A floor bed is a mattress placed directly on the floor or low to the ground in a bedroom that has been 100 % baby-proofed. It’s often viewed as an alternative to a traditional crib.
It’s important to understand that a floor bed should not change anything about how your baby sleeps; it just provides a place for them to sleep within a bigger context of cultivating a room on their level. How your family ultimately approaches sleep will still be anchored around the routines you build, your approach to wakings, and your baby’s temperament.
Montessori beginnings
The choice between a floor bed and a traditional crib often reflects the choice between a Montessori nursery or a traditional nursery. A Montessori nursery reflects tenets of the Montessori philosophy with spaces that emphasize free movement, child-led exploration, and developmentally-appropriate opportunities for independence.
It’s not about making them independent from you. It’s about honoring more choice and movement in a room that’s supposed to be for them.
Giving your baby a floor bed allows them to access their sleep space without having to physically be picked up by you every time (when they’re capable, of course). Imagine how frustrating it would feel if your room was filled with a bed, a dresser, and a chair that towered over you! It could feel exhausting and discouraging to navigate.
It’s also not “anything goes”
Of course, they still need your support and the structure of routines even when the room has been prepared for them, but it’s much easier for them to physically succeed in these routines without the common blockers of adult-size furnishings.
Parents opt for a floor bed for various reasons:
It aligns with values of offering free movement from the start.
It eliminates the risk of climbing or falling over crib rails.
It can feel more logistically supportive to lay next to baby and roll away, eliminating the stress of crib transfers.
It aligns with values of respecting the child by designing a room centered around their current capabilities.
Curious about a floor bed? We get it; it’s definitely not mainstream … at least yet! Check out these curated reads below:
See how one Montessori family incorporates a floor bed firsthand.
Learn how to set one up from a team of Montessori experts.
Gain perspective on what sleep experts have to say about it.