Crib to Toddler Bed.

My question is this--do you already have the toddler bed? Fine if you do, however, my experience is that children aren't comfortable in those little beds for too long.

Here are some ideas, no matter what size bed:

Many children's companies sell very good side-rails/safety rails for beds. Some slide under the mattress, others actually strap onto the bed.

You could also wait to put the frame up and just use the mattress on the floor. The drop is much less.

My son (15 months) naps on a full-size futon we put in his room. It's on a low frame and close to the floor, which is carpeted. I like this because we've never had a crib. He is able to stay on, and crawl off when he wakes to come find me. We haven't had any fall-off's yet.

Hope this helps!

I moved my daughter into her toddler bed when she was 18 months old. I wish that I would have kept her in the crib. Ever since then every night I wake up to her crawling into my bed at about 3 in the morning. She is not a sound sleeper so if I let her sleep with me I get kicked all night. My advise is to leave her in there until she learns that she can climb out.

I don't think there is a set rule as long as she is not climbing. I moved my boys in to a toddler bed at 15 months and they did great.

My pediatrician told me that it is a good idea to keep them in a crib until they are at least 2 years old. If she isn't climbing out I would keep her in a crib as long as you can. My daugther just figured out how to climb out of her crib and it has not been fun. She does not want to be in it at all anymore. Hope this helps

We just put our son in a toddler bed last month. He was 21 months old at the time. He also moves around a lot when he is sleeping but the rail on the bed keeps him from falling off. We also keep a thick area rug by his bed in case he does fall out, but that hasn't happened yet. Like your daughter, he wasn't climbing out of his crib, we just felt it was time. One thing to note, he now comes to our bed in the middle of the night because he likes to sleep with us. Just something to keep in mind in case your daughter turns out to do the same thing. My son absolutely loves his new bed though.

Hi, M.! Our pediatrician recommended keeping our kids in their cribs as long as possible, assuming they weren't trying to climb out. We kept my daughter in until she was 3 1/2 years old, and then the transition was super easy. No need for a toddler bed - we were able to go straight to a twin bed without needing rails or anything. And we didn't have to do any "Ferber" training to get her to stay in bed either. My son is just past 3 years old now, and we're just starting to shop for a bed for him. It may seem like a late age, but I think a lot of kids get moved out of the comfort and safety of their cribs way too soon, and then it is a difficult transition. Good luck!

My personal opinion is that it is ok to have your child in a crib as long as she and you are happy with her in it. My little girl was 3 before she moved into her toddler bed. She never tried to climb out of her crib and really enjoyed sleeping in it. Once she turned 3 I knew it was time to transition to a big girl bed. I was worried about the transition (I had heard stories from friends about their kids not staying in their beds). The transition was extremely stress free for both of us. She now loves her toddler bed!! She rarely leaves it once we put her to bed.
I say you should let her enjoy her crib as long as possible.
Good luck to you!

T.

no rush - you can wait til she asks for a big girl bed!

I would say if she is not trying to climb out then you could leave here until you think it's time. I had to move my son out when he was 18 months. He was a climber.

Good luck!

So many moms and doctors have told me to wait until my son starts trying to crawl out of the crib. He is 28 months and has showed no interest in doing so. But he seems to really interested in sleeping in "the big bed" our guestbed or ours. We have a 5 month old so we were waiting a little bit longer to get him a twin bed with the rails put on it so as to minimize any anxiety he might have. We thought we would have him help us pick out the bed so he can feel in charge and a big boy. I agree, it is so subjective. Just go with your gut instinct, you know what is best for your child. Just remember once you get her into a big bed, she will be wondering around on her own. That is one reason I am hesitating getting my son a toddler bed right now. Good luck.

