When Did You Move Your Toddler into a Bed?

No, there is no certain time to move a child out of a crib. I have 3 kids and my oldest moved out of a crib at 15 months old (we needed the crib for her baby brother soon), then my son didn't move out of his bed till he was close to 3 years old, and now I have a 2 year old (and 3 months) who is still in one. She doesn't mind it and although she would probably do fine in a regular bed.I dont want to move her yet.

So, it varies and there is no set time. Just do what you want. If your son seems happy in his crib and you are happy with him in his crib...keep him there! :)

I have two boys, 5 and almost 3. And I didn't move either of them until after their second birthdays, and both times, it was because we knew we'd be needing the crib soon for another baby. I happened to just glance at "The Happiest Baby on the Block" and they suggest in there to wait (unless there's a compelling reason like climbing out) until they're three. They say that between the ages of 2 and 3, kids go through so many changes, they often find the safety and familiarity of their crib reassuring. My oldest was excited to move into a bed, but #2 took some time. He was about 2 1/2 when he decided he wanted to move into the bed, and since we let him make the decision, it went very smoothly. And we've never had trouble with either of them wandering.

People always have opinions about what you should be doing with your kids, but it sounds like you know him and you know what works for your family. Trust yourself; I wouldn't be thinking about moving him yet, and if he's happy, it works for everyone!

If he loves his crib, why hurry? The decision should really just be based on what works for you. My son is 15 months old and is sleeping on a full size bed (sits low to the floor) with his crib mattress next to it in case he rolls out. With the monitor (and even without!) we hear him if he gets up-love the crinkly crib mattress! We would not have moved him so early except that its the end result of our efforts to move him out of our bed. He's ALWAYS hated his crib. We didn't co-sleep at all really as long as we had his bassinette. Once we got rid of it, it was open season on our bed. So, ultimately it is all about your own family's needs. If he likes it and you're more comfortable, leave him in his crib for a while longer.

My daughter was 26 months when we switched her crib into a daybed. We still have a side wall on the front as she moves around a lot at night. We switched her bed at 26 months to get her used to crawling in and out as she is almost potty trained.
I would say if he is not trying to crawl out and is comfortable in his crib, then leave it the way it is.

With our children we kept them in the crib until they started climbing out. We let that be our guide. Our daughters were around 2, but our son was 3. If they like their cribs, they don't mind going into them and they aren't climbing out, why move them? Some people are in too much of a hurry. Honestly, you'll find people moving their kids into a bed at 12 months, but then they want to know how to keep them there! Just do what's best for you and your family and ignore everyone else. Good luck!
B.

My opinion is if the child is 'happy' in their crib they are fine. My daughter is 2 1/2 and she is still in her crib. She calls it her tiny bed. So that is what we call it. She could get out if she wanted to. She has a few times. But after she tried it about 3 times it must not have been so exciting to her because now she stays in there. She doesn't sleep the greatest anyway and I think putting her in a toddler bed would wreck havoc! We both decided if she asks then we'll move her or if there are problems but otherwise we'll leave her. We bought another crib for our 2nd DD. She sleeps a million times better so we won't be as hesitant to move her when the time is right :)

Our son turned 3 in August and he's still in his crib! He loves it and has never climbed out, so it works for us!

We did it at about 2 years for all three of our boys. Their rooms are upstairs, so we also took into consideration how well they could go up and down the stairs. Sometimes they sleep walk. For our third boy, we did it on his birthday, and made a big deal out of it. It's all up to you. Our youngest boy who is 19 months now, I think it might be a little longer before he gets a toddler bed. He doesn't stop moving. If he still likes his crib, there's no need to rush, they grow up fast enough. Good luck

Hi A.! Your little one sounds so sweet! I love that he asks to play in his crib! Adorable! I would say don't worry about going to a big bed until he is able to climb out on his own. It's funny, I have people asking when we are getting a "big girl bed" for our little one, too.....why are people so anxious for our little ones to grow up? :)
You are RIGHT! Keep him sleeping in the crib for as long as possible! Especially when he loves it so!

My son's Dr. told us that the perfect time is right before they start climbing out. So if you notice him start trying to climb out when he wakes up from naps, etc. Then for safety reasons its time to move to the "big boy" bed. Until then I wouldn't worry about making the transition.

A. -

When I was pregnant, my girlfriend told me not to rush ANYTHING with my baby. And she mentioned, in particular getting him into a big boy bed.

So, I waited till my son was just about three and it worked out great.

He LOVED his crib. Sure, he could get out if he really wanted to, but he loved sleeping there.

When we transitioned him into a twin bed - NOT ONCE did we have issues of him escaping or running around crazy because he was free.

My inlaws also commented that he was too old to be in a crib. I smiled and told them that he was doing just fine, but thanks for your concern! They always brought it up and I always gave the same answer. Soon, they stopped asking.

Good Luck!

D. in milwaukee

I'm sure you will hear this response alot but, if he loves his crib, then leave him there. I moved my boy out of his crib and into a toddler bed at 2 because he was tall enough to crawl out of his crib - even at the lowest setting - and it was a safety thing. My opinion - take it for what it's worth - would be to leave him in his crib until he is at least 2. Good Luck!!

