Excitement, happiness, anticipation, nervousness…..these are all feelings that rush through a couple’s mind when they find out they are expecting their first child. Then the questions start flooding in: Will it be a boy or girl? Who will it look like? Will it be healthy? What do we need? This last question can be a bit daunting. However, similar to being newly engaged, couples find joy in planning for their new life together and begin making lists of all the things they would like to have. Couples start to research baby items, begin asking all of their friends with children what they like and dislike, and then rush out to make a baby registry.
One item that gives individuals the biggest headache is the baby crib. With the number of crib manufacturers making news over recent years for faulty and unsafe cribs, parents are spending hours upon hours in deliberation because their child’s life is in question. With prices of cribs ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars, this may be the item that couples are prepared to spend the most money on in order to guarantee their child’s safety. But with all these hours spent worrying about what crib to purchase, have expectant parents ever sat back to ask themselves: Is a crib really the best option for my child? The statistics are enough to make any parent apprehensive and it seems that every few months a different crib model is under question. Since 2007 drop-side cribs have been responsible for more than five million crib recalls in the U.S. and Canada and cribs continue to be associated with the highest child injury rates of any nursery item. Approximately 50 infants each year are killed and another 9,000 are injured in crib-related accidents in the U.S. New parents have enough to worry about without adding the stress of sleepless nights wondering if their child is safe.
Let’s put aside the horrific stats about cribs for a moment and look at their history. Early humans used to place their infants in hollowed out trees that eventually turned into rocking cradles, similar to what we know today. Once the child outgrew that (around 3 months), he was placed on a trundle bed (small mattress) that could easily be stored under where the parents slept. By the 1800’s cribs came into existence and were primarily used in North America, Europe, and Australia where families could afford homes with multi-rooms. Cribs were designed to keep the child up off the cold ground and away from drafts in these early, poorly insulated houses.
Now we will examine the specific definition of a crib: “Infant beds [cribs] are designed to restrict the baby to the bed”. This is a rather shocking statement. Is this really the hope that parents have for their child? “To restrict, to confine, to hold back, to impede, and to handicap” their child? Highly doubtful. No parent would intentionally do something to harm their child’s natural development. But if we think about it, how is it possible for the child to get into the crib? He is dependent upon the adults to place him in. How does the child get out of the crib? Again, he is dependent upon the adults and has to cry to get attention. Is this the type of behavior that parents want to instill in their child? That he has to cry to get attention? Probably not.
I think it is time to look at another option. Most Montessori teachers around the world are familiar with using a Low Bed instead of a crib and those that have tried it rave about its success. Not only is this a cheaper, safer, and unrestrictive option, it provides tremendous benefits for the child’s natural development. The low bed is simply a firm, small mattress (Approx. W: 28˝ x L: 52˝ x H: 5˝) placed on the floor in the child’s room where one might imagine a crib to go. It is fitted with rubberized flannel (in case of accidents) under a tight bottom sheet, with a blanket on top to provide the child with warmth. It is imperative for parents to prepare their child’s room if they choose to go this route. Eventually all families will have to baby-proof the entire house, so they might as well begin by making their child’s room a very safe place with a baby gate at the door if need be.
Firstly, the low bed offers the child the respect that he deserves when developing healthy sleeping habits. The child is able to wake up and fall asleep on his own, with time to explore the environment visually (without bars restricting his view). Eventually when the child is mobile, he will be able to go to bed when tired and get up when he chooses. The child will then be free to crawl off the low bed and explore a few toys that may be displayed on a low shelf. This allows the child the opportunity to be on his own, working in concentrated activity, while at the same time letting the parents sleep in peace!
The need for providing children with a low bed originated from Maria Montessori’s many years of scientific observation. She observed children from all around the world and discovered that all individuals develop in a similar manner, regardless of time, place or culture. She identified that every child was born with specific characteristics, which she termed the “Human Tendencies”. These tendencies aid the individual in coming to understand the environment in which he lives. All of the Human Tendencies (exploration, orientation, order, movement, communication, repetition, and mathematical mind) operate naturally but if a Human Tendency is not able to function properly, the individual will not be able to develop to his full potential.
