Tutorial: How to make a DIY Crash Pad for when your kids are BOUNCING off the walls!

We still have the weekend until preschool starts up again and Froot Loop is going crazy with cabin fever. He needed to run around and get some of his crazy energy out. I thought I’d make him a crash pad to put next to his bean bag chairs so he could jump in/on it. 

I found a cheap comforter at our local thrift store. It is similar to this one.

I recommend at least a queen size. The thicker the better. They will be jumping on it, you know. 

I had two yards of a canvas fabric like this:, only Froot Loop picked orange dots, of course. 

I forgot to take some pictures of this process because it went so quickly and I was just trying to get it done for him. I have a photo of the finished product though!

This was very easy. I made a giant pillowcase with the canvas fabric. Simply fold it with right sides together and sew the sides, leaving one short side open. Turn the last side (one of the short sides) over on itself twice (to cover the raw edge) and sew just like a normal pillowcase. You could also put a zipper on this side, and I might eventually, but for now, it’s working just fine like this. 

I wanted to be able to take the comforter out in case it got spilled on (always a possibility in this house) or peed on or puked on or whatever. Seriously… all the different fluids that could end up on this thing… 

I folded the comforter into thirds one way and then again into thirds the other way. It fit perfectly and it’s pretty thick. Thick enough to dive onto anyway. I put two beanbag chairs next to each other (like this one:). Then I put the crash pad in front of them, just slightly overlapping. This gave him a crash pad that he could fall down into, or dive into. I wouldn’t let him jump off any furniture onto it or anything, but he could jump from the floor onto it. Just use your judgement and be careful. 

Enjoy! 

How do your kids get their energy out?