Transitioning from a Crib to a Bed - When??

I'm interested in reading the responses to this. My daughter just turned 2 a few week ago. She too is still in her crib and doesn't seem to show any signs of wanting out, ALTHOUGH the other day I put her in for a nap and she actually tried lifting her leg over the rail...but just that one time.

I don't think there is any "real" age you need to transition her, just when you feel it's right. By all means, if it becoms a dangerous situatin, I.E. she is trying or is climbing out then sure it's time to make the transition. Otherwise keep her safe, and for lack of a better word "contained" as long as you can.

By the way we should both video tape what these kids are dong once in their crib at night and then compare tapes! Most nights my little one will just roll right over and pass out but some times she too is in their kicking the wall, talking to no-one, and just having a grand ol' time! It really is quite comical!

Girl, keep her in the crib as long as she is happy, our youngest was out at 15 months, I am so jealous:)

i would keep her where she is, if she is not complaining. once they are out of the crib, then they can "let" themselves explore their bedroom, which is fine, but they won't sleep!

At 23 mos, our daughter was out of the crib and in a toddler bed. The reason: she was a monkey and could climb in and out of the crib with the rails up or down. Once she started climbing in and out on her own, we moved her to a toddler bed, which she really loves.

I got her Dora the Explorer sheets and a few days before we did the switch we kept talking about a "big girl bed". Then we took apart her crib and didn't let her see the new bed until it was all done up with sheets, stuffed animals, etc. When she saw it she yelled, "MY BIG GIRL BED!!!!! DORA!!!!" She was so excited and we have not had a problem with her not sleeping in it. She may play in her room for a bit when she should be napping, but eventually she lays down on her own and goes to bed. I do close her door completely for nap time and enforce not coming out of her room until after she has slept. At night, we leave her door cracked.

So, until your daughter is climbing in and out, don't worry about moving her. :-)

If your child is happy in her crib,then keep her there! My son stayed in his crib until he was a little over 3. My daughter is now 28 months and still in crib. Alot of times when you take them out of their crib their namps will end.

My own personal opinion is to leave her there as long as you can. My 4 year old when into a bed at 27 months because I had my second. My little girl is 25 months and still in the crib. I plan on letting "Santa" bring her a big girl bed - I want to be sure that she won't be up and down and in and out of bed - I don't go for that at bedtime. My 4 year old is very good about staying in bed and I have my fingers crossed that the 2 year old will be good once we get her in a bed. Anyway - whatever you decide - GOOD LUCK to you and have a great week!

Hi M.,
I'd say...keep your daughter in her crib for as long as she wants to stay in there safely. My 4th child will be 3 in November and loves his crib for naps and bedtime. We have a full-sized bed in his room ready for him to sleep in, but he prefers his crib, which I love! Once they get into a big bed, they can easily get out and roam the house at night. So as long as your daughter isn't trying to climb out of her crib and she seems happy there, I'd wait a while before transitioning her to a big bed. Good luck!

OMG I would not move her. She is still young. According
to what you say, she has a blast in her crib at night.
Put her in a bed and your life will never be the same LOL.
In the crib she is confined and happy. The bed will give
her freedom to roam her room!!!!! If it ain't broke, don't
fix it.

Pat

Keep the crib for as long as possible. I just put my 33 month old in a big girl bed about 2 weeks ago, because she really wanted one(after seeing friends rooms and a tv show where teh luttle girl got a new big girl bed). The transition was very easy for her but I think that is because she expressed teh interest, not me. Don't push it or worry about it all at until you NEED to.

My son is 31 months and I have no plans to switch :). He likes his crib, and he too talks to himself and plays and actually goes over what he did that day while laying there at night. I think it's a way of unwinding, and he likes to chill there in the mornings before he calls to come out. The crib I have is higher on the back side, so we flipped it so the short side is against the wall and he would not be able to climb out. He could have easily put his leg over the railing, but never really tried. I would say, as long as she is not climbing out, keep her in there. Once they are out of the crib they are free to roam around at night, and I am milking this crib thing as long as I can.

Don't worry about what she is doing up there before falling asleep. She isn't hurting herself (or anything else) and is not crying. Let her play. It sounds like she's happy in her crib. Why take her out of it if she likes it there? She's not quite 2 yet. I think this might be a little young to go to a bed. But that's my opinion. Besides, at least while she's in the crib you know she's safe while playing before falling asleep. If you put her in a bed she may not stay in it at night and that would be something to worry about.

As long as she's happy, and not climbing out, I would leave her in the crib. Get her a big girl bed when you are ready to night time potty train. Don't do both at once though. Get her the bed, let her adjust to it, then potty train at night.

i'd leave her in her crib for awhile longer but cut down on her nap time. At 2 yrs she should be ready to get up after an hour. Try waking her up after an hour with something pleasant to do but not food. years ago this was bath time to be fresh when Daddy arrived home from work. She could also be taught to do something simple toward preparing the evening meal.

My 28 mo boy is the same way & we have no plans to take him out of the crib until he starts to climb out. That's how we did it with our middle child (who is now 10). We had to transition our oldest when he was about 25 mo because we needed the crib for the 2nd one & he NEVER napped again!!! Also, before moving to a big boy/girl bed, we plan to have both in the room for a while so that he can adjust to the idea of the new sleeping arrangements. Good luck!

