Bunk Bed Injuries

My four-year-old keeps asking for bunk beds, but I keep refusing because I am worried he'll get hurt. He already broke his collar bone when he jumped out of his crib as a toddler! It was so scary! I took him to the ER and he got an X-ray and it was so sad. I felt like a horrible parent. At this point, I don't want to do anything that I know could lead to another Emergency Room visit. However, I do love the idea of bunk beds. We'll see!

Here's a new study on bunk bed injuries.

Investigators at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio found although three-quarters of the children who sustain bunk bed-related injuries are younger than 10 years of age, there is a surprising spike in injuries among individuals between the ages of 18 and 21 years. (I guess I can never buy bunk beds then!)

There are around 36-thousand cases of bunk bed injuries each year. Bunk bed-related injuries occur most frequently among boys, and half of the cases analyzed involved children younger than 6 years of age. Children less than 3 years of age were 40 percent more likely to sustain head injuries than older children.

Here are tips to avoid injuries:

• Make sure guardrails are used on both sides of the upper bunk
• Guardrail gaps being 3.5 inches or less to prevent entrapment and strangulation
• Ensure the mattress foundation is secure and the proper size mattress is used
• Don't permit children younger than 6 years of age to sleep in the upper bunk
• Discourage children from playing on bunk beds
• Use night lights to help children see the ladder at night
• Removing hazardous objects from around the bed
• Don't place the bunk bed too close to ceiling fans or other ceiling fixtures.

The study is published in the June issue of Pediatrics.

The Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) has more information.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen