Seeking Feedback on Toddler Beds

I am amazed at all the responses which say that their kids were in cribs till age two or three!! Both my kids must be part chimpanzee because by the time they were 18 months old (16 months for my daughter, but she started walking at 10 months) they were both climbing out of the crib! I had to put the crib matress down to its lowest setting and drop the crib side down completely, otherwise they would have been climbing down from 3' heights.

Both kids went straight to twin beds from their cribs; my son's was a twin mattress on the floor at first but after about six months we had the box spring under the mattress. Toddler beds are cute if you have the extra $$ to spend, but the twin bed is useful a lot longer.

Hi J.,

A toddler bed is the same size as a crib (uses the same matress) so it really isn't an issue of being the right or wrong size. I moved my son to a toddler bed when he started climbing out of his crib (2ish). Now (3) he sleeps in a twin bed.

If you can hold off until she's big enough to get in and out of a twin, I'd wait. As long as she's happy in a crib, why mess with it... plus you can avoid buying a bed she'll only use for a short time?

T.

my daughter was 18 months when we moved her. We got a toddler bed and put it in her room with her crib. That way she was able to play with it and text it out. We had her sleep in her crib for a night or two with the toddler bed in there with her. then moved her to the toddler bed with the crib still there. then took the crib out and she did fine.

I went through the same quandry with my son. He never tried to crawl out of his crib, and is a great sleeper. I finally moved him to a big boy bed (he's now 3 years old!) because I am expecting another baby and need the crib.
I bought a toddler bed, and found it to be a waste of money. I have now bought him a bedroom set with "cool" sheets that he is thrilled with.
I know that there are reasons to move kids like if they are climbing out f the crib etc., but if your daughter is doing fine, what's the hurry?

Hi J.! We bought the same bed from Babys r Us for our son a couple of months before he turned three. We kept him in the crib for so long because he wasn't climbing out and slept well in it for naps and night time. If you have a great routine with your daughter in the crib and she has not tried to climb out, I would wait on the toddler bed. The mattress is the same size in each bed, so it was really just a safety issue for me. I felt if my son wasn't climbing out of the crib and hurting himself, I would keep the crib. By age three seems appropriate to get a toddler bed or twin. My son turns 5 at the end of this month and he just went from toddler bed to twin this christmas. Good luck!

Why fix what isn't broken? I would say it's time to ditch the crib when your routine quits working, or when she starts climbing out. Full-sized cribs are actually called "5-year" cribs, so the timing is totally up to you. Me, I have 2 kids under 2 and a crib just didn't mesh with how we do things, so I gave it away, but everyone's different.

The advice of "wait until she asks for it" is right on.

After success sleeping in a real bed in a hotel for a few nights (and naps) and the joy of being woken up (at the right time) with a big "HI!" instead of crying to be let out of his crib, we converted the crib to a toddler bed.

At first our 21 mos son was very happy with it. He loved climbing in and out. He went to bed without a problem and slept through the night. Three problems showed up pretty soon. 1) He started waking up at 5 AM and getting really upset when we put him back in his bed. Resulting in his staying in his room crying until we came and got him every morning. (less sleep for all and no HI). 2) He couldn't stay in bed long enough to fall asleep for naps. 3) We put up a pack-n-play for nap and given the choice between the pack-n-play and his bed he chooses the pack-n-play almost every night. It isn't as comfortable as his regular mattress and he is tired all the time.

It has been about a month, and we have decided that he is just not ready and are putting the crib back together so that all 3 of us can sleep. It has been difficult and having given him the big boy bed, we really don't want to take it back. We wanted to empower him to make a choice, but that can't interfere with the ultimate goal of getting enough sleep.

Hi J.,
Here are my thoughts:
1. check your crib to see if it converts
2. think about price on toddler vs twin. You may want to only purchase once and in that case go with a twin
3. consider waiting until she needs to move such as she is climbing out of the crib or it is too small

My twins girls are 34 months and both still sleep in their own crib. Once they start climbing out or get too long is when we are moving to twin beds. We will start with the twin mattress on the floor and when rolling out is not a problem, them we will put the frame in.

Good luck.

Don't change a thing till you have too!!!

I had a great sleeper until I moved her to a big girl's bed. My daughter would go to sleep easily, and happily read her books and play in her bed. I was excited to get her a big girl's bed. We did it at age 3. Now she doesn't nap and won't stay in her room. I went from bragging about our bedtime routine to dreading it. My 2 year old is staying in her crib until she climbs out!

