By Linda E. Joy
Bed rails are something you'd normally think would be used by an elderly person to keep from falling out of bed, or an injured person staying in the hospital to make sure they don't end up on the floor in between nursing checks. But another common use for bed rails is to attach them to a bed when moving you toddler out of the crib for the first time.
Cribs are great because your child can roll around all he or she wants during the night and you can be secure in the knowledge that they aren't going anywhere. Once they transition into a toddler or full size bed, they will no longer be enclosed and for the toddler who is active in his sleep, bouncing around in the crib like a pinball all night, getting used to a normal bed without falling out of it a few times can be hard. This is why many parents use bed rails when first placing their child in a regular bed to sleep.
My son isn't even out of his crib yet and I'm worried about moving him to a regular bed. All night long I can hear him bouncing off the bars of his crib, banging his head and legs and arms against the wooden sides. He doesn't hurt himself when he plays, in fact he seems to enjoy playing in his crib through the night. But what will happen when he suddenly finds himself in a normal bed, with no side rails for safety, and goes for a late night roll against the side of his crib only to find himself crashing down to the floor.
It is because of the rolling that I've decided to spend in a set of removable bed rails when we move him out of his crib. I'm hoping that if common sense can't keep him in his bed, then good old fashioned obstacles may do the trick. Though with my luck, the kid will find a way to jump the rails and end up on the floor anyway. I swear he's part monkey.
Maybe if we started babies off without bed rails to keep them in their beds to begin with, transitioning to a toddler bed wouldn't be such a problem. Instead of a makeshift holding pen for babies, the new modern crib could just be a platform suspended high in the air, with a mattress resting on top. The baby would learn quickly not to roll out of bed because there is nothing to stop him and the fall would be unpleasant.
Though perhaps there should be a set age minimum due to risk to the soft spot. Once the soft spot in healed, the baby can begin to explore its boundary free world, where things like bed rails never exist, while learning the importance of balance at the same time.
About the Author: Linda E. Joy provides readers with up-to-date commentaries, articles, and reviews for family, home as well as other resources.
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