Too Soon for a Toddler Bed?

I had my son out of his crib for that same reason. I would rather he could come and get me than fall on his head. He is not as good at going to sleep on his own, but we have worked on it. I did use baby gates when I needed to be in the kitchen with hot stuff going on.

My daughter (now 13) used to come out of her crib starting around 16 months. Instead of worrying about a potential safety issue, we put a queen box spring and mattress on the floor. I didn't worry about that because she didn't have far to fall is she fell out of bed and she could get in and out of the bed herself.

Maybe find another way to "get them out of the way" such as baby gates or something like that.

Susan

You could try a crib tent if you don't want to use a toddler bed yet. I used mine for both of my boys because of them getting their legs caught in the slats and so I never had a problem with them getting out. :)
C.

Congrats to you ~ I am a PROUD SAHM to 3 year old boy/girl twins! Our went to toddler beds at 18 months and then to twin beds before they were two. They rolled out of the toddler beds a couple of times and their twins beds a couple of times, but otherwise we have had NO issues. I did not like the standard rails that most parents use on kids beds for safety. Instead I put one side of their bed against a wall and then for the other side, I used a rolled up bath towel (put a rubber band over the end to keep it rolled up... it'll look like a giant tootsie roll) and slid it under the fitted sheet to keep it in place. You can also use a swim noodle and cut it to fit the length of their bed. It is just a gentle reminder for them to roll over on their own. It takes greater effort for them to roll up and over the roll than to roll back the other way back into the bed. Make sense? I just recently (just after their third birthday) took the roll out/off their bed. My daughter has rolled out once, but I believe it was because we had her sleeping on a wedge to ease her coughing due to a severe cold. She rolled off the wedge and then right out of bed ~ she let out a "Mommy" at the top of her lungs, but when I got to her she was perfectly fine!! It startled her more than anything!! I got her settled right back in bed and she was fine!

Liek other mommies said, I would also suggest finding something else to "contain" your kiddos like child gates or play yards rather than their beds.

I might also suggest that you give them ample activities in which to climb. We have always had a climber of some sort so that they were never led to jumping/climbing on couches, beds, etc. that were unacceptable places to jump or climb.

If they were ever inclined to do that, I just reminded them that that was unacceptable and ask them where they were to slide/jump/ or climb. They always answered "the joey slide" and went right to it to continue their game/activity!

I know I have started to ramble, but I hope I have given a few suggestions to help you.
Take care!!
C.

We had to put our oldest into a big boy bed when he was 20 months old. I skipped the toddler bed altogether and went straight for a queen size sleigh bed and bought the extra long bed rails from One Step Ahead. My son transitioned beautifully and to this day (he is 3 1/2 now) he won't get out of bed until I go in to get him. He loved his big boy bed. The toddler beds don't give them much space, so not only do they outgrow them quickly, they aren't terribly comfortable for your little ones. My pedi told us that when they can climb out...it is time to get them out. They can SERIOUSLY injure themselves if they fall. Good luck!

A friend's daughter got her leg stuck and her solution was to put her to sleep in a sleep sack. It's hard to climb out while wearing one.

If you decide to go the toddler bed route, you may want to just put their mattresses on the floor, because at this age they will roll out of bed. We moved our daughter to a toddler bed when she was 22 months old and she fell out a lot. I later read that they have problems staying in bed until they are around three.

We moved to the toddler bed at about this age. I thought it would be awful but was amazed how easy it was. We started using the toddler bed only at naptime, but used the crib at night. In about a week we went to the toddler bed at night too. No problems at all. We did move distractions from the room --- no extra toys or books to play with right at first. I'm not sure how it would work with twins in the same room.

When my dauther was 18 months old she started climbing out of her crib. She just stopped one day and never did it again until a month ago she is almost 2 1/2. We converted her crib into a toddler bed and she has done just fine. I think when she started climbing out I would have bought the crib tent there was no way she was ready to sleep in toddler bed. Your boys might be totally different try it and see how it goes. If you cannot keep them in the toddler beds just go back to the cribs and buy the tents.

