Options for side walls for beds from falls, nuances of choice and installation
When a small child appears in the family or when buying a bunk bed for older children, the issue of sleep safety sharply arises. Often the only option to protect the sleeping person is to install a protective barrier in the form of a railing, a side or rollers. If you need to choose a side for a bed from falling to protect the sleep of a child or an adult, you should take time to choose the most suitable option, corresponding to real needs, with sufficient functionality and fit into the allocated budget. The cost of protective systems and home-made installations is significantly different. When deciding to make a protective side independently, attention should be paid to its reliability, because the safety and life of the child depends on this.
Varieties
Depending on the intended purpose of the side, different heights, configurations, method of attachment and degree of protection of the structure are used. In cots for babies, it is recommended to use stops that completely cover the side or long side of the bed. For preschool children, protective systems are installed to protect them from accidental falling out of bed during night or daytime sleep. They may not be installed around the entire perimeter of the bed, but cover only part of the long side of the mattress.
In order to ensure the convenience of the child and parents, the stops are made removable or with the ability to fall down. This will help the child to safely climb into the crib.
Often, the bed restraint comes with a mount that makes it easy to dismantle the unit from the crib and attach it to any other horizontal surface that requires restriction. It is convenient to use such bumpers when moving, traveling and in cases when the child needs to sleep outside the usual home bed. This installation is easy to install, and it will protect the child, even if he has to sleep on the adult bed.
All types of side walls for beds from falls are conventionally divided into several categories, depending on the material of manufacture:
- Soft;
- Made of mesh-like material;
- Plastic
- Wooden.
Soft
Soft sides for the bed are made of sintepon material or foam. A layer of this material is rolled up into tubes and fastened together so that the resulting structure is stable and indestructible. By adjusting the number of rollers stacked on top of each other, sides of different heights are made.
In order for such limiters to always look clean and tidy, they sew covers on a removable snake. The covers are machine washable, ironed and put on again on the foam rollers. This will help to always keep the bed clean and the room beautiful.
In order to keep this design well on the bed, foam rollers fastened together are attached to the mattress. For this, homemade ties, buttons or sewn zippers are used. Another easy-to-do-it-yourself fastening option is sewing on Velcro on the bed rest and on the mattress. Velcro fastening is one of the most reliable, but at the same time easy to use and operate methods of attaching foam boards to the mattress.
Grid
A bed limiter made of mesh material is used for cots if the child is no longer too small and sleeps separately from their parents. The net should be very strong and withstand the child if he rests with all his weight on it during sleep. To securely fasten such protection, prepare the frame for the mesh and securely fasten it. The frame is made of wooden battens or metal stops. The restraints themselves soften by putting on them fabric covers or foam pillows.
This barrier for a crib allows the child to see what is happening in the room. Due to the breathability of the mesh-like material, fresh air has free access to the baby's bed, which makes his sleep safer, healthier and stronger.
Plastic
There are two types of plastic protective barriers for a bed:
- Purchased
- Made by yourself.
The sides made of plastic have a sufficiently high strength, combined with the low weight of the protective installation itself. Commercially available plastic stops have an original set of necessary accessories for fixing the system to the bed.
In the manufacture of such a system, you can independently use improvised material, such as plastic pipes for plumbing. They are very easy to fasten together, and thus create a side with vertical rails. The height of the slats is adjusted depending on the needs and desires, the width of the holes between the rails - depending on the intended purpose of the side. The plastic barrier on the bed for children is very light, and there is no need to wear soft covers on it. But if such a barrier for the bed is made of plumbing pipes, for ethical reasons, it is covered with a cover or thin blanket.
Wooden
Wooden restraints are the most popular, and are often sold complete with cots. The main advantage of the wooden limiter is that it is durable, versatile, and also that it fits any interior design. In addition, this installation is easy to wash, remove, it is completely safe for the baby. The wooden side for the bed can be made in a different design, have different heights and fixing methods. Wooden barriers are used not only for cots, they can be used as a removable version of the limiter for teenage or bunk beds.
Dimensions and safest height
Depending on the age of the child sleeping on the bed with a protective side, one of the following limiters is selected:
- Covering the entire bed;
- Covering most of the long side of the mattress;
- Decorative limiter.
Barriers covering the entire side of the bed are installed either in cots for babies or to protect the sleeping one on the second floor of a two-story bed. Even if the two-story bed is intended for teenagers or adults, a limiter should be installed on it, since the probability of falling from such a bed is quite high, and far exceeds the probability of falling from a single-tier bed.
