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Bed solution. Toddler & guests
Posted by dadda (82 days ago)
Hi,
after some thoughts/suggestions.
we are a family of 5. Two kids are teenagers (girl & Boy) and get their own rooms. 3rd is a 15 month old boy. He is currently still in a cot in our master bedroom. Is almost time we cut the cord (although do like having him in with us).
We have a 4 bedroom apartment but the 4th bedroom is (smallish) a study, storeroom & guest room. We want to make that the toddlers room, a study & guestroom.
We thought maybe a trundle bed would work. He can sleep on the bottom (rollout) bed until a little older, and we can roll it away daily & the 'upper' bed will be like a sofa. We have heard that you can get these trundle beds, where the rollout bed can be lifted up, and it makes a double bed. This would be ideal for when guests (usually elderly parents) come to stay.
Anyone here able to share experiences/thoughts with us? All comments welcome.
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Posted by Wiz Bang (82 days ago)
it's nice to have something permanent to call your own for a bed rather than feeling like sleeping in temporary quarters that everyday you wake up - you have to make the room for another function.
why not a bunk bed set up - your boy can have the upper part of the bunk and he does not have to be moved anytime when guests are around or you need to use the desk because that's his special nook... up the bunk bed.
the lower part can have a small desk and a sofa bed which would be in a Letter L configuration or the other way around. you could play around with the setup as I a do not have details of the rooms nor have seen a picture.
Posted by dadda (82 days ago)
sounds good, except don't know many parents who will put a 15 month old in the top bunk of a bunk bed.....
Posted by Wiz Bang (82 days ago)
ps. in ikea - there is a bed tent product - http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/40116206
you can install that on the upper part of the bunk for your son for privacy.
im sure he would like it too and he could think of a gazillion ways to use the tent like playing hide and seek or using it as a garrison etc.
Posted by Wiz Bang (82 days ago)
your guests will stay for a few weeks the most... i think that you need to think of priorities here.... your son will be with you all the time.
i am not saying to put your parents in the upper part- they can stay in the lower part ... when they are around the boy could stay with you for a while and go back to his "bed" after guests leave.
i assume you meant who will put up with? - it's the same with a trundle. if the boy sleeps next to you and he's hyper active - it's going to be ariot!!!
Posted by Wiz Bang (82 days ago)
your guests will stay for a few weeks the most... i think that you need to think of priorities here.... your son will be with you all the time.
i am not saying to put your parents in the upper part- they can stay in the lower part ... when they are around the boy could stay with you for a while and go back to his "bed" after guests leave.
i assume you meant who will put up with? - it's the same with a trundle. if the boy sleeps next to you and he's hyper active - it's going to be ariot!!!
Posted by dadda (82 days ago)
Wiz Bang - the toddler is FIFTEEN MONTHS OLD- at that age toddlers do not sleep in an UPPER BUNK.
Thank you anyway
Posted by austria (82 days ago)
It is a bit of a problem, isn't it? The bedroom/guest room/study solution is OK if you are not going to be in that flat/house for much longer .... but your son won't be a toddler for ever and will need somewhere to sleep that isn't temporary; and in a year or two, he will start to have his own 'things', just as your older children do.
My circumstances (rebuilding a house) meant that my older son slept in a room with his Dad and me until he was 2 1/2 and this was never any problem to us. He moved out when we sold the house and moved elsewhere, when he had a room of his own to which he adapted immediately; but I know many people who find it impossible to have even a tiny baby in the same room. Since you like having him in the room with you, can't he stay for a bit longer?
Posted by Wiz Bang (82 days ago)
that's true... staying in your room is a temporary arrangement, yet he is going to be moved to yet another temporary area - where his room is a multi functional room... so yes - why can't he stay in your room for a bit longer until permanent arrangements can be found... rather than be a nomad moving from one bed to another?
Posted by mumbloxy (82 days ago)
dadda, have you seen the kiddies L-shape loft beds? it's like 2 single beds straddling each other in a L-shape format. The top bed is also much lower than a normal bunk, so safer for the little ones. Your toddler can easily sleep in the lower bed until 3 or 4 when he will want to move up to the higher bed. For the unused space below the top bed, you can make storage units or let him create his own play space or even make a pull-out desk. You can use a removable ladder to the top bed so no worries of your little one climbing up in the meantime, and just attach it on when you have guests?
Posted by joga (81 days ago)
There is a daybed at ikea called hemnes (i think) that pulls out to the size of two joined singles. We liked the idea but wanted a more sturdy wood so we used the design and had a bed custom made. It has served us well for sleep overs, guests etc. In my sons room we have a low based king single with two mattresses on it when we need an extra place we pull one mattress onto the floor.
To previous posters I really don't think a toddler or even an older child will suffer from having to move out of their room everynow and then.
Posted by funbobby (81 days ago)
not sure who here has a 15mth toddler (we do) but even a lower bunk with a railing leaves the opportunity for disaster. our daughter is already trying to climb her crib rail, so a bed rail would do little to protect her...and it's not the fall from the mattress to the floor that would worry me, its the fall from the top of the bed rail (where they ineveitably will end up) that would worry me...have you considered a sofabed in the living room for guests, and junior getting his own room?
