A mother has come up with an innovative way to keep her toddler son from falling out of bed – but some people pointed out an alarming risk after seeing the results.
Take to TikTokthe American mother — known as @leahvidaurre on the social site — posted a video demonstrating the process of making a cheap invention to keep her son from rolling out of his Montessori floor bed.
The content creator regularly posts tips and advice for her 45,000 followers and other new moms, from breastfeeding hacks to sensory play suggestions.
Leah revealed how she creates a “barrier” to keep her son from tumbling out using three pool noodles stuck together.
The video garnered over half a million likes and over 1,600 comments, with many pointing out how to hack her hack.
In the video, Leah reveals the surprising method of keeping her toddler son from falling out of bed – three pool noodles taped together to create a ‘barrier’
In the recent video, Leah was recorded going into a Dollar Tree store to buy about six brightly colored pool noodles.
She said in a voiceover, “My son keeps rolling out of bed at night. It’s a Montessori bed – oh wait, sorry, I keep getting yelled at by all the Karens online – it’s a mattress on the floor.
“Anyway, he keeps rolling out of bed at night and this interrupts his sleep. I’m up all night in fear thinking it’s going to roll, so it really just doesn’t work.’
As a solution, Leah taped three pool noodles together, creating a triangle-like shape that could be used as a bumper.
She explained, “I decided to make these pool noodle bumpers, so I went to the local dollar store and glued them into the shape of a triangle.”
The content creator then removed all sheets and bedding from the mattress to fit the bumpers on the right and left sides of the bed, leaving the bottom open.
Leah continued, “I put them on two sides. I leave one side of the bed open so he can get in and out.
“He has become very good at self-regulation. When he is tired, he crawls into bed and falls asleep. If he’s not tired, he gets out and plays.’
The content creator removes all sheets and bedding from the mattress to fit the bumpers on the right and left sides of the bed, leaving the bottom open
The mother completed the video by rolling in different directions on her son’s bed, demonstrating the successful effect of the pool noodle bumpers.
She concluded: ‘I tested them – they kept me in bed! So here’s sleeping through the night.’
Some people shared enthusiasm and gratitude in the comments for the cheap, creative tip – especially those who own a Montessori bed of their own or for their little ones to sleep in.
One user said, “This is a good idea, I’ll keep this in mind for when my son has his floor bed too,” while another wrote, “That’s actually genius.”
However, an overwhelming number of users pointed out a flaw in Leah’s idea of attaching the bumpers to a mattress placed directly on the floor – the high likelihood of mold forming underneath.
One commenter wrote, “I think it’s important to still have it elevated as a mattress with no airflow will cause mold over time.”
Another said, “You should get slats to keep it off the ground for ventilation.”
One user warned: ‘As a student I slept on a mattress on the floor. But it got moldy and I got a headache. Please consider something for some airflow underneath!’
Some people commented on the mother’s video to praise her creative idea, but the majority of users pointed out that her son’s floor mattress posed a health risk
Another agreed, writing, “As everyone else has said, please put some slats of wood or something similar to raise the mattress so it doesn’t get moldy.”
One person complimented Leah’s idea, but also offered her own advice. She said, “For little kids who walk around a lot at night, this is smart, no injuries. But would recommend a small frame underneath so it doesn’t mold.’
One lone commenter explained that pool noodle bumpers have been used similarly before in certain industries, saying, “In the nursing home industry, we’ve been making pool noodle pillows for years.”