Buy Your Little One a Dog Bed
“I have an idea; tell me if it’s bad,” a parent from our Offspring Facebook group wrote a few weeks ago. he seems to like something behind him. I really think he would like to have his own ‘couch’ in the living room. Stupid or genius? “
The answer came quickly and furiously : Genius.
Some parents are overtly relieved to find that they are not the only ones who have done this or thought about it. Others praised the convenience (cheaper than toddler furniture and machine washable).
“We did it!” A parent named Shoshanna supported this. “It was great. It was a comfortable reading nook for him, and when he outgrew his crib it turned into a wonderful floor bed. He switched to twin beds when he was 3.5 years old.”
We found further support on the Slate pages for the idea of using a dog bed as a crib for toddlers. Parenting Advice Reviewer Nicole Cliff suggested using a dog bed so that parents can get rid of the unwanted habit of sleeping together:
Put something on the floor next to the bed. Here’s where my picks diverge from the norm: I recommend the LL Bean memory foam dog bed (for larger breeds). I know. I know! But it’s great. Children love to pretend to be puppies. The beds are comfortable, close to the ground, with washable bedspreads! Most kids will love this, especially if the alternative is not “come back with us” but “you have to sleep in your room”.
Group member Whitney originally bought a dog bed to place under the windowsill, which her daughter often climbed on. “It was originally something to soften her fall … but now it has sheets and pillows in it, and she enjoys relaxing on them. We even added a smaller wigwam to her, which she also likes. “
Then came the purchase recommendation. “(If) you go to a puppy puppy store, they can be very expensive,” says Karolina. “But if you go to the Home Store, they are pretty cheap there.”
Other recommended stores included Aldi, Costco, and Ross.
The last sentence came from Winston: “Legal! And if your child doesn’t like him or he doesn’t use it, you can transfer him to an orphanage. ”
The original parent, Melissanicole Hoglund, was convinced. Less than a week later, she returned to report to the group:
“We have dog bedding. It’s a hit. He hugged us on the floor and even tucked his puppy in. The bonus is also just a good floor pillow for old ladies like me who have broken hips. We have yet to make him take a nap in it, but it’s a complete mystery to us how his teachers make him sleep outside the crib. The bed is fuzzy. It’s cold in our apartment. The guy spent half an hour watching Daniel Tiger, wrapped in a blanket. Summary: Yeah. Buy a dog bed for your little one. Call it a couch. Victory in the upbringing of children. “
One word of caution: if you do have a dog, he may decide that a bed is for him. Dogs, cats, and toddlers can get confused about what kind of furniture is theirs . Toddlers climb into a cat’s bed, dogs occupy a toddler chair (and cats assume all surfaces are theirs). This might serve as another exchange lesson, but it’s still worth a try.