New Beds

From my experience.....If they are good sleepers and only 19mo old, I would leave them in their crib. They can sleep in their cribs for another year. Why change a good thing? If you are having another baby, it's worth the expense of buying a bassinet or another crib.

Hello T.

I a parent coach and former Nanny. I've worked with kids who transitioned from cribs to toddler beds in the past, and here are my suggestions:

1) If the bedrooms are upstairs, be VERY careful about the type of stair gate you choose as well as ensuring it is always used, even if you think the kids are asleep
2) Any type of transitions can cause sleep issues. You may see your children waking in the middle of the night or start sleep walking, (reason for the gates), so be aware that may happen.
3) After the newness of the beds wear off, you will probably find children in your room in the middle of the night. While having kids in your bed every once in a while is ok, allowing it to become a habit can be problematic later, so I strongly suggest creating clear bedtime rules and be very consistant regarding the enforcement of the rules.

I hope these few items help you.

R. Magby

We just moved our 26 month to a big girl bed a week ago. It has gone fairly well, with just a few bumps. The first night she was super excited to sleep in her new bed and then around 4 a.m. she woke up unaware of where she was...so I put her in my bed because I made the mistake of not having an extra blanket with me to get in bed with her (she is in a twin).

She prefers that I lie with her for a while each night and for nap time...something I do not want to make a habit, so I do my best to say goodnight after a few minutes once she has settled down.

She has reverted back to the crib (which is still in the room....for baby #2 due in April) a couple of times. I do not want to force her into something she is not comfortable with.

Be careful not to make too many changes to the room all at once (we put her new bed where the crib originally sat) and didn't put up the new curtains for a few days later. Too many changes at once will really make it hard for them in the middle of the night when they wake up and are not sure where they are. If you have already painted the room, changed the decor already and they've gotten used to it, it shouldn't be a big deal.

Anticipate the first couple of nights and naps to be more difficult and to expect to spend some time in the room with them.

Best wishes! :)

We had no issues. We talked it up, so our daughter was excited about the prospect. We also set the expectation from day 1 that she stayed in bed at bedtime (except for potty trips). We've had a few nights of having to put her back into bed, but, the transition was really smooth.

Our friends' daughter falls out occasionally, so they have pillows on the floor next to her bed. Another friend has a really hard time keeping his kid in bed, and rues that they were lax about enforcing that rule from day 1.

Good luck - hope they love the new beds.

Try and make it as exciting as possible. Hopefully you have talked with them about what was gonna happen before today, so they are prepared and what we did that worked well was...after you put them in bed and say good night, come back in every few minutes to check on them and give them praise for staying in bed and act so excited about how big they are getting and how good they are at being big girls!

We also leave their bedroom door open and hall light on, so they can see if they wake up in the middle of the night...if they normally sleep w/door closed just open it after they fall asleep....and a cool night-light worked wonders for us...also I bought both my boys the " Crayola glow station" for X-mas this year and tacked it up on the wall right next to their beds so they could draw and such...it gives them something to do and glows in the dark...very cool and under $20 bucks...way worth it!

Oh yeah, I also made a big deal about tucking in their favorite teddy bears too! They got a kick out of it!

Also, dont fret if they decide they want to sleep together, my boys did this too and it was comforting to them and kinda cute!

Best wishes on your transition to big girl beds!!

We just transitioned our daughter from the crib to her toddler bed over the holidays, and she loves it! She was almost 23 months at the time and has shown clear signs that she was sick of her crib. She has been doing very well from the beginning. Of course you will have to expect to put your little ones down a few times every night, since they will probably get up again after you put them down. On "bad" days we have to put our daughter down about 4 times, which isn't too bad. I also started to check on her every night before I go to bed to make sure she actually sleeps in her bed and has not gotten up and fallen asleep playing on the floor. Also expect your little ones to give you early wake-up calls on your bedside from now on :-)

Before I had my boys (now 12 and soon to be 7) I told myself that I would not have them sleep in my bed. That my son would be in a crib at 2 months, a toddler bed at 1 and so forth.
I am a firm believer that to help a child be most secure with himself, you must not push them away. This helps establish their ability to push you away which creates a more secure sense of identity.
I personally feel that each family and child is different. You have to feel the situation out. What I suggest is to take the time to try reading several books with them next to or on their bed (have them sit with you on one). See if they are ok with it. If they seem scared, you can say, "did you want me to leave a light on?" If they still are uncertain, you can try putting them to bed with you, then transferring them to their beds once they are in a deep sleep. I did this with my boys and it works great.
good luck and blessings,
the L. family ;-)

Whatever you do you will need to be consistent. So If you don't want to be snuggling three times a night, you need to have a routine for bed time and then be constant the rest of the time.
When they get out of bed, what I do is just take their hand,(not carry because then they are getting the reward they wanted) and walk them back to bed and tuck them in with kindness, and leave. (minimal talking if any) It might take awhile with tiring nights, but eventually they will get it.
The other thing I like to do when transitioning is to keep the crib up and in the same room (if you can). I remind them that if they are going to sleep in a big bed they have to be big and stay in bed. I give three reminders (putting back in the big bed), then I put them back in the crib for the night and tell them they can try again tomorrow. Same with nap times.
It can be hard now, but the more independent they are, the easier it will be for you and them in the future.
So perhaps their bed time routine should include a snuggle but make sure you leave before they are asleep.
It also helps to say something like,
"I will be back to check on you in a bit, after I... do the dishes etc... if you stay in bed."

I have had very good luck with mine transitioning around 2- 2.5 years, you might want to consider letting him try but not being dead set on it, and waiting a little bit longer. I start trying to get mine in the big bed at least three months before or three months after anything big in the family is happening (especially a new baby).
Good luck and may sleep be with you!

I would agree that if there is no reason to move them from their cribs, then wait until they're over two years old. It is hard to reason with 19 month olds about why they need to stay in bed. (And they WILL get out of bed, that's a given!)

Our first two were both over two years old when we moved them to their twin beds and it went much better than with #3, who dad moved into her toddler bed at 21 months while he was in charge and I was in bed sick. It's been almost three months and I've just had to give in to the fact that she gets up EVERY nap and bed time after I go out of the room and gets herself books to read. I just have a habit of going in and either laying her back down if she's still awake, or prying books out from all around her if she's fallen asleep.

I second the advice about the gate if you have stairs. My daughter automatically goes to the kitchen to find me when she wakes up, and that takes her past our stairs. However, in the middle of the night I'm in the opposite direction, and I've had bad images of her stumbling down the hall in a sleepy daze and falling right down to the stone floor below.

As others said, begin a very strong routine, and stick to it from day one. Give the same response EVERY time they get out of bed, and you shouldn't have problems for too long.

I moved my boys into toddler beds at 16 months, if they are ready it is not too early. There was a few days of transition were they did not want to stay in bed with the new found freedom of no bars to keep them locked in. I did have to put a baby gate up for the transition period. The first couple of nights they fell asleep at the gate, and I moved them into bed. The next couple of nights I found them sleeping in a pile of stuffed toys, and under the bed! I just kept moving them into bed so that was were they would be when they woke up. By the 5th or 6th night they had it figured out and stayed in their beds to fall asleep. I see no reason to keep a child locked in a crib if they are ready to move, and it eliminates the very real issue of them trying to climb out as they get older and getting hurt when they fall.