Crib 2 Bed Transition

Hi C.,
You have got to get that little guy into his bed, it only takes 1 time for him to slip and fall and break his little neck climbing out of the crib, 1 time is all it takes, you don't want to risk it another day. I don't mean to be dramatic, but do it now! Put the crib away! We know it's going to be tough, but you've got to do it.

We moved our son into his bed right about the time he was 2. He climbed out once and that was it for me, I went out an got a twin mattress and rail that very day. We were fortunate that I think he was just a little scared to get out of bed once we tucked him in, so he stayed put, sometimes there was a lot of screaming and crying, but he stayed in bed, and now he's a pro.
Use your evening routine, if you don't have one - start one...dinner, bath, play, story, snuggle...what ever works, he'll get the idea in time as long as your consistent.

Naptime was a different story, when he was in the crib, I just put him down at naptime and he eventually went to sleep - that didn't work with the bed. So now when naptime rolls around he gets to pick out a movie and curls up on the couch with his blankie and is usually asleep in less than 10 mins and move him to his room so we don't disturb him.

Good Luck!

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We moved our son to a twin bed this past Thanksgiving. He was almost 2 1/2. He didn't climb out, but he was just to big to be in a crib anymore. I didn't see the point in a toddler bed. We just moved him directly to a twin. But be prepared. You no longer have the security of the crib. He can now wonder all over his room and not go to sleep. For us that wasn't a problem, as long as he stayed in his room. For a while he came out so we put a gate in his doorway to keep him in his room. He has to stay in his room...the lights are out and his music is on but he has to stay in his room. The toddler bed thing is o.k. but I couldn't see spending the money to buy one, even though their not that expensive. We inherited a twin bed from my sister in law and all we had to do was buy a mattress. Plus we found out shortly after that that I has pregnant again and we don't need 2 crib mattresses. We made a big deal about switching him to a twin bed. We repainted his room and gave his room a total make over. He was so excited.

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I have a 2 1/2 yr old we transitioned a few months ago from her crib to a toddler bed since she has a new baby brother. But the only reason we bought a toddler bed instead of a twin is because we have no space in our apt. She gave us a hard time a the first few days, but she got used to it. We just continued with her routine and there are days when she can put herself to bed. She used to fall out of bed, but we just threw a think blanket and pillows on the floor so she would not hurt herself. I think a twin with a detachable guard rail is fine.

One perk about this bed is that she can get out of her bed on her own in the morning. We trained her to get her own bottle in the morning since she can open the refrig now and turn the TV to watch a show on her little couch. She comes and asks me every morning if she can watch tv and on days when she is not allowed to watch tv, she still gets her milk and lies down on her couch. My husband and I can get an extra hour or half hour of sleep. Just childproof your home in case your child does have a tendency to wander. Lucky for us, ours doesn't.

A.

I moved my 2 year old into a bed (with a rail) a few months ago. He transitioned just fine. He loooves being a big boy. I also put up the baby gate. Yes, broke that sucker out again, so that he doesn't get into any dangerous trouble while we're asleep.

The important thing is to keep that night time ritual. Read books, sing songs, the whole nine. It is a HUGE deal. It was for me at least. And, it has worked out flawlessly.

Good luck! Also helps to get him the latest cool character decor. A Thomas the Train bed set or what have you. Have fun!!!

We've been having the same issues with my 2 1/2 year old son. He also can climb out of the crib, until we bought a crib tent. He now stays in safely. We are going to try to put him in a bed soon too, but he is extremely high energy also, and I fear he will run around all night. Try the crib tent for now, and wait a few more months until you try the bed. Remember, even with rails, he can get out.

C., my daughter is bnow three years old and in a twin bed. However at 18months we moved her to a todler bed because she was getting out of her crib. We chose the toddler bed because it allowed her to get in and out without the worry of a major spill. So we just put a baby gate in her doorway for when she did get out of bed. Another option for you might be what a friend of mine did with her daughter who is just turning three. At babies r us she found what i call a tent..... it attached to the crib and zippered open and closed from the outside. this keeps her little girl in her crib, but if your son is anything like my daughter he will figure out how to unzip even from the inside. Like i said this was an option tht has worked wonders for her. Good luck with that decision. Sounds like you are getting very good advice about that night time ritual.

that is avery good question, I personally would recommend the toddler bed. They are very inexpensive and they have the rails that prevent them from rolling out of bed. My daughters bed ( she's 3) had removable rails so when she didn't need them anymore I just took them off. It was also a good way for her to learn that you can get hurt jumping on the bed without her having to fall very far :).

