wagonwheel

Kind of a silly question, but it is travel related. Have a room at the Alden Beach Resort in St. Pete's booked for April. Unfortunatley, only room left has a king bed and pull out couch in the living room. Hubby is a big guy, 6'4, and I don't think the both of us will be comfortable on the pullout.
Something is picking at the back of my mind that pullouts aren't safe for small children. ( ours is 3 ). Asked for a cot, but they don't have them. Any suggestions ? Thanks

GoTravel

I imagine if they were unsafe for children they wouldn't be on the market.

Liability and all you know.

rapunzll

If you are really concerned (and I don't think you need to be) don't pull it out. Just let your chld sleep on the couch. I usually take the seat cushions though and put them in the gap between the mattress and the back of the couch. Or are you worried that the sofa sleeper will fold up easily with so little weight on it? I've never known that to be a problem.

padams421

Our boys have slept on pull out couches many times-never had a problem. They don't fold up easily.

wagonwheel

Thanks. I have never slept on one, and it's good to know they can't fold up easily. I need to stop worrying so much...it is a vacation after all !

Patrick

What funny memories this brings back. Growing up in the 50's we had an early sleeper sofa in our den. It was different than today's versions. You had to lift on the continuous seat part and unlatch, then lift and pull forward. The back would then go down. You slept on in lengthwise and there was a big crack up the center where the back and the seat met. Our favorite thing to do as kids was to unlatch it and bounce until it gave way, snapping up and trapping us inside it. So much fun. And about as dangerous as playing with an abandoned refrigerator!

Those things were banned years ago. I can't imagine how today's versions could be any more unsafe that 90% or all furniture your kids come in contact with.

TxTravelPro

I would say that the biggest danger is how grungy those pull outs can be.
Sometimes the sheets are left on for months and no one checks to see if they were used!

Kath

Oh my gosh Patrick, your story made me laugh. It reminds me of one of our favorite games ... we'd take turns wrapping each other up like a burrito in a foam sleeper mattress and tie a rope around it. The the others would take turns pushing the burrito from side to side. With your arms tied to your side, if someone missed, you'd better hope you missed that coffee table. Was that fun or what?

Ryan

Our 3 year old son slept on a pullout on our recent vacation in Mexico. While probably not the most comfortable place for an adult to sleep, he slept fine. The one "safety" problem might come from the gap between the back of the couch and the bed when you unfold it. However, that is easily alleviated by simply putting the back cushions in their usual place once the bed is taken out.

ahhnold

How did we survive our childhoods. Pretty soon they will ban bathtubs since this is a major cause of injury. Massachusetts is pushing legislation thru now to make helmets mandatory while sleding.

To answer the question, they will be fine in pullout couch. Stick a pillow in the voids if it makes you feel better.

jlm_mi

ahhnold - While I know of no reason that a pull-out couch is fine, safety issues are real. The honest answer to your question is that we didn't all survive to adulthood. Hopefully childhood death due to accidents is lower today than it was in the past. I have no statistics, but I'd be willing to wager that it's true.

buttercup

You might want to bring a sleeping bag for your little one - not for safety reasons, but because you will not be able to stay up in the living room after he goes to bed.

We tried a similar arrangement once when our oldest was about two. She ended up sleeping in a sleeping bag in our room so we could stay up - then when we went to bed, my husband carried her, bag and all, to the foldout.

ahhnold

jlm...Direct that to the rest of the posters here who agree with me. For once, most posters here agree with me.

My other comments were sarcastic in nature. Any parent that follows all the safety regulations with their children has said the same thing at one time or another.

jlm_mi

Actually, ahhnold, I agree with you too, but had a typo in my post. I meant to say that I know of no reason that pull-out sofas are unsafe. I would let my kid use them.

I was just pointing out that caring about safety precautions isn't some fanatical concept - they really make a difference!

Ryan

Ahhnold,
I'm surprised by you. Clearly you've forgetten the very important lessons taught by noted Economist Milton Friedman - a person who Reagan often cited.

Government, as Friedman noted, needs to take a more business oriented approach by using cost-benefit analysis.

Incremental cost of helmets for children from a law requiring them for sledding - Minimal. Most kids have bicycle helmets anyway.

Cost of Medical Care when head trauma occurs - significantly more than minimal as sleds can reach 30 to 50 miles an hour.

Honestly, if you're going to say we spend to much as a society on medical care, than what you need to do is find "easy" avenues to reduce the incidences requiring care and utilization rates of expensive tests.

ahhnold

An easy way to reduce cost of medical care due to sledding injury is to use one's brain. Do not sled near a granite wall. Do not sled on ice.

I'm not saying safety measures are not needed, but there is no denying that common sense must first play a role to prevent them.

Ryan

I don't disagree that common sense is needed. However, if you've ever been to Disney, Vegas, or New Orleans and gotten an up close view of the average American, you'd realize why we sometimes need the government to protect us.

Google "John Smoltz iron shirt" sometime and you'll find out why you need a label that says "Do not iron clothes while wearing them."

ahhnold

Are you sure "we" need the government to protect us? Do you really think the government telling people to make sure the lawn mower is "off" before removing the blade will make a difference?

The people that need those instructions not only will not follow them, but will end up injuring themselves in some idiotic way anyway. Far cry between wearing a helmet and taking off your shirt before ironing.

wanderluster

Ryan, LOL. Sad, but true.

Tandoori_Girl

Wagonwheel, whenever i've had a pull-out, the staff will come in and open it up for me. Check out what they do when they do that. Make sure you know of any safety features because in the AM you might not want to wait for them. Or you might have instances where you want to open it to use it and not want to wait for them.

But all in all, they are just folding beds, not the problem that barcaloungers seem to be (no offense intended to any barcalounger patrons or makers).