Transition to Toddler Beds

When my little boy went into a toddler bed he had never even tried to climb out of his crib, so I think he thought that he wasn't ever supposed to get out of his bed. We did it as 18mos. for some reason, I don't know. He never even tried to leave the room until he was 4. I would have to go and get him. Anyway. I was always prepared for the getting out and crying and playing and what not. We put a door knob cover on the door so he would never be able to get out and roam the house. But if he were to ever get out of bed I would have put him back in his bed over and over until he stayed. I have seen that on the "Supernanny" show and it always seemed to work. Consistenty and Persistance seems to be the key. And no talking when you go back in to put them in their bed. 1st time say-Time for bed. I love you. Goodnight. Or whatever you say normally. Then the 2nd time. Time for bed. Put them in and that's it. Walk out close the door. 3rd time and for every time after--say nothing. I would do that especially if they are playing. I wouldn't take out their toys though. They need to learn that that's their room with their stuff, but when it's time for bed. It's time for bed. Hope this was helpful! Good Luck!! Mel

B.,
My boys were not twins, but they did share a room. I found it best to hang outside their door while they were going to sleep. We has a routin, then they were allowed a short time to mess around and try to settle themselves, then I would let them know that it was time to go to sleep. They knew that I was right outside and I would read a book or something, and remind them to be quiet and go to sleep if they started anything. Sometimes I would walk in if they were particularly restless, and sit in there giving them "the look" until they quieted.
Good luck with this ~ it is not easy to do this transition, but they will eventually calm to it.
D.

Have you looked into using those little crib tents? You can buy a "tent" type thing that goes over the crib to keep the kids from climbing out. I'm pretty sure you can find them at Babies R Us or other kid stores. It's mess so you can see through it. Good luck!

When trying to get my little girl used to her new big girl bed I put some books and toys with her. I told her it her time to play by herself quietly. She'd usually just fall asleep after awhile. I don't know if that's much help

When my twins went into their toddler beds, I would read a book and sit with them until one fell asleep.. I had their beds on opposite walls of the room so they weren't so close to each other. Hope this helps!!

Hello there . . .. Transition to a toddler bed was a little challenging for all three of my boys, and from time to time, we have to reinforce staying in their own bed and they are all older now!

What I did: I put the boys to bed at the same time (my younger ones were 22 months apart) and would stay with them for a little while, and let them get drowsy, and told them I would check on them in a few minutes. I did this to let them know I'd be checking to see if they were still in their bed.

I also had a little chart, and they got a sticker for each night they stayed in their bed - and at the end of the week, if they had stayed in bed, the got a little prize. (Prize can be whatever motivates your child.)

Good luck!

I would do as little intervention as possible and just let them work it out. Keep an eye and ear open and stop any overly "unsleepy" behavior (playing, laughing, roaming the room, gymnastics, etc.) but if you sit there...then you are stuck as part of the routine! I am stuck in that place with my two little dudes who share a room and have yet to get out of it. (I know the supernanny's technique, just need to do it!) ha ha ha!
tuck them in, check back, if they are out of bed put them back with a firm but kind "nite-nite" and leave. repeat as necessary! :)
Good luck!

According to the super nannies the best way to handle it is this: the first time you catch them playing around place them each back into their respective beds and in a kind voice tell them it is bed time. The second time place them back in bed and with a stern tone simply say "bedtime". After that no words should be spoken to them. Just place them back in bed then leave the room. Do it as many times as it takes until they give up and fall asleep. You will only have to do that for a night or two before they catch on to the fact that you aren't giving in. Of course all this assumes there wil be an issue keeping them in bed. It's possible that two year old twin girls will stay nicely in their beds even with that tempting taste of freedom right in front of them. ha ha. But I doubt it. So hang in there, stand your ground, and you can be through this transition in no time.

