Wondering About a Toddler Bed

everything I've read says not to push moving them to toddler bed. As long as he's happy in crib, keep him there! If you have a second baby coming and have to use the crib for the baby, then you would transition him to toddler bed, either months before baby arrives or months after baby arrives.

If you are potty training him and he is ready to start taking himself to the bathroom in the night time then he needs to be in a bed - otherwise he is safer in his crib. I made the mistake of taking my oldest out when she was two and all she did was wander around the house for months until I could get her to stay in her bed.

I have always heard, "leave them in the crib until they climb out". It worked for us and we moved our middle child at 2 3/4. She transitioned just fine and has never gotten out of bed and no problem at nap. I will do the same with my third - we have always kept the crib/bed a safe place - it's their comfort space. We don't send them to their room or bed for time out. Good luck!

My son was 3, (with baby sister on the way) when we put him in a toddler bed. He loved it. He was a climber in the crib, so we converted his crib to a toddler bed, then moved him to a twin before his sister came.

My daughter was 2. She wanted to be in a big bed like her brother. We used the rail that attaches under the mattress and had no problems with either falling out.

If your son is happy and safe, I'd say leave him where he is. No need to rush him to a big boy bed!

I'd say in your case your case, since its easier to put him to bed, keep him in the crib until at least 2 yrs (unless he figures out how to climb out before then. I moved my son into a "big boy bed" at 20 months only because we needed the crib for his baby brother, it went very smoothly so we did the same with our youngest son.

Hi J.,

It's really a personal decision because I don't think that there is a universal "right" time to transfer a child into a big bed. Take cues from your child, and you will know when it feels right.

I moved my first son out of his crib at 17 months so that we could make room for #2 who arrived 3-months later. The transition went well. I moved #2 out of his crib at 15 months because he learned how to climb out. I would have liked to keep him in for at least 2-years, but he made the choice for me. I just went with the flow, and for the most part it's been fine.

Good luck!

Hi J.,
I sort of battled this same question with my twins once they turned 2. But I figured as long as they were not climbing out of it there was no rush. I agree with you that it is much easier to put them to bed in the crib than in a toddler bed. So all of a sudden my son (my twins are now 29 months old) started getting out. Of course we didn't want him to hurt himself by doing this so we decided it was time to get toddler beds. There is definitely no rush and you will know when that time comes. I hope this helped. Good luck :)
S.

One of my girls had a toddler bed and the other had a convertible bed (started as a crib, turned into a toddler bed.) Looking back, neither one of the girls used the toddler beds long. Even with the toddler beds I had to use a safety rail / guard, so personally if I had to do it again, I would just step up to a twin and put up a safety guard. I wouldn't do it until he's ready though. I'm not sure there is any "perfect" time for all kids. Just pay attention and he'll let you know when it's time.

Hi J.. My kids are almost exactly 2 years apart. The Dr. told us that is was imperative to move our oldest out of the crib asap because he would be jealous of the baby in there yada yada yada and so we did. He went from doing very well in the crib to our bed! No toddler bed for him! Needless to say we were a little pieved!! I always suggest to everyone.. KEEP THE BABY IN THE CRIB AS LONG AS POSSIBLE! Our oldest is 3 1/2 and still being weined out of our bed! AH! I have read that unless the baby is climbing out of the crib or seriously knocking it to pieces it's ok to leave them in there! Good luck!!

Hi J.,
My daughter will be 3 in July and is still in her crib. She LOVES her crib and sometimes I can't get her out! I asked her pediatrician when I should move her to a toddler bed and he said as long as she is happy not to worry about it. I will wait until she starts to ask about it then remove the front rail as our crib turns into a toddler bed. At 2 yrs old, most children don't really understand imaginary boundaries such as a regular bed. My best friend moved her daughter into a regular bed at 2 yrs old and started having major problems with night waking and bedtimes which haven't resolved and she is now 5.
Sincerely,
L.

Hi J.,
Current wisdom is to wait until at least age 2. I was kept in a crib untl kindergarten, I don't recommend that. (No space for a bed, 4th kid, etc.) But waiting until he's 2-1/2 won't hurt anything, and every day he learns more self-control. Let me make a suggestion: When he does move into a big boy bed, consider putting a safety gate on his bedroom door. So if he gets up in the middle of the night and you are sleeping, he can't make his way into the kitchen, etc. Good luck!

Hi J. - I put my very active son in a bunk bed (lower-level) at 9 months. He got out of the crib (climbed over the railing and fell to the floor) and nearly killed himself, so I decided to get the bed. He did just fine sleeping in the bed, and boy it was so much easier to make the bed than the crib. Good luck!!
D.

Hi J.,
Keep him in the crib until he either outgrows it or figures out how to climb out.
Congratulations on your 2nd career, it's wonderfully awarding to be a mom.
All my best, S.

Everything I read said 3 is the ideal age to transition to a bed. That being said, I had climbers, and we felt it a safety issue to keep them in the crib and I did not like the idea of a crib tent. My son moved to a bed (full size bed with a rail) at 16 months. In the early days, we did have some issues keeping him in it, but he got passed that pretty quickly. We did end up putting a gate on his door (again a safety issue). We wanted to prevent him from wandering should he wake in the middle of the night. My daughter was 22 months when we converted her crib to a toddler bed. She has done fine with the transition at night, but tends to get out and play with her toys at naptime. Again, we gated her door so she can't roam the house at night, but she rarely gets out of bed after falling asleep. You generally need a bed rail for most kids, especially if they move a lot in their sleep, because the reflex for not falling off the edge of something doesn't develop until around 4 (although earlier for some kids and I am sure later for others). I say for you, if the crib is working, I wouldn't change anything. I wanted to keep my daughter in it for much longer, but we caught her with both legs over the top on more than one occasion, and I wasn't willing to let her get hurt for my convenience.

