Thank you for posting, Corinthian. Yes, what angers me most is when kids feel forced to sleep up there. It’s just not safe and for the life of me I can’t figure out why this has flown under the radar for so long. Well, that’s why I am a Mom on a Mission! Stay posted!!
BeeDare, do you mind me asking what university that poor girl died at?
travelerfromtx, I am glad to hear they stepped up with the rails! We had seven colleges in Georgia who didn’t even offer rails until we started our campaign! By next semester, every single campus in Georgia will have to supply rails and they have to be free of charge!
My older son (stuck in a triple) had to sleep in a lofted bed (above his desk) like that - he was terrified bc it was so high and he had to jump on the desk and radiator to try and get up there… he would get scraped up from falling on the way up (he is very clumsy) … we complained to the school- they said he had to have a medical letter to get them to do anything-
long story short we got his eye dr to write a letter (he has terrible vision) … school convened a discussion on his case and their solution was only to give him a ladder…like??? They wouldn’t allow him an un-lofted bed (it did have a rail).
He ended up sleeping with his contacts in most nights bc when he’d get in bed he didn’t have anywhere to put his glasses except to throw them on the floor…
Lofting these beds is so dangerous… too much potential for injury even with a rail and a ladder … My heart breaks beyond words for your family.
Thank you for sharing this and speaking out … next week when I take my 2nd son to school I will not allow another situation like that.
@RADRailMom , just asked my husband and he cannot remember the university where his coworker’s niece attended. Sorry.
I just did a Twitter search for the words lofted bed and brought up a ton of recent tweets by students who were getting used to a lofted bed and scared of falling.
Corinthian, I found the same thing when I searched for “bunk and loft bed safety”!
Interesting, Corinthian, in my mind I did not consider those beds at Pomona as ‘lofted’. They were somewhat higher than standard, but I think of lofted as much higher. The ones over the dressers couldn’t have more than 4 feet off the ground?
Runswimyoga, I got my S at RIT a caddy shelf to put his glasses nearby his year in the lofted bed. I think it was called a bunk buddy or something like that.
@mamabear1234 They weren’t nearly as high or dangerous as the ones over a desk. But they are certainly “lofted” in the sense that they are lifted up off a normal setting. I agree that they were probably about 4 feet off the ground. And there was certainly no realistic choice in the matter.
@mamabear1234 4 feet off the ground is certainly high enough to sustain severe injuries if one were to fall out of the bed. As a healthcare professional, I’ve seen severe injuries from lower heights .
I fell about four - five feet, give or take, when I tripped on laundry I was carrying coming up the basement stairs in my (then) newly bought house about 18 months ago . There was no railing on one side (one with cross supports has since been installed), and I tripped at the sweet spot… as high as possible where I was not high enough to brace myself on the wall slightly above, and far enough way from the railing on the other side that there was nothing to grab. So, once I realized I was going to fall, I went limp, rolled off the staircase, and fell the four - five feet. It felt farther. I was lucky that there was a milk crate on the floor where I fell, and instead of landing flat on the floor (where I think I probably would have broken my tailbone, and maybe then hit my head), I landed on the milk crate, with my lower back hitting the crate first, and the upper part of the crate hitting me at about my bra strap line, thus protecting my head from hitting the cement floor.
I was lucky that nothing was broken, and that I did not hit my head. I had about 3 weeks of debilitating pain and movement restriction. After about a month a bruise finally appeared at my bra line, and after 10 weeks a bruise appeared on my lower back (where I first hit when I fell). 18 months later the left side of my lower back is still slightly numb to the touch, because of some soft tissue damage, although MUCH better.
I WAS EXTREMELY LUCKY!!! I share this not to say… “Oh, 4- 5 feet is not a big deal,” rather to say, “I fell that distance, it was farther when falling that it may look when standing, and I was lucky, but just as easily could have NOT been lucky.” I have a friend who fell 15 feet (not off of a bed), broke back, wrists, and a leg, but miraculously made a surprisingly swift recovery (with operations and PT)… they too were EXTREMELY lucky. But, we cannot count on luck pulling us through. I suspect that for every story of luck there are multiple stories of tragedy.
Plan for the worst, expect he best. We wear helmets, seat-belts, knee pads, wrist guards, etc…
I do not know why all universities would not REQUIRE lofted/ bunk beds to have safety rails. I was looking at my university website, and it looks like the company that will sell you lofted beds does have safety rails. But, you do not have to purchase from that company, and it does not look like the university requires them for beds you loft yourself. I am going to further investigate. I advise incoming freshmen, and while I do not what to damper their enthusiasm, I would rather point out the potential danger than have one of them experience a preventable tragedy.
Thank you @RADRailMom !!!
In the early 80’s a football player rolled out of a lofted bed and died on the floor. His roommates found him the next morning. A nurse at Shepherd Spinal told me about one student that is a parapilegic due to a fall from a bunk bed. It’s just stunning that this isn’t taken more seriously.
My son has just moved into his dorm. Attached to the lofted beds was a sticker explaining that you could ask for bed rails and ladders through maintenance. His has been ordered.
Well I spoke too soon. My daughter received an email yesterday that they are out of bed rails. She will have to purchase her own.
Are there any known problems of using those 6 or 8inch" bed risers that I should be aware of?
Traveler from TX, I took this picture in a dorm on my son’s campus. As far as I know right now, you can’t just buy a safety rail somewhere unless maybe they have them for elderly people who also fall out of bed quite often!
I don’t know much about the risers. I would say to go with your gut. If it looks too high, put a rail on it.
The loft/bunk bed at my D’s dorm had rail, but certainly is not tall enough to avoid accident particularly after she added a mattress topper to it.
@runswimyoga Risers should be fine, but go with what makes you comfortable.
So moved son into U Penn Quad today- stuck in a triple (which is 3 (small!) separate rooms together)- room son was assigned to was so small - in order to have desk in it you would have to loft the bed above the desk… and of course NO RAILS AVAILABLE! They acted as if they had never even heard of rails for beds… we refused the bed and the room -(there was a huge mold problem and half of the wall was “push-in-able” and black)- luckily we were able to change rooms because of that into another room… bed didn’t even have to be put on risers…whew!
But tomorrow I am emailing them links to your website and “railing” against them for not having rails available… totally ridiculous! I will pester them with emails about it - I feel really bad for unknowing freshman that just go with what they tell them and dont know the dangers!!! Just awful - I am furious!!