The height of the rails of the protective structures for this purpose ranges from 20 to 90 cm, and for the most part depends on the age of the sleeping person. For children under the age of one year, a limiter with a height of rails of at least 70 cm is installed. To increase the level of safety, a limiter with a height of slats of up to 90 cm is selected. The height of such sides is designed for a child up to 1 year old, standing on his own feet. Such a height of the side will prevent the child from falling to the floor (he will not fall over the railing). For a child who does not yet know how to sit, they use bumpers 30 cm high, for a child who knows how to sit, use a protection of 50 cm. If there is a possibility that the baby will get on his feet, it is necessary to use barriers for the bed 90 cm high around the entire perimeter.
If such a barrier is installed for the bed of a teenager or an adult sleeping on the second floor with two-story beds, then the height of the limiter is set much less than 90 or even 70 cm. A height of 20-30 cm will be enough to protect the sleeping person from falling. Bed safety barriers not installed along the entire length of the mattress also protect the sleeping child. Such limiters are installed for preschool children, or on the top floor of bunk beds, if not small children sleep on them. This limiter has a number of advantages over completely covering the side of the bed. Firstly, getting into such a bed is much more convenient, and secondly, the process of mounting and lowering such a limiter is much simpler.
Decorative borders are an attribute of beds installed in designer bedrooms. They rarely perform protective functions, and when installed, you cannot count on a high degree of protection. Such design elements are installed in several pieces on the same bed, and there are significant gaps between them. If this is a bed for a child, then it is better not to dwell on this option. The gaps between the sides are often large enough so that a child under the age of two cannot fall. But even such small sides can protect a teenager or an adult and serve as a kind of restriction.
Mounting Options
There are several options for fastening the handrail to protect the crib. Purchased protective systems are often equipped with a reliable fastening system, which allows you to attach the side to the bed base, side walls, or fix the installation using metal structures under the mattress. Such designs involve holding the side of the weight of the sleeping person.
The metal frame is placed under the mattress, and a protective side is attached to it in a vertical position. Thus, due to the body weight of the sleeping person, the side is held upright. Such an installation is not suitable for protecting children under two years of age. Their body mass is too small to hold the metal structure under the mattress.
Choosing the option of how to make the mount for the bed restraint with your own hands, you should take into account the weight of the protective system, the weight of the sleeping child, the need for the structure to be detachable, the stationary use of the side.
When using one barrier for several horizontal surfaces intended for children's sleep, you should use the mount, which can be installed on both horizontal and vertical surfaces, which will allow it to be installed on any bed. Such fasteners can be bought either complete with protective systems, or separately from them. If the protective system is installed on a crib in which the child is always sleeping, you can attach a barrier to the bed base using screws and brackets. In this case, it will not be possible to remove the protective wall, but the child will be under reliable protection.
Criterias of choice
When choosing a bed restraint, you should pay attention to the purpose of the side and take into account the real possibilities. The main criteria for choosing a protective system are:
- Age of the child - to care for a small child, a functional bed with fences is required, and the smaller the child, the more reliable the protection system should be. With high mobility of the child and the possibility of playing games in bed, the protective bumpers from falling also perform the function of preventing bruises and injuries. It is advisable to create them soft. If you need to create protection for an adult bed, you should first think about the purpose of the fence. Handrails for the disabled serve to create comfort when lifting, so they must be primarily strong and detachable. There is no need to create foam pillows for them. The main purpose of emollients is to protect the head and body of the child from bruises;
- Bed size - when making or ordering a limiter for a baby bed, it is necessary to measure the length and width of the mattress, since not all models are made to standard sizes. Removable barriers can be used to close the entire length of the side of the mattress in the crib and to limit the horizontal space on which the child is forced to sleep and which must be protected;
- Room design - if this criterion is important when choosing a protective system, it is recommended to select protection taking into account the design of the children's room. But when installing a protective system, you should first of all pay attention to the reliability of the installation.
An important factor in choosing the limiters is also the financial ability of the parents. Home-made options do not require significant financial costs, however, their production requires a lot of time and effort. Ready-made barriers are sometimes not cheap, and their installation requires small building skills, but they have a high level of protection and reliability.
When considering, choosing, manufacturing or buying and installing protective barriers for a bed, much attention is paid to the intended purpose of the side and the weight of the sleeping person. These parameters are fundamental when choosing protective systems.
Based on financial capabilities, personal preferences, room design and features of each particular design, the most optimal option for each particular bed is selected. For frequent trips with small children, it is recommended to choose removable barriers that are installed on different horizontal surfaces. They will provide reliable protection for the child wherever he sleeps.
If the baby is constantly sleeping in his crib, it is recommended to install a stationary side that is attached to the base of the bed. He listens to protection for the child, not only during sleep, but also during games. The child can get up, holding his hands on the side and leaning on it. To protect the sleep of adolescents or adults, protective systems are selected that cover only part of the side of the mattress, because they look more aesthetically pleasing, but fully fulfill their functional purpose.