We have twins just turning two and are holding off on beds until the last possible moment for exactly the reasons you described. Our two dopn't however escape the cribs. I think the safety concerns you face will make trying toddler beds essential. We have talked about clearing the kids room of everything except the beds when we do come to do it, and putting locks/snibs on the doors to the bathroom and out, although i guess a gate would work as well. Then the room becomes the crib. Good luck! Be interested to hear how it goes.
D.

Hi, I moved my son to a toddler bed with a rail at about 12 months and he did really well. Then I would suggest a play yard of some sort to keep them coralled while cooking, etc. Good luck and go with your instincts.

Hi C..
I am a working mom of 3 kiddos, 12 year old daughter and twin boys that are 29 months. We have been fortunate enough that the twins never tried climbing out of their cribs, but we did 3-day potty training in November and i am being woke up in the night because one of my lovelies needs to go potty! So, we just in the past week put them in toddler beds. My twins, like yours, would go right to sleep when put in the crib with their blankets and never even fussed. NOW they sit there (sometimes staying in the bed and sometimes jumping on the bed and sometimes switching beds)and laugh and joke with each other. I was so lucky to have been able to keep them in their cribs as long as i did because it has been C-R-A-Z-Y since putting them in beds. I was told to lower the mattress all the way and either double the bumpers or buy thin material to weave in and out of the rails to keep them from getting out. Others told me to get one of those canopy nets. So many choices, very hard decision to make. It's scary and frustrating when one of them gets a foot or leg hung. We went thru that too!!! Good luck to ya!

My son got a full size bed at 17 months.
He outgrew the crib. At 12 months, he was 33 inches, 30 lbs and frankly, he constantly was sticking out of it or banging into it... so we put a mattress on the floor, and then bought rails and a big boy bed... and it has been great.
I love the full bed because I can read to him or lay beside him. He was sick a lot (asthma/allergies, etc) and had constant ear infections... for his first two years, so it came in handy.
I am not sure how it would be with TWO, but I can say that toddler beds are safe at their age, IMHO!
Good luck

I moved my daughter to a toddler bed at 15 mos for two reasons, a new baby so I kinda needed the crib more than her, and she was actually climbing IN it. She got her legs stuck and would jump and push side ways so hard the bottem would fall out of the crib to the floor. No serius injuries but it was time to move her. It took about a week of taking her back to bed several times but she does just fine. Id say get a child gate for the boys room when you need them to stay put. Or a play pen, they are harder to climb out of.

I have twin girls (now 6). We moved them to twin beds at 20 months (adjusted age 18 months). I was just sick of all the double baby gear taking up space in the house and just decided while I was cleaning it all out that I would get the two cribs out as well.

It went well. At night time they did great. I put them in the beds and they went to sleep just like they had in their cribs. I think they were just ready at the end of the day to sleep. Nap time was a different story. They played and played and never went to sleep, the freedome was just too much fun (I gave them a week of no naps and just exploring their room). I knew they were tired, they just wouldn't settle down. So I would just sit in the glider rocker for about 15 - 20 minutes and have my quiet time and they knew better than to get out of their beds with Mommy sitting there. And they would be still enough to go to sleep in 5 - 15 minutes.

After they went into their twin beds it was necessary to baby proof their room completely and I could put them in there when I needed to with a baby gate across the door. We have a very tall baby gate. I always thought having one of those nursery doors would have been nice, but never got that far.

Hope that helps.

We moved our son when he was around 16 months. One night we woke up to him screaming in his crib-his leg had gotten stuck between the bars. We almost had to break it to get his leg out. His crib converted to a toddler bed, but we only used it for about a month. We bought him a full size platform bed. It isn't high off the ground and we have a rail so he doesn't fall. We were also worried about him getting out because he goes to bed so easily. We have never had an issue. He goes to bed no problem. He is now three and we are very happy with his bed.

