I’m no expert in Montessori but I’m extremely interested and have been trying to put fold some principles in to the way we are raising our daughter.  I know, I know, you probably can’t cherry pick these things but for what it’s worth, I am and it seems to be working OK for us.  So, here’s our experience with the Montessori floor bed and how we incorporated the idea into a room that is actually quite cute.

Why a floor bed?  As my cousin (the real expert and the one I look to for advice – her blog is www.mommybahn.blogspot.com) says “a montessori infant should be able to get in and out of bed on her own power.”    A crib hampers a child from making their own decisions.  Essentially, you’ve made all the decisions for them – you put them in the crib and you take them out.  With a floor bed, they are empowered.  A double edge sword, you might say.  Nonetheless, a floor bed allows your child to begin to understand their power.

We put a single futon on the floor and placed it in the corner of the room, up against 2 walls.  I contemplated getting a floor bed frame but decided a futon on the floor would suffice.  Yes, it’s a little college for an infant.  But, for us, the frame wasn’t necessary to the principle or the design.  I must say it has far exceeded my expectations and my daughter loves loves loves it!  She sleeps soundly, hasn’t rolled off on to the floor yet (except when she intends to) and can entertain herself in the mornings quite well.  I should mention here that we close her bedroom door because her room is on the 2nd floor and ours in on the first so I can’t have her roaming about the house on her own…one reason why I cherry pick what principles we follow and what we don’t.  That said, the entire room is baby proofed.  You could, I guess, call the whole room her crib but that is getting way too technical for this mom and there are way more qualified Montessori gurus out there.  I offer this just as a real world implementation of the Montessori floor bed. Our family couldn’t be happier with this sleep solution.

UPDATE: Just to bend your ear about safe sleep, the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association has a great resource on crib (and other sleep solutions) safety.