Hi J.,
I am a HUGE fan of Dr. Marc Weissbluth,(he wrote Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child) for all sleep related things. He has a few things to say about the transition to a toddler bed. First he suggests waiting until they are older and ask for it, maybe around 3 or so. The problem with moving them too early is they have no concept of the imaginary boundaries of a regular bed until around 3 or so. At around 3 yrs old they are also able to understand sleep rules and you will have an easier time keeping her in bed. My thought is this, if she is happy and sleeping well in her crib, don't change. My daughter is 3 1/2 yrs old and still sleeps in her crib. She has just recently started talking about a "big girl bed" and I have already started laying the ground work on what I expect from her when she gets her new bed in a few months. I will buy the extra long safety rail to act as a reminder too. My advice is to not get into a hurry, my best friend did the switch at about 2 and has regretted it since as her daughter (now 6) hasn't slept through the night since.
Sincerely,
L.

PS If she starts climbing out, buy a crib tent.

If/when you do go with a twin bed on a frame, you can put the crib mattress on the floor beside/under it. We use ours like a trundle. When we read to my daughter at night (she'll be 7 next week) we can sit on the mattress and be higher up and more comfortable. During the day, if we want, we just push it under the bed and it's gone. We've also been able to use it for the occasional sleepover, but her friends are really getting too big for it. :)

You know the old saying, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.' Well, I think htis applies quite well to your situation. Your daughter is sleeping well & has a good nighttime routine so why take the chance of messing w/it? If she's not climbing outa the crib, then leave her in it. Our oldest son was in his crib til his 3rd b-day & never once attempted to climbed outa that crib. In fact, he was getting so heavy to hoist into the crib that I was teaching him to climb in. He was going to sleep so well w/a great nightime routine, the only reason I pulled him outa the crib was cuz my brother made him a toddler bed. Many people seem tothink 2 is the magic age to swtich to a toddler bed but for some kids, it just makes a mess of their routine. Many kids like the safety & confinement, for lack of a better word, of the crib & then once moved, don't know what to do w/the freedom of a bed. Unless you need that crib for another baby, I highly recommend you keep your daughter in it. And once you do decide to switch, I too, suggest skipping the toddler beds. Kids don't use them for very long & they can be quite pricey. Just a go w/a twin bed. You'll get more use out of that than the toddler bed. Best of luck!

Hi J.,
I would not mess up the schedule you have since your daughter is sleeping so well in her crib. It is really difficult for a 2 year old to control the impulse to get out of bed and once you put her in a bed, you're stuck. We used a crib tent for one of our twin boys because he climbed out at 15 mo. and I didn't even hear him. Needless to say he was almost 3 before we moved him to a regular bed. It's much more important to know where your child is at all times than to give them freedom they may or may not be ready for. Toddler beds are not worth the money unless you are short on space. They can only stay in them for about a year and the crib mattress is not as good for their back as they grow. We did use toddler beds because we had 3 boys in one room and because with bed wetting issues in the beginning, it was nice to be able to wipe the mattress down/disinfect it. That was the only plus! Good luck with your decision! Either way I'm sure she won't object to your decision. ;-)
M.
Mom of many.....lol

I moved my daughter to the toddler bed at 18 months because I needed the crib for my son. It was tough for the first few weeks, but she eventually got back into her routine. But, if I had had the forsight, I probably would have skipped the toddler bed all together and just put a twin mattress on the floor. My daughter grew out of the toddler bed by the time she was 3 (so about a year and a half). It just wasn't big enough for all the rolling around she does and she kept waking herself up. I also would have saved $200 (since I had to buy another crib mattress to go with the toddler bed). Just something to think about :).

You are correct to leave it as it is right now. Let mom buy the bed and hold onto it for a while until she is 3.

I would skip the toddler bed and get a twin bed. Why pay for something she'll be out of soon. Keep her in the crib for night - she's doing great. But you could try naps in the twin bed. You can get a rail or put the mattress on the floor for starters.

Hi J.,

We bought a toddler bed for my son when he was 18 months old and he was fine in it. However, we did find it to be not worthwhile as it was the same size as his crib and he really didn't seem to get any benefit out of it. He transitioned to a twin bed at 2 1/2.

He did slither out a few times, but he never "fell". We just put a futon down next to the bed just in case and sometimes he would be on that in the morning, but he never cried or hurt himself or was scared in any way.

We now have bunk beds. For my daughter, we decided that the toddler bed was not worth it and put her straight in the bottom bunk at age 22 months. She has never slithered out once and there is no rail. (Put the futon down - was never needed).

She is now almost 3 and her friend at daycare who is one week older than her - is still in a crib. HER Mom wants to keep her there as long as possible because she doesn't want her getting up in the night by herself.

I guess those are the things to consider:
Does your daughter wake up much and will she be safe wandering to your room, (can she open doors etc)?

Does your daughter move around a lot in her sleep? Might she slither out of the toddler bed?

If she's outgrown her crib, has she outgrown a toddler bed already? - because they are exactly the same size.

(If you get one - don't buy a mattress - you already have one!)

Toddler beds can be fun, if you buy one with a cool design, but I have another friend whose son had a hard time transitioning out of the "Thomas the Tank Engine" bed
because he loved Thomas. By this time - he REALLY needed to be in a bigger bed and it was quite traumatic for everyone with sleepless nights etc because he was too attached to "Thomas".