The Human Tendency for exploration is fully satisfied when providing a low bed for the child instead of a crib. Human beings have a natural tendency to explore the environment and to gain knowledge from it. By allowing the child to experience his environment in this manner, he will be able to understand all of its components and will be comfortable and at ease when alone in his room. From all of this activity, the child will then become better acquainted with the world in which he lives, and will arrive at the end of this process of self-construction. If we know that the process of self-construction in the child can only take place through the exploration of the environment, then this process is crucial. The child must be able to explore the environment in order to become adapted to his place and time. The child from zero to three explores the environment through the senses, but mostly through movement. By giving the child the opportunity to experience the low bed, he will benefit immensely. Not only will the child learn to function on his own, but this exposure to his environment will aid him in the development of independence, concentration, movement, self-esteem, and decision-making, leading to a healthy, well-adjusted child later on in life.
Now please sit back and ask yourself again: Is a crib really the best option for my child? I hope to have provided you with the evidence needed to further question the use of a crib in your household. But don’t worry if you currently use a crib and not a low bed for your child. The transition is actually quite easy and cheap. Just simply return the crib but keep the mattress!
Christie Stanford is AMI trained at all three levels (Infancy, Primary, and Elementary). She is the founder of Aid to Life Education (Facebook Page), a company based in Vancouver, British Columbia that provides Montessori services to children between zero and twelve years old.
This is so right on. Our son is 3 weeks old and we are cosleeping for the first few months (before he is sleeping through the night), but we already have his floor bed ready. He will also nap in it even before sleeping at night in it. Cribs have always confused me, to be honest – unless the baby is sharing with an older sibling or is in a room that otherwise cannot be made baby-safe, I just don’t see the need.
There is a school here in Austin that serves infants through Children’s House that uses the low bed in their infant room. I am happy to say that it has inspired a few parents to make the change in their home environments too!
It’s such a lovely thing to meet the needs of the baby and also the needs of the adult, who can easily lie down with baby in his own bed.
Thanks for a wonderful article!
I’m in love with this article. I don’t really like cribs myself.
A low bed is an excellent idea for children above the age for volitional movement where SIDS is not a risk anymore, such as those above 1 year of age. Prior to that, an environment without bulky items such as a blanket are required. The roll-out risk is minimal except around the 3-5 month range where the bed itself could become a SIDS risk. At that point a restriction is necessary on the open boundaries. When the child can be trusted to fall out of bed and not suffocate on the side of the mattress, then the low bed described would be great.
[...] for yourself the next time you’re visiting Mt. Vernon: There is an adult bed and there is a ‘baby’s’ bed (not a crib; no jail bars; Montessori!) close by, just on the other side of the small room. The current baby bed has 8″ legs [...]
Great information and I will pass on to all my new mom friends. I have a few friends who rave about the low bed and a few who found it very frustrating and eventually gave up (probably went back to co-sleeping). I think if you can make this work for your family you will be doing something really worthwhile. That said, cribs have their value as my son truly loved being in his. He was very active and the visual boundaries made him relax knowing he was unable to explore physically. I have no regrets about using a crib or co-sleeping.
Michael, couldn’t one have a floor bed with a low railing like on toddler beds, one that is sufficient to keep the child from rolling out, but not nearly high enough to keep them from CHOOSING to enter and leave the bed?
My daughter slept in a bassinet by my side until 5 months old and then was in a crib for 4 months. At 9 months she would stand up, grab the bars, and cry every time she woke up in the middle of the night ( sometimes 8 times a night )…. terrible. I got well meaning advice to just “ferberize” her ( something which is against my own instincts ). Instead, I put her mattress on the floor and got rid of the crib. Slept fine ever since and would sign that she was tired and wanted to go to bed and crawl right in.
Ensuring that your child has a proper nursery is every parents worry. Between finding the right crib and making sure you have the most Modern Baby Bedding that will keep an infant comfortable and safe is the ultimate goal. Keepingintheloop.com is was one of the sites I was referred to from a neighbor after she had her second child. As a expecting mother, I was somewhat “out of the loop”, but through this site, I was able to get everything I needed for the nursery!
To Uly;
The Montessori books recommend a very slim mattress, the type used for trundle beds, so that if baby rolls, she won’t go very far. If this is a concern a couple of pillows or a soft rug can be placed next to the bed. If they are sleeping they would be comfortable here, and if they can crawl they may just crawl right back into bed. If room permits one could even get a full bed, and the baby could roll all she wanted. In any case, rolling out of a floor bed pails in comparison to falling out of a crib, when baby practices climbing!
I am wondering if there are any studies or standards regarding increased risk for floor beds? I am very interested in the idea starting at approx. 6 mos, but am concerned about the possibility of baby getting her face stuck between the mattress and wall (and suffocate) or rolling off and getting stuck between the mattress and carpet. I don’t want to get a floor bed frame, as it strikes me a more likely to cause injuries due to roll-off.
