Are Murphy Beds Safe for Toddlers? Which Sizes to Anchor and Which Not To

Yes, a Murphy bed is safe in a toddler's room when it is anchored the way the maker specifies and an adult is the only one who opens and closes it, and in our range the twin is the only wall bed size that needs no anchoring at all. This guide covers which sizes have to be attached, what actually goes wrong, a childproofing checklist, and a freestanding option that skips the wall entirely.

Updated November 1, 2026. Prices checked against our live product pages the same day. Anchoring notes checked September 23, 2026.

The short answer, in two rules

A Murphy bed is a large piece of furniture that moves. You would anchor a tall dresser in a toddler's room without thinking about it, and the same instinct is the right one here. What you are managing is not a freak hazard, it is ordinary furniture safety applied to something with a hinge.

• Rule one: secure it the way the manufacturer says. On our wall beds that means the double and queen are attached to the wall, and the twin does not need to be.
• Rule two: the mechanism is an adult's job, every time. The pistons make the bed light to move, which is exactly why a child should not be the one moving it.

Almost everything that goes wrong with a wall bed traces back to one of those two rules being skipped rather than to anything unusual about the design.

Which sizes have to be anchored to the wall

This is the question that decides whether a wall bed is workable in a child's room, and the answer is not the same for every size. Here is our own range, with the anchoring note from each product page and today's price.

Prices are our live Canadian prices on the day this page was updated and can change. The Olivia is sold on preorder, so check the product page for the current delivery window.

That makes the twin the practical choice for a toddler room, and it is also the choice that works if you are renting and cannot drill. Browse every size in our twin Murphy beds and double Murphy beds, or the full Murphy bed collection.

The five hazards that actually matter

Skip the generic warnings. These are the five things worth your attention, in the order they cause trouble.

1. An unsecured cabinet on a size that calls for anchoring. This is the one that matters most and it is the easiest to fix on installation day.
2. A child operating the mechanism. Pistons are strong. A bed coming down faster than a small body can get out of the way is the scenario every parent pictures, and it is prevented by rule two.
3. A blocked landing zone. Toys, books or a rug bunched in front of the cabinet can stop the frame seating properly, which leaves it resting where it should not.
4. Pinch points at the hinge. Small fingers go where the frame meets the cabinet. Keep hands clear while it moves, and never let a child stand beside the cabinet during opening or closing.
5. A loose mattress strap. Our Heidi and Wallie strap the mattress to the frame. Check the strap is tight every time you change the sheets, because a mattress that slides forward changes how the bed balances.

A childproofing checklist for a wall bed

Work through this once on installation day and then every time you change the bedding.

• Anchor the cabinet to a stud on any double or queen, using the hardware supplied.
• Test the bed through a full open and close with nobody else in the room.
• Keep the mechanism an adult job, every single time, with no exceptions for older siblings.
• Keep the landing area in front of the bed clear so nothing can stop it closing properly.
• Put the bed where the child is not tempted to climb the frame.
• If the room is shared with a baby, keep the crib well clear of the swing path.
• Check the pistons and the mattress strap on the same schedule you check anything else in that room.

Wall bed or cabinet bed for a toddler room

The choice comes down to whether you want the bed on the wall at all. A wall bed stores vertically or horizontally against the wall and gives back the most floor space. A cabinet bed is a freestanding piece of furniture that opens into a bed and needs no bracket, no stud and no drilling.

• Choose a twin wall bed when floor space is the whole point and you want the smallest footprint. The Heidi horizontal needs less vertical clearance and the Wallie vertical needs less wall width.
• Choose the cabinet bed when your real worry is a mechanism fixed to the wall above a sleeping child, or when the room may change use later. The Olivia stores a real queen mattress inside the cabinet and needs no wall mounting in any size.
• Choose a proper toddler bed or crib if your child is still at the crib stage. Neither of these beds is a crib and neither should be adapted into one.

Murphy beds in a kids room or nursery

Most families asking about this are not furnishing a nursery, they are trying to keep a small room doing two jobs, a bedroom at night and floor space during the day. That pressure is real and it is getting worse as Canadian homes get smaller, and a fold-away bed is the honest answer to it.

A few practical rules if you go ahead. Keep the mechanism an adult job. Keep the floor in front of the bed clear. Put the bed where the child is not tempted to climb the frame. And if the room is shared with a baby, keep the crib well clear of the swing path.

