Is It Time for a Toddler Bed? - Appleton,WI

I would say give it a try and see how it goes. If he dont like the bed you can always go back to the crib. My son is 2 1/2 and we switched him to a toddler bed around 22 months i believe. He was never trying to climb out either but would throw the toys out and just didnt seem to sleep as good. He is a mover at nite and i think he kept getting stuck in the crib rails, etc. He LOVES his toddler bed. I was very nervous at first because he is very active and i thought he would be climing out, but he sleeps so much better in his bed. We have it against the wall so he can fall out on one side and the other side we have a big stuffed dog on the floor in case he does fall out its a softer landing. He has only been on the floor 2 times and we never had any problems with the transition. He may be ready, so i would just try it and see how he does. Good luck!

He is playing a game with you. He's figured out that you will keep coming back when he throws his blanket out.

I would not move him out of his crib if he has not shown interest in climbing out. You'll create a whole new set of sleeping issues. Keep him in there as long as possible. Around the age of 3 if you can.

its really simple; hes throwing it out because you will come back in the room to give it to him.

what hes saying that he wants is your attention and companionship.

is he taking 2 naps a day? perhaps he needs to downsize to only 1 nap. is he taking just one nap a day? maybe he needs 2 small naps instead. watch him closly in the next few days to see if and when he is showing signs of being tired. rubbing eyes is a big one.

but you might have to make some family life adjustments. especially at night. he wants to be near you, you to be near him. i see nothing here that would be solved by putting him in a big kid bed. he will just get up and try to come find you instead.

perhaps you have to change your routines. maybe he needs your direct complete attention before nap and bedtimes in order to calm down. its funny because my 3 year old is doing this right now. he is in his crib that converts to a toddler bed... so hes in the toddler bed phase. so he can get up, and trust me, he does. what he wants is for me to calm him down. i know that because he tells me.

ask your son if he needs you to calm him down a bit. sometimes when kids are playing or whatever, they are too stimulated to be able to relax, especially if they are overtired or not tired yet. (you know your child and you should know that he DOES need to sleep at this age).

anyway, ask him. see if he will tell you. do things for him : rocking him, rubbing his back, reading him a gentle story (nothing exciting or anything), sing songs to him, or just hold him and relax your breathing and take a rest yourself. tell him you are helping him calm down (this will give him the words to use later!) and see if that helps.

otherwise, you could go the more difficult option and just stop giving him the blanket. its all up to you and your parenting choices. but i recommend the more emotionally sensitive decision. you know your son right? just trust that he is trying to tell you something and try your best to figure out what it is. listen to your heart.
he could also be teething.... check his gums for any teeth poking through - redness, swelling, or white colored gums.... give him tylenol to see if hes just got some pain.

The advice we received from our pediatrician was to move them out of the crib when it was no longer safe for them to be in there (in other words, when they're either climbing out or trying to).

We have a 21 month old daughter who's started to do the same thing. She just doesn't want to go to bed at night (naps don't seem to be a problem), and she's throwing her pacifier out which makes her more upset.

We usually cave and take her to a place where we can hold her to sleep because that's easiest on us. I'm a big believer in keeping them in their crib as long as possible as that's the safest place for them.

Good luck. I'll be checking back to see if you get any helpful advice we can use, too.

Ignore him :) easy right? Let him scream- and don't give it back to him. I am not a fan of toddler beds, unless, of course, he is climbing up and over from the crib. He is seeking attention by throwing the blanket out, I would give it back to him one time and tell him, if he throws it out again he will just have to do without, and leave it at that. It's hard, I know- I have been the worst- but it is worth it in the long run.

I have a 19-mo-old daughter and a 3.5 yr old son. I know what you're going through. I'm sure he is just protesting having to take a nap or go to sleep at night. I would NOT put him in a toddler bed yet! He is too little. I waited until my son was 2.5 yrs old, when he started getting a little too big for his crib. It is a great way to "contain" them and keep them in bed! If he is protesting now, he would climb right out of his toddler bed if you got him one, every time he had the chance. If he throws his blankie out of the crib, just say, "No, do not throw your blankie out of the crib, or you will just have to sleep without it." And do not give it back. It sounds harsh, but he will cry himself to sleep, and soon he'll realize that you will not keep giving it back to him, so he might as well keep it in. He does understand probably 80-90% of what you are saying. So he will get it. Good luck!

