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imsmilng

twin or full bed

imsmilng
9 years ago

I am having such a hard time making this decision. I need to buy a bed for my 4 year old and organize her bedroom. I keep going back and forth between getting a twin or full bed. Her room is tiny (10x9.5) and I don't want to overwhelm her space. I would also like to place her bookcase back and a kids table and maybe a small reading chair.

What would you do? Do you think her space could handle a full bed? I am going with an iron bed to help not overwhelm or does it matter really? The photo shows the layout of the space.

Comments (66)

  • annkh_nd
    9 years ago

    My college-age sons are 5'11", and sleep in twin beds - lofted, so they have space underneath.

    Their dorm rooms have extra-long twins.

    Edited to add: My Mom just moved from a 4-bedroom house to an apartment, and I'm getting one of her queen beds. I was thinking I'd put it in my son's room (it's big enough, even with a desk and foosball table in there), but he doesn't want it - he loves his loft bed. He'll only be living at home for a short time (he'll be a Junior in college this year), so I'm going to honor his wishes. I'm going to put the queen bed in storage for a while.

    This post was edited by annkh on Tue, Jul 15, 14 at 12:12

  • theclose
    9 years ago

    Twin. Agree that bigger beds for little ones is becoming popular but I had a twin until after grad school and I survived. I lay with my son in his twin without issue (he's 4). We did get a trundle for guests. My daughter's room will have two twins eventually (she's still in a crib) as her room is quite large.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Yes. What happens when they go off to college and have to sleep in a twin bed. They'll be miserable because they won't be used to it.

    Twin through college, then when they get their own first place, full, then, when they get married, queen. Seems logical.

    All this luxury takes a lot away from childhood and youth.

  • pooks1976
    9 years ago

    Full. DD refused to sleep in a twin. She moved into the guest room until her room had a full bed too. She felt she didn't have enough room and she was tiny.

  • roarah
    9 years ago

    College beds are always extra long so much more comfortable for us taller peeps than your average residential twin! My childhood was ideal in the 70s even with having suffered thru the luxury of a full size bed that better fit my taller frame :)

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Exactly roarah..they're longer to accommodate height, which a full bed doesn't do, not wider.

  • roarah
    9 years ago

    I can sleep diagonally in a full without my limbs hanging off not so in a standard twin. Another plus with a room that only houses one bed, with a full a child's bedroom can become an extra guestroom for when we have an overflow of adult couples staying with us.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Twins are not meant for adults.

  • debo_2006
    9 years ago

    Personally, I'd get the full size. She can grow with it as she gets older; she'll appreciate it.

    Here's what I do when I have sizing issues: know the size of the full and twin. Make a template out of newspaper and tape then put it on the floor to see just how much more space the larger one will require. Do it only for the full size. With a thick marker, line the dimensions for the twin on it.

    And, don't get a foot board for obvious reason if her room is that small.

  • erinsean
    9 years ago

    My boys always had full size beds....that way if we had guests they could use one of the boys bedrooms.

  • louislinus
    9 years ago

    My 9 year old just moved from a twin to a queen. We upgraded to a king in our new house and gave her our old queen. She is liking it okay now but she said the twin was cozier. It looks kind of funny to me to see this little person in this huge bed. But it is nice to be able to go in and sleep with her when our 4 year old twins both decide to join us in the king in the middle of the night.

  • dretutz
    9 years ago

    Twin with a trundle is perfect. When they go to college you can sleep two guests in the room. I have a queen in the guest room, too.

  • peegee
    9 years ago

    Wait a minute - I agreed with everything Tibbrix said until "twin beds are not meant for adults" That's just not true! Think of all those single beds with a night stand between for couples who sleep in the same room but want their own space. It wasn't just years ago that adults slept in twins - many still do...in fact my own parents had that arrangement when they got elderly. Two twins provide WAY more space for two adults than a full or queen; even more width than a California King, AND more than a KING!
    FYI I slept for nearly a year on a 30" daybed, I managed fine, and I'm not small.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Oh, I completely agree, peegee. I was speaking generically, as in twins REALLY are for children. I think it would have been more accurate for me to say that full-size and larger are not meant for children. But of course hospitals all have twin beds, so do "nursing homes", and if everyone followed Lucy and Ricky and Rob and Laura, young married couples would all be sleeping in twin beds!

    But for children, a twin is the bed. They sleep on cots at camp, twin beds in collegeâ¦Only reason I can see putting a child in a full-size bed is because one was handed down to you and so you don't have to go out and buy a twin bed.

    I'm sleeping on a twin mattress from a trundle bed right now. It's on the floor of a family room in a client's house who is letting me live in their house while my house is rented. I hauled it down from the broiling hot third floor, and it is very comfortable! And I"m not small either, 5'9".