Posted by joga (81 days ago)
We always put ours in beds but definitely not bunks once they started to climb rails. If the bed rail doesn't extend the full legnth of the bed they can just get off much the same as they would get off a sofa. I warn though that day time naps are more challenging when they have an escape route and the nightly, I need a glass of water 30 minutes after bedtime games begin.
Posted by six (78 days ago)
i recommend you go and buy a book called 'how to live in small spaces' by terrance conran. that should give you lots of ideas.
fold down (murphy) beds are great. you can get them made in hk (ask a contractor - but check out the fittings they are going to use first, its all about the quality of those, don't skimp on that or the bed will be no good).. you can keep all the sheets etc on the bed and just tip it up against the wall each day. check out http://www.clei.co.uk/ for some interesting ideas on that front. we have wall beds and they are fab!
if you have a double bed that folds away at night then you have all that floor (play) space for your son during the day. a double bed is great for a young kid - my three kids all slept in real beds by 12 months. I lined the floor with pillows to cushion any falls, but it didn't take them long to stop falling out - and that shouldn't be a problem in a double bed anyway.
Anyway, between that book and that website I'm sure you'll have a great time planning the perfect room for your son. Would love to hear how it goes!
Posted by six (78 days ago)
sorry, also blow up aerobeds are great for guests. you can get them at tequila cola. but if you have a wallbed you can just keep a small mattress under your bed for your son to sleep on when you have guests.
Good luck!
Posted by liebster (77 days ago)
hi dadda,
im not sure the dimensions of the 4th bedroom, but if its like most hong kong rooms it isnt much more than 10 feet by 10 feet. i would doubt you could fulfill all three objectives in the room.
i would NOT recommend keeping a toddler in a study. a toddler + bookshelves and/or computer equipment is a disaster waiting to happen.
if you say the child is sleeping on a cot in your room now, you could move a small desk where the cot is now located. for shelving, i would look for areas in the main living room to add a shelf or cabinet to hold books etc.
for guest room, if space is a premium you should downgrade the priority of having a permanent bed, and opt for a futon, pull out bed, air matress, or some other space saving solution. its fine to have the air matress in the living room. i particularly like Ito Futons (they have a small double that is 48 inches wide), and air matresses that have auto inflate/deflate functions.
the simple truth is that hong kong real estate is so expensive, the actual cost to have a double bed empty most of the year is ridiculous. a normal 5X6 foot bed at 10,000 HKD per square foot is close to 40 thousand USD. to have that space empty most of the year is just crazy.
I would prioritize the kid getting his own room and space above all, while making the study second priority and the guest room a distant third.
Posted by dadda (77 days ago)
thank you for all comments.
Liebster - thank you - a bit of a wake up call for me.
problem is the wife seems to make a full time job out of scheduling the kids activities & seems she needs a secretary & loads of room to do it (I have tried to stremline this - no success).
When we move I will get enclosed shelves to store things & that way we get rid opf book shelves. Will make sure the desk as lockable draws & that the desk has a back to it - to hide all the omputer cables etc.
Still unsure on the bed, but thinking at least.
Cheers
Posted by Huggy (77 days ago)
dadda - you are joking re the wife needing to make a full time job of scheduling your 'TEENAGE ' kids activities and needs a secretary and loads of room to do it - right???
Do what most of us do or have done in the past - put a large weekly calendar on the front of the fridge door and list all the activities.
Simple, Cheap, in your face reminder and get rid of the secretary and all the other things associated with the 'full time job.' You may find you have a nice space for the 15 month old.
Your kids should be able to manage their time effectively by now - and the list on the fridge will be an at a glance reminder.
Posted by dadda (77 days ago)
Huggy - joking about the secretary BUT seems like she needs one half the time.
Sounds like an easy job, but with windsurfing, swimming, sailing, tennis, rugby, violin, piano, play group (toddler), my tennis, her tennis and running a house it is a full time job. The school the kids go to is notorious for having extremely unfriendly hours & last week we found that the school wants the kids to finish at 5:30 most afternoons - but have upto 3 hours free periods (but cannot leave the school) during the day. That means that all usual activities (most now paid in advance) have to be canned & alternatives looked for.
I think I am happy at my day job without having to sort that out, on top of looking after a baby, house & family
Posted by kellieja (77 days ago)
Dadda
Am in a similar situation albeit with three boys - 21, 16 and 4. What we did was the youngest slept in a cot until he was 2.5 then transferred him into a double bed. This means his bedroom,which is decorated as a child's room, can double as the guest room for either single guests or couples and he can come in with us on an airbed at the foot of our bed. Obviously his room cannot double as a study as there is not enough room for a desk but with wireless I find that I can do most of my organising from the sofa!
I work full time, have the three boys and still can schedule all their activities and mine without needing a dedicated study. It would be a nice idea to have that luxury but just don't have the spare bedroom at the moment. Even when the oldest is off to uni it still only frees up a bed for some of they year! Give the children their space and privacy over the study and as long as guests feel welcome it will all work out.
In HK 'space' its all about compromise as I've learnt over the past years........
Posted by Wiz Bang (77 days ago)
have you seen this ikea bed? a mattress can be placed underneath where the toddler can sleep. guests can sleep on top and it's not a tall bed so it's not exhausting to get up, and you can remove the stairs when not needed so the toddler does not climb up. and a small desk can be placed on an L shape position.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10123996
you can play around with a similar idea
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