A.,

I tried to wait as long as I could, my boy was an active boy as well, he was close to 3 when we moved him to his "big boy bed" I would have prefered to keep him in his crib until age 3 but around 2 1/2 he decided one night (at bed time) to jump in his crib, I kept going in and laying him down, but all the activity warped the screws in his crib (it looked unstable) so he had to be moved to his big bed that night (I did not trust the crib) and that was a long night of him comming out of his room, and up until he turned three I dreaded bedtime, he made it into a game of up and down. After he turned 3 bedtime has gotten easier. Good Luck!

You could do it now if hes ready for it. With the things that you said he is not. Now if he was climbing out of it I would say that the toddler bed would be safer. Go with your instinct-he's your child.

My daughter was about 16 months when I moved her into a toddler bed, but her bed was in my room, so I knew if she got up. She would only get up around 4 to sleep with me, or to go to the bathroom, so not sure what to do about him possibly getting out of bed at night, but i would think with the whole house being dark he would only head straight to your room.

..one thing i should add is when I put her in the toddler bed, I put her bed between my low bed and the wall, so it was sort of like a low crib but with no rail by the feet.

A.,

I am of the opinion of "if it isn't broken, don't fix it" when it comes to changes for a toddler. My son was over 3 when I moved him out of his crib. Yes, we had two cribs because my boys are 20 months apart. It was easier for me, so that's what we did :) We tried converting the crib to a toddler bed for my older son after he turned two, but seriously, I couldn't deal with him getting out all the time at nap time (bedtime worked better). So, we made it back into a crib until he asked for a big boy bed after his 3rd birthday. We had one night of him getting up, and that was it. Since then bedtime has been a dream. I recommend waiting until your little one is either climbing out and it is no longer safe, or until he is old enough to understand that bedtime is for sleeping and he needs to stay in his bed.

My second son is 22 months (and I am due with another baby in 3 weeks) and I intend to leave my toddler in his crib as long as possible, even if it means setting up the second crib again!

J.

I didn't move either of my boys until the outgrew their crib. I didn't go by any "set" age.

I agree with you. I left my boy's in their crib's as long as possiable. I moved them to a "big boy" bed when they started to climb out of the crib and were in danger of getting hurt. TC, J.

Our kids transitioned between 20-22 months. I think you can do it earlier but I personally didn't want to. I felt they understood what I was saying more around age two.

I'm not sure why people are sticking their nose where it doesn't belong but kindly tell them that he won't be in his crib forever and that you'll consider it in a few months or when he's starting to climb out.

Hi A.,
Don't worry about what other people think. My personal opinion is that you should keep your child in his crib so long as he is happy in there and not climbing out. Once he starts to climb out or maybe even tries to climb out, you should move him to a "big boy" bed. The last thing you want is for him to fall on his head trying to get out of his crib which could easily happen. Until then, let your son and you enjoy his crib years whether they be one year or four years.
Best of luck to you,
L.

Hi, I have two teenage daughters. They both stayed in their cribs until they were three. They loved their beds and only crawled out of their cribs in the morning when they got old enough to get out. I just made sure the side was down then. You may have an issue with your active little guy, as he may learn to get out and run around pretty soon, I know a lot of families that had little climbers that got out at a really early age and it was safer to move to a toddler bed. Don't let people pressure you, the right time is when you say it is time to move to a big bed. Good luck!

It's recommended that you wait until age 3 (at least thats what all the books say) as long as you can and I agree. If he is into everything and is being your typical toddler, he needs the physical boundary of not being able to get out of bed whenever he wants. If you put him in a bed now, he most likely will start giving you trouble at naptime and bedtime. Ignore what people say and go with what your mommy instincts tell you, which seems to be that you think he should stay in his crib.

We moved our son at 20 months because he was climbing out of the crib. If I were you, I would leave him in the crib for as long as you can. You can get a crib tent to cover it to keep them from "escaping" if you want. Check Babies R Us. He'll let you know when he's ready to get out...

Hi,
We moved my son to his toddler bed a few days after he turned 2. The only reason we moved him when we did was because he kept jumping out of his crib and we didn't want him to get hurt. We figured if he wasn't going to stay in bed, we might as well make it safer for him to get out. If he hadn't started that we would have kept him in his crib longer.

There is no right age, it's totally up to you. If you and your son are happy with the crib then stick with it. If your son still likes it and is not trying to climb out of it then nothing to worry about. With us we moved my son to a twin bed when he was 20 months old. My husband and I were trying to get pregnant and we wanted him out of the crib by the time I got pregnant. He did great in the bed and only fell out a hand full of times. With my daughter we moved her a couple of months ago when she was 17 months old. She wants to do whatever her brother does and absolutely did not want to sleep in the crib any longer. So we set up a twin bed in her room and she loved it and no longer wanted the crib.

