Whatever your reasons for purchasing a bunk bed, it’s always important to follow practical guidelines to ensure safety, especially if your children are the ones sleeping in the bunk bed. It goes without saying that it’s possible to injure yourself on almost any type of furniture if you’re reckless, but it’s also important to note that today’s bunk beds are the safest they’ve ever been, due to improved government regulation. Children’s bunk beds have even stricter standards, which should come as a relief to many parents with boisterous children.

Bunk beds and loft beds are built with a raised design to maximize space, which means there are structural vulnerabilities and safety considerations you need to be aware of. Designing for certain features or benefits can mean tradeoffs in other areas, but as long as you keep this in mind, having a bunk bed can be almost as safe as having a regular bed. The general rule of thumb is that taller, more stacked furniture means better space optimization, but is much worse for stability (especially if you live in earthquake-prone areas). The important thing is that you carefully assess your needs and minimize your risks, so that you can enjoy your bed for as long as your family needs it.

Following these simple tips can go a long way toward ensuring your family’s safety and satisfaction:

Only buy from a dealer or furniture store that sells quality products and offers some sort of warranty or guarantee of quality

Carefully follow the written instructions when assembling your new bed.

Choose beds with rails that are higher than the mattresses, to prevent someone from falling out of bed.

Only allow children six and older to take the top bunk

If economically feasible, choose a ladder bunk over a ladder bunk to minimize tripping and increase safety.

Don’t try to put the wrong size mattress on your bunk.

If you choose a bunk bed with a ladder, make sure the gaps are too small to fit a child’s head or torso.

· Do not allow more than one person to sleep on the top bunk, no matter how small or light they are

Do not allow horseplay on or under the bed

There are other, less obvious considerations to think about when it comes to owning a bunk bed. While the biggest safety concerns are with young children, adults should also be careful, as anyone can be injured if they’re not careful. For example, one of the things that people tend to overlook is the fact that some screws can loosen over time. Even if you carefully follow all the instructions during assembly, it is worth checking them from time to time, at least to avoid unpleasant surprises. Nobody is perfect and no accident is planned. Sleepless nights of endless tossing and turning can loosen even the tightest bolts, so be sure to check them every once in a while.

Among the bunk beds, the ones with the best stability are usually the twin over full bunk beds and the full over full ones. It’s just simple physics: The wider something is at the bottom, the harder it is to shake or tip over, which is an important consideration if you live in earthquake-prone regions or share your home with active people. Of course, you shouldn’t have a twin over full bunk bed or full over full bunk bed if space is limited and your children are too young, but you can at least limit the chances of injury or tip-overs by making sure the person who sleep easier staying on the bottom bunk or getting a double over double bunk with a ladder.

In the end, there is no substitute for communication, consideration, and knowledge. Just educate your kids on proper precautions and consequences, so safety and injury are never an issue.