Bed rails vs. pillows on the floor? Which did you use for your toddler and how'd it work?

Question

Okay, we're turning my daughters crib into a bed by taking off a side. I've been looking online at bed rails for cribs and they are horrendously expensive(2 or 3x what it costs for a whole toddler bedroom set with extras) and way out of my price range, and it seems the ones I can order from wal-mart are the same length as the crib, which won't allow her to climb up and down as needed as I don't want her climbing over the actual rail. We have lots of pillows we can put on the floor in case she rolls off and we're thinking about just taking the side off and seeing what happens. I have a twin bed for her but we won't be putting her in that until income tax time at least. So what did you use, how big was it, and how'd it work? Thanks!

Answer 1

well, I had a bad situation with bed rails...after my first encounter, I just simply stopped using them....if he fell out of bed, then he fell out of bed.  I wasn't that far to the floor, lol.  But when my son was two, his foot got captured between two of the rails.  I had to carefully saw the rails apart.  Nothing else worked...it was jammed...and he could have easily broken his leg.

But the choice is yours....pillows can als be a little dangerous.  If your child is a heavy sleeper, then suffocation is also a possiblility

Answer 2

When my little one was ready to move on from the crib, we bought and inexpensive toddler bed instead.  It is very low to the floor and has guards on both sides attached right to the bed.  All the crib bedding that you currently have and the crib mattress fit right into the bed so you will only spend money on the bed.  My son loves his bed, and is able to get out whenever he wants (not always a good thing).  He is a  wiggle worm and it took him a while to get used to having no sides on the ends of the bed, but he got it after a little while and when he did fall out, it was a 6 inch drop or so, onto a carpeted floor.  Hope this helps!

Answer 3

When we moved our little one into his big boy bed we bought a toddler bed for $30 its very nice light wood. It was low to the ground with a SM rail  already on it but if he rolled out he'd be fine. If you have a twin be wal mart has twin rails for $15.

Answer 4

The rail we have is 39 inches long and our crib opening is 50 inches so there is about a foot of space to get in and out. We got it at walmart for $25-30. It's safety 1st brand and we got it in the store, I don't see it online.

It's this one

http://www.safety1st.com/product/search....

Answer 5

how about one of these http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.d...  

Answer 6

We already had an old daybed- but here is what you might want to do.  Get a twin bed from Sams Club- really inexpensive and put it up against the wall.  Then just buy one rail that is kind of long.  

My daughter got her big girl bed just before her 2nd b'day and loved it!  Good luck!

Answer 7

My older 3 children all moved to a toddler or twin bed at 21-25 months.  We didn't use bed rails or pillows on the floor (carpeted); they were all fine.  When we tried moving #2 at about 21 months while visiting my parents, she fell out several times, so we kept her in the playpen for a few more months.  When we tried the next time at 25 months, she was fine.

Answer 8

Pillows on the floor works best. I found that no matter how low you can get the mattress and how high you can get the rails- they find a way to climb out- I'd even go as far to say it's inevitable!! There were plenty of nights I woke up to my son getting out of his crib on his own. Early on, I would awake to him crying from the fall he took onto his bedroom floor after climbing out. Once I got wise and put those pillows down, I instead woke to him laughing and saying "hello mommy!" without the bumps and bruises he incurred before I put the pillows down.

Lots of pillows, less bumps and bruises- and get used to the world of having a toddler- it only gets easier :)

Answer 9

Personally, we took the "tough love" approach. We didn't use rails or pillows. we made sure there wasn't any padding. We actually placed hard objects on the floor. Sure the floor was bloody after a while, but our child grew up to be tough.