You'll laugh at this one but I have a boy who will turn 4 in a few days who still sleeps in his crib. He started to climb out at 2 but the crib tent did the trick. He loves it so much that he talks about moving into a big boy bead when he gets much older, maybe when he's 11 or 13. Yes, he really loves his crib. He thinks he's sleeping in a tent, just like camping and I think that's why he loves it so much.

You'll know when it's time. Your child will let you know.

Good luck!

PS Yes, my child is affectionaly called "my wild child" by my hubby.

I moved our first son into a toddler bed the second time he climbed/fell out of the crib. Actually what I did at that time was take the side off the crib and had the toddler bed right up to that side. That was right around 12 months. I took the crib away right around 2 yrs because I was expecting son #2 (they are 26 months apart.

Our second son, I let him have the crib and toddler bed next to each other from when he was 15 months. My brother needed to borrow the crib a couple of months later so I wanted my son to be used to the toddler bed before taking the crib fully away.

I basically moved both of them into twin beds the same way.

I agree with you! I moved my kids out when the next one was one the way which was around 2, but I probably would have left them a little longer if I didn't need to use the crib for the baby!

My oldest was in the crib until he was just about 3, that is when we moved to our new house and he got a new bedroom set, and we were expecting a new baby so we just set up his new bedroom with his new bedroom set and he never had a problem, never got out of bed or fell out, he'd become a much less active sleeper by then.

My youngest is 3 and he just moved out of the crib about 6mos ago too.

They were both happy in the crib, and I really don't think a child can outgrow a crib size wise until they are 3-4yrs old, especially people who claim thier kid outgrew the crib, but then move them into a toddler bed.... its the same size as the crib! My nephew is 5 and still has a toddler bed, and he's a big kid, fits him great. My boys both sleep on toddler beds at my moms, and my oldest is 6.5!

Anyway, my point is if he's happy, let him be. No rush, and no set age. I would have been fine leaving the boys in the crib until they were 3-4yrs old, as long as they are sleeping good, its fine!

I say keep him in the crib as long as possible. Like you said he likes his crib. I think the time to move him to a toddler bed is when he's not safe in the crib anymore. When he starts getting out of the crib by himself that's when he's no longer safe in his crib. If he's not trying to jump out on his own then let him have his crib as long as he likes it.
Putting them in a toddler bed is a huge change for them. Good luck.

My daughter (who is now almost 5) loved her crib too. She was also a very active toddler. We chose to keep her in her crib because she was so very happy and content with it. We finally moved her to a toddler bed when we got serious about potty training. She needed to be able to get out of bed if she needed to go potty. If it wasn't for that issue, we would have kept her in her crib longer.

B.

If he is fine in his crib don't move him yet! The closer you get to the age of 3 the easier the transition should be. They are more able to understand and follow directions about staying in bed. It is tempting to move to that next step, but I think it will benefit you to wait.

I just moved my daughter to a twin bed a week ago. She is 32 months old. The transition went very well.

Hi A.,
I am probably a bit on the "long side" of keeping a child in a crib, but here goes...
I kept my 2 boys in their cribs as long as possible. I liked that they were 'contained' and couldn't get out and into everything while they were napping or sleeping at night. We had our boys about 1 1/2 years apart and I actually borrowed a 2nd crib from a friend so we could keep our older boy in his crib and still have a crib for our newborn. (We ended up moving our older one to a big bed at 2 1/2 yrs old). And we JUST took down the crib of our youngest one.... he's 3 now. I know that seems old, but he loved his crib and never tried to get out of it, so we just kept him in it until he physically got too big for it.
It's different for each family. I have friends that had their 1 year olds in a big bed. I am always an advocate of whatever works best for YOUR family, no matter what "everybody else" seems to be doing.
Hope this helps- Tami

A.,
My son is 17 months old. I dont even think of him as a toddler. He is still a baby to me. I have two older boys and didn't put them in toddler until they were over 2. They rested better and couldn't get up and run around and I rested better at night knowing that they were safe in their cribs. You are the best judge of when your little one is ready to be in a bed. I would go with what feels right to you.

My oldest moved out of his Crib at 20 months. BUT I was 8 months pregnant and having a hard time getting him in and out....and when we moved him to the toddler bed, he never tried to get out of bed before we came in to get him.

I have a 16 month old, who is always standing and running around his crib and trying to get my oldest's attention at night. DH and I just had the discussion the other day that we don't think he'll stay in a toddler bed. We are going to keep him in a crib until it's too dangerous (ie: he tries to climb out) or we think he's hit an age where he'll stay in a toddler bed, with out getting out.

I have heard of 2 year olds still sleeping in cribs...as long as the child fits and doesn't climb out...what ever works for your family is best.

seems he's doing fine in his crib, you could probably wait.

I think you are smart not to rush moving him out of his crib. My daughter slept in hers until she was 2 1/2. I always thought it was so nice to know where she was once I put her to sleep. I have an active 15 month old boy and plan to wait as long as I can with him. As long as climbing out and hurting themselves is not an issue I see no reason to rush the transition, especially if the crib is working well for all of you--which it sounds like it is. Good luck and trust your instincts, it's your little one!!