M., I did it different ways w/different children. My last one was in a crib until she was 3 1/2 because I didn't have the space to move the crib until we built our home... :) But she was pretty easy and didn't climb. She liked her crib and it was her quiet safe spot w/6 other siblings! One son I put in a toddler bed at 2 and he was always falling off on the floor. Eventually I just put him on a mattress for quite a long time. Others i just set up the toddler bed in their room and let them 'nap' on it.... eventually they wanted to sleep there instead of their crib.
This also gets to be the time that you train them to stay in bed at night and not come disturb mommy and daddy...which can take days or weeks and so I often taught them to stay in bed until I told them they could get up... unless it was for a potty run.
Try what you think will work for you, WHEN you are ready to deal with it... not just because others might be doing it or you think you should. Dealing with new things positively when YOU are ready makes it easier on everyone, child and family. So, make a plan, and try it. :) You don't want to jump into it when you are going on vacation or something like that! Good luck. Blessings, L.

most things I've read say to keep them in their crib for as long as possible. if she is not crawling out I would leave her be. We waited until my son was three to change his crib. we probably waited a little too long since now he is growing too big for the toddler bed, but at least he was contained for as long as possible. He now spends most nights in our bed because he can get out of his. Good Luck!

People move their toddlers into beds at all different ages and for different reasons. Because she is not climbing out of her crib (which is dangerous) and you don't need the crib for a new sibling, then my advice is to wait as long as you can. We were originally going to wait until our little girl was almost 3 or for her 3rd birthday, but we got a great deal on a mattress set and did the change over in the spur of the moment when she was a month younger than 2 1/2. She did great at first, but we have gone through MANY exhausting stages since then. We have had to remove her lamp's bulb, put a door knob cover over the inside knob, keep her panties and pull-ups up or out of her room, and most recently, put her little potty in her room. She's a night-owl instead of a morning person, and we have caught her: reading in bed until 11pm-midnight, go through many dress-up sessions with hamper clothes and dumping out dresser drawers, put on ALL 19 pairs of clean panties (that one was a hoot until day three when she peed through the 17 pairs she had on), snuck out to quietly play while we watch TV in the evenings, and go though FITS at bed time because she swears she has to go potty (but "can't go" when we let her).

We were fooled at first, because she loved her bed and happened to be sick when we got it, so the first week or two was fantastic. But her new-found freedom has led to a trashed bedroom many times and horrible tantrums at bedtime. She used to be the easiest toddler to put to bed at night (outside of tooth-brushing) but now she cries when we close the the door most nights (just for usually 2-5 minutes anymore). Obviously, you know your daughter and her personality, so you'll know better with how she might do. I did think it was going to be harder, but I wasn't prepared with just how much harder.

As for falling out, our little girl also slept all over the place and sometimes we still find her like that. She has fallen out of bed a few times but only once since we have used the bed-frame (that's another story, but she was on the mattress and box-spring on the floor for a few months). Now she seems to do fine and has learned where to sleep.

As for other toddlers we know, her cousin is the same age and they moved her at 15-months (which we couldn't imagine dealing with). To this day, they still have to lay down with her until she falls asleep because they did that at the beginning because she was too young to understand (we have made sure we never did that - we might lay down for 5 minutes on a really bad night, but that's it). She has friends that were always good sleepers and pretty mellow kids, and they had their phase of trashing the room and running around until they passed out on the floor. Others had a hard time the first couple of weeks, but then were fine. One perk is that is has helped with night-time potty training for both our daughter and a friend of hers. She'll get up to go most of the night and her friend who is the same age stays dry all night now.

Plan on there being an adjustment period and that she might go through many frustrating stages. Our little girl LOVES her "big girl" bed, but part of me still wishes we waited until October for her birthday. Most nights now are really fun, though. We can all read a story in bed and we get the BIGGEST hugs and kisses now (which we barely got at bed time when she was in the crib). I hope this info helps. :-)

I was worried my son would fall out too, but oddly enough he just rolls around to the edge of his bed and thats it. He is in a toddler bed with the half rails up and that seems to be enough for him. The first time we had him sleep in anything other than a crib was at my moms and all she had was a cot. It was low and we put some pillows and blankets to cushion any falls, he fell out twice that night and has never fallen out since. Perhaps if you get a bed low enough then just put extra padding she'll be fine if she does fall out.

