01-31-2007 - 12:24pm

I am having another boy in two months and will be moving my 3 1/2 year old son (he is probably PDD-NOS) into a new bedroom. I would like to use the crib mattress for the new baby - right now, it's on a toddler bed that my son sometimes sleeps on for naps. But for the most part, he chooses to sleep on the floor.

In planning his new bedroom, I don't know if we should get him a regular twin bed - he is on the small side and might have a hard time getting into it. And I don't know if it would feel hard enough for his liking. Other choices are a platform bed or a tent bed. I just don't know which to do. Or do we just get a twin bed mattress for the floor??

My son also often has trouble falling asleep quickly and can take hours to get to sleep, especially if he takes a nap during the day. I wonder if a tent bed would help him? I just don't know.

What has worked for your kids? Any input would be appreciated!

Michelle
Mom to Kyle, born 5-28-03
EDD boy #2 3-31-07

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-22-2003
Wed, 01-31-2007 - 12:35pm

All three of our kids have Euro-style beds from Ikea. They're twin size, don't require a box springs, and therefore, are lower to the ground than most beds. In fact, they're almost exactly like a toddler bed in terms of height, etc. I also think that the mattresses seem firmer because there is no box springs.

If I were you, this is probably the route I'd take. It'd be like moving him into a big boy bed, without the bed actually being "big", if that makes any sense. I'd also try to make him a part of the decision making. Let him help pick out the frame, mattress and sheets. This really helped our now 9 y/o aspie (whose Dx was PDD-NOS at age 4) when it came time to get his big boy bed.

As an added positive to this option, they're generally really inexpensive, so if it doesn't work out, you can try something else without too much guilt. :-)

HTH

Amy

Meez 3D avatar avatars games

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2003
Thu, 02-01-2007 - 2:55pm
My DS (27 months) is sleeping in a twin sized race car bed. He seems to really like it. ALthough it does take up a little more space than a normal sized twin bed.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 02-01-2007 - 5:18pm

Ya know from my experience if he prefers the floor then what I would do is get him a twin sized mattress and put it on the floor. If he tends to sleep under the bed then I would make a cool tent to go over it. When he gets good at sleeping on the mattress then I would add the bed frame.

For a while when oldest ASD son what that age until probably 6-7 I wondered why I had a bed at all for him. Every night he ended up on the floor anyway because he preferred it. Usually under his bed. I started setting him a sleeping bag out instead in a tight spot and he slept better. I would have ditched the whole bed all together if DH would have been accomodating.

He sleeps on a bed now but it is a bottom bunk with his bureau close to the side at the head of the bed. Still enclosed with a really hard mattress.

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-31-2007
Thu, 02-01-2007 - 6:19pm
hi..i'm new here, my son, with pdd-nos, was born on 5-30-03 and has a little sister born on 3/2/06. anyway, we actually got my son a double captain's bed...it has the boards on the head and foot of the bed then we got the roll protector...slips right under the mattress. it is right up against the wall so he is protected on all four sides. the mattress is of medium firmness and we just pile on the super soft blankets (the best ones are from babies-r-us koala kids...he LOVES them)! we opted for the larger bed so that on the nights he has problems, my husband and i could comfortably lay down with him. we also figured, he is a big boy so eventually we would have to upgrade anyway.
i hope this helps.
anne