Overnight stay for grandchildren

Oh and by the way DH there's another bed in the back room for you

sluttygran same here " you said I could sleep with you granny" comes to mind. Who can resist the love of a cuddly 6yrs old grandson.

Terribull - the CD player is a good idea. We usually have a pleasant day when our two little ones are doing an overnighter but come bed time it all turns into a nightmare. I put it down to them not being used to our bath, story, bed routine. I'll try the CD. I've found that having the radio playing quietly on Radio 4 (yes!) whilst the DGD are doing art or craft work at the table helps their concentration and even promotes a little education, as in 'Grandma, who's Boris?'

Regarding bunk beds, my son fell from the top bunk when he was seven and broke his arm, so I'd be wary of them for little ones.

You are all such efficient grans!

My DGD age 2 stays with me and always brings her travel cot, special blanket and her favourite cuddly toys.
The reality is always: "Not sleep in cot - wanna sleep in Nanna bed!".

Guess who wins every time?

Make sure they have their special blanket or soft toy. Aside from the bed issue, I bought a cd player and have a number of favourite children's story cds which I think help lull mine off to sleep.

My DD had bunk beds for a couple of years and I always hated making them up even though I was much younger then.

Wilkos sell blow up beds too; it is always a good idea to put a blanket or fleece on them under the bottom sheet especially in the winter.

Otherwise, it might be worth investing in a cheapish but good single bed, or one of those fold-up beds if you need to put it away when they're not staying.

Bunk beds are great until someone is sick on the top bunk! I remember having to climb up onto the bunk to clean up after my young son in the middle of the night - very tricky.

It's not the falling out so much as them being injured playing on them.

Never had one fall out of the top bunk yet, but have had them roll out of the bottom one

Bunk beds should not be used by children under 6 RSPA says . I remember falling out of bunk beds in a caravan when I was 10 while fast asleep.

We bought a good, steel-framed bunk bed from IKEA for less that £100. It's stood the test of time and has good guard rails on the top bunk.

One of ours rejects the (very comfortable) bed and sleeps on the floor! When we had a larger house we had one of those tall blow up beds in one room for both adults and children, very comfortable and competition who would use it.

Aldi have excellent blow up beds £20 which i can even fit into if i curl up a bit, (5 ft 1") so they would last. Or try freecycle, where things are given away. we have given a lot away but also picked up a pushchair and other childrens stuff too, so its a win win thing. Perhaps the parents could sort something out. Good luck and enjoy them.

Great ideas, thank you ladies, this is what I love about Gransnet.

We bought bunk beds which they love. The GDs were 2 and 4 when they first stayed. We all enjoy it.

My 3 year old GD has a blow up Thomas bed that has been used in all sorts of places. It is ideal as there is no danger of her falling out of bed.

When my DGC were small they slept on fold out futons on the floor which were very useful. I put old duvets on top of them to add a bit of softness. Got them from here:

www.futoncompany.co.uk/sleepover.html

I have two inflatable beds for my twin grandsons. They were from Argos and are called Readybed children's size. I bought one a few years ago for their older brother and bought the second last year. The first was better quality in my opinion as it was covered in a reasonable quality cotton. The newer one is polyester? but is OK for a few nights. You can remove the covers for washing.

We just had our 3yr old grandson stay for a week and he happily slept on the floor on a blow up bed from Tesco it was £5 we already had a pump and he thought it was great fun . Mum and Dad slept on the single trundle beds in the same room he thought he had the best bed in the house

Mildred you can get them at Argos I know my daughter as used one for her 4yr old when visiting friends

What about kids travel blow up bed they do them with characters on don't know proper name they are shaped up at sides