Transition to Toddler Bed

Hi! I don't think there is a right or wrong age to make the switch. I think it depends on the parents and the child. We got bunkbeds for my step son and my own son to share. My son was 19 month's and he did just fine. He's never fallen out of the bed and he loves his bed. My sister had my niece in a twin bed as an infant and she also did fine. She wouldn't sleep in a crib. So she took a bed from a top bunk bed and extended the gard rail and my niece would sleep on a bed and she never had any problems. I also have a friend whose son preferred the crib over the toddler bed and would choose to sleep in the crib even though they had a toddler bed set up for him. He was 4 before he really started to sleep more in his bed than crib.
I believe it's really up to the parents and child. Anytime is a good time to make the switch as long as you are ready for it and take the time to make it a possitive experience instead of negative. One thing we did is we let my son choose his very own sheet for his bed. I showed him a few different ones and then he started to ask to see some more and he choose his own. That also made him very excited to sleep in his big boy bed.

He is not to young to transition to a big boy bed and you can still put bed rails up for him. Let him help you decide on the decor.

You can transition to a toddler bed whenever you need to. My son was only 16 months old when he continued to climb out of the crib. I wasn't a fan of the crib tents, so we transitioned him to a full size bed (what we had available) and it was fine. My daughter was 20 months and also a climber, so she was under 2 also. The only thing you need to be prepared for is at that age they don't understand imaginary boundries of the bed, so they sometimes will keep getting up. My son was very persistent, so we installed a gate at his door and he stopped getting up. My daughter on the other hand has only gotten up a couple of times. We have a gate on her door, but only close it occasionally when she doesn't stay put. Both slept fine from day one in their new beds, so I wouldn't be too worried about that. Good luck in whatever you decide is right for your family.

We transitioned our son at 21 months... it went great and was much easier than expected. We bought him some cute toddler bedding and put his bed together while he watched... he was so excited. Once it was done he jumped right in and was eager to sleep in it that night. He never liked his crib and going to bed was always a huge ordeal for all of us. Now we are able to do our reading with him in bed and he falls right to sleep when we're done. It's really fantastic. I hope the transition goes as smoothly for you as it did us.

Oh, and instead of buying a bed rail we just put a body pillow under the fitted sheet (along the edge) and he's never fallen out once. He actually likes to snuggle up against it.

Hi K.,

Congrats on your second baby. I have two boys who are 19 months apart. We purchased our "big boy" bed about 2 months before the baby came. For the first month of having it we would have him take his nap in it when he would fall asleep in the car and transfer him into it. He would wake up in it and we would get excited about how he was sleeping in his "big boy" bed. The last month before the baby came we only had him sleep in his "big boy" bed. For the first couple of days he would cry and end up falling asleep on the floor, but we would just pick him up and he would sleep the rest of the night. We just made it so he couldn't come out of his bedroom. You will be surprised how well these little guys will do if you just give them a chance. Good luck.

W.

My daughter will be 21 months when #2 arrives in May. I plan to keep her in her crib until she tries to climb out. I will use a pack n play for #2 until dd1 is ready to move from her crib. I already have the pack n play, so I don't have to buy anything. Does this sound like it might work for you?
B.

You have received many great suggestions - here's what we did. Our boys are 19 months apart. We did not want to purchase another crib as our oldest would soon be moving out of the crib making room for his younger brother. However, our oldest was not interested in moving out of the crib so we left him there and put our baby in a pak n' play until our oldest made the decision for himself. We purchased bunk beds and surprised our oldest by showing him the big boy bed (with rails of course). He never looked back at the crib and now loves his bed.

Good luck to you in your decision.

Similar to what other's have said, it somewhat depends on the child, but you can use bed rails, etc. It helped our older daughter with the new baby, etc. to make a big deal that she was getting to move to a bigger room with "big kids" stuff. Good luck.

I'll just state the obvious and say to do what works for your kid. Our first was still fighting sleep quite a bit when we were expecting his baby brother, so I really didn't want to move him out of the crib (with a crib tent on it to keep him in). We knew we wouldn't need the crib right away for the baby so we could hold off on any decisions. When the older boy was 24 months old, we happened to get a good deal on a firetruck toddler bed. He helped daddy disassemble the crib and assemble the firetruck bed and never looked back. Still, there have been some days when naps for the older boy haven't happened, since there is no way to enforce him staying in his bed now (at least no way that doesn't require lots of attention).

I'd rather buy an inexpensive used crib to use for a few months than rush a kid who isn't ready into a big boy bed, especially knowing I'd be dealing with a newborn too.

HI I am on my third child, and I would buy another crib. If you try to transition to young, your son is going to be getting out of bed at all hours. I have a 3 1/2 year old and a 22 month old girl and a baby girl due Jan. If he is not trying to climb out of his crib leave him in it. We transitioned my son after he was potty trained around 2 1/2. So my daughter was born and we bought a second crib. It worked out great. No bed time battles. I am not going to transition my daughter until she is older. She is a great sleeper, does not wake up. But I am not going to mess with a good thing.

