Everything You Need to Know About Montessori Floor Beds

If you’re a modern mum or dad, chances are you’ve heard of the widely beloved Montessori floor bed. With many stating these children’s beds help little ones grow into independent and confident toddlers, we’ve pulled together everything you need to know about Montessori floor beds.

From what they are to their benefits, safety considerations and what ages these beds are most suitable for, this blog will demystify this popular kids’ sleeping station and have your mini me sleeping soundly, exploring freely and learning greatly in no time at all!

What is a Montessori floor bed?

Put simply, a Montessori bed is a children’s bed which consists of a mattress on the floor with no restrictive railings around its frame. Inspired by the ‘Montessori Method’ work of Dr. Maria Montessori, this bedtime set up is designed to encourage children to get in and out of bed independently, giving them the freedom to move and learn as they navigate their own space. 

No restrictive railings or risk of any nasty falls and bumps for mini nighttime adventurers, just safe and comfortable space to roam, sleep and discover.

What are the benefits of a Montessori floor bed?

Freedom of Movement

We’ve all seen the night-cam videos of little explorers desperate to clamber out of their cribs and explore. With Montessori floor beds, children have the freedom to move about their surroundings as they please, helping them to become more independent as they discover the space around them. As well as this, floor beds have been shown to support infants’ gross motor skills and their awareness of their body within space is enhanced.

Unrestricted Views

The thought of a life behind bars is a rather bleak one no matter the context, so why not liberate your child of railing-obstructed views? Montessori fans love the fact that their babies can see their whole room with no restrictions, advocating that this encourages their sense of curiosity and helps them to start making their own observations at an earlier age.

Learning and Development

Key to the Montessori method is allowing small children to make decisions for themselves and develop sleep independence. Rather than being dependent on waiting for their parents to pick them up from their crib to start their day, floor beds allow little ones to get up and decide what they want to do independently. Dr. Montessori suggests that this allows kids to learn more quickly, become more confident when making decisions and develop practical life skills (such as making their bed or dressing themselves) from an earlier age.

Safety

When implemented correctly and sensibly, Montessori floor beds are an incredibly safe sleeping option for young children. Being so close to the floor eliminates almost all chances of your baby hurting themselves from falling out of bed when compared to a raised crib. 

However, there are steps you must take to ensure the floor bed and surrounding bedroom is as safe as possible for your child, given that they have the freedom to explore. These safety steps include but are not limited to:

• Placing floor beds away from walls and other furniture, with lots of space around the mattress, to ensure your child does not become trapped if they roll while sleeping.
• Placing a soft rug around the floor bed to cushion any rolls out of bed.
• Safety-proofing the room by covering electrical plug sockets, securing any furniture to the walls, removing any small choking hazards, unnecessary bedding that a small child could become entangled within and potentially dangerous toys. 

What ages do Montessori floor beds suit best?

There’s no hard and fast age rule for when’s best to introduce your child to a floor bed. While some recommend ages as young as five to ten months when children begin to sit up and independently support their own bodies, many others suggest transitioning your child from a cot or crib to a Montessori floor bed sometime between the ages of one and three years old.

Introducing your child to a floor bed before the age of one appeals to many parents as they can skip the crib stage completely and segway any adjustment teething issues an older toddler may have adjusting to a floor bed further down the line – just ensure you do the research to be certain all safeguarding concerns have been catered to for babies so young. However, for parents who opt to wait a little longer until their baby has passed their first birthday before transitioning to a Montessori bed, those teething issues won’t last long – only a matter of days perhaps! And you could even try having your child take a few naps on the floor bed first before progressing to regular nighttime sleep, making the adjustment from crib to Montessori feel more natural and gradual.

Like with most things when it comes to raising your little ones, it all boils down to what you feel most comfortable with! All that matters is that your child is getting a safe, sound and restful night’s sleep.

Looking for more children’s bed inspiration?

Say no more – we’ve got the perfect snuggle station for your little one. Explore our incredible selection of children’s beds, from bunk beds to mid-sleepers and more.