Especially in our children’s early years we really want to provide them with everything we can to make them comfortable and content. So we’ve all been there, sitting at the computer and typing into the Google search bar “toddler bed Amazon”. There is something obscene, like 46 million search results that pop up. And now we are overwhelmed. Or worse! We spend way too much time searching through options. My goal is to help you with this process by cutting through the nonsense. The beds I recommend below have all been tried by myself, my kids’ dad (2 kids, 2 houses, weirdly a LOT of beds), or friends of ours.
So your little baby is now a toddler and you need something akin to a transitional bed. Small, but not tiny. Maybe you want a toddler bed with rails to help them not roll out of bed. Most toddler beds have a nice low half rail. They take up less room than a conventional bed by a lot. It is only meant for toddlers though, so know that your child will grow out of it in the next few years.
Convertible Crib
Pros
- 5 different ‘stages’ to suit your child’s developmental needs.
- Goes all the way up to a full sized bed!
Cons
- Superfluous if you already have a crib.
- Not super easy to switch back and forth. Plan to take some time to adjust the bed each time you need to.
Toddler Beds
The toddler bed is going to last you for toddlerhood specifically. It’s probably a bit too big for your infant and it will be too small for your 5-year-old. They typically come with a nice little railing. Watch the fine print, as the mattress is often sold separately. Below is my opinion on the two beds we have.
When I Google “toddler bed amazon”, character beds are the first 3 that show up. They are cutsey beds with popular TV characters on them. You can get pretty much anything, from Baby Shark to Frozen to Spider Man. Disney and Pixar seem to be the main owners of this market, but I’m sure whatever your child loves, you can get. This bed is made of plastic and comes in whatever color best compliments the character. Ours is Frozen, but like I said, you can get pretty much any style.
I will say that the character can be great if you are having a hard time getting your child excited about moving to a new bed. That’s pretty much the end of my praise for this bed though. It’s plastic, and one of the legs is bending in the middle on the side that I lean on to say goodnight. Also, I tend to be anti-merchandise. I mean really, does Disney really need to be in my home anymore than it already is?
Pros
- Great for helping transition children into a bed if needed
Cons
- Plastic
- One of the middle legs on our bed is bending in
- Overwhelming marketing attempts are exhausting at times
The other bed I have is a lovely, sturdy wooden bed. Again, it has little railings as pretty much all toddler beds do. The slats under the mattress are wood. This took a little bit of time to assemble but feels very sturdy to me. Much more sturdy than the other one. I also love the way it looks and my children feel very grown up in it.
Going with a Wooden Bed also guarantees me that if we decide to paint the room or change their theme, I don’t have to get a whole new bed. Regardless of interests or favorite colors, this bed will weather the phases.
Pros
- Very sturdy, I can lay in this bed with my child.
- Neutral in color and style.
Cons
- I actually cannot think of any drawbacks for this bed at the moment…
Skipping the Toddler Bed
For some people, it makes more sense to skip the toddler bed completely and go straight to whatever bed your child is going to have for the next 18 years. Having a toddler bed certainly isn’t a necessity. Honestly, if I could do it over again, I wouldn’t have purchased the toddler beds. They have been good for awhile, but full beds are expensive. My kids’ dad went from toddler to twin sized bunk beds. I went to full beds because I don’t want to have to buy a bed for my children again. I fully intend for them to be in this bed until they leave my house.
Bunk Beds
Bunk beds are a great space saving option for families with two or more children. No reason to take up more floor space than you need to. I will say though, if you can get an option that comes apart, I would suggest it. My kids’ dad said he wishes he had, both for when the kids get older and also for things like moving. He will have to take their current bunk beds apart completely to get them out of the room.
The slide bunk beds are becoming increasingly popular. I have a number of friends with them, and my children have one as well. I will say, everyone I know has reported that the slide is incredibly fast. Maybe even too fast. My kids’ dad says he doesn’t love how much room it takes up either. The bottom bunk also sits flat on the floor, so none of that fancy storage space underneath. Just some things to keep in mind.