My girlfriend has a son the same age and just had a baby. She moved her son to a toddler bed and it is a nightmare. Her husband has to sleep in his room to keep him in bed. Then he wakes around 2:00 am and if someone is not in there he gets out of bed and goes to there room. It takes there son over hour to fall asleep and he will not nap anymore.

So I would say buy and new crib. Keep bedtime easy for now!!!! He has plenty of time to be a big boy when he is older.

My son is now sleeping in bunk beds. I would skip the toddler bed and get a twin or full or queen.

Hope this helps,

Since my son never slept well in a pack & play when we traveled, our ped suggested putting him in a twin-size bed - which we did at 18 months. Nary a cry out of him & he slept through the night since! I kept the crib up in his room for about a week, expecting him to "want" to go back to it or something. Ha! I bought a super long bedrail & put the rocking chair up against the end of the bed, so it basically "felt" like he was closed in still. We just took the bedrail off a few nights ago (he's 27 mths now) & doing great. Hasn't fallen out yet!

I was told to just go to the twin bed rather than a toddler bed since, eventually, you'll have to go through yet another transition once they grow out of a toddler bed.

Our ped said earlier is easier when it comes to switching beds & I couldn't agree more. I never had to deal with him trying to get out of a crib (he definitely gets out of bed now, but it's not nearly as dangerous as falling from a crib). They don't really "know" yet that they can get out of bed & play with toys or whatever you think might happen in there, as compared to a child of 2.5, 3 yrs old. It was seriously one of the easiest things we ever did with him & I'll probably do the same for our 2nd even if they sleep great in the crib. I would take the plunge soon & that will give him plenty of time to transition, see his old crib in the new baby's room, & figure things out before the baby arrives.

Good luck!

Hi K.,

When we were expecting our second one, we took our 2 yr old daughter to go shopping for new furniture and bedding. We did it well before her sister was born so that she did not feel like she was being kicked out of her bed. Also, this helped her to understand that she was now a big girl and she would need to be a big helper with her new baby sister. It worked out great for her.

With my third, we ended up getting another crib because my second was only going to be 18 mos when he was born and she was not ready to be out of the crib yet. This worked out ok, but we ended up buying another bed in just about six months after buying the second crib. So, this solution was more expensive.

D.

I was in the same boat when my daughter was born. My son was 19 months when my daughter was born, and was still in the crib. We let my daughter sleep in our bed until almost 6 months (until she was ready for the crib - and we were ready for our baby to move out!) and purchased a twin sized bed for our son. We let him decide that he was ready for the big boy bed before moving her into the crib. We used carefully chosen language to persuade him that the big boy bed was a treat for when he was feeling ready to handle the responsibility.

I think the important part for our family was that our son did not feel like we were "kicking him out" of the crib, but that it was his choice to "give" his crib to his baby sister. It worked out great for us...and we still have them sharing a room! Now, our daughter is 2 and we are looking at getting her big girl bed ready since she loves her brothers bed and is always crawling in it with him. They are best friends and they share almost everything.

I would just recommend not rushing it, but starting before the baby is born talking about the big boy bed and what a treat it is, only for big boys! We also let our son go back and forth for almost a week, choosing at bedtime which bed he wanted to sleep in so there was no pressure. Good luck!

K.-
I transitioned my oldest when he was about 17 months before the 2nd one was born. We had about a month to a month and a half of him in the big boy bed before his little brother came into the world. I just didn't want any problems of him wanting to be in the crib and little brother was in there. The transition wasn't that bad. I also kept the pack n play set up in his room so he had the option at first as to which he wanted to sleep in. He usually chose the big boy bed, though some morning we would find him asleep on the floor. Which from what I understand is perfectly normal. I wish you all the best.
J.

We are in the process of doing the same thing. My 2nd is on the way and my daughter is 20 months old right now. She will be 25 months old when the baby is born, so we are planning on moving her to her new bed before she turns 2, so it will be a month or 2 before the baby is born.

If you decide to transition to the toddler bed make sure you do it well before the new little one will be switching to the crib. If he is attached to his crib and not ready to leave it, he may resent the new baby for taking "his" crib.

Transition him now, but with a few things in mind. Make sure there are railings on the bed. If he is prone to waking up in the middle of the night you might think of putting up a gate on front of his door and making sure all the little toys are picked up off the floor. That way if he gets up and crys he will only be able to be in his room until you hear him and can take care of him. My husband and I put a gate at the hallway entrance, shut the bathroom door and put a child resistant plastic knob on the bathroom and closet door and leave our door open. It is a straight shot if he wakes up and we don't hear him and gets out of bed and wanders, we know he is safe. Also, it might be a rough transition so the earlier you start the better, but be understanding. Also, once the baby is born he may regress and want the crib, be prepared for that. Good luck and congratulations on your pregnancy.