A Baby & Toddler Bed Rail

A toddler bed rail protects your child from falling out of a "big bed". Use a safety bed rail to help your baby transition from crib to bed, or to keep her safe when co sleeping.

Important: always make sure your baby cannot get trapped between the rail and the mattress!


Which type of safety bed rail is best for you? That depends on what you will use it for:

• As a toddler bed rail to transition from crib to bed

or

• As a family bed bumper to keep your baby from falling off when co sleeping

As a rule of thumb: the smaller your baby, the stricter the safety precautions you will need to think of when choosing and installing the bed rail.

The main risk will be for a baby to get stuck between the safety bed rail and the mattress, which can be fatal for a little one.

A toddler bed rail to transition from crib to bed

Safety 1st Secure Top Bed Rail

Moving from her crib to a "big kid" toddler bed is a big step for your little one!

Most toddlers make this transition anywhere between 1,5 and 2,5 years old.

The timing depends mainly on when you feel she is ready.

Or it can be practical reasons, like when you need to "free up" the crib for your next baby, or when moving to a new home, ...

Or your child simply may not be comfortable anymore in her crib and really need some more space.

Leachco Roller Bolster Bumpered Twin Bed Sheet

In any case, a bed rail will keep her from falling out of bed in those first months of getting used to the big bed.

Hopefully you can place the bed against the wall so you only need to invest in a single bed rail.

No wall to place the bed against?

No worries, there are also affordable double bumper arrangements or double bed rails, like the Regalo Double Sided Bed Rail () or the Summer Infant Fold Down Double Bed Rail().

Extra tips to smoothly transition from crib to bed:

• Prepare your toddler: take enough time to talk about the change ahead. Do not make it a huge "issue" either. Talk about it lightly, tell him you are so proud he (she) is a big boy (girl) now, ... A simple but good board book to help you is Elmo's Big Enough for a Bed.

• If your toddler is moving from crib to bed "to make room" for a baby brother or sister on the way: be very careful. If he realises that is the reason for his moving, he may feel like "being kicked out" of the crib by the new baby ... not a great start for smoothly accepting the new addition to the family. So make the transition either well in advance, or well after birth.

• Make the transition extra attractive with cute bedding, a funny picture on the wall, a new teddy, ... Maybe give a "big kid" responsibility such as being allowed to have a sip of water on his own once you left the room.

• Change as little as possible: the change is big enough as it is, so keep the rest familiar. Stick to the same bed times and bedtime routine, no big changes in sleep schedule, hang the same musical mobile or decoration in sight, ...

• What if he comes out of bed? Becoming a toddler also means learning to obey some rules. This will be a good exercise for both of you. 

A safety bed rail when co sleeping

In line with the co-sleeping safety guidelines, a safety bed rail helps prevent your baby from rolling off when co sleeping in your bed. Place the rail on mom's side of the bed: baby lies between you and the rail.

Please be careful, it is very (!) important to have no gap at all between the mattress and the rail. That is often so with the classical fold-down toddler bed rails.

To avoid this, you need a "top of mattress attachment" bed rail that simply has no gap at all. I found the Safety 1st Secure Top Bed Rail (as in the picture above) that does exactly this.

Or you could choose a bumper-type arrangement like this:

Humanity Family Bed Co Sleeping Pad 

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