A New Big Boy Bed
Written: Aug 04 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sturdy, crayon resistant, my child feels like a big boy
Cons: Mattress, bedding size?
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| wifemommyteach's Full Review: Cosco 10-T30 Toddler Bed |
My son's new "Big Boy" bed was salvaged by my sister. It had been dumped in her neighbor's trash as their son had outgrown it at 5 years old. My sister easily fit all of the pieces and the standard crib sized mattress into the back seat of her car and brought it to our house. It took my husband all of 20 minutes to clean it up with household cleaner and cloth baby diapers, and assemble it with a cordless screw gun so that it could be given to our son for his second birthday.
This bed has been a blessing in disguise. Our son was at the point where he was always pretending to climb out of his crib. He had never actually succeeded in escaping, but he would totter on the top rail giving me a heart attack! Moving him into his own bed was more for my peace of mind than for his ego. I had not thought about putting him into a big boy bed yet since I knew it would be a small investment of about $100, but with this free "hand-me-down" I was all for putting in the effort to get Aidan to sleep in it.
Let me first address the bed itself. Our particular "Big Boy" bed is completely white in color. The bed itself is made quite sturdy. All parts of it are made of steel tubing that doesn't make a lot of squeaking noise. In fact, I can even lay down in bed with him if I want to without feeling like the poor thing is going to crumple under my weight. Since my husband cleaned it up, it has not gotten any more scratches or chips in the paint which is amazing as my son is rough on things. In fact, crayon even wipes easily off the paint. Too bad I can't say the same for the wall behind the headboard! The bed came with mesh side rails, but we opted to leave them off as Aidan had slept in bed with me for the first year of his life and understands the limits of beds. This bed only clears the floor by about 8" so I was not worried about injuries from a fall.
Unfortunately I have a couple of complaints about the bed. The main complaint I have with the bed is the mattress. I'm not even sure if this is the mattress that came standard with the bed. The cover of the mattress is plastic which is great for leaky diapers, but if the sheet pops off (which happen on occasion as Aidan is a thrasher) and he ends up sleeping on the mattress, it makes him sweat profusely. The mattress is also not very firm. If I sit on the corners instead of in the middle, the mattress will sink down into the corner of the bed frame. The other concern I have about the bed is that I have no idea what size of bedding to use on it. It fits crib bottom sheets, but they don't make top sheets in that small size, and a crib comforter is too small. Luckily, my mother is custom making Aidan a new set of sheets and a comforter.
A main reason that many parents want their child to remain in their crib as long as possible is so that they know that their child is contained within until the parent can go get the child. I must admit that their is a bit of parental security lost once a child is moved into a "Big Kid" bed. However, it is an important transition in that child's life, and here are several suggestions for successful transition.
If your child is anything like mine, he was so excited to have a new addition to his room the first night, that he climbed right in and went to sleep. However, we have had some problems since. Bedtime at night usually goes very smoothly, but naptime can be a fight. What I have decided to do is give him three chances. I put him down to bed, kiss him, and tuck him in. If I see his face more than twice after that (he has gotten into the habit of having a BM right after I put him down) he gets to take his nap in the crib that I kept set up in the back room. I think he ends up in that crib once out of every 20 naps he takes. He really wants to be a big boy, so I just tell him that sleeping in the crib is what little boys do so he does NOT want to go back in there.
The other concern parents have is the child waking up before them in the morning and being free in the house. We devised an inexpensive "alarm" system for our house that has worked successfully for us in the mornings as Aidan inevitably wakes up before we do. We tied a bell onto a piece of colored rope, and hung one of these ropes on each door in the house. As soon as he wakes up, we hear all of the little bells ringing and know he's up and exactly where in the house he is. We also made sure to secure the front door by not only hanging a bell from it, but also by putting on a plastic doorknob safety device. It has relived me a lot of heartache.
If you feel like it is time to transition your child into a toddler bed, this bed is a great option. In the stores it is relatively inexpensive (under $100) and since it lasts well, so you may be able to find a dependable hand-me-down like I did.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
wifemommyteach
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Location: Walnut, CA
Reviews written: 113
Trusted by: 71 members
About Me:
Mommy to Aidan Thomas (8) and Asher William (5)
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