When you're starved for space but still need room to sleep, bunk beds are a great choice! Many people use bunk beds if they have children, as they tend to be smaller and shorter than standard beds. To help make these beds safe and comfortable for these young sleepers, check out our selection of RV bunk bed accessories as well as our tips for safety and storage.
Bunk Bed Safety
While they may be fun for children, bunk beds can be dangerous for them. About 36,000 bunk bed related injuries occur every year, on average, whether from playing around the area or falling off while asleep. These injuries are generally cuts, bumps, and bruises, however broken bones occasionally occur. Because of the height of the top bunk, these injuries are also generally worse than those that you could get from a standard bed. Half of these injuries are to children under the age of six, however, 18-21 year olds suffer double the amount of injuries as other teens, possibly due to using bunks in college or the military. Additionally, boys are more likely to be injured than girls. To prevent any of these injuries from happening, check out these safety tips:
- Use guardrails on both sides of the top bunk, with gaps of at most 3.5 inches to prevent strangulation. They also need to extend at least 5 inches above the mattress top, which includes any added mattress pad to prevent falling.
- Check that the mattress foundation is strong and that the right mattress size is used.
- Don't let a child under the age of 6 sleep on the top bunk.
- Never let children play on the bunk or the bunk ladder.
- Remove dangerous objects from around the bed, which includes anything that could cause strangulation, such as scarves or belts.
- Keep the top bunk away from ceiling fans and install a night light near the ladder. Also, make sure that there is enough room for your child to sit up without bumping his or her head on the ceiling.
- Do not use the bunk if any parts are damaged or broken.
- Teach kids to climb the ladder carefully and not to use any other furniture to climb to the top bunk.
- Place bunk beds in the corner of the room so that there are walls on two sides. Do not place it next to a window.
- Secure the ladder so that it will not slip.
- Only one person should be in a bunk at a time.
Bunk Bed Storage
With the different physical landscape of a bunk bed versus a standard bed, finding places to store your belongings can be difficult. The bunks often have sides that make end tables difficult and there is only enough room on the bunk for the mattress itself, which makes it difficult to store items in the beds. To help with this storage struggle, there are two big ways to add storage space. The first place to store your items is on wall-mounted surfaces. These include shelves, nets, and wall cubbies. Just make sure that shelves are not too close and that the cubbies and nets are soft and narrow. The second place to store your items is on the bunk itself, but through items that hand off of the side. These items include things like book slings, picture ledges, bunk bed buddies, and bed caddies. Make sure that these items are secure and are not in the way of the ladder so that the kids can have a safe and easy descent.
Have a bunk bed but need the accessories to go along with it? Check out our selection or RV bunk accessories to create the safe and functional space that you need!