I dont think that you are going to have a problem. My son was two when he switched and it made him feel like a big boy to be in a big bed. I dont know if you ever let yours lay in bed with you but, by me letting my son he always wanted to sleep in a big bed. I just put him in his toddler bed and turned out all the lights and turned on his fan and he was out. If it makes you feel any better put a child safety door cover on there door so you know they cant get out of there room in the middle of the night and play in the rest of the house. I would just try it out the first night, and see how they do. It should be fine. If they let you know that they like there new beds then tell them if they want to keep them and not go back to a crib then they have to stay in there beds at night, because they are big girls. Well I hope this helps you. dont be to stressed about it, they can pick up on it. Good luck and God bless. K.

Our parents told us to get in bed and stay there. And we sure did. We probley got into trouble if we got out because I dared not get out of bed. So try to give the firm "mom voice" if they do get out of bed. Good luck.

I would lay mine down with a favorite toy or blanket with some music on. You know how music is said to calm the wild beasts it did mine. You might try this with them in the same bed at first since they want it that way anyway. Good luck

My friend just transitioned her little girl(she is about 2 1/2 years old) into a toddler bed from a crib. She said it is going great because she uses sleep rules and reinforces them every night by repeating them to her daughter. It might be a little different with twins since they will have each other to play with but it is worth a shot.

The rules are:
At bedtime we...
1. Stay in bed.
2. Close our eyes.
3. Stay very quiet.
4. Go to sleep.
These rules come from the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. My friend and I are both big followers of this book. It gives a lot more detail on what to do to help your child follow the sleep rules and any other sleep problems. I really recommend it.
Hope this helps. :-) Good luck!
T.

I have two 2 year old grandsons in the same room and they made the transition just great. Once they go down, we put on a movie (30 min Barney, etc.) and they usually stay in bed and fall asleep within that time. Every once in a while one of them has trouble, but we just put them back in bed and they are usually fine. I was really surprised. The toddler beds we purchased have side rails on them. It does not keep them from getting up, but keeps them from rolling off. Because they can open doors, etc. We do keep the gate set up outside their bedroom door so they can't wander at night. And their room is right next to their parents room, so they usually hear if either wakes up. Good luck.

My sister-in-law came up with this idea for her daughter. It was more to keep her from coming into their bed at night but it might work for your girls too. For each night she stayed in bed, she put a loop on a paper chain which hung from her ceiling. Whent the chain reached her bed, she got a special prize. I thought it was very clever and her daughter stayed in bed to make the chain grow and get a great prize!

I have a gate at my twins doors to keep boundary of staying in the room, Somepeople I have heard put 2 gates up one on top on another, a couple of my friends close the door and they have a safety knob on the inside of the door. I have been transitioning for a while, I repeat to stay in their bed, do my bedtime routine and yes they don't fall fast asleep right away anymore due to the freedom but they do talk to one another staying in their beds. Nap is a little harder so they are are aloud to read to themselves in their bed until they fall asleep, Mine are almost 3 and I am determined to not give up my quiet time everyday and give them down time. Good luck

When I changed my daughters bed, I stayed in the room the first couple of nights just to make her feel safe in her new bed. If she tried to talk to me, I would ignore her and not even make eye contact with her. It made her feel secure with me being close, but I made it clear that I was not in there for play...it was still bed time. After the first couple of nights, I left the room but told her I would be back in to check on her. She did great. Your girls will be fine. I don't see a problem with them talking to each other. As long as they are not jumping around and playing they should do fine. If they know that you are just outside the door or that you will be back to check on them, I think they will be less likely to play.

If you have a good bedtime routine, just keep that up. When I transitioned my kids to toddler beds, we really had no problems as long as we kept up the routine. I also laid the mattress on the floor until they could sleep on the mattress all night without rolling off onto the floor. Transitioning to the bed is going to be the same approach as any other transition. Just keep up the good work! Make it fun and exciting and tell them what big kids they are Ü

I have been dealling with this for 2 weeks and I can't find a solution. I have a daughter who just doesn't want to go to sllep now that she has a bed whe wanters around in the dark. I was going to post a help advice on this too. I thought turning all the light would do the trick but she will turn one on to see during the night. Good luck.