Too Little for a Toddler Bed?

My advice would be the bed would be safer. The only thing is if she is able to dismantle the crib, she'll be able to gain access to most of the house. Make sure you have child safety locks, etc on everything. All 3 of my children were out of the crib by the time they were a year. My oldest was climbing out of the crib when he was only 7 months old! He was walking at that point too, I thought it was cool for a week. My 2nd child was dismantling the crib too but she started that when she was only about 10 months old. And we put her to a bed thinking we were done. Then we had baby #3, and had to buy a new crib and she stayed in it the longest but right before her first birthday she would climb out of it constantly. The last time I had her in the crib she fell climbing out of it and broke her arm. So to a bed it was and she was fine. The crib sounds really dangerous, I would say go with a bed. So I would say yes put her to a toddler bed and safety lock everything~

my oldest was always climbing out of his bed. I put him in a toddler bed at 17 months, with the one side against the wall and a mesh gate type thingon the other. good luck.

I would say YES, get that kid a bed. My girl just got a bed at christmas time and she's soon to be 2, and she was still waking up 3-4 times a night and that 1st time in the bed she slept through the whole night. It could work for you too. Get one of those hard plastic toddler beds, not so easy to tear apart.

WOW. How in the world is your child getting the bars off the bed? Perhaps you should be contacting the manufacturer of that bed. That is a serious accident waiting to happen!

We purchased a brand-new, cherry 3-1 crib off EBay for our daughter. (Paid $300). What I like about these is not only does it go from Crib to toddler bed to Adult head and footboard. But when moving the mattress down, it is almost at floor level, so we do not need to worry about her climbing out or falling out! I had a friends who's son fell off the couch that was 2 foot from the ground. He fell onto carpet and only cried for a few seconds. We thought he was fine and then a week later he had to be rushed to the hospital with a major skull fracture. The doctor's said that even from a 1 foot fall children can recv serious injuries.

My 4 other boys never had a problem with the switch to beds, but we only did a toddler bed with one child and the other 3 we did regular beds with large rails.

Wow...she must be a strong little girl. My son is 19 months and he throws everything out of his crib and is starting to look like he might be too big for the crib. He hasn't climbed out yet, but I know the day is coming. We've purchased the side rail for a "big boy" bed and a gate for his bedroom door in preparation for the big switch.
I think switching her into a toddler bed is a personal decision. If you think she is ready then go for it. From what I've heard some toddlers transition very well if they are ready to make the change, which it sounds like maybe she is.
Best of Luck!

my son now five seemed ready for a toddler bed at 18months and he did great with it he is now five and has a bunk bed now and his sister didn't get put into a toddler bed until 2 and half she just wasn't ready she is now 3 and half and is in a twin bed now and my new daughter 4 months has the crib and i have no idea when she will be ready for a toodler bed...so if you feel your daughter is ready then move her and check the crib instruction alot of them convert so all you have to do is take the side off...

A.,
i am worried about the quality of the crib you own. A 17 month old should not be able to dismantle it. YOu can try a toddler bed and maybe put a play yard around it to keep her contained. If there isn't a lot of "Stuff" in her room to possibly get hurt on, go with a toddler bed and a gate in the doorway to keep her from roaming through the house. Either way I would not let her sleep in that crib one more night. It sounds dangerous to her. Good Luck!

J.

Let me know how things work out for you!

I think your daughter sounds just the right age. All 3 of my boys moved to a toddler bed between the ages of 15 - 18 months and my youngest went straight to a twin bed (which we put very high mesh rails on). I wouldn't suggest a twin bed though unless she's just not comfortable sleeping on a crib mattress anymore. Only 1 of my boys could climb out of his crib at the time but the others were just ready. As a mother you kinda just know. If she's dismantling it she's apparently not too happy in it. LoL Hope this helps a bit.

I would try the toddler bed when she takes a nap and see how it works!

