Or, you could purchase a metal bed frame. There are additional kits and brackets available to attach the head board and foot board to metal frame. Then the weight will not be carried by the headboard and footboard. You probably would however lose the wood that runs from headboard to footboard unless you can figure out how to attach for appearance.

That's the kind of set up I have.

Added. Some bed frames have some kind of brackets already on them. One I recently purchased did. You would most likely have to drill new holes to attach. But they don't have to be super strong since it's not to carry weight, just to keep the hb/fb from falling over.

I don't think you want to threaded nuts showing on the outside. A better choice is threaded inserts on the inside. Google threaded inserts.

Since I suspect you aren't terrifically experienced with power tools, I'm going to tell you the fix I think is best for you. The ideas from others above are valid, but can be hard to do correctly if you are at a basic level. I vote for the first part of Klem's suggestion. It looks like the existing holes and screws of that metal plate were inadequately sized. However, if you simply get the next size larger wood screw and enlarge the holes to accommodate them, you should be good. There are many kinds of screws out there, so make sure you get wood screws that look like this:

The head should be flat on the underside, the threads should be full length, and you need to make sure they are as long as possible without being so long that they break through the outer side of the board.

I would glue that unfinished short spacer block to the long rail. You should sand the back side of the rail where the spacer block goes to remove the finish before gluing. Lightly sand the face of the spacer block, too. Use yellow glue and clamps. Possibly even replace the spacer with new wood if it is split or the holes are too large to hold the new screws. Drill larger holes in the metal bracket to accommodate larger, longer screws as suggest above.

While you have the bed unassembled, I would do this at all four ends of the side rails because this is a proven point of failure.

I would be tempted to add an L-bracket or T- bracket or strut bracket to hold the pieces together, in addition to what has been recommended above.

I have almost the same problem, but my bed is crack in the joint where the bed side price go in, so the foot is cracked all the way down almost to the floor.

Eileen-

If you want advice, a picture would help....

A few bricks?

I would fill the holes in the wood portion with wood repair putty, before inserting any new screws.

I like the idea of adding a bracket to help support the weight of the side piece both underneath and where it attaches to the footboard (while you are at it, reinforce all 4 corners.)

J-B Weld is the glue product that I have found extremely useful for repairing all sorts of things and I would recommend it here.

Eileen, you mean the leg beneath the slot where the side rail hooks into the leg is split all the way to the floor? That will be difficult to repair as that is a load bearing leg. Further up in this thread, the poster was given this advice. To purchase a metal bed frame and place the mattress on it (expandable metal frames cost @ $75. Using wood glue in the cracked leg and secure it by wrapping a rope tightly around it. Wait until it dries. Then, reassemble the wooden bed frame around the metal frame and mattress. OR, You could just prop the headboard up against the wall. The mattress will hold it in place. (And it should be fine as there will be no weight resting on it. ) And put the foot board and side rails in storage. I hope this helps!

I have an issue the side rail detached from the overhead and the wood is now broken.

I thought of some bricks for now. Also the legs underneath either unscrewed or broke.

Bedsteads are one of those things where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Reserving bedstead for sleep and putting mattress on the floor for leapfrog ,jumping jacks and other extracurricular activities outside of sleeping can prevent unexpected breakdowns. CDC said an epidemic of obesity is also causing bed crashes across the country. Reinforcing frame before breakage (aka stitch in time saves nine) is easier than repairing after broken.