Awesome! I don’t like cribs at home, but we use them at the Montessori School nI work at now I wanna switch to floor beds!
Does anyone know where to buy these floor beds? Size? thickness? what store?
Any advice for those of us in the Southwest who have to contend with the occasional scorpion? I would love to use floor beds with any children I may have, but desert living has its own unique challenges.
What a great article! We didn’t use a crib with either of our children – before we even knew about Montessori – it just didn’t seem like the right kind of environment. It scared me to have a child trapped (not to mention the worry of crib malfunctions & recalls!) where they can’t get out if they wanted to. My babies shared the bed with us (we moved our own bed onto the floor and baby-proofed the room for safety), then moved to a bed on the floor next to ours (we used a tightly rolled blanket, like a bolster pillow against the wall so there was no worry of entrapment between wall & mattress), then into their own spaces with their beds still on the floor. They are independent, and good sleepers now at ages 3 & 6 with no sleep issues at all.
DM– We used a thin enough mattress that rolling off wasn’t going to cause any injuries. The mattress was also held firmly against the wall, and didn’t slip because it had enough of a rug/carpeting underneath it that the friction kept the mattress from moving anywhere.
I’m not aware of any studies on floor beds (I wonder if there’s even a large enough sample size in the US!) but honestly, with all the recalls on cribs this past year common sense tells me a floor bed (in a child-proofed room) can’t be any more dangerous than a crib. In fact, that’s one reason I wanted to use a floor bed to begin with– between the risk of legs and arms getting caught between the slats, and of climbing and fall out of the crib itself, I felt MUCH safer having my baby sleep on the floor!
With my third child we decided to use the floor bed. My other two children have blossomed from attending AMI montessori schools, so I wanted to implement what I could for my infant. She co-slept in co-sleeper for the first several weeks. Then, we put her on the floor bed. She goes to sleep easily. When she is tired, she lets me know. Naptimes and bedtimes are easy, unlike the long drawn out routines with my other two.
Now, my daughter is 9 months old. She is crawling. She had been very content in her floor bed. But now, she crawls out of the bed and wanders around looking for me. Her floor bed with a low shelf is set up in the sitting room of our bedroom. She has gotten into the habit of waking up to nurse, although she slept through the night before. It started with teething and colds. Sometimes, I go into the guest room, just to get some sleep. She gets very insistent if I don’t nurse her.
We have thought about moving her into the guest room, but we will be relocating in six months.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Hello! We are researching the idea of using a Montessori floor bed, as our little one is due in December. We love the idea but are concerned about how to “baby proof” the room. Does this mean zero cords on the floor or within reach? I expect so. Do you ever worry about the baby learning to remove the outlet covers? We also have hot water radiators in every room, so I am trying to figure out a way to shield it from the baby/toddler. Any advice would be tremendously appreciated.
It seemed intuitively wrong to put my baby in a crib, much less anywhere that wasn’t my bed. Now that she bigger, she has a low bed and loves having her own special space to make herself cozy and read. Thanks for the good read!
The futon shown is a SIDS risk. A child could push her face between the wall and bed and suffocate. A proper futon setup for a child has the futon well away from the wall. If you want to post a picture, please make sure it’s a happy picture of a safe arrangement.
My son is now 9 months and we started using a floor bed when he was 2. We loved it at first, but now that he is crawling he seems unable to resist the urge to crawl out of bed even when he is extremely tired. It is not that he falls down, but he can’t resist not crawling. There is a huge rubber matt underneath the mattress but it is not enough and every night for the past month I have found him sleeping on the hard floor and it breaks my heart. Any suggestions? I am about to get him a crib.
I too would love some suggestions about a wiggly crawling bubba.
Carla- You could try putting a rug down so the floor’s a bit softer for him, but he also may not mind sleeping on the hard floor… otherwise he’d probably let you know! ; )
I’m the same Jess that commented first on this article – our son is now almost 20 months old and we have been using the floor bed since he was about 6 months old. LOVE it. He decidedly was NOT sleeping through the night in our bed – waking every hour or more – and once we put him in his room he switched almost instantly to sleeping 7:30-7:30, waking once to feed around 2 AM. In the morning he chilled out for about 20 minutes playing on his own happily. By 12 months he dropped the 2AM feeding entirely as well.