That was about the age that we moved my son to a "big boy bed" which at that time was just a matress and box springs on the floor so that he did not have far to fall. He never fell out of it and getting him to stay in it was never a big issue either. As far as cooking time...maybe a gated room would do the trick. :)

Maybe a playpen or just a mattress on the floor and the baby gate on their door frame. good Luck

Hi C.! I just wanted to say that toddler beds are useless. I would go straight to a twin bed w/a rail. We didn't put one on our 2 yr olds twin bed (we converted her about 2mths ago)b-c she was so used to sleeping in our bed or her grandma's bed that she never fell out. She always mananges to stay in the middle. Just in case she did fall out we just took the stuffed animals off her bed and lined them out on the floor.

The first time we converted her crib to a toddler bed she never would stay put. He fought her for 2 hrs one night to stay in bed. Then, we decided to try a twin bed and she never had a problem with it. She stays in bed all night to this day. But, I know that children are all different and besides you have twins!! Good luck and I hope I helped some.

B.

Mommy time is very important! Making sure your babies are safe is more important. They need to be out of the cribs. I would suggest trying a gate in the doorway, but they'd probably just climb it! Try popping in the video and cooking without them being confined. It may take some time, but they will learn the rule of stay out of the kitchen while mommy is cooking! My kids did!

We just moved our daughter to a twin sized bed with a rail on her 2nd birthday. I was worried that she wouldn't stay in it either, but she has never gotten out of it yet (it's been a couple of weeks now). She LOVES her bed, so she just sits in it and sings and plays with her blanky and stuffed animals until we come to get her. We really made sure her room was okay to play in and safe for her in case she did get out. She has some books and puzzles and other quiet toys to play with in case she decides to get up and play, although as I said, she never gets out of her bed. I think you're better off getting them out of the cribs before they hurt themselves. Just be sure to put a baby proof door handle on the inside of the door knob if they can reach to get out of their room. You don't want them wandering the house at night if they do get up.

I think that crib tents are one of the very best baby inventions ever. They keep the kids from getting stuck between slats and from climbing out. My son is 2 and still adores his crib with tent on it. We're in no hurry to transition to a big boy bed, thanks to the crib tent.

We kept our twins in their cribs for as long as possible, but they weren't natural climbers like yours. If they had been at this young of an age, I'd be investing in the crib tents. My sister swore by these. But like I said, mine didn't b/c they only managed the climbing out at closer to 3... Good luck! I've got twin boys as well! (mine are 7)

We had to move our daughter at the same age. We actually skipped the toddler bed and went directly to a twin (one less bed to buy, right??). We actually got a daybed, so it is totally enclosed on 3 sides. Additionally, we got a fairly tall safety bedrail, so even though it was a real bed, it still felt close and safe like a crib. If you don't want to do the daybed option, especially considering you have boys, you could always get twin beds that have high headboards and footboards, and have it pushed to where one side of it is up against the wall. That would also still give the feel of having it enclosed on 3 sides, and then a safety bed rail would help with the 4th side.

Also, if you have pack and plays or playpens you could still use that as a 'safe zone' while you're doing something in the kitchen where you aren't able to supervise.

Anwyay that's what worked for us! I think that, if they're climbing out, then they probably could move on...

If you don't think your toddlers are ready for a bed yet, you should look into buying a crib tent. You can find them online at www.onestepahead.com or at Babies R Us.

My daughter started climbing out of her crib at 20 months and I too was worried about her getting hurt. What we did was move her to a toddler bed, but put a baby gate across her bedroom door so she could not get out of her room. In the beginning, she was so excited about the new freedom that she seldom slept IN the bed, but on the floor somewhere in her room instead. She was a climber, so we had to make other adjustments in the room-- removed the lamp from the changing table, all the pretty breakable knick knacks & picture frames, etc. We just made it a very safe pace for her to be but made sure she could stay inside.
Good luck!
A.