The One Thing We Didn’t Know At College Check-In That Almost Killed Our Son

A College Bunk Bed/Loft Bed Safety Rail Can Save Your Child’s Life

Like most college parents, we were so excited to drop our son off at college and see him live his dream of pursuing his degree at Georgia Tech. When we saw the loft bed, we felt that protective twinge. “Shouldn’t this bed have a safety rail?” But, we shrugged it off, not wanting to be THOSE parents; the dreaded helicopter parents. After all, our son Clark had slept a whole year in an upper bunk in the residence hall without incident. So we walked away and left the fraternity house with the vision of that bed still in our minds. Four months later, in the middle of the night, our son rolled over in his sleep and onto the hard floor almost seven feet below. He fractured his skull, which led to a brain bleed, a stroke, and hearing a surgeon tell us that our kid might die during brain surgery.

Are we trying to scare you? No, well maybe a little. We are really just trying to let you know what you don’t know. Yes, bunk and loft bed falls are common. Yes, the colleges know the risks but choose to let your 18-year-old make a decision they not only won’t even know to make, but one that their brain probably isn’t even capable of recognizing yet. Trust your gut. Get the safety rail. Protect your kid. That doesn’t make you a helicopter parent. It makes you a smart parent who learned from another family’s tragedy.