If your toddler no longer sleeps in a crib at home, you may have some struggles getting your toddler to sleep in a travel crib while on the road. I experienced this first hand with my own toddler. Once he moved to a bed at home, I wanted to keep his sleeping environment similar to help my toddler sleep on vacation. The two solutions I came up with for this challenge was to pack a toddler travel bed or purchase travel bed rails which allow my toddler to sleep in any bed.
If there were no travel bed bumpers to keep him safely in his bed, my toddler frequently fell out of bed. As the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends, guardrails should be used to help prevent toddlers from falling out of bed.
Portable bed rails for toddlers are an excellent lightweight option for travel to keep your toddler in his bed all night long.
Investing in inflatable bed rails for your toddler’s bed is a small, but important step you can take to improve your child’s safety. This will ensure that both you and your child sleep easier at night. Thankfully these travel bed rails for toddlers pack small and won’t be a pain to carry around!
For all of these reasons, you’ll find inflatable bed rails for toddlers on my list of must-have toddler travel gear.
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The Five Best Best Travel Bed Rails for Toddlers
Here’s a list of the 5 best portable toddler bed rails that I think you should consider before your next family vacation with your toddler:
These hiccapop inflatable bed rails are still my top pick for travel bed rails for toddlers because they solve the main problem parents have with portable bed rails for hotels. Instead of relying only on a non-slip strip, hiccapop uses a wide safety flap that tucks under the fitted sheet. Your toddler’s weight helps anchor the travel bed bumper in place, which is especially helpful for active sleepers.
Each rail is about 52" x 7" x 4.5" and weighs roughly 1 lb, so they deflate small and fit easily in a suitcase or carry-on.
I like that the removable cover is machine washable and the rails fit twin through king beds. Like any inflatable bed bumpers for toddlers, you still want to check inflation before bed and keep the rail snug against the mattress edge with no gaps. This is the easiest way I have found to create a safe travel bed guard for toddlers without packing a bulky rail.
- Non-slip safety flap anchors under sheets
- Deflates very small for travel
- Washable cover for spills and accidents
- Fits most bed sizes including hotel beds
- Includes travel bag
- Inflatables can slowly leak over time
- May need deep-pocket sheets for very thick mattresses
The Shrunks inflatable bed rails stay on my list as a strong alternative travel toddler bed rail. They are a little shorter than hiccapop at about 48" x 7" x 4", and very light, which makes them great portable bed rails for travel when you are tight on luggage space.
You slide them under any fitted sheet, and the grippy bottom helps them stay put through the night. They are BPA-free, phthalate-free, and lead-free, and recommended for kids two years and up. If you want inflatable bed bumpers for travel that are simple, quick to inflate, and easy to share between siblings or between your toddler and the bed edge, these are still a reliable choice.
- Very light and compact when deflated
- Fits under sheets on any bed size
- Grippy base helps reduce sliding
- Safe materials with clear age guidance
- Includes carry bag
- No full-width anchoring flap like hiccapop
- Inflatables can develop seam leaks over time
Delta Children inflatable bed rails are a good mid-price option for inflatable bed rails for toddlers, especially if you prefer not to inflate by mouth. This set includes a small foot pump, and the rails measure about 48" x 7" x 5" with a slightly taller profile than some travel bed rails.
They roll down to a compact size for travel, with an age recommendation of 24 months plus. I see these working well for portable bed rails for hotels where the mattress is thick or the bed feels high to a new big-kid sleeper. As always, make sure the rails sit snug under a fitted sheet and that there are no gaps along the mattress edge.
- Includes foot pump for fast inflation
- Taller 5-inch height adds confidence on high beds
- Compact roll-up storage for travel
- Mainstream brand with ASTM compliance note
- Fits most standard bed sizes
- Pump adds a bit of bulk
- Still an inflatable so leaks are possible
If you like the idea of travel bed bumpers for toddlers but do not want to worry about holes or deflating, BANBALOO is the best current foam option. These are firm foam rails about 53" long and roughly 4.7" high, so they feel similar in barrier height to inflatable bed bumpers.
They do not pack as small as inflatable travel bed rails, but they are still light enough for car trips or longer stays in rentals. I like foam rails for kids who push hard against a rail in their sleep because you are not relying on air pressure to keep the shape. Just like with any portable bed rails for travel, you want them fully under the fitted sheet so they stay tight to the mattress.
- No leak risk or re-inflation needed
- Firm foam gives steady barrier all night
- Good height for active sleepers
- Works on most bed sizes
- Easy wipe-clean surface
- Bulkier to pack than inflatable rails
- Usually best for car or checked-bag travel
For some families, inflatable bumpers are not enough and you want a true toddler bed rail travel solution. The Dream On Me Mesh Security Bed Rail is a lightweight traditional guardrail with breathable mesh and a reinforced anchor system.
It is not the most packable pick here, but it can be useful for road trips, RV travel, or longer stays where you are setting up a safe sleep space once. Dream On Me emphasizes using the anchor system correctly and keeping the rail tight to the mattress.
- Rigid guardrail feel for restless sleepers
- Breathable mesh reduces “trapped” feeling
- Anchor system helps stability
- Good for longer stays or car travel
- Bulky compared to inflatable travel bed rails
- Requires careful setup to avoid gaps
- Not for cribs or toddler mattresses
When to Pack Portable Bed Rails for Toddlers
If you are traveling with a toddler who is an active sleeper, then having inflatable travel bed rails will help keep your toddler on the bed! Especially if you’ve recently moved your toddler to a big kid bed from their crib.
