Rolling Out of Bed (Before Morning)

Photo-Drew's story

July 30, 2007

When I moved to my first big kid bed, I was simultaneously going through a phase where I would kick, toss, and roll in my sleep. More often than not, I would end up rolling right off the side of my bed. I woke up many mornings to find myself lying on the floor next to the bed. With the hard tile floor, this was, needless to say, uncomfortable and potentially dangerous if my head hit before my body.

My parents were at a loss as to how to fix the problem. Do they put their boy back into the crib and risk an emotional backlash, or let him remain in the big kid bed but risk injury when I rolled off the bed in the middle of night?

After asking around, my dad came home one day with the solution: a railing -- the type they put on the sides of hospital beds. Its bottom end curved under the mattress to keep it in place. It went in place in seconds.

He explained to me that they wanted to let me stay in my big-boy bed, but I needed the railing to keep me safe until I learned to stay still in my sleep. After a few months, it was gone, and the only time I fell out of bed after that was when I was bouncing on it and aimed wrong.