From the Crib to the Bed...

I put the bed transition off until my daughter was about 2 1/2, because I didn't want her wandering while I was asleep. Even then, she was afraid of falling out, despite having a bed guard up. We have an 18 month old, and I'll probably wait a year or more to put him in a bed.
We were also advised to wait until she tried to climb out, which she did often - never fell and got her - they're amazing little acrobats!

When my daughter was 14 months she began sleeping in the toddler bed. We had to kick her out of the crib because her big huge 2 month old baby brother grew out of the bassinet! She did quite well but every night when we would go in to check on her she would be laying on the floor in front of the closed door. Sometimes we had to push the door quite hard to even be able to get in the room. I am notquite sure why she did that but she eventually stayed in bed.

My 2nd child, the aforementioned big huge boy, started climbing out of the crib at 16 months old. So we did away with the crib shortly there after as soon as he got used to the toddler bed. This was a baby who was scared of eeyore so it took him longer than my daughter to get used to it. When he was officially in it he would visit us at all hours of the night. He felt so free! Eventually I had to put a gate up. When he learned how to open the gate I put a door knob cover on his door. When he figured that out I put duct tape over the door knob cover. The duct taped door knob cover lasted the longest, but eventually he defeated that as well. But by then he was old enough to know to stay in bed and the novelty of it all wore off. In retrospect, I should have kept him in the crib!

Now my 3rd child who is 22 months old is still happily in the crib. He tries to climb out but he in much smaller than his brother was so he just can't reach far enough with his leg to get out. So there he stays until the inevitable happens. My husband wants him in the toddler bed already because he thinks he'd love it. I'm sure he would but I am the one that would be up all night directing the baby back into bed every hour, not my husband.

So my lesson learned is to keep them in the crib for as long as safely possible. My best to you!

A.

hi jeanmarie! my son is 2.5 a there's no way he's getting a toddler bed; he will be out of there running around at 4 a.m.; i did once try to put him for an overnight visit we went on into a toddler bed and he fell out like a sack of potatoes and cried his head off, it was really scary for him. if i were you i would wait a long time; what's the rush??? good luck, j

Everything I have read about bed transitioning suggests that kids should wait until they are 2-2 1/2 before switching out of their cribs. They don't understand limits and boundaries until then. However, if your little one does start to climb out, that presents a safety hazard and she should be moved to a bed.

We didn't move our son into a twin bed (I think toddler beds are a waste of time and money) until he was almost 2 1/2. You really don't have to move them out of the crib until they are 36" tall. This is really where it becomes a hazard that they can fall out of the bed. Trust me, you really don't want to have your 17 mon old loose in their room in the dark. Because once their out of the crib there is nothing that can keep them in bed anymore. And unless your willing to put a baby gate in the doorway of their room, it can be hard to keep them in their room all together.

My second child is 17 months. I moved him from a crib to a regular bed. He has a big brother that he shares a bunk bed with. I had a third child that was unplanned. We needed the crib and the bedroom for Her. She is now 2 months. We had him in the big bed by 15 months. I was worried that he would fall out. I put a bedrail up. But most importantly, I taught him to climb off things backwards as soon as he could crawl. I don't know if toddlers normally pick it up so easily. He climbs off everything that way. No matter how high or low, and even stairs. He climbs off my bed that way. My bed sits pretty tall. I think if she knows how to get off it would be fine to put her in a toddler bed. The only thing I would warn you is to make sure she can't get out of the room. The first couple of weeks he got out of bed by himself when noone else was up. One morning I found him 4:45am in the living room, playing in the dark by himself.

I'm thinking my daughter (who turns 5 today) got a twin size bed right before her 3rd birthday. We never did the toddler bed with her and she could climb in and out of the crib when she was about 18 months (she was very tall!). My son got a toddler bed somewhere between 18 and 24 months. If we hadn't borrowed one I probably wouldn't bother, he seemed to out grow it so fast.

once my daughter was able to crawl she was climbing. she also thought she was "god-like" and would expect to walk right off of whatever it was (couch, bed, chairs, table, stairs, etc) and not get hurt...thank god every time i was there to catch her. but after a couple months of this, i got fed up and taught her how to properly get off of things. i'd stand there, and when she was ready to get down, i'd say no, sit her down, say if you want off THIS is how you have to get off, and i'd spin her around til she was on her knees w/ her feet towards the edge and i'd slide her down whatever it was that she was on. it only took a couple times of me, and my husband each showing her separately...and she's been getting up and down ever since on her own no problems.
good luck.

my oldest (now 6) went to a toddler bed when we moved from my mother-in-law's house (where my husband, myself, & our son all shared a room, lol) to our own house. he was maybe a lil over two at the time. of course, this was also when he moved into his own room. it was a big transition all at once, but eventually he handled it pretty well. now his lil brother has just turned one...& has proved to be a very active sleeper. i have a feeling we'll be waiting just about as long to switch him over.

for the most part, its really a matter of when you feel comfortable switching her over, & when she's ready. have you tried talking to her about it? i mean, like, asking her if she wants to sleep in a "big girl bed?" sometimes, if they aren't ready...they'll just tell you.

hope that helps! good luck & merry christmas!!!