We did the crib til age 3. There's nothing wrong with your daughter playing in her crib before falling asleep, as long as she isn't demanding to come out, demanding your presence, having tantrums. But if she's so busy/active at bedtime, the switch to a bed that she can get out of may not be a good idea at this time as she might try to move the party elsewhere.

I would leave her in the crib as long as you can. Once she's out of the crib she's loose. She can get up and play and all that stuff. You can keep her in her room by putting a gate in the doorway. But if she is still small enough to be in the crib (once her chest is above the rail she runs the risk of falling out). What we did was this. Make a big deal about it. New bedding, new accessories, new paint. The whole nine. We changed my son's room from the nursery to a big boy room by painting the walls and changing it to a Finding Nemo room. And I didn't do the whole toddler bed thing, just straight to a twin. He was almost 2 1/2 when we did this. It was done for him for x-mas.

So far we put both our 4 and 2 1/2 yr old in their own toddler bed a month after turning 2. We were anxious at first-afraid they would resist, get out of bed at night or too early in the morning. You'd be surprise though how wonderful it can turn out. We haven't had a problem. Sticking with routines definitely helps. We're hoping it will be just as easy with our third child after she turns 2. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Your daughter sounds hysterical!!! We never invested in a video monitor - I'm SO, SO sorry we didn't.

As for your question...if you don't need to move her, I say leave her put...being in a bed usually brings on more independence, and she'll likely start getting out of bed...you don't need that in your lives - trust me! ;)

Enjoy her, they grow so fast.
J.

PS - When the time comes and you do put her in a big girl bed - skip the toddler bed and go straight for a twin/full, whatever you'll get...I know several moms who had the toddler bed and wished they didn't...when the kids outgrow that, it's another whole transition they have to go through.
Best wishes!

It sounds like your daughter loves to entertain herself before bed! She needs to wind down, and that's the way she does it right now.
The critical question is whether or not she will understand that she has to stay in bed when there are no rails. Until she can do that, you are probably setting yourself up for frustration.
Start talking to her about big girl beds and staying in bed so she starts to understand the concept. Good luck!

I would leave your daughter in her crib as long as she is happy. I have a 23 month old and she is the EXACT same way. She'll talk, sing, bang her feet, throw her binky out of the crib, etc. for up to an hour. She even does it for her naps at times. I thought that she had a problem, but then I realized, she isn't crying and she seems pretty happy. I'm keeping her in there for as long as I can. That way she can't get out of bed and start playing - at least with her in her crib, she can only do so much before falling asleep.

Hi M.
What's the hurry?
Our oldest stayed in his crib til he was about 4 and we needed the crib for the new baby on the way. He never climbed out, he loved his crib.
Same crib 2nd kid, he climbed out at 5 months. When we couldn't keep him in, we set up the other twin bed.
The twin girls were about 2 1/2 and we simply put sides down for about a year.
That's my story and my comment why hurry if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Any thoughts from your parents. Ask they will be glad you value their opinion
God bless
K. SAHM of 4 grown children married 38 years, and yesterday our younger son and his wife of 7 years had our first grandbaby.

Hi M..
What a funny little girl. That's her way of calming herself down. My kids usually sing to themselves for a while or talk to their teddy bears. So cute. As adults we have our ways of winding down before going to bed or falling asleep and this is a child's way. Thank God she knows how to "self soothe" because really that's what it is. Think of all the parents who have to sit or lay with their child so they will go to sleep. You should video it. When she's older it will be so funny to watch!

I'm all for leaving the child in the crib if their happy there till they grow out of it! Why not. My first son was almost 3 when we moved him out and that was because we had another on the way, but he was fine in the bed as well. My little guy is 32 months and still in a crib. We are moving in a few months and not taking his crib so at that point we're going to switch him over.

No rush...whenever your both ready!

Well, I skimmed the other responses & I just have something to add that I don't think anyone mentioned. My son (almost 2) is the same way in his crib at night, and we were considering shortening his naps or putting him to bed later.

But then I started thinking about how long it take for me to fall asleep at night after I get into bed - usually over an hour for me. But because I'm an adult I can keep my thoughts in my head and I can resist throwing myself from side to side or kicking the wall, etc.

So I guess I'm longwinded as well - don't worry about about how long it takes her to fall asleep because it is rare (or lucky) for anyone to fall asleep as soon as their head hits the pillow.

I knew when it was time to get my three oldest the "big kid" bed when they started climbing out of their cribs.

My 2 year old is content being the hers and does the same thing...playing for a while until she wakes me up.

Sorry about the 1.5 hour naps. I guess I lucked out with mine taking a 3-4 hr one.

Nanc
Independent Sales Representative
http://www.youravon.com/nancybagley

It sounds like your girl really loves her crib. Both of my boys were in their cribs until 3 years old or more. There's no rush if they are happy there! I left the side down low enough so they could crawl out on their own in the morning. My six year old really missed his crib when we did switch him to a bed - I almost went back to it! So I would keep her there is she is happy. the time to switch to a bed may come naturally - for instance if you have a second child or are redecorating her room . . .

Hi M., I agree there is no rush to put her into a bed. She does sound like a lot of fun! Enjoy, Grandma Mary