Safety measures for bunk beds!!

No doubt bunk beds are the perfect space savers and are attractive for kids but everything has some positives and negatives. You must keep in mind that these beds can also be dangerous. A survey held in UK denotes that every year 36000 kids gets injured due to these beds and are treated in emergencies. According to a study held in 2008, most of the injuries due to bunk beds are of neck and head; which are the severe one.

Moreover, the injuries caused due to bunk bed are more severe than the injuries of normal beds because these beds are at height; explained in a report of children’s hospital in Columbus, Ohio. From 36000 injuries, half of the kids are below the age of 6 years that were residing on the upper bunk. Here, I am suggesting some of the well approved guidelines and safety measures that will ensure a sound and safe sleep for your kid in a bunk bed.

1. There must be guardrails on all sides of the bunk beds that are bolted, screwed or affixed firmly to the structure of bed.
2. The gap between the guardrails and the bed frame must be smaller than 8mm or you can say 3-1/2 inches.
3. The length of guardrail must be 5 inches above than the surface of the mattress on bed to keep the kid safer and prevent him from rolling off.
4. The mattress should be exactly a fit to the bed.
5. The mattress must be tied up with the foundation so that it may get attached securely.
6. Ladder must be secured to the bed frame so that if the kid climbs on it, it may not slip or break.
7. If you kids are too naughty or are immature then select the bunks that are able to be separated and placed side by side. You keep them as separate beds until and unless your kids get mature to use them as bunks.
8. Always use two guardrails instead of a single one because one may break or get loose. It will make bunk safer because children roll during sleep and the chances of falling are high.
9. Do not let the kids below the age of 6 to sleep on upper bunk.fix the lower bunk for them permanently.
10. Put cross ties under the surfaces of mattresses of both the bunks regardless of the matter that they are used as bunks or as twin beds.
11. Emphasize your kids to always use ladder to climb at the upper bunk instead of using chairs and other pieces of furniture to climb.
12. Teach your kids that bunk beds are not the place for jumping and rough plays. Do not even let them play near the bunk bed.
13. Do not forget the use of night light in the kid’s room so that they may see the ladder easily if they want to come down on floor at night.
14. If the space between the guardrail and the bed frame is more than 3-1/2 inches then place another guardrail in between bed and it to make the bed safer.
15. Take proper care of guardrails, make proper repairment of them.
16. Replace the steps or rungs of the ladder if they are getting loose or missed.
17. If cross ties gets looser or missing then repair them immediately; repair all the hardware elements.

These are some of the few simple tips that will make the sleeping experience of your kid on bunk sound and safer.