Everybody said my daughter was too young for the toddler bed when we started using it, but she has always stayed in it with no problem! I put the gate across her bedroom door when she goes to bed and once she falls asleep, I move it so she can only walk between my bedroom and hers, so when she wakes up in the morning, she usually just climbs into my bed and snuggles with me for a little while before ripping off my covers and telling me to get up!

hi A.!!! i just went though this about 2 weeks ago. my 17 month old daughter didn't disassemble her crib but she did climb out of it. the crib we have chages into a toddler bed so we converted it 2 days after the climbing began. i have to tell you it was the best thing we did. she loves being able to climb into bed when she wants to and she has the ability and freedom to get out if she so desires. the first night or two she fell out so we put a plush pillow and blanket on the floor and when she fell out she actually curled up on the pillow and slept there until we put her back into the bed. i do have to tell you though, make sure her room is completely baby proofed. make sure she can't climb onto anything and fall (we learned that the hard way) and don't have a ton of toys lying around. we have one toy on the floor that she can play with if she wants to, but aside from that she has her favorite stuffed animals and a book or two to keep her occupied if she wakes up in the night. a night light is also a god idea and make sure she has a gate in her doorway. i wouldn't suggest keeping her door closed becasue you want to be able to peek in on her. we have a gate up and she is very happy being able to peek out if she wants to but she is safe in her room and can not get out and cause trouble. so after a long winded repsonse.... no it is not too early to try the toddler bed and i bet it will make her happy to be a bit more independant. good luck!!!!

Hello i am a mother of 4 children.i think she she migth be ready for the todller bed .I put all of my children in a toddler bed around that age because i was afraid of them climbing out and getting hurt it will be safer for her .And if she is in her bedroom just put a gate at her door. When you go to put her to bed if you go with the toddler bed i would read to her or sing intill she goes to sleep because it is going to be different for her at first.

Well my daughter never took her crib apart but she was one of those kids trying to climb in and our of her crib. When she was about 2 is when we put her in her own toddler bed, and because we had another baby on the way, and she's done fine. Just make sure what ever bed you would choose has long enough bed rails. My little one is a squirmer on her sleep so I put extra pillows and things on the floor because she is always trying to get out of bed in her sleep and falling. Hope this helps.

NO I dont think so. My oldest daughter was in a toddler bed at 14 months. We were having another baby so we thought she would be fine. And she was. The only problem I had (sometimes still do) is she gets out of it and sleeps behind the door. My 2 share a room so that was a little difficult. But if she were in a room by herself, it would not have been a big deal. Good luck to you!

I would think the toddler bed would be safer since she has now took apart her crib.

I wouldn't waste the $$$ on another crib unless you are planning on having more.

Hi A., We actually put my son into a twin bed at 18 months.
We were given bunk beds and so I could see having a pair of bunk beds and a toddler bed in the same room. We purchased a mesh rail that you slip under the mattress to keep him from falling out of bed at night. It worked pretty good. Anyway, I think your daughter will be fine moving out of the crib. Besides that crib is dangerous at this point. Good luck.
A.

Hi A.,
I really don't have any advice for you, but I read your post and had to respond. When all else fails, just think that you have a pretty smart cookie on your hands!
My daughter was 7 months old when someone gave me a toddler bed for her, but I have yet to put her in it.
Good luck and take care!

No she's not too little. She has greater chance of hurting I'd put her in one and perhaps not close her bedroom door but gate it so she can't just leave her room.
Good Luck

N.

Since my son was 6 months he napped on a bed and at 10 months, he slept at night on a mattress on the floor. There is never "too early". You have to do what is right for this child. It seems like what is right for her is to get rid of that crib! She shouldn't be able to take it apart! If she doesn't know how to get off a bed, teach her, or just buy a twin mattress for her future big girl bed and put it on the floor rather than buying two separate beds.