He's testing you. I agree with the others that say to give it back to him once, and tell him if he does it again, he won't get it back. He's old enough to know to hang on to it and to be able to understand what you are saying. He will probably have a fit, but wear himself out and fall asleep eventually. He may do this a few times but will figure out that you mean what you said. Just don't keep coming back in the room, or it's just going to aggravate him more (which translates into him testing you for many more days).

I wouldn't recommend putting him in a toddler bed/twin bed until he is big enough (usually tall enough) to get his leg over the side and possibly be able to crawl out. Once there is a risk of him falling out, then you need to transition him to a big boy bed. Our crib transitioned to a toddler bed, and then we went straight to a twin with no problem. Our daughter is very tall and could put her whole leg over the siderail before she was 2 and started trying to climb out, so that's when we transitioned her. Basically, it's safer to be in their crib until they are able to climb out, and then it's safer for them not to be in a crib. Some kids love their cribs and are happy in it until they are about 3- other kids are climbers and want to explore.

Our daughter is 22 months old and has been having the same temper tantrum for about 3 months now at nap time and we just close the door and let her cry it out. She normally will quit after about 5 or 10 minutes when she realizes that she is not getting the result she was looking for. I too agree with keeping them in the crib as long as possible. She has yet to show an interest in climbing out and so I have no plans on changing her bed until I have to.

I recommend skipping the toddler bed and going straight to a twin or double size. We start our boys on just a mattress on the floor to get them used to not having the crib sides to keep them the bed.
As for the timing, it depends on you and your son. He's old enough that he COULD climb out quite easily. It might be safer to go ahead and make the switch now before he tries.
We took our oldest out when he was 13-months because he HATED his crib. He would cry and scream until he threw up. We put him in a bed and he was happy.
Our second was 15-months when he learned how to get out. It was a HUGE pain transitioning him to a bed, but it worked eventually. We had some very long evenings for a few weeks. Just plan on having to spend a LOT of time and effort keeping him in bed; plan for the worst and then you can only be pleasantly surprised if things go better than you expected. =)
Be consistent, no matter what method you choose. I started by sitting in his room and putting him back in his bed every time he got out, without conversation. After several days of spending at least an hour doing this, I finally just locked him in and sat outside of the door to make sure he was OK. Once he quieted down because he was either worn out or asleep I'd go in and put him in his bed.
Good luck!

My son is 19 months old and did the blanket throwing thing too...he had NEVER tried getting out of the crib but one morning we heard a big thunk and went to his room and he had climbed over the side and fell. So, he is now in a toddler bed. I know two people that have broken collar bones when they were 2 and fell out of their crib and someone else who got a broken arm from falling out of the crib, so, my husband and I decided not to risk him getting out again and hurting something the next time, so we switched him. We just "toddler proofed" his room and put a baby gate at his door so he can't go into the rest of the house without us putting him there. The first night he had to get put back into bed twice (before we went to sleep) and the second we put him back once and for the last few days we haven't had to put him back in at all. He doesn't get out of bed in the middle of the night either. We were very surprised at how easy the transition was for him. Hope this helps!

My son was an excellent sleeper, but we transitioned to a toddler bed right after 2 due to advice we got from a trusted friend that does daycare. We were expecting our second. Worst move I think we've made in his whole life:( We had more trouble getting him to sleep and staying put all night. I'd keep him in the crib as long as possible.

He is going thru a stage where he's testing you. He doesn't want you to leave the room - so lets through out the blanky. He gets the result he wants - you to come back in. I know you may not want to listen to him cry, but this is what I would try...

1) Put him to bed and warn him - tell him you will not come in right away if he throws out his blanket.

2) When he throws it out let him be mad for a little bit (say 2 minutes to start) and then go in and pick it up and give it to him. Warn him again that it will be longer before you come back.

3) When he throws it out the next time wait longer (say 4 minutes) - go in and give it to him. Warn him it will be longer.

They may not understand their warning - but they will understand you not coming in right away. May take a night or two of still going in multiple times, but I guarantee you that he'll figure out it's better to hang onto it then have to wait for you to come back.

It's worth a shot. Good luck.