    But of course, those of us who sleep with up to five dogs need that queen bed!

    This post was edited by Tibbrix on Tue, Jul 15, 14 at 21:44

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    9 years ago

    I put 2 twins in the guest room as it is more flexible accommodations. I've slept small and large people and no one has complained. But when Uncle visited with his stepson, they were both very glad they didn't have to share a bed!

  • justgotabme
    9 years ago

    I think a twin would work best for the size of room you have. You can always change to a larger bed when she's older if she needs or wants to change.

    I think the poplarity for full beds for children came about when cribs were made convertable. The length of a crib works perfectly for the width of a full size bed.

  • vedazu
    9 years ago

    For any of us who have slept in a queen-size bed with a partner--and then have to sleep in it alone (for whatever reason!) we recognize that it is hard to heat it up with our body heat because it is big. I think a child will be warmer, more snug, in a smaller bed than in a full-size. Not everyone likes electric blankets......

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    vedazu makes a REALLY good point.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    justgotabeme, I know this is going to ruffle some feathers, but I think it started with the American penchant for 'bigger is better' and "there is no luxury or comfort too good for my child." We've lost all sense of practicality to those things, IMO.

    Had dinner with a friend last night, who raised three amazing kids, and we were talking about how the basis of child rearing should be, "Nothing is too bad/hard/difficult for my kid" rather than 'Nothing is too good for him/her."

    Apologies to imsmiling for the brief veer-off onto a soap box.

    This post was edited by Tibbrix on Wed, Jul 16, 14 at 10:28

  • lynninnewmexico
    9 years ago

    I think that Tibbrix made a very good point, "What happens when they go off to college and have to sleep in a twin bed. They'll be miserable because they won't be used to it."

    DD, who's just starting her junior year at college, mentioned the same thing to me many times. Her friends who had grown up in full, queen or king-sized beds were miserable in the twins in the dorms and later in their campus apartments.. On the other hand, DD who'd always had a twin here at home, was fine with her dorm x-long twin . . . she just complained that it was like sleeping on a board until we sent her another (2 total) super thick mattress topper (LOL).
    Lynn

  • tinam61
    9 years ago

    If you have the room, I would go with a full. Many good reasons. I had both a twin and a full during various times of my childhood. No complaints really about either. As an adult, I hope to never have to sleep in a twin. Even though, techinically it is be big enough, it just doesn't feel roomy enough. I like to spread out!

    Actually, I think a full bed IS practical in some circumstances (in a child's room).

  • busybee3
    9 years ago

    i would get a twin... definitely a XL in our family because we are tall, but if your family is shorter, not so much of a problem! and, i never had a hard time snuggling with little ones in a twin bed-- wouldn't be a problem except if the parent or child is quite overwt i would think...
    i don't know if cute sheets are as plentiful in full size... i thought that size bed was sortof being phased out...??

    my youngest ended up getting a queen when he was in middle school and loved it, but has had no problems at all adjusting to his xl twin at school--- he is a very good sleeper tho!!

  • justgotabme
    9 years ago

    Tibbrix, that could very well be part of it. Which gave the idea to whoever came up with the convertible crib. Probably someone at a mattress manufacturer!

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    justgotabmeâ¦I appreciate your not biting my head off!

    I think the yuppies of the 1980s did us NO favors.

  • pps7
    9 years ago

    I vote for twin also.

    My son slept in a twin until he was seven and his room was also pretty small-10x11. He then moved to a queen but only because we got a king and he got our old bed. His room is huge though so it helps fill it up. It's also handy when we have a house full of guests and I can put a couple in his room.

  • imsmilng
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for all of the replies!!!!!

    I am going with a twin although I am somewhat afraid, if I am totally honest. We need the floor space for play as I have evicted the majority of the toys from the other living areas and we have a small space overall. I also would love for her to really use her bedroom more.

    My fear comes from the way she (we) sleep now in the queen. I have attached boopadadoo's chart and circled how we sleep now. She and I are usually sideways in the bed because I am hanging off sleeping vertically (she snuggles right up against me). Of course, this may not be an issue in her room since the bed will be against the wall. Thoughts?

    Thanks :)

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    She'll adapt to her bed and find her position that is most comfortable for her. Don't overthink it.

  • dilly_ny
    9 years ago

    My 11 year old has a similiar size small room. At one time, when used as a guest room, I had a queen bed in the room and it overwhelmed the space. When converting the room for everyday use, we never considered a full size bed. Twin works best.