The only hiccup we’ve had with the floor bed so far is around 18 months he decided to get the sads every time we left him there for the night and crawl to his door crying, where he would immediately fall asleep on the hard floor… only to wake and be angry mid-night. We solved this by dragging a crib mattress behind us as we shut the door, and now we find him sometimes on his bed and sometime on the “door mattress.” Silly boy. He still wakes himself up and moves around playing in the morning.
I have a question – has anyone tackled the multiple children on floor beds in one room question? This may become relevant for us eventually and I haven’t seen any commentary on the effect a 2-year-old would have on a baby’s sleep quality (and vice versa) when they have total mobile access to each other.
@Carla – our son also did the wiggles out of his bed. We put a rug next to it and it lasted for about a month. We didn’t really worry when we found him sleeping on it – he didn’t seem to mind, after all. After he stopped the wiggly dance, we had no troubles ’til the situation I outlined above in my previous comment at 18 months.
I have been using a floor bed for my daughter since she was 4 months old and have just posted my experience with it including a video and pictures on http://www.montessorigirl.posterous.com. I struggled with the crawling too but worked it out and she is now doing great. Check it out and good luck!
@ Jess L:
have you found anything on a toddler and an infant sleeping in the same room? on floor beds? I once read a blog about 2 infant twin girls, and they did the floor bed. Maybe, an infant and a toddler will be ok. Let me see if I can find the blog.
oh, and my son did the same thing. Times would he would crawl out fo bed and cry next to the door- pass out – and we would carry him back to his bed or we would simply leave him ( he would wake up angry- because he was tired and not in his bed ) but he learned to crawl back to into bed. Usually,this crying next to the door only happened when he was teething, sick, or something changed in his schedule.
PLEASE let us know about the 2 sleeping in 1 room =]
@ Tera Maxwell:
we had similar story. We knew it was time for our boy to use the floor bed, ( unfortunately, we started late- around 9/10 months )he was in his own room though but our worry was that we were moving in 3 months. Honestly, what I have realized about babies they adjust pretty ok. We as parents, are the ones that get freaked out over small changes. lol!
Anyways, in my opinion… I think you should try moving her into the guest room, for now, untill you move. Keep in mind it will probably take her 3- 4 weeks to adjust. Some crying, maybe even some crying next to the door or maybe she will do fine.
Which ever decision you make, make sure you and your partner stick it out, consistency is importrant to babies. Bed time routines help them out alot as well- secure / comfort.
What worked for our son, we arranged his room in same setting as his old room. So, bed location, shelves, mirror try keep them in same area at you new place.
Wish you the best. Enjoy your little one. And trust your mommy instincts… we could look for all the advice in the world but you know whats best for you child and what will work with your families lifestyle =]
Great article!
@Jess L, @Erika G: I’m interested in the multiple floor beds/toddler+infant setup too. If anyone finds anything (or has first hand experience), please post back here.
@Anna, @Jess L, @Erika G:
I don’t have any experience, so I could be off-base, but I would be concerned with an infant and toddler sleeping in the same room, about a toddler crawling into bed with the infant, and from what I’ve read, there could be risk or the toddler rolling onto the baby at night.
I don’t have any info on multiple beds with young infants, since I was a late starter, but I did start when my youngest was 11 months old and my oldest was almost 3…they had a few nights of curiosity and playing, but eventually sleep won out
After a few days, they went to bed fine in the same room…
I had no idea this was part of the Montessori philosophy! I just got rid of our crib (we never had success with it and have instead been cosleeping with our daughter). I git a 4″ high twin mattress at IKEA last week. Under $100. Anyway, I am not sure how to get her to be more comfortable at night. She is very very needy all night (wakes 5+ times always, with a record of 12). She nurses back to sleep, which I don’t mind but I thought it would get better by now (she’s 7mos). I honestly thought that once she was in her own room she would have fewer disturbances and might only wake 2-3x. Wrong! So now I go into her room and lay with her until she goes to sleep (usually she gives me nursing signs). But according to others, you just put them to bed and close the door and they’ll cry themselves to sleep? I’m confused… that feels so un-nurturing … is there some Montessori literature that could help me here? I am sooooo tired.
I had never heard of this but I like the idea of my child being able to sleep when he wants to. My son is 9 months old and has been in a crib all his life, do you think he could still transition to this? He is walking well so that might help him.
And how does this work with scheduling. What if baby is so interested that he doesn’t sleep and they need to be put in a situation where they are almost forced to calm down and relax so that they can get the sleep they need?