HI A.,

MY GRANDSON BEEN IN A TODDLER BED SINCE HE WAS 1 YRS OLD. I THINK IT TIME FOR YR DAUGHTER TO BE IN A TODDLER,LIKE YOU SAID IF ONE TIME SHE TRIES TO SQUEEZE THROUGH ONE OF THE BARS, AND GETS STUCK AND YR NOT AWARE OF IT,I WOULD RATHER BE SAFE THEN TO SEE SOMETHING TRAGIC HAPPEN, GET RID OF THE CRIB SHE TAKING IT APART, YOU CAN BUY ALL KINDS OF TODDLER BEDS WITH CHARATERS AND LOVE IT. I BOUGHT ONE OF THE WOODEN TODDLER BEDS AND IT RAILS HALFWAY DOWN THE SIDE, SO THEY WOULDN'T ROLL OFF, WHEN SHE GETS A LITTLE OLDER YOU CAN REMOVE THE RAILS.

I can't tell you if your daughter is ready but, I would definately suggest getting rid of that crib. If she can dismantle it, it isn't safe for her. I would really suggest you look up the manufacturer and see if there has been a recall on this crib. No child should be able to take their bed apart. If there has been no recall, I would suggest writing them and let them know what is happening and send pictures too. I hope this helps. Good luck with your decision!

A.,
My son did not dismantle his crib, but we moved him out of his crib around 18 mos. to a toddler bed (actually our crib converted to a toddler bed) because he was very unhappy in his crib. Once we converted, he was able to get in and out and play happily. He also put himself to sleep on his own at night and nap time without tears. It's really your choice to determine if your child is old enough or if it's not safe to leave her in her crib, but it doesn't sound real safe to me... Another option is if you have a playard you can try that since she can't dismantle, or put her mattress straight on the floor. Just be sure that once she is able to get out on her own that her furniture is secure and that there's nothing she can choke on or get hurt on in her room.

Good luck...
M.

Hi A.,
I have 5 children, the youngest is 7 mos old. I have to say all of our little ones were in a bed between 12-15 months. This was not due to another child needing the crib, but because they were ready to be a "big kid". You may need to lay beside your daughter for a few nights, but I would think she is ready. Will her bed be in your room or will she be in her own room, if so will this be her first time in her own room?
You might want to try allowing her to nap on the bed for a week or so until she is used to it, if she's not already. I used to keep a gate at my childrens bedroom door just to make sure they did awake and wander around or get hurt, but I really didn't have any trouble with any of them, our 5 yr old still tries to sneak in bed with us in the middle of the night,
but he usually ends up in his own!!!
I hope this helps.

Hi when my son was 18 months he started climbing out of the crib. I tried all kinds of things but nothing worked, so we got out the toddler bed. He is now 19 months and we have been doing the things for two weeks. It is somewhat of a challenge but he always goes to sleep after a little bit. I agree with other saying if they climbing time to stop the crib. In your case you wouldn't want her to hurt herself taking it apart or trying to squeeze out. Just remember gates, gate her door and anywhere you have steps. Good Luck hope this helps.

I had to put my son in a toddler bet at 12 months because he had already learned how to climb out. There is no age, it's what's right for each child. I was lucky, though, my son had no problem staying in the bed and going right to sleep. Many kids, I would think, would rather get up and run around and play if they have the option.....good luck.

Both of my girls (Liberty is 3.5 and Eden is 2) were in toddler beds by 15 months. The toddler bed I have is recommended for children 15 months and older, and when Eden was born when Liberty was 19 months old -well, I wanted the crib completely gone for a while first. It was fine for both girls, but the younger definitely gave me problems with staying in bed at first, where the older stayed in bed. But if Hikari is able to pull the crib apart, then putting her in a bed is likely your best option. Good luck!

Hi A.,

My advice is put her in a toddler bed, especially if she is dismantling her crib. My daughter just turned 21 mos and I had been trying to decide since she was 17 mos whether or not to put her in one and give her little sister her crib. I let my hubby and mom talk me out of it. Here lately she refuses to sleep in her crib and has been sleeping in our bed. Last night I converted her crib to a toddler bed and for the first time in weeks she slept through the night. She was ecstatic to see her new bed.

They have safety rails you can buy for the bed and you don't have to put a pillow in it. I believe if she is taking the bed apart that is her way of saying she wants out. Good luck with whatever decision you make.