Traveling with kids is always a challenge, especially when there is not a safe place for them to sleep. It’s easy when they are little, but when you outgrow the portable beds, things become hard, and you have to get creative.
Up until now we’ve had a love/hate relationship with our travel bed, the Privacy Pop. The first couple of years it was great, but the more Logan became mobile, the more dangerous it became. She would get stuck in between the mattress and the tent, which was often scary. She didn’t have the strength to get herself out of that situation. Plus, if the place we were staying at didn’t have a twin mattress that we could put on the floor, we had to use an inflatable mattress. You know how those go. I will say that I like this product, it’s just not for Logan anymore.
After our last trip to Disney I swore to never use this tent again. It was too much work, and too risky for Logan. There had to be a better option.
The special needs community has really fantastic social media groups. I was scrolling though one and someone asked for travel bed suggestions. Within minutes there were over 60 responses, each having different tips and products. I read through them all, and even gave my experience on the Privacy Pop in case it would help anyone. One product caught my eye, one which I had yet to come across. This. This was our answer.
The Safe Place Travel Bed is exactly what we were looking for! This was designed by parents of a son with Angelman Syndrome, something similar to Pitt Hopkins Syndrome. They went through the same concerns and frustrations with what was available (and that didn’t cost a fortune like most special needs products), and decided to design their own. It is wonderful.
Shaped like a triangle (as Jack tells me, is the world’s strongest shape), it fits on any size bed (but, full or larger is preferred), has straps that safely secures it to the mattress, and it inflates quickly and STAYS inflated! We took it to the beach for a week and never had to add any air.
No need for an air mattress, or endless blankets and pillows to surround Logan in. It is even washable!!! And, it is quite roomy. All 5 of us fit inside, and I fit comfortably laying next to Logan. But, she strongly prefers the company of my mom, “Gussie”, who helped her to test it out and acquaint herself with it before we left.
Logan LOVED it!!!! For the first time ever she slept well all week, and even slept in most mornings! I wasn’t up worrying if she was stuck or if the mattress deflated. It was completely sturdy, even when she was kneeling and pushing on the sides. It was perfect.
Thank you Jon and Amara Smith for creating this. If more parents created more products that were of need and actually affordable, we’d all be living a little easier.
*This can be used for ANY kid! Especially when they outgrow typical travel beds. My boys loved it, and probably would’ve begged to sleep in it if it weren’t pink 😉
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