How Do I Know When My Daughter Is Ready for a Toddler Rail?

All my children changed to a toddler bed somehwere in the 2nd year. In my opinion, you should wait a little longer. And even when you do change her over to a "big girl bed", you should block the entrance of her room with a child safety gate. That way she can't get up and roam around at night.

We went to a sleep specialist for our daughter. She said the #1 reason people come to see her is because they transitioned to the crib too early. Kids this age don't understand things like staying in bed until morning.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." There's nothing wrong with her being in a crib. Some kids do not make the transition to a big kid bed very easily. I think the older your daughter is the more likely you'll be able to talk her through it if she has any hesitation.

We moved our daughter to a twin bed when she was a little over two because she moved around so much. When she slept "east-west" in the crib she didn't have enough room and now she does.

Good luck!!

My kids were probably older 2 1/2 to just before 3. They showed no signs of climbing out. Had they tried climbing out I would have done it sooner. The transition to a big kid bed can sometimes make it harder to get even a good sleeper to bed. They had a tendancy especailly at first not to want to stay in bed amd to wander around and play. Naps were also harder. If they wander out of the bedroom at night it becomes a safety issue.

We had our oldest son sleeping in a toddler bed when he was about 18 months, and he did great. We moved him because he was going to be a big brother and we needed the crib for the baby. Well, he found out that he could climb into the crib, and we found him in the crib with his very very young brother... not the safest. So we put him back in the crib and just got another for the youngest one. That way, they both stay in their own beds. Oldest is now 3 years old (as of yesterday), they still share a room, and they really like to talk to each other from their cribs.

If your daughter is sleeping well and is staying in her bed, let her stay there.

My son, just turned 3 this month, is still in a crib. The only reason we might decide to take the side off is because we told him if he slept without a binky, he could have a big boy bed (I know, a little late on the binky, but he hasn't had it now in 4 days).
That being said, I think he would still be happy in his crib if we decided not to. Also, when we travel, I plan on still having him in pack N plays until he climbs out.
I know sometimes, you think it would be so cute to have them sleep in a toddler bed, but you may regret it later. There is really no going back once you take the side off.
It is comforting to me knowing that he is safe in his crib at night.

We moved our oldest when he was 2 yo b/c I was pregnant with our 2nd child. We moved our youngest when he was 18-24 months b/c he was getting too heavy for me to pick him up over the rail (my back is not in the greatest condition). If she is sleeping okay then she should be fine until she hits the cribs weight limit or she starts climbing out. There is nothing wrong with moving her at 16 months if you want to, but you may want to keep the crib up in case she doesn't transition well. When we moved our boys we put a baby gate up in their door way. It gave me the peace of mind that they couldn't go roaming around the house while we were sleeping.

God bless!

S. - Let sleeping babies lie!!! If she is still sleeping good in the crib leave her in it. Both my girls slept in their cribs til they were about 4. The yougest we moved out because she started telling people she slept in a crate (we had a new puppy that slept in a crate). So if she is happy in her crip I'd leave her. You may create problems by moving her. I'd wait until she starts climbing out of the crip. And a trick for when they first start climbing out of the crib, lower the rail. A lot of times the kids are sliding their little toes down the outside of the rail until they hit the mattress, then they stand on the mattress on the outside of the rail, swing the other leg over and hop down. If the rail is lower when they slide their toes down the rail they don't hit anything, nothing to stand on so they don't get out. Dosen't work for long, but it buys you a little more time. Good luck and God Bless.

I would wait until little girl really needs to go to a toddler bed. As long as she still has plenty of room in her crib there is really no need to make the change. My daughter potty trained at 19 months and I moved her then just in case she had to get up in the night. It was a rough transition for about 1 week since she kept wanting to get out of bed. We finally had to put the baby gate up at her door so she couldn't get out of her room. When we went to bed we'd just pick her up off the floor and put her back in bed.

My sincere advice to you is KEEP HER IN THE CRIB AS LONG AS SHE WILL ALLOW IT and it is still safe for her (i.e., she's not trying to climb out). My daughter was the best sleeper in the world. I would put her in the crib and not hear from her for 10-11 hours. It was bliss! I, like you, thought she might need to be moved to a big girl bed, so we did. We made it really exciting for her and let her pick out the bedding, etc. We soon learned it was NOT a good idea. My good little sleeper started getting up several times a night just because she could. I haven't had a good night's sleep since moving her! I keep thinking she'll grow out of it, but she hasn't and she's almost three now! So, I would strongly recommend on the change that yours might be like mine, KEEP HER IN HER CRIB as long as you can! Good luck!

JMO - Keep her in the crib until either she crawls out or you start potty training. Once you go to a toddler bed you can't go back.

I agree with the other responders to wait until she is ready. I would have kept my first in her crib until she was climbing out but we had to switch her to a twin bed with a rail because we needed a crib quickly because the baby's crib had been recalled and we had a spare twin bed. Our first did fine but she was also 2 1/2 when we did the switch. Good luck.

I would keep her in as long as possible. We have a 20 month old and he hasn't tried getting out of his crib. We moved our older son into a twin bed at 26 months (we were moving and wanted him to forget about the crib because I was prego with #2 and needed the crib--new house, new bed:)

My daughter was 19 months old when I moved her to a toddler bed because she started climbing out of her crib and onto the attached changing table. She would never climb all the way out (ie out the front) but I would find her sitting on the changing table when she didn't want to go to bed! Her crib is convertible but I didn't like the idea that she could still climb onto the changing table so we bought a smaller toddler bed. She did very well with the transition but never got out or anything. She has never roamed around since then (she's now 27 months) but we keep her room pretty dark and when she cries out for us, one of us gets her pretty quickly.

As far as I know there is no limit on ages for cribs/toddler beds. I plan on converting her crib to the full sized bed once her brother (3 months) is around 19 months and will have them sleep in the same bed as they will be sharing a room.

Good luck!

My son is 18 mon and i still have him in a crib. But my daughter was in a twin size bed at 18 mon. It all depends on the child. My daughter was climbing out of her crib so instead of the toddler bed we went right to a twin size. My son hasnt mastered or even tried to climb out yet so for now we are keeping him in the crib. Your daughter will show you when she is ready.