Moving to a Big Girl Bed - Jacksonville,FL

Hi! I know this sounds terrible, but my 2.5 year old is a monster! He started climbing out of his crib so we moved him to a little toddler bed with rails at about 17 months. We had to put a gate on his bedroom door because we were afraid he would roam the house! At least I always know he was safe. We actually got an extra tall gate so he couldn't climb out, and he still has it up! I hope that helps, and good luck!

I would put up a safety gate in the door to her room. I would also childproof her room so that she could not hurt herself if she does get out of bed. As a side not, a lot of children will crawl out of their beds at night and sleep on the floor. Just wanted to let you know that this is normal. I am a mom of a 2 month old, but I have worked as a nanny for many years!!

It really is not as hard as you think it is. I remember with my daughter, who was 3 years old at the time, (she never climbed out of the crib) that I needed a month or two to get her transitioned into a big girl bed. I was due with my son in a few months and I didn't want to wait too long. Well, the first night I put her in her big bed, she slept in it no problem. I did the same with my son (who was also 3 years old and also never climbed out) when I was expecting my third and he did just as well. The big tip I have for you is to start talking to her aboout it ahead of time. Make a big deal of it. For example when we bought the bed, we told them it was coming and it got them exited and they looked forward to it. Good luck.

you are not moving her to early. my daughter did the same thing at just about the same age. i found a toddler bed for her. this type of bed takes the crib mattress and puts it on a frame that is like 18 inches off the ground. she can stand up from it and not fall out. it also has a partial rail for up by the head and torso area to help keep little one in bed. also because the sheets stay the same - it's more comfortable for the little one. this lasts until they are like 4 and then they have to move to a twin bed because they are too big for the crib mattress.

when you move her, tell her she is a big girl now and doesn't need her baby bed any more. tell her how proud you are of her and how exciting it is to be a big girl. you are going to have to work at teaching her to stay in her room after you put her to bed.

if bed time is 8, you may not be able to go to bed until 9 - after you make sure she is asleep. as for wandering in the morning - if you know she gets up at 9, you may need to get up at 8:30 so you are ready for her...

i had an interesting time moving my children, but it took time and patience and they learned to love the "big kid" bed. a note of encouragement - the transition for the toddler bed to a twin bed is much easier....

M.,

I have two boys (ages 7 and 3.5), and when they started climbing out of their crib I put a rail on their big boy beds and used a child gate to keep them in their rooms should they wake up and climb out of bed to avoid having them walking all over the house. I just made sure that their bedrooms were child-safe and put some of their favorite toys in their rooms, and they would just play and entertain themselves in their rooms when they got up until I was able to get to them.

I hope this helps!

.....J.

We tried moving our 2 year old to a big bed when she was 2-2/12 and it was a nightmare. For her nap time she got out of her bed 78 times and at night she got out of her bed 142 times.... I tried it for 15 days and gave up. We put her crib back up w/ her crib tent and she slept like a baby again. She just wasn't ready. She has been ahead in all of her milestones but she just wasn't ready to switch to her big bed. She is now 3 1/2 and before the holidays we bought her a big bed and she helped pick out the bedclothes at Pottery Barn Kids and now she is doing great in her bed.

It will happen - timing is everything.

M.,

Wow lucky you for making it to two in a crib! My son started climbing out at about a year. There is no easy transition, once they know they have freedom they are going to roam. I just made sure we had special locks up high on all our outside doors and on our patio door. I kept my door open and am lucky because I hear everything and knew the minute he was up roaming around. I also made his room a safety zone, so if he wanted to get up and play in his room I knew he was safe. All sockets covered in his room, he has those low Florida house windows so I put a film that prevents the window from shattering if he hits it, special locks on his windows, fastened the dresser to the wall, nothing heavy up high in reach, etc. Of course I spent many a morning putting closthes back away!! HA. One thing I thought about doind was putting one of those beepers on his door, then if he opened it I would hear the beep beep in my room. Good luck, we all have this dilemna so know you are not alone.

Hi there,
We had to move our son when he was 20 months old b/c he broke his crib from jumping in it, we got him a toddler bed, a car one. He was fine sleeping in it if my husband or I would sit on the floor w/ him until he fell asleep in the bed. As for roming at night, we were worried too, we put the baby gate up in front of his door w/ the door opened, that he couldn't climb. It took a good week for the transitiong and the baby gate stayed for a while too. He is now 4, and sleeps in a twin bed w/ no problems! Good luck! M.

When we moved my daughter into a big girl bed at 18-19 months, we had her watch us take the crib out of her room and say "bye bye crib" and really hyped it up that she was a "big girl now". I also baby-proofed her room and put a gate up at the door so if she did get out of the bed, she wouldn't be wandering the house. We did it cold turkey and it really worked. If you keep putting her back in the crib it may be confusing. We found that cold turkey worked best for our daughter. Good luck!

Hi, I have triplets and I kept them in cribs until they were 2 because they never tried to climb out...I bought them toddler beds..They are much lower to the ground..they also have a 1/2 side rail on both sides and I pushed 1 side against wall.....plus I put a quilt next to the bed for the 1st month in case they rolled off the bed....However that being said..once you change their bed...THEY WILL COME OUT more often...The safety gate in the doorway helps some what...just make sure their room is child proof... A twin bed is too big for right now...you can get a cute toddler bed for under $75..and keep your same mattress..I got my girls the disney princess ones they love them..my son the prince however got the thomas the train bed..much more money but when he out grows it I can get most of my money back on reselling it.

My son always wanted a toy that was (of course) not in the bed...lol So at 1 year old I set up his toddler bed and it was the best thing I have ever done. I childproofed his room (bolting everything to the wall) and put up a child gate in his doorway. Now when he wakes up he plays for at least an hour before yellng for me : ) Good Luck !