Also most times he still asks to get out of bed. He'll jump out to grab a toy he HAS to have in bed with him but he sits there calling me when it's time for him to get up and waits til I open his door to hop out.

M.,

My daughter is 22 months old and a very active sleeper too. We moved her to a toddler bed with a half rail about 6 weeks ago, as a "reward" for weaning and getting one step closer to being "a big girl". She's fallen out of bed two or three times, but that hasn't really been a problem because the bed is close to the floor and there's carpet. I have heard her each time and gone in and tucked her back in and it's been fine. What's harder is that now she's figured out how to open the door to her room, and so we've had to gate it, and we're in the middle of trying to get her to stay in her bed when she wakes up in the middle of the night, or at least put herself back to sleep and not stand there and scream at the top of her lungs for mommy. We are slowly having some progress, and I have hope! For that reason, I wished we'd waited longer before we moved her, but otherwise, I think that, for her, the move matched her development and coincides with her growing independence. She can get up and get her own glass of water now if she's thirsty. She can get up and play in the morning if she wants to be up before we are. She doesn't seem to be interested in trashing her room, or getting into things I'd rather she didn't. And, most importantly, she can climb into her bed on her own when she's tired, which she is doing more and more frequently. So, I'd evaluate the pros and cons for your family, and decide based on her temperment and readiness. Good luck!

best
K.

M.,

When she's ready for a bed and not the crib is incredibly subjective. Every child is ready at a different age. If she's too big for the crib it's time to move her. If she's climbing out of the crib it's time to move her, although I never did climb out when I was young, neither did my son.

if you're thinking about moving her out of the crib look into a bed rail. That's what we did with my son, and probably will with my daughter. We got one that is mesh wrapped around a frame. There was a strap connected to a metal disk that went against the mattress and box springs on the other side of the mesh. The strap went between the mattress and box spring. It can also be adjusted to fit almost any bed size. We've always had the bed against a wall, so we only needed the one rail. There are also double rails that you can find too. If you have one, go to Babies R Us and see what they have.

Hope this helps,
M.

Hi M., my daughters both loved their crib, so I didn't move them until they started trying to climb out. For my older one, it didn't happen until she was 3! The younger one started at 2 1/2. As soon as my girls were in their toddler bed, they crawled out in the middle of the night to come sleep with us. So, I'd say keep her in as long as she loves it and will stay in. Good luck!
W.

Hi M.,

I have heard that the closer they are to three, the better. At three, they are better able to follow directions and understand that they need to stay in bed. My 32 month old is still in her crib and still loves it. But.. she is not a climber and has never tried to climb out of it (at which point the big girl bed would be immediate). The climbing and potty training issues seem to be the only reason to switch. Otherwise, why not wait? We plan to make the change around her birthday, although we have started looking at twin beds with storage underneath for trundle or toys.

If you're afraid of your daughter falling out of a bed, just put a mattress on the floor. That's what we did when we transitioned our 2.5 year old son at the beginning of the month. We've found him sleeping on the floor several times, but because it's right on the floor, he doesn't even wake up when he falls out. After only a month it's getting better and better. We also told him up front that he is NOT to get out of the bed by himself, and so far he hasn't. This is to prevent any little midnight "visits".

Hi M.,
The big girl bed is a good idea. Gives them the feeling of being big. We had to move our son to a big boy bed at 22 months because he was climbing out of his crib. He went straight into a twin bed because his daddy makes them out of logs. Anyhow, a toddler bed has the side rails but if she moves around a lot I would try a toddler side rail. They are sold at Walmart, babysrus, target and kmart too I belive. Pretty much anywhere baby stuff is sold. My friend had made the switch to a toddler bed and had to put one up because she kept falling out with just the toddler side rail up. So that extra siding worked perfect. Just a little crawl space at the end of the bed, for her to climb in:) Good luck. Big transition for mommy and baby!