    Because its a small space, we also wanted to maximize usefulness. We looked at Captain beds and loft beds, but nothing was appealing. After much searching, my daughter got her heart set on the Ikea "Flaxa" bed. It's really well designed for a small space, especially if you get the 3 pc. set (that comes in a thousand pieces to make headboard, bed and trundle). You can't really tell how it works from Ikea's website, but it has a pull out from the headboard that has shelves and is so handy. We first saw the bed on Living Well network, Home with Lisa Quinn. I will link to video.

    We also wanted tall dresser that maximized the 50 inches of space we had available. We wanted something taller than typical, but most wide dressers were only standard height (tall dresser tended to be narrow units). Again, Ikea to the rescue! We were able to get a 6 drawer "malm" dresser as well as a narrower 6 drawer chest (with jewelry box mirror top) that we place next to each and appears as one unit. Tons of storage. See http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/series/07468/

    Lastly, we needed a desk. This was really tough becuase now we had such limited space - and we wanted to be able to pull out the trundle on occassion without having to move the desk. We finally opted to get a wall mounted desk we saw on amazon. We just assembled it and put it up. Looks great.

    Good luck! small spaces can look great. It's all about finding pieces that work well in the space you have.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Flaxa Ikea Bed on Livewell network

  • geokid
    9 years ago

    My experience:

    My daughter and son both had twin beds. Daughter slept poorly and fell out of bed a lot so we upgraded to a full size for her. Son is seven and still has his twin. He hates big beds. My daughter's room is also square-shaped and a bit bigger than my son's so a full fits better. My son's room is shaped more like your daughter's room and I can't imagine a full-size bed in the space right now when he is young and spends so much time playing on the floor. When he is older and wishes to upgrade to a full, he won't need the floor space for play so it will work out.

    I'd start with a twin and as she gets older you can replace it with a full if needed. The twin will probably need replacing by that time anyway. And if it's still in good shape, you can store it somewhere for an extra bed for guests. My daughter's old twin captain's bed is now a large Lego table, but when we need the sleeping space, the Legos are swept off and a twin mattress put on top.

    Oh, that's another thing: in a room short on space, captain's beds with drawers are fabulous. We've tried under bed storage boxes, but nothing beats just tossing toys into the drawers, shutting them, and calling it a day.

  • imsmilng
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Tibbrex, you are so right!!!! I won't overthink it. About to do some online shopping for a quilt/comforter right now :)

  • Skie_M
    9 years ago

    Have you thought about having a pull-down bed mounted next to the wall? It would simply be a matter of reaching up and pulling the standing leg away from the wall and gently dropping it to the floor to extend the bed from the wall.

    It would save you a huge amount of space in the room for play, and would also allow you to give the child a larger bed to sleep on at night. Finally, it would also stress the importance of cleaning up their room at night!

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    lol, Imsmiling. Kids fall asleep in the oddest places and positions. She'll be fine and cozy in her bed.

  • palimpsest
    9 years ago

    Sort of related to the bed-space thing.

    A friend of mine has four kids and bought a house that is 5-6 bedrooms. (one could be a den). Two of the neighbors: one had one child, one had two) said that they were "crazy" cramming their kids into such a "small" house and that the kids would have "no privacy". Apparently in some neighborhoods, every one needs two bedrooms to themselves.

  • Bunny
    9 years ago

    No one has mentioned bunk beds? We got one for our daughter (only child) when she was about 7 and kept it until she was a senior in high school. It was perfect for sleepovers and it only takes up the floor space of a twin. If you think 4 is too young for the climbing, you can always store the top bed and just use it as a plain single. The top bunk is a great place to stash stuffed animals, etc.

  • nini804
    9 years ago

    And twin bedding is cheaper!! :)

  • alex9179
    9 years ago

    I have 3 children and they all have twins (the reg. size). My two boys even share a room in our 4 BR house! It's their choice, right now.

    I agree, floor space for playing is MUCH more important to them at a young age. My kids are 10, 9, and 6.

    I will say that they started out with larger beds. We had queens in the two rooms before they moved in and they used those along with a crib for several months. We started to purchase twins after we realized they would be staying. They have ALL appreciated the extra floor space, as their rooms are their "play rooms".

  • arcy_gw
    9 years ago

    I find other people's choices so curious. When my three were small never in a million years would we have debated this. They are small so they get a small bed. Maybe it is because I slept on my childhood twin bed until I married. ( A twin bed IS NOT too small for an adult!!!) Maybe it is because I just blindly did what my folks did--bunk beds all around!! Maybe it is like one poster put it--parents today ere on spoiling their kids? I do understand the IDEA of flexible beds for company or sleep overs..but reality was when someone came to visit the kid room is not where we put them for many reasons. Not even when the over night guests were kids!! In my house that is what the floor of the family room is for. The fact that you are debating this at all says to me you are emotionally committed to the larger bed for your child. I am guessing you do not REALLY have the room. A quandary for sure.

