Almost 3 Year Old Moving to "Real Bed"

I put both of my boys' mattresses on the floor when we transitioned. Didn't buy any guards or special beds. Then, when they were used to the bed and stayed in without falling out all the time, I put the rest of the bed together for them to sleep in (mattress, boxspring, frame).

Best of luck!

Wow, you've had a good run! My now 17 yr old daughter was out of the crib by 17 months!

We had a queen matress/boxspring that we put on the floor and it worked well for us. Never had an issue with her venturing out. I did have baby gates at the steps to be on the safe side.

Good luck!

My daughter stayed in her crib until 3.5 yrs old! I say, if it ain't broke don't fix it!
But if you do - queen bed is fine, lock bathroom door and gate him in his room at night.

My son was in his crib till about 3 1/2 and then we switched him to a twin bed.
We got long rails for both sides even though one side was against a wall.
I didn't want him getting caught between the bed and the wall.
He could get in and out when ever he wanted to, but then he was doing that with his crib since he was 1 1/2.
If he woke up in the night we never had to worry about him wandering the house.
He would come straight to me every single time (our bedroom was right across the hall from his).
Once he figured out I would take him back to bed if he woke me up, he started tucking himself in at the foot of our bed without waking us up, and he'd be snoozing there in the morning while holding onto my foot.

My kids all started with a regular mattress on the floor at around 18 months. At 3 you could have him start with the mattress and box springs, that's not high enough to really get hurt if he falls out.
As far as "containing" him, how is behavior with everything else? Is he a good listener, does he respect boundaries or is he constantly getting into things he's not supposed to? Hopefully at 3 he's verbal enough to understand that he only gets out of bed to go potty, or if he's sick or something.
He can still read books in bed, everything will be the same, just approach it like that and the transition should be pretty smooth. I think he will like it :)

I was also afraid of messing with a good thing when I moved my son out of his crib. I was very plesantly surprised when he did not leave his toddler bed at all for about a year after we switched! He would stay in his bed and when he woke up he would call for us to come get him. He gets out sometimes now but thats a different story ;0) Moving from a crib to a queen size is a big difference though. I recall my brother had a very similar situation with his son... they had the queen just sitting there and it did not seem to make sense to buy a new bed, so they switched from the crib to the queen bed. His son did not adjust well - he actually found it to be too big and a bit overwhelming. My brother ended up trading his MIL the queen bed for a twin bed she had and then his son adjusted much better. Just a thought! I agree though that toddler beds are a waste - we got ours as a free hand me down but looking back even though it was free I kind of wish we went straight to a twin b/c now we have to "transition" again, and you know I think we all get worried about messing with anything when the kids are sleeping well!

Just put the mattress on the floor.
That is what we did with my son.

My son, when 3 years old, LOVED his crib, and slept SO well in it. Then one day HE told us he wanted to be in a regular bed. So then we did. But a mattress on the floor. And he was fine and slept fine.

Now, per my son, a PART of his going to bed and winding down was, that he played for a bit, with his toys. First. THEN he fell asleep. I am not one who expects my kids to fall asleep as soon as then lay down. I don't do that myself, it takes time to actually wind down and fall asleep. I tell my son, he can "wind down" and play for about 10 minutes. Then he's fine. And he will lie down.
He is not a wanderer.

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We had bed rails for my boys because the bed was kind high (boxspring and mattress) and they have hardwood floors in their room. The rails are just so they don't accidentally roll out while they are sleeping. At three you want them to be able to get in and out of bed on their own. They would get up at night to use the washroom, or get up and watch tv if they were the first ones awake in the morning. Just check on him before you go to bed, and if he is up playing, tell him to go to bed.

There's no "harm" in leaving him right where he is.
But at 3, you've had a good crib run! LOL
Get rails for O. or both sides of the queen bed.
You might need to gate his doorway/bathroom doorway, if the thought of him roaming around the house while you sleep freaks you out, as it did me!

You're smart to skip a toddler bed--can't use the rails ands they're just a waste of space, money and time.

Get it all ready (rails, gate, etc) and allow him to choose--crib or big bed!

Good luck!

*If the bed is next to a wall get a guard rail for the side that isn't, otherwise for both.
*Tell him when he turns 3 he'll be sleeping in his bed like a big boy.
*Have him start taking naps or spend "quiet time" in it during the afternoon. For some reason I've found that kids adapt better to sleeping in beds during the day, I guess because they can see everything.
*Get a book or books about sleeping in a bed (I had one with Elmo going from a crib to a bed) and read those with him.
*Dismantle the crib and get it gone so it's not an option.
*Put a high lock on the bathroom door to keep him out at night, but figure out what you will do for potty training, if he'll use his bathroom or the family one.
*Get some character bedding he likes for the bed to make it his own. Sheets and comforters in juvenile styles don't come in queen size, so get coordinating solids and accent with character toss pillows, throws and a rug and lamp to pull it together.
*Put toys up in his closet or remove them from the room, leave books out and allow him to read in bed as he does in his crib.
*Put a gate across his door if you think he won't stay in his room.

I used the books, got rid of the crib, bought the character bedding, had him takes naps for a few days in it before using it at night, used the "big boy" approach (at 2), and the gate across his door with my guy, and he transitioned easily.

When my son turned two we made his crib a toddler bed, and he would always get out. It was a nightmare since he couldn't understand the need to stay, but at 3 it should be easier for you. Once my son turned 3 we got him a bunk bed with a full mattress on the bottom, which is where he always sleeps. Our guy also likes to play for an hour, so our rule is, you can quietly play as long as you stay in your room. He does still bother us sometimes, but he always goes to bed on his own after a while. Let your son have his play time, as long as he stays in there and quiet, that will make the transition much easier. It will take some time to adjust, just make and stick with rules of when he can come out, what he can do in there, etc.

I'm guessing your son isn't potty trained if you want to lock the bathroom. You can do that, but realize that when you do potty train, you will have to leave it unlocked. We didn't have that problem since my son's bedroom and bathroom are both right beside the living room so we could hear him, (he was already potty trained by that time, so he had to have access). He also loves playing in the sink and getting in the tub, so I understand where you concern comes from.

For the actual bed, a queen is huge, but a wiggly kid could still fall off. I knew my son was ok on the crib mattress just above ground level, since he wouldn't fall out of that, so we just put him in his bed. Maybe you could put it on the floor as others suggested, and see how it goes. If he is fine, you shouldn't need a side rail.