Personally, I don't think there's any reason to push it. If she isn't climbing out of her crib, and isn't showing any interest in doing so then leave her there. I left my older son in his crib until he was almost 2 1/2. And the only reason we moved him is because I was too pregnant to get him in and out of his crib.

My daughter's doctor said that you really only need to take them out of the crib when they start trying to crawl out.

I moved my first daughter at 14 months but she was a climber and was climbing up and over her crib rail causing a lot of sleepless nights worrying about if she would get hurt falling out. So we made the choice to move her, but as for our second daughter we left her in her crib until she was 21 months. She is not a climber like her sister but we were ready to potty train her. So as far as when is it the right time, it really depends on the kid. If your child is not a climber and you aren't starting the potty training process I would leave her for the peace of mind knowing she is safe, and the comfort of familiarity to her. They grow up way to fast to push them any faster.

Hi M., I have three little boys and only two of them actually have successfully transitioned to the toddler bed. The one thing that I did with my middle son is that his crib converts to one and so I converted it one day during the daytime and asked him to get in it for nap time....I watched his behavior to see if he was really ready and it turned out that he wasn't at that time. I then coverted his bed back to the crib and waited about a month and did it again and this time he actually slept in it and the real test was for the bedtime. He did great and has since been sleeping just fine in it. I have also done this with my oldest son also since it's the same crib that he slept in when he was a baby. I hope that this helps you with your daughter. It really is up to them if they are ready. Oh, also I forgot to add that both of my sons have never climbed out of the crib either. I hope that this helps you.
Good luck!
~M.

M.,
There wasn't a specific age because both of our boys were different, but we moved them when they started climbing out. We put the mattress on the floor and stored the box spring. We also purchased some body pillows on sale and put them on the floor around the bed. This helped with our youngest because he was a mover and when he did fall out, he didn't get hurt.
Best of luck to you.

I am not going to tell you you should or shouldn't, but this is what we did with my son. At about 18month - he was climbing out of his crib really well....a little to well for my eyes to watch. So, that was when we decided to get him a twin size bed. The reason why we decided to skip the toddler bed was because of how much they cost and how long the child is usually in the toddler bed - just didn't make sense for us. So, we ended up going on Craigslist and found this twin bed with rails ($35). That is what I wanted. I am glad that we did what we did. My son fell out of his bed I want to say atleast once - maybe twice. But we also put a pillow with blankets on the floor for a long time too.

Now with the toddler bed - it is lower to the ground and with the rails your toddler shouldn't in theory fall to badly. As to oppose a regular size bed.

I have also heard that toddlers want and like the rails because it is an easier transistion from a crib to a bed and still feel enclosed like the crib, but with the freedom of getting in and out.

If you get a twin bed - you can buy rails to put onto the bed. Good luck - I hope this helps with your decision.

M.,

Change when you believe is right for your child. My twin boys are still in their cribs (25 months old now). They have climbed out 2x, but show no interest in anything else. When visiting family, they sleep okay in twin beds, but have to be rocked to sleep to go down peacefully...they are not quite ready.

Good luck,
T.

Leave her in there as long as you can. There seems to be a new trend to push kids into beds sooner, but save your sanity and wait until she asks for a big girl bed, then let her help you pick one out, or new bedding or a pillow if you have one of those convertible cribs.

I moved my son about that time, but he tried to climb out once and got stuck hanging upside down so that if he had let go he would have hit his head. It scared me and we moved him. The hardest part was getting him to stay in bed because he wanted to be up playing. We found him asleep on the floor with his toys a few times, and we would have to tuck him into bed and turn the light off (he would turn it on to play) several times before he went to sleep but it wasnt too bad. He did fall out a few times which was sad, but his bed was his crib converted and it was really close to the ground. We put a couch cushion where he would fall out (it had safety bars on the head/foot). He was also able to get up and play in the morning which ment I didnt have to wake up to his yelling to get out. If she isnt climbing out I wouldnt worry about it.

