Transitioning Toddlers from Crib to Toddler Bed

My son got his toddler bed for X-mas when he was 21 mnths old. So it was exciting for him. We potty trained at about 2.5 and when he went pee/poop in the potty we gave him mms. We made a big deal about how big of a boy he was. My 7 month old just went from his bassinet to a crib, and that wasn't fun. He falls asleep in his bouncer, take him out, put him in bed, he wakes up. You just got to keep at it. Iknow that sucks, eventually they will go in their and go to sleep.

Hello,

We have been having the same problem with our triplets. I found that soothing them, (rubbing backs or reading) helps to relax them.

We can sympathize with you.

Not much help but hope it helps some.

L.

Yes - like the first poster I was going to suggest bribery. In general tho you just have to stick your guns and keep putting them back into bed. It may take several days. When they see that this is the way it is going to be then they will give up. In the meantime, talk up the big deal it is to be a "big boy" that gets to have a "real bed" etc etc. Goodluck!

I have twin boys, and we had to transition at 25 months because they were climbing out of their cribs. We made a big deal out of the whole thing. Brought them to the store with us, let them "help" pick out their sheets, wave "bye bye" to the cribs. You get the idea. The first night was hilarious. They clearly thought they were getting away with something. We just closed the door and let them run amok (the room is kid-proofed, so all they can do is make a mess). When the crying started, we went in and asked them if they would like us to cover them up before they went "night night". They were so wiped out at that point, they pretty much drifted off to sleep before we were done. Since then, we have a bedtime ritual of pjs and stories, then covers go on and everyone gets kisses. After a couple of rounds of covers and kisses, they usually fall asleep on their own. After a week we noticed there was more night waking, so we brought back out their turtle night light so there would be some light. That made a big difference. They pretty much settle themselves back down now like they did with their cribs. The boys are 27 months old this week, and we find we don't miss the cribs at all.

We transitioned my daughter at 20 mos., and I luckily have not had any problems with her playing around. I would suggest removing all the toys in their rooms, and just having some books to look at. Also, re-baby proofing their rooms, so there is nothing to distract them from sleeping. Good luck, it will get easier!

My daughter started climbing out at 18 months - ahh and so I converted to a toddler bed then. It was okay for a while as I had a safety lock on the door and so after some getting in and out, she realized she needed to go to bed and did so. Now that she is 30 months, she knows how to open any safety lock and is entirely autonomous. It is real fun ahhh. She can also turn on the lights and "read" for a few hours or go downstairs to play in the middle of the night. Luckily, I tend to hear her every move so there is a lot of time spent getting her back to bed. But this too will pass and then there will be some other challenge :) enjoy.

Good luck! When I transitioned my toddler to his bed around 24 months old it was awful! I will tell you that it does get better... I promise~ It took us awhile for the playing and crying to stop. My son ended up sleeping in his closet... We think he liked the enclosed feeling. We eventually got him out of his closet and into a bed with a bed tent over it. He feels enclosed enough, but he's in a twin bed and comfy. Try different things to see what works for your boys. Stay strong... it will get better!!!!

Try a reward system for staying in bed. Sticker charts are not going to work. A trip to the dollar store at the end of the week if they stay in their beds. Then they can pick whatever they want in the store! lol Just like we work every day for a paycheck at the end of the week, kids need some sort of reward for doing what is a job for them. Good luck! It does get easier, then they sneak in to your bed in the middle of the night, and you're too tired to care!

I know that switching from crib to bed is tough and with twins it's tough times 2!!! I've got twins so i can relate.
Mine are now 8, and we're all still alive--so hang in there!
If they are sharing a room, you are going to have a bit of party central--but it will tone down.
First and foremost--you have to stick with it.
When you put them to bed, let them know that big boys get to sleep in a big boy bed and they should feel good about that, then do your good nights. Just like with sleep training, go in after 10-15 minutes let them know time to sleep and then leave the room. you may have to do it several times till they quit. The process took us about 2 weeks to get through.
hang in there!!

lay on the floor by the bed, lay them both down. Turn down the lights ... now play castle stories it will peak thier imagination and wind them down. Castl stories you start out by telling them you were driving in your car and it breaks down. You walk up to the door of a mansion the name on the door just happens to be your last name. no one is home but the door is open so you go in. You see a door on right and you all go in now the fun begins. Our rooms could be anything you love and find fun. We would have jungle rooms where there would be monkies the rooms always have buttons on the walls we would press them and a hot fudge sundae would come out on a tray. there would be ropes that would take us from tree to tree. There could be a chocolate lake . I would start will my room then on every other night the boys would take turns starting a room. because each wanted to be first. After they both do the rooms then you tell stories very low in tone about something you remember as a child , this will calm them down and get them relaxed. After your story if they want to talk just say now this is quiet time. They should drift off lay there with them till this happens. The next day tell them to think of a new room for tonight . You'll be surprised they accually want to go to bed to tell about the room. We had lego rooms dino rooms video rooms barney rooms many crazy things came out of the walls in those rooms. Try this it works great. my boys are 19 and 14 and both still remember the fun rooms we had. we made some great memories and we did this for a long time, my husband had fun with to. Oh BTW i many times woke up on that floor and had to put myself to bed. I also told my boys my mom told me castle stories when she thought i was old enough, but use the big boy bed for your reason. Also no one gets to interupt someone elses room, one room at a time. good luck