  • kswl2
    9 years ago

    I'm glad you are not going to try and shoehorn a larger bed into that space.

    We call them singles as opposed to twin beds, and we have three --- two in one room together (properly called "twins" because there are two) and one in another bedroom. All are for adults and I've never met an adult who did not "fit" in them. In Europe most beds are singles or doubles (full). Queens and kings are much less prevalent, perhaps because of the size differences between Americans and people in other parts of the world.

    When our children graduated from cribs they went into toddler beds that were low, with no sides, and used the crib mattress. They stayed in that bed until the next child needed it--- at least several years, before graduating to a single. They all survived :-)

  • Begonia2005
    9 years ago

    No more two cents needed, obviously - but I'll add them anyway.

    Just wanted to add another vote for a full.

    Our son's room is a bit bigger than your daughter's, perhaps11x12 or something like that, and that MAY make a big difference, I am not sure.

    We recently got him a full. Granted, he is 8, but his sister graduated directly from a crib to a full when it was time and her room is a tad smaller than his. It is probably a 10x10.
    Both also have study desks in their rooms and a bookshelf - and the beds look and feel just perfect. They are close to the wall though.

    Our son had been sleeping on a shabby ikea twin bed and knowing we were going to get a new one, he asked us, pretty please, to get him a larger one. He is a very restless sleeper and we know he wasn't getting a good nights sleep on the twin. Part of it was the crappy piece of foam ikea had passed as a mattress but part of it was also the size. We would often find him hanging half off the edge of the bed. Knowing I myself had never liked sleeping in a narrow bed, we opted for full. Not because "nothing is too much for my child" but because I prefer reducing toys and area for "floor playing" to failing to maximize sleep quality.

    I know for many it appears "wasteful" to put a small child in a larger bed; but I find the practice of constantly changing beds to fit exactly the child's growing stages even more wasteful. When bed size changes, everything changes with it; and cheap - it is not. Having had our daughter go straight from crib to a full bed we already had in the house - was absolutely perfect. The moment she was no longer in danger if she happened to fall off that bed, it was all hers. And that was at the age of 3.
    Big girl bed - woman bed, she could now be whatever she wanted to be in it - for a long time from now. :)

    We also knew that if he wasn't sleeping well in a twin now, it wasn't going to get any better later.

    He only lost very little floor play area but we don't encourage lots of toys in his room anyway. We also expect them to spend more time reading and less time on the floor, with plastic toys, as they are growing.

    Your daughter is still quite small but she will be a really big girl before you know it. And soon she might just prefer/need a wider bed, especially if she is a restless sleeper who tends to roll around.

    Then again, if the space truly feels limiting to you, you might just have to go with what the space allows.

  • imsmilng
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I love reading all the replies. Thanks!!!!! We are definitely going with the twin. My Mom reminded me that she has one; it's cute. So, we are using it. We will have to purchase the mattress and bedding but it won't be as much as an investment as originally.

    PBK has bedding that I really like but I hear that the quality is not as good. Any thoughts on other brands I should check out?

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    Land of Nod

    eBay vintage stuff

    Garnet Hill

    Company Store

  • tinam61
    9 years ago

    KSWL - "they all survived" LOL!!

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    How totally adorable, pretty, and different is this?! I LOVE this from Land of Nod:

  • theclose
    9 years ago

    Check our Serena & Lily. Love their bedding. Have it for both of my children (twin for son and crib for daughter). Great quality and frequent sales.

  • imsmilng
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I really like the big polka dots and bunnies from the Land of Nod. My lil girl would like it as well. I wonder how easily I could incorporate other pastels in the mix as her accessories are pink, green, purple.....

  • musicteacher
    9 years ago

    Think about how much easier it is for a child to make up her own bed if it is a twin. If you are considering an X long twin, right now is the time to buy sheets because they stock up for the college kids. BTW. my mom (86 and a large lady) sleeps in a twin be now.

  • tibbrix
    9 years ago

    imsmiling, how could pastels not go with that gray and pink?

    She's 4. Four year olds really aren't all that concerned, anyway, with interior design and whether colors match! Ever seen one dress herself?

  • mtnrdredux_gw
    9 years ago

    I'm smiling,

    One thing to be mindful of when using an old twin bed frame. Today's mattresses and box springs are much higher. We just went thru this. The result can look very silly and require a running jump to get into bed.
    Take some measurements, and consider a "low profile" box spring.

  • imsmilng
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    mtnrdredux, thanks for the reminder. My DH just told me today that he isn't crazy about using the bed. So, we may be getting the yellow "bird" bed that my DD likes so much and I think it's cute too. I had been planning on getting a low profile anyway but thanks for the reminder.

    If I decide to go with old bed, I could just get a new frame, right?