Here are just a few of the times when you’ll be glad you packed your portable bed rails for travel:
1. Unfamiliar Sleep Environment
When staying in a hotel or rental apartment, the sleep environment will be new to your toddler. Your child might have trouble sleeping or move around more at night. Keep your toddler in their bed by using a toddler bed rail on each side of the bed.
2. Create a Smaller Bed
If you’ve just moved your toddler to a big kid bed, having your toddler sleep in a hotel room bed might seem huge for your toddler. You can use the inflatable bed rails under a fitted sheet to create a smaller, more familiar bed for your toddler.
3. Extra High Beds
Regardless of whether you are staying in a hotel, at grandma’s house or an Airbnb, the beds are most likely to be much higher than your toddler’s bed at home. This makes it much more dangerous for active sleepers who might fall out of bed at night. The best travel bed rails for toddlers will keep them safely on the bed.
4. Sharing a Bed
Often sharing a hotel room with a toddler means you’ll also be sharing a bed. If you buy a two-pack inflatable bed rails, then keep one bed rail between you to help keep you from getting kicked all night long!
5. Kids Sharing Beds
Kids sharing beds is a great solution, but some kids seems to be practicing gymnastics when they sleep. Using an inflatable bed rail between the kids can help keep them from waking each other up as they move around in their sleep.
Benefits of Travel Bed Rails for Toddlers
While packing inflatable bed rails for toddlers might just seems like one more thing to pack, there are some benefits of using these instead of creating makeshift bed bumpers.
Here are some of the benefits of using a portable bed rail for travel:
1. Create a Smaller Bed
These portable bed rails fit under the sheet and can be placed where you need them to create a smaller and more familiar sleeping environment for your toddler.
2. Get a Better Sleep
Using a toddler bed rail between you and your child can help you get a better sleep by keeping those little feet from kicking you all night!
3. Take up Less Room
While pillows and rolled up blankets can also work, portable toddler bed rails for travel take up less room on the bed, leaving more room for everyone.
4. Stay in Place
Again, pillows and rolled up blankets can work, but they can get easily get flattened and move around, making them less reliable and safe for your child. Inflatable bed rails have grip strips to keep them in place. The hiccapop inflatable bed rail even has a silicon-bottom safety flap extension that uses body weight to keep it in place. And because they are inflatable, the bed rails should keep their size and shape all night.
5. Keep Toddlers in the Bed
This is the most obvious reason to use a travel bed rail, but it will keep your toddler in the bed. A toddler bed rail will help everyone get a good sleep while on vacation.
Other Alternatives to Inflatable Bed Rails for Toddlers
If you aren’t interested in buying more toddler travel gear, there are other alternatives to buying portable bed rails. Some aren’t as effective, but they can work in a pinch.
Our toddler is an extremely active sleeper, so when we share a bed or have him sleep in his own bed on a family holiday, we always need to put some precautions in place. Even while sleeping in a large queen size bed on his own, he’s managed to fall out.
Here are the best options we’ve come up with – please use your own discretion before trying any of these with your own child:
When we haven’t packed our toddler travel bed, some ways we’ve kept him from falling out is by putting a rolled up blanket under the fitted sheet. The biggest issue with this option is that you don’t always have enough extra blankets available when you travel. The blankets can also get flattened over time or won’t be high enough to prevent your toddler from rolling out onto the floor.
We’ve also used pillows around him, under the fitted sheets. This can work well in hotel rooms when you may have plenty of extra pillows. The problem with this solution is the pillows can move around and they take up a lot of room when sharing a bed (either yourself or with kids sharing).
A pool noodle under the fitted sheet can be another alternative. This solution is best saved for road trips with a toddler when you have the extra space to pack a pool noodle – it’s not so good for airplane travel, when luggage space is tight.
When possible, we always move the bed up to a wall when we can so we have one safe side.
While not perfect, the above alternatives to bringing inflatable bed rails for toddlers on your family trip will work in a pinch!
Our Preferred Option for Toddler Travel Sleeping
While the above travel bed rails for toddlers are all excellent options for your family travel needs, my preferred option, especially when traveling internationally and being limited on what I can pack, is to travel with an inflatable toddler travel bed with built in bumpers. We traveled with a Shrunks inflatable travel bed for our son.
This solution gave our toddler his own space to sleep, allowing our older daughter to sleep soundly in a bed (she doesn’t move much). Sometimes we still find him on the floor from moving so much, but he rarely even wakes up when this happens!
Do you have a long haul flight for your family vacation? A toddler airplane bed will make the experience so much better for everyone!
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This post was written & edited by:
Celine Brewer is the owner of Baby Can Travel. Not only does she have years of experience traveling with babies & toddlers, but she's helped millions of new parents travel with their babies and toddlers for over a decade. In addition to writing on her baby travel blog, she has shared her expertise on traveling with a baby or toddler by contributing to articles about traveling with a baby with the Washington Post, USA Today, the Lonely Planet magazine and Pregnancy & Newborn magazine.
Celine also writes about family travel on the site FamilyCanTravel.com, which she co-owns with her husband. Being from the Canadian Rockies, she shares her passion about her home and travel to Banff National Park and area on their site TravelBanffCanada.com.