Don't rush it....keep him in the crib a long as he's willing to be there to at least 3 yrs. Our older son stayed in til 3 & wasn't even trying to climb out.....only moved to toddler bed cuz my brother made him one. Younger son started climbing outa the crib at about 2 yrs or so & by 2.5 yrs, we moved him to the bottom bunk & it worked out OK. I personlaly think toddler beds are a wate of money.....you spend at least $100 & then in 2 yrs you have to buy a whole other bed for more. Save the money & go straight to a twin when ready to get him outa the crib.

Keep him in a crib as long as you can or till he can get out on his own. If you are worried about injury while learning to escape put down a pillow or two "just in case". I have twin girls that just went from crib to twin size beds. They love them and they just turned 3. Don't waste your money on a toddler bed we did on our 1st daughter and going straight to a twin bed was so much easier.

Hi J.,
From my own experience, I would wait. I took my son out of the crib even though he could not climb out and then he was up and down all the time. Mostly climbing in our bed. If I had to make the decision over again, I would have waited and then moved him to a regular bed.
Good Luck in your decision.

Hi J.,

We went through this very question with our toddler last year, and at about the same age as yours is now. I advise a toddler bed now. We decided to wait a little longer, as he had not yet learned to climb out, and then one day, he did and fell on his head, hitting his back on the way down. He didn't want to move his legs for about 5 minutes. Luckily he is ok, but I consider it just that: luck. It was very, very scary, and we got him a toddler bed that day!
By the way, if you do get him a toddler bed, be ready with the camera. Our little boy was beyond excited to get his own little bed and we have the most adorable pictures from the first half hour on his bed :)

Hi J.,
Im a 24 year old single mother, I went into this BLIND and with no help. Wow the things I have learned in the past 4 years. I have 3 1/2 year old daughter and a 2 1/2 year old son…
first off...keep him in the crib as long as he is comfy and safe. obviously there will come a time when he wont "Fit" in there. MY wild Child, learned early how to climb out of the crib. HE would sorta teader totter over the bar on his belly until he flipped out. i would come in his room in the middle of the night and Find him sleeping on the floor. It was really weird, I just couldn’t imagine him getting out of there without falling on the ground, and you’d think with that he would cry or fuss…nope never. Until one night I stayed up and witnessed the action first hand, I found it frightening and a little amusing at the same time. I’m my opinion he was showing signs of being ready for a big boy bead however he had just hit his 21st month and I was scared it was too soon, I was forced to put him in a toddler bed to avoid injury, as he had already broke his right arm jumping off my bed. That was a very difficult transition because he was constantly getting up out of bed, nothing I did would keep him in there. I would have to put him to sleep in my bed then carry him into his room; he is doing better as he gets older, because it is easier for him to understand he is to sleep in his “big boy” bed. My suggestion would be to wait as long as you possibly can, in my opinion you are not depriving anyone of anything in fact you would be depriving your self of some sleep if you rush it. LOL. Well good luck with your lil guy! Take care

Hi J.,
It sounds like my 6 year old son was/is a lot like your toddler. Although I put a toddler bed in his room to try out, I immediately realized that it would not work for us and so I gave the toddler bed away and put my son back in his crib. He went straight from crib to twin bed. I think we made the crib to bed change when he was about 2 1/2. He was sleeping relatively soundly/happily in his 'big boy' bed by the time he was 3. We was also completely potty trained. We never used pull ups. The only thing that we needed to do was to lay with him until he fell asleep and then, as he got older (it still happens from time to time now) we would go into his room when he called out to us and either lay down with him until he fell back asleep or comfort him and talk to him about what was bothering him (a bad dream, what another child had said/done to him the day before/was ET real/etc. I hope this helps. You sound like a really great Mom. Keep up the good work! A. PS: those first five years really do fly by. It is well worth putting in the sometimes very trying hard work during these years. The results will pay off 100 fold in the long run. Have fun...

Keep him in the crib until he can jump out. My daughter stayed in her crib til 2 years and then learned to jump out so immediately we switched her to a bed which she never stayed in. After 2 years in our bed she finally is in her own. Her little brother who is 22 1/2 mos is in a toddler bed and he comes into my room at least 2 times during the night for me to take him back to his bed. There is too much freedom for these guys when you move them to the bed.
Good luck!

Having one child, who never used a crib in the first place, our goal was to get her out of our bed (most of the time). The toddler bed rules.

Beanie started napping in it around 18 months and transitioned to it for full nights around 20. She's been using it for over a year, it's great.

Ours is on the end of our bed. I like that it's easy to make, uses a crib mattress (since we never had a crib, it was nice to finally use the dang mattress my cousin gave us and the sweet crib sheets my aunt made!) We even figured out a way to use the crib bumper I bought back before I found out about cosleepers and family beds--we wrapped it around the hard parts near the head and tied it down, and it's quite cute when used with the crib blanket it came with.

Our daughter can get in and out on her own, and will actually request to lay down in her "own bed" when she's tired. I like that she "owns" it in that way. She still crawls into bed with us at night sometimes.

Yesterday when her father asked why, she said "cuddle with mommy cozy."

Lordy. Toddler bed+ infrequent cosleeping snuggletime bliss= happiness.