If it were me, I'd leave her in the crib as long as you can. There is no magic age, especially when the need does present itself. I say leave well enough alone. If she's not climbing out and she moves around a lot at night, she's just fine in the crib. Personally, I don't understand why so many people are so quick to move their children (and in many cases babies) from one level to the next before the child even shows signs of needing to move on-like not using a stroller when they really should or taking them out of the booster seat at the table before they're big enough to sit properly in a 'big person' chair...and then wonder why they can't take them shopping, or why they won't sit correctly while eating. How often do we 'big people' have to eat our dinner at a table that is chest-level?
In my opinion, if she's a good sleeper and everything is going fine, it's not broken, so you don't need to fix it.
And I'd scratch the toddler bed idea completely. When she's ready, and I'm sure you'll know, she'll be ready to go right into a twin bed. And she'll be old enough to help pick it out as well as the bedding, etc.

I read somewhere, of course I can't remember where - Parent's magazine or something, that the best age to move a toddler to a bed is age 3. My son never crawled out of the crib either. I moved him to a bed 2 months before his 3rd birthday and everything went smooth as silk. On the other hand, I moved my now 2 1/2 year old to a toddler bed when he was 2 because he started crawling out of the crib and I was afraid he'd hurt himself. That went extremely well too.

Our pediatrician told us that cribs are rated until 5 years of age.. so there's no rush!

I have 4 kids. The first 3 I put into beds at 2. My youngest I will wait until she's 2 or trying to get out of the crib.....If your daughter isn't trying to climb out of the crib, enjoy it! Once they are in a bed everything changes..... I know a toddler that tears apart their bedroom sometime in the middle of the night EVERY night.... Kids are contained in a crib.

My son was two at the end of March. He is tall enough to try and climb out of his crib, but never has. He is very heavy, so I have thought about putting him in a big boy bed, but have decided to wait. As long as he is not crawling out then he is fine in his crib. I am not ready to deal with him coming in our room every few minutes like I did with my other children. So I am not in a rush. The older he gets the more he will understand why he needs to stay in bed, so I am hoping to keep him in his crib till Christmas if I can. My advice would be to keep her in there as long as you can.

D.

Hi M.,
I'm a mom of 3 little ones, one is almost 4 and I put her in a toddler bed when I needed the crib for her little brother, so she was switched when she was about 26 months, and I must say that she too is a rough sleeper that goes all over the bed at night with really messy hair in the morning that was torture to comb out. I have always put a big blanket on the side that she could fall off of and the other side was of course against the wall. Now her younger brother was switched to a toddler bed when he was 20 months because I had another baby when he was only 16 months old and I needed the crib and couldn't keep my youngest sleeping in the bassinet any longer even though he's a tiny baby. I wouldn't have switched him till later if I didn't need to, I have always felt that after they turn 2 that then they're ready for some changes, even if he is like me, a settled sleeper, when we find a comfy spot we stick to it. So yeah, if in high activity while asleep, I'd wait, unless you do think she's tough enough for a startle now and then when landing on the floor. Maybe have one in her room for her to first take naps on or something like that to get used to it, or she could take to it easily, only you really know.

Personally, neither of my children slept in toddler beds, they both went to twin beds. Unless you already have a toddler bed, I wouldn't bother buying one. In my opinion, it's just another thing the baby industry wants you to think you need to have. If you buy a toddler bed now, you'll be buying another bigger bed in a year or so, plus all new blankets and sheets. My oldest, now 4, is a horrible tosser and turner when he sleeps. I was very worried, but we never had a problem, not one time did he fall out of bed. As for the age, I would wait until she becomes a climber, though that can happen overnight. I didn't know my oldest was a climber until the morning I woke up to him screaming because he had attempted to climb and fell out. I didn't have the ability to go out and buy a bed right away, so we took the side of the crib off and lowered the spring all the way. Anyway, just my opinions and some ideas for you. Good luck with this challenge!!