When my daughter was two I ran into the same problem. She no longer wanted to stay in the crib. I was worried about the size of a regular twin bed and I felt that buying a toddler bed was a waste since she would soon outgrow it. My solution was to buy a trundle bed. You can get the entire bed which has a regular size bed ontop with a roll out trundle under neath it. However, I was able to find just the roll out part. The metal frame held a twin size mattress just a couple of inches off of the floor so it was the perfect size for her. I sat it against the wall and put some pillows across the back so she had a sitting area during the day and then the bed at night. She could sit on the mattress and her legs could still easily reach the floor. Also, since it was a twin size bed it lasted her a longer time than a toddler bed would have. She loved having a big girl bed and I loved not having to worry about her getting in or out.
My sister approached it in a different way, she got the twin size mattress and just sat it on the floor until her son was a little bigger and she felt he could safely get into and out of it while on the frame.

Hello my name is K. and I have a very energized boy also only he's 4yrs.old now and we went right from a crib to a toddler bed right after he turned 2.He was also climbing out of his crib he like the twin bed because he had more room but he also had a rail.Just to let u know it wasn't long before he figured out how to get around by he never fell out it.Good luck and I hope this helps some.

My daughter was 2 1/2 yr when we bought her a twin size bed. we did not get a frame, just the box spring and bed. we put it up against the wall and got a rail for the open end. I feel toddler beds are a wast of money. You are not able to sleep in his bed if he has a bad dream. My kid did not sleep in the bed right away, took her a month to sleep in the bed. Good luck.

hi, i'm not quite in the transition that you're in, but my friend has a child that's a 1 yr older than my child. she has had her son in a bed for 6 months or more now (he just turned 2 this month). she said that it was really easy, but she didn't put him in a 'normal' twin size bed. she bought him one of those racecar beds, and he loves it! the only thing i can suggest is to get him one of those kinds of beds. they are closer to the floor then the 'normal' twin beds, so if he falls, it's only a small fall, and won't get hurt. the issue for her was that if he woke up in the middle of the night, she didn't want him roaming the house while she was sleeping, so they put a gate up so he's not locked in his room with the door shut (which is dangerous) but he can still see out, while being kept in. she said that it was pretty easy, only took a couple days to get him used to the new bed....try that, maybe it will work.

Hi C.,

There is no real answer to the bed question. I think you should go by his size. My son was always very tall. But we did get him the toddler bed. And I think he was in it two months. so if you think he will not be scared in the twin bed go ahead and put him in it, just get yourself a good gate for the door. We also did not put a box spring in the frame so he is not to far off the ground. My son is also very active so the gate makes me feel safe. And make a big deal out of it they love it. It makes them feel so grown up and proud of themselves.

Good luck. For me this was always an exciting time for them to realize how much they are becoming big kids.

H. C

We moved my daughter to a twin bed before her second birthday because we had another baby on the way and we were moving; when we got to the new apartment, she got her new bed. For the first year or so we just put the mattress on the floor, and she did fine with the transition. When my son was ready for a bed, we tried a todder bed, but he refused to get in it, so it was a twin for him too. They both did great--bed rail of course. Good luck!

I started the bed transition with my 2 year old last week. I was going to do it in a couple more weeks but she decided to forfit the crib earlier than that. She is also a very (very) high energy kid. Right now she is using her crib mattress right on the floor since her new twin bed is being delivered Friday. I had a hand me down toddler bed which I started to set up and than just decided to toss it out. The girl is a bed hog and flails herself around all night, it's less likely she'll fall out of a twin bed that has more room. Like other moms said, be prepared for his new independance to get up and wander. I'm not able to put a baby gate at the top of my stairs (no walls), so I have one set up in her bedroom doorway. At first I thought maybe that was a horrible thing to do (like caging an animal) until she went on an overnight and I say my aunt do the same thing, she had done that with her kids. I highly recommend doing this. Also remember to triple check that the room is baby-proof. I thought mine was till I walked in to my daughter sitting on top her dresser looking in the mirror (which we never screwed in)!!

Beware of commercialization, we don't need everything they make us believe is needed to raise a kid. I would recommend you check out the bed rail by Safety 1st. Walmart will have it on their website (and stores). Good luck. Don't get suckered into a toddler bed, a twin bed will save you money in the long run.