Question for parents of young ones

Ok, so my kids are so excited about camping over labor day weekend! I do have one concern though. I have one child that falls out of bed VERY easily. Has anyone tried using bed rails? I am thinking the matteress is too thin to use them that they will feel the bar... is there a set of rails with a flat bar? Any suggestions?

[ThePair]

Can't say I can help here. They was we're currently sleeping is with the twins in the back of the queen bed, one parent sleeps across the opening, and the other sleeps on the front pull-out couch with the dog. We alternate.

[Bill]

You could make one quite easily. A 1x8 board about 4 feet long, a couple of big angle braces (aka corner braces), a piece of 1/4-inch plywood (maybe 2 feet x 4 feet), and a few assorted screws. Corner braces? Go to Lowes.com and type "corner brace" into the search box. A big plus is that the plywood willbe flat and smotth, and not poke up through the mattress.

This simple version will be a pain to store, but if you use hinges instead of braces where the two pieces of wood meet, you can arrange it so that it will fold flat. And instead of a 1x8 board, you could certainly use another piece of plywood, maybe 1 foot x 4 feet. Just thinkin'.

Bill

Originally Posted by ThePair

Can't say I can help here. They was we're currently sleeping is with the twins in the back of the queen bed, one parent sleeps across the opening, and the other sleeps on the front pull-out couch with the dog. We alternate.

Yeah, we thought of this, but I think it would be two kids in the back by themselves... they are so restless and they kick us all the time! I really wanted to put them together on the front double. I was thinking of just putting the one that rolls to the inside so the other one "holds" him in. Sort of a human bed rail but then the one on the outside suddenly became afraid she would roll out... Can't win on that one!

Originally Posted by Bill

You could make one quite easily. A 1x8 board about 4 feet long, a couple of big angle braces (aka corner braces), a piece of 1/4-inch plywood (maybe 2 feet x 4 feet), and a few assorted screws. Corner braces? Go to Lowes.com and type "corner brace" into the search box.

This simple version will be a pain to store, but if you use hinges instead of braces where the two pieces of wood meet, you can arrange it so that it will fold flat.

Bill

Not a bad idea... Storage would be a pain and it would not be terribly light weight either... I'll have to think on variations of this... I wonder if I can take the mesh ones and fabricate some kind of flat "tubes" for under the mattress... you have me thinking!

I think you should think about just how excited the kids will be and opt for the human fence approach. My wife and I started our TM adventures sleeping in the queen with our two young boys up front. After three nights of constantly yelling at them to settle down because the TM was just too much fun for them, we split the kids up, one with each parent. By sacrificing romance, we gained sanity. (The other advantage is that neither of us has to climb over the other one for the midnight trip to the bathroom)

[ThePair]

Originally Posted by M&M Hokie

I think you should think about just how excited the kids will be and opt for the human fence approach. My wife and I started our TM adventures sleeping in the queen with our two young boys up front. After three nights of constantly yelling at them to settle down because the TM was just too much fun for them, we split the kids up, one with each parent. By sacrificing romance, we gained sanity. (The other advantage is that neither of us has to climb over the other one for the midnight trip to the bathroom)

This was our problem. They wouldn't sleep alone. Plus, 2 adults on the couch = bad idea. We tried all 4 in the back bed, but the dog felt left out so we split up, and they do much better overall. Still more rambunctious than at home, but good enough to settle down in a reasonable period of time for sleep.

Who knows, as they gain more experience we're hoping to eventually get them up front, but one step at a time...

What about rolling up 2 or 3 thick towels/beach towels to act as a divider- it is hard to roll over this. Have a great time!!

[Wavery]

They can't fall off of the floor......

You might want to consider making a mattress that will fit where the table goes until the child gets a bit bigger.

if they are short enough, can't they just lay the other way? that way their feet hang off the bed if anything. i have the 2720sl, so not sure about bed size, but seems could work for awhile anyway.