If two children share the room, a bunk bed is the other way to get the floor back, and it comes with its own set of rules about age and guard rails.

A Murphy bed alternative that needs no drilling

The Olivia cabinet bed opens from a hardwood cabinet into a queen bed in about 30 seconds, with no wall mounting and no drilling. It includes a tri-fold memory foam mattress and USB charging, comes in cherry, black and white, and carries a lifetime warranty on the cabinet for factory defects. For a parent whose actual worry is a bracket above a sleeping child, the freestanding design is the whole point.

It is sold on preorder at $1,999.99 in double and $2,099.99 in queen, so check the Olivia product page for the current delivery window, or browse all cabinet beds.

What we hear on the showroom floor in Kelowna

What we hear from parents in our Kelowna showroom is the same sentence over and over, some version of asking whether the thing can come down on a child. It is the first question, ahead of price and ahead of style. It is worth answering plainly rather than talking around it, which is why the anchoring table above is the part to take away.

The second question is usually about the mattress. Our wall beds take a mattress up to 8 inches thick in twin and full, and the mattress is strapped to the frame so it travels with the bed. The Olivia comes with its own mattress in the box.

What to do next

If you are weighing one of these up, the Olivia cabinet bed is the freestanding one that needs no wall anchoring, and the Murphy bed range covers the wall mounted sizes, with the twin as the no-drilling option. Every bed is covered by our 3 year warranty and 90 day home trial, and delivery anywhere in Canada is a flat rate set by your order total, from $49 to $249.

We are a Canadian company with showrooms in Kelowna, Calgary and Edmonton, so if you would rather see one before you buy it, find your nearest store. Two more reads if you are still deciding: what a Murphy bed is and how to choose one, and whether a Murphy bed is worth it.

Murphy bed safety FAQ

Are Murphy beds safe?

Yes, when the bed is installed the way the manufacturer specifies and the mechanism is kept in working order. The two things that actually cause problems are a bed that was never anchored to the wall when it needed to be, and a lifting mechanism that has been left to wear without a check. Neither is exotic and both are avoidable. Treat it the way you would treat a dresser or a bookcase in a child's room.

Are Murphy beds safe for kids?

They can be, with two conditions. A young child should not be the one opening or closing it, and the bed needs to be secured so it cannot be pulled over. Fit the room to the child rather than trusting a child to use the mechanism carefully. If your child is at the age where they climb on everything, a bed that does not mount to the wall at all removes the question.

Are Murphy beds dangerous?

The risk is not the bed being on the wall, it is a bed that is unsecured or a mechanism nobody has looked at in years. A correctly anchored Murphy bed with a working lift is a stable piece of furniture. An unsecured one is the same hazard as any tall unsecured furniture, which is why anchoring is not optional on the sizes that call for it.

Does a Murphy bed have to be attached to the wall?

It depends on the size. In our own range, twin is the only size that does not need to be anchored to the wall, on both the Heidi horizontal and the Wallie vertical. Double and queen should both be attached. The Olivia cabinet bed is the exception across the board, it is free standing and needs no wall mounting at all.

Can you put a Murphy bed in a toddler's room?

You can, and a twin is the sensible size for it because it is the one that does not require drilling into the wall. Leave the mechanism to an adult, keep the floor in front of it clear so nothing blocks the bed as it comes down, and check the hardware on the same schedule you would check anything else in that room.

Can a Murphy bed be used as a crib?

No. We do not make one and you should not adapt one. Cribs are built to their own safety standards covering slat spacing, mattress fit and drop sides, and a folding wall bed meets none of those. Use a proper crib until your child has moved into a toddler bed, then look at a Murphy or cabinet bed.

What does a twin Murphy bed cost in Canada?

Our twin wall beds start at $1,424.99 for the Heidi horizontal and $2,099.99 for the Wallie vertical. The Olivia cabinet bed, which needs no wall anchoring in any size, starts at $1,999.99 in double. Delivery is a flat rate set by your order total, from $49 to $249.

Written by Christine Ilagan. Christine is a writer from the University of Calgary who covers home and small-space living for Forward Furniture. Anchoring notes in this guide were checked against our product pages on September 23, 2026, and prices on November 1, 2026.