Hope this helps.

She is more than ready. Skip the toddler bed, outgrows it so quick, and go for a twin bed. There are rails you can put on the side that are temporary. If you are worried about the height, don't use a box spring, just put the mattress on the slats. I work at I am a manager at pbkids and so many parent's wish they would have gone to the twin and forgot the toddler bed. Good luck

I wouldn't mess with a good thing. Leave her in her crib until she starts climbing out of it. My daughter stayed in her crib until she was 2 1/2.

We moved my son after his second birthday into a twin bed. There was NO transition! He didn't miss a beat but we have also been really strict about bedtime. Really easy for us. In fact, I wish I would have done it sooner.

Both of my children moved to toddler beds around their 1st birthday, and thrived in them. They slept better knowing they weren't 'caged' in, and they were much happier knowing they had a little freedom/comfort.

You can easily incorporate your old routine with the new beds. Most people don't seem to move their kids out of their cribs as early as I did, but my kids were stressed in their cribs. Good luck to you on whatever your decision is :)

Does her crib convert to a toddler bed? I think toddler beds are a waste of money. She can go straight to a Big Girl Bed with the help of guard rails - also available at BAbies R Us etc. Keep her where she is happy - as long as you can before she figures out how to climb out!
She will be better off with a good quality mattress and box spring on a real bed when she is ready. We kept our son in his crib - converted to the toddler bed until he potty trained and then we made a huge deal about shopping for his big boy furniture and painted his room etc. It was fun and he was so proud to show people his
Big Boy room and tell them what he did to earn it.
I suspect the toddler bed was invented by furniture companies to suck yet another chunk of money out of us sucker parent's wallets. ;)
I sold furniture for 15 years - never confirmed my theory but it seems like a ploy to me.

A tip on where to get the bed - I have been looking for my daughter who just turned two last week because I am 4 months pregnant and am planning ahead. I went to Walmart with a friend and was blown away by the fact that they had a wood sleigh toddler bed for only $55 and the one at babies r us was $199. There may be a difference in the wood material but I figure for how long the will be in the bed (maybe 2 years) the Walmart one would be fine.

Sounds like she is very secure (physically and emotionally) in her crib. I think you should leave well enough alone. However, in another 3 months she could be climbing out and that is a sure sign she needs a bed closer to the floor. My son was climbing out of his crib when he was two, so we decided to get him a big boy bed. We never got a toddler bed, however, we went right to the twin. We didn't put it on a frame, but put the box spring and mattress on the floor until we knew he would adjust to it and not fall out. He never did fall out so it wasn't a problem. If you want to go the twin route I think you can find twins with a side rail. We had also purchased at Target a small futon kids chair for his room and would just slide that up next to the bed at night for extra security. The futon was a great kid sized chair for his room.

I think she is ready since she comfortably got into the one in the store and showed interest in it. You can keep the same routine at bedtime just in the toddler bed. Both of my kids were in regular beds at 2 yrs old with no problem. You can leave the crib up for a week or so and see how she does.

I would suggest you keep your daughter in the crib as long as you possibly can. We had to move to a "big boy" bed with my oldest when he was about 20 months because he was climbing out of the crib and it became dangerous. But we went from having a wonderful baby who went to bed easily and slept all night in his own bed, to have a terror at bedtime. It would be a fight to get him to go down and then he would get up several times in the middle of the night and would crawl into bed with my husband and myself. He's five now and we still have a rough time keeping him in his own bed some nights.
So keep the crib and enjoy the sleep you get now becuase that all goes away with the "big boy/girl" beds. =)

My son slept great in his crib until age 3. He wasn't climing out, so like you I wanted to keep a good thing going. For his 3rd bday, we bought him a big-boy bed, and he has been sleeping in that since December. He has fallen out twice, but goes right back to sleep. I do check on him a couple of times in the night to make sure he's where he should be.

My advice--don't spend the money on a toddler bed, save it for the "big" bed.

Regardless of what you decide regarding the move from the crib, you may want to double check and see if your crib can double as a toddler bed. So many of the ones made these days do just that. I also agree with the person who says toddler beds aren't worth the extra money, because the child is in one so short a time. My suggestion when you do change her to a bed is just get a twin bed for her. Some of those are built lower to the floor, but if you get one that's high enough to worry about her falling, just put some sort of padding beside it to give her a soft landing. Our granddaughters have a twin sized daybed with a trundle in their room. When the older girl started sleeping in it at age 18 months (to give the crib to her sister) we pulled the trundle out halfway to provide her a place for soft falling. Now she has the daybed section and her sister uses the trundle. They sit side by side and make up to be about the size of a queen or king sized bed, but give each girl her own space. If you are planning to have more children, that might be an option for you to consider. BTW, that daybed/trundle combination is probably the most comfortable bed any of us in our family have. All of us have slept in in from time to time and agree that it's the most restful place to sleep.