We have 2 girls and are thinking that our youngest will move out of her crib when she is 2.5yr. Our oldest will be 5y at the time. Here is our dilemma: ODD currently has a full-sized daybed that was a hand-me-down from from her grandmother. We know that she would REALLY love a canopy bed. I swear that child asks for a hide-out on a daily basis to be built! LOL
We really want to stick with a daybed because the bed will go against the wall, in a corner in both girls' rooms. I have this fear of one of them getting stuck between the bed and the wall and dying. So, no question about the style.
Do we buy ODD a new bed and give YDD the old bed? Or just buy YDD her own bed and ODD sticks with her current bed? And then would you buy a new or used bed (not mattress, just frame)? We don't even have a new bed, and there is a part of me that cringes at buying one of my children a new bed before we have one lol but then again, a new one might last longer and they can use it up until they move out (hopefully).
Thoughts?
TIA!!!
Currently YDD is 21mo, sleeping in a crib. ODD is 4y, sleeping on a full daybed. In both of their rooms, the bed/crib have to go into a corner due to the size of the room. (Hate small rooms lol). Loving M., I really like your suggestion about just creating a canopy that can be taken down at a later date. I'm not sure why that thought didn't occur to me!
One of the reasons why we haven't moved YDD to a bed yet is because we are seriously considering taking a Disney cruise in May, when ODD turns 5. The way the sleeping arrangements are, it looks like YDD will need to sleep in a crib, as neither of them can sleep in an upper bunk (ODD is afraid of heights). Them sleeping together isn't really an option as ODD is also a kicker/roller. So we were hoping to hold off until after the cruise to move her out of the crib.
However, following everyone's suggestion, I did ask ODD if she wanted to keep her bed or give it to her sister and get a new one. She wants a new one. So I guess we will start looking for a good deal. Hopefully we can find a bed that will last her for a good number of years for a decent price.
I would ask your oldest daughter what she would like to do.
By 5, my daughter wasn't sleeping in a bed up against the wall anymore and she never rolled off or anything.
If your daughter is attached to her daybed, let her keep it. But, I think that because she is the oldest, she should have first pick as to who gets the new bed.
Just my opinion.
Since you don't care - one way or another someone's gettin' a bed, I'd also ask the older daughter what she wanted to do. She'd probably love to make such an important decision.
Either way - an inexpensive way to make a canopy bed is to just hang a canopy from the ceiling and drape it around. If you want it out of the way, you can move it behind the headboard or just take it down. We did that for my daughter and she loves it. Plus, as she grows out of that phase, it's easy to remove. MUCH cheaper than buying a canopy bed itself.
We bought one very much like this. They come in all different colors, and ours has been quite durable - we've had it for at least a year and no tears yet.
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?sku=11537910&...
Why don't you ask your older daughter if she would rather keep her old bed or pass it to her sister and get a new bed. She might actually like her current bed and not want to change. I would vote for a used bed if possible, but I'm frugal, and always look for used before I buy new.
from my perspective, your younger daughter NEEDS a bed (does not have to be new). your older daughter WANTS a new bed. but we never spent money on fancy canopies or what have you....our beds were/are serviceable. my son has a captain's bed that his uncle and great uncle both slept on.
as a kid, we would have cute comforters and decor, but the bed itself is one that is intended to last our whole childhood - in fact i think all four of us kids took our twin beds with us when we left for college. so to me spending money on something like that is pretty frivolous. but everyone is different so if you have the money and this is a priority in your family, then you will end up doing it. all we can tell you is what we would do, which is not necessarily what you'd do...
I don't know if this is completely off topic for you, but if your daughter wants a "hide-out" you can buy a bed tent for pretty cheap at Wal-Mart. I had one as a kid and loved it.
Well, in my house your children would both be in big girls beds already. We moved all of the grand kids to toddler beds by the time they were 15 months old and they were sleeping in them full time all night by 18 months.
So, I would make sure both girls had their own bed now. Whatever that takes. If the older girl really wants a different bed then pass the old bed down to the little one and be done with it for a while.