I have a question.
I plan on having. Second baby, their age difference will. Be of around 2 years if everything goes according to our plans.
How do you not worry about the toddler going and touching the baby, or when the baby is crawling going into the toddlers bed and bothering them?
Help please?i really. Want to do this!
I have a memory foam mattress topper. It is queen sized. I have used it off and on for my daughter since 5 months. It is big enough that she can move around without getting on the floor and is only about 2 inches thick so no worries about falling off. In the daytime she will often carry toys over to it and play, and as early as 6 months she would crawl over and lay down to nap all on her own.
Tonight i decided to take down her crib. I am so tired of her crying when i put her in it. And for 20 mins she flip flops trying to get comfy. She just turned a year old and the morning of her birthday, she woke me screaming. Her thigh was wedged between the slates. I was unable to get her out my 17 year old son and hubby were able to force her leg out.
I have a tall metal baby gate at her bedroom door.,i have secured her bookshelves to the wall. Outlets are covered by furniture or covered ( you can buy blanks at home depo ) they cover the outlets completely.
My daughter is almost 8 months. She co sleeps with us. She has always been on a schedule and puts herself to sleep, if we are not ready for bed. She loves to sleep on a blanket on the floor, when not using our bed. She has fallen asleep in her crib but doesn’t use it for bed. She has been standing since 6 months, holding on to things. All she wants to do is stand in her crib, then she finally falls and whacks her head against the bars. It’s terrible and nothing about that seems safe to me. I don’t like the crib. I have a naturpedic mattress, which is both safe and comfortable. We also use the snuza baby monitor, that attaches right to her diaper, for any issue that would cause her to stop breathing. I am all for floor sleeping. We need to baby proof our room or just move her in to hers full time. We are relocating in a few months, that will determine which direction her bed moves to. Anyway, cribs just don’t seem safe. Play pens are soft and portable, if you need to trap them in to an area for a bit, off the floor. Otherwise we use baby gates and they work great for a safe area for her to play.
On my 4th baby and as far as I am concerned all this baby sleeping in parents bed and on mattresses/blankets on the floor sounds more unsafe than a plain simple crib. I have had very happy healthy babies/kids without all this fuss. My littleone is 2 soon and still in her cot (crib)..soon I will get her a small sized bed that will grow with her. Just like her 2 sisters and 1 brother before her.
I want to transition my 19 month old to sleeping on a mattress on the floor and my question is my 6 week old sleeps in a small crib in the same room as us. What suggestions/advice do you have for how to make mattress on the floor sleeping work for two sharing the same room? Thanks!
I am a mother of three and have worked in child care for 30 years. If you have the ideal situation and the ideal child this all would be great however, this is rarely the case. I have to also say that I cannot believe that so many people still think it is a great idea to co-sleep. There have been so many articles and news stories about this being disasterous and fatal for babies. I too fell asleep at times with my children and would cat nap in a recliner with them, it is a very warm, bonding feeling but it is really not a good idea. Besides, why would you want to do this and how can the average person find the time to do this all the time? Many children will not sleep or get enough sleep if not made to. That may sound harsh but it is true. If given a choice to sleep or play how many are going to choose to sleep? The idea of a baby crawling around while the family is asleep is crazy and dangerous to me. Babies as well as toddlers do need lots of time to explore and develop physically and cognitively that is what play time is for. Thank God we don’t routinely stick our kids in playpens for hours at a time anymore for our own convenience but I do think that there is nothing wrong with giving very young children the message that we are not always going to sleep with you, we are close by if you need us and you can do this on your own. I also think it is very important to give the firm message that not everything in life is a choice and bed time is bed time. It doesn’t have to be negative but they should not be allowed to roam around while everyone else is asleep and parents need to have the time and peace of mind to be able to get things done around the house, have some personal time and time with their spouse. If you make yourself a slave to your children they will soon come to expect it and you will resent it and be worn out. Absolutely, your children come first but you have to take care of yourself also to be able to care for them. During the other times, play, sing, dance, be creative show them the joy and love you have for them in how you treat them, but that doesn’t mean you should let them do whatever, whenever they want. Although I love many of the philosophies of Montessori, this is definately not one of them
What about using a toddler bed?
“I have to also say that I cannot believe that so many people still think it is a great idea to co-sleep.”
The article does not say anything about co-sleeping with the babies, actually, it’s the opposite, it shows that low beds promote independency for the child.