Transition to Bed

Hello H.,
I took down the crib at 18 months of age when each of my 4 children pole volted over the top. They went straight to a toddler bed with a little side rail. I told them they got a big girl or big boy bed now. The same mattress from the crib works on the bed and so does the bedding. My friend bought a new set of sheets and pillowcases and blanket for the new bed for the big girl. Good luck. D.

Dear H.,

We took the rail off the crib and replaced it with a safety rail for a twin bed (strapped to the frame of the crib). They had the comfort and familiarity of the crib, but the openness of a bed, and could safely climb in and out on their own . . .

Good luck,
B.

For our son we transitioned him cold turkey from his crib to his twin bed at age 2. We needed the crib for his baby sister who was to arrive a few months later.

By 16 months he was already climbing out of his crib anyways.

For us getting a toddler bed seemed like a waste of money since in a couple of years we would have to buy a twin bed for him anyways.

So we bought him a brand new mattress and box spring. Then to save us a bunch of money I found a really nice, but simple wood bedframe at a thrift store. It cost me $50 plus $5 for some additional screws at Home Depot.

We also bought the First Years Double Sided mesh bed rail from Target. It was pretty easy to set up. We only used it for a few months with my son as he quickly got used to his Big Boy Bed and didn't fall out of bed at all. In fact, after two months of using it, he figured out on his own how to pull it out from under his mattress and one morning we found him sleeping soundly in the middle of his bed with the bed rail in the middle of his bedroom on the floor. So we removed it permanently from that point on. Now we are saving both sides for our DD who will probably get her Big Girl Bed in another year or so.

Initially with my son I think my hubby slept in the new bed with him for a couple of nights. After that we had no problems. We just put up one of those cheap wood gates from Wal Mart on my sons door to keep him from roaming the house if he got up too early. Now it seems that having that wood gate up on his door gives him a sense of security, even though he can totally climb over or remove it himself to go potty or to come and get us in the morning.

Another thing that I did to get my son excited about sleeping in his Big Boy Bed was to take him to Target and Wal Mart so he could pick out his own sheet and comforter set. He picked out a cute dinosaur set that he still loves today. In fact he won't go to sleep unless he has his "Dino blankie". He doesn't care what sheets are on the bed, but he has to have his Dino blankie/comforter.

Hi -
We just transitioned our son to a twin bed 2 nites ago and it was an easy transition! I involved him in the entire process. I took him with me to pick out his bed. I showed him his big boy bedding a week before we set up the bed - construction trucks, which he loves. He slept with his big boy pillow in the crib for a week. When the bed came, he "helped" set it up and take down his crib. He also "helped" me make the bed with his new sheets and bedding. I've never seen him so excited to go to sleep!!

I also told him that he needs to stay in bed until the sun comes up. And that Nite-time is for resting his body so it can be healthy & strong. The first nite he got out of bed about 5 times. Each time we just walked him back to bed. The 5th time I walked him to bed I told him that I will have to put a baby gate outside his door to keep him safe if he gets out of bed one more time. He did not get of bed! The 2nd nite he just went straight to bed with no issues.

good luck!

Hi H.,
Talk about the transition first so he is not surprised. Let him know exactly when the change will take place (maybe do a count down). Let him pick out a new blanket and sheets (Sears has really nice sheets and little accessory pillows for kids) - that way he'll be involved and more interested in the change and more likely to accept it.

My son hated his crib so I got him a car bed (at 2 1/2) and thought it would be easy to make the change. But he complained every night that he wanted his crib and kept getting out of bed. I squished crib in the room for a week or so and he went back and forth for awhile - after a few weeks we got rid of the crib. He talked about putting the crib back in his room for another couple of months then finally got used to the bed. So the transition may be a little difficult at first but it eventually works out.

Good luck.

I transitioned both of mine directly to queens (what we had) with rails on the sides. Involve them in the process and let them "help" you take down the crib and set the other bed up. I also made a big deal about having a stool that they would use to get IN the bed (it was a little high), I'd let them know I was taking it away once they were IN bed, and that they should call me in the morning to come get them out. I never had issues with them getting out of bed once they were tucked in. Trying to get them to eventually stop calling for me and get up on their own was the biggest issue!

Hi H., what we did was take the crib mattres and put it on the floor, and they slep on that before going into a twin bed. J.

Set up the bed, take down the crib and prepare to have a possibly unpleasant week or two. But you will survive. I would lay down with my kids at naptime until they drifted off and then again at bedtime until I at least knew they were relaxed enough that I could leave. Each time this might have been 15-25 minutes. I continued to do it at naptime (I had twins sharing a room, so you may not need to). But I actually LIKED it. It would relax me as well, and sometimes I even dozed off. It was magical. After a few weeks though, we could put them in their beds at night and not have to stay. For some reason my kids didn't ever realize they could get out of bed on their own--they thought it was still like a crib, which was fortunate--no night walkers in our house!

Hi H.,
Why not try a youth bed.They are bit smaller than a twin bed and are close to the floor. the best part about it is that the crib mattress will fit for most models. I purchased mine at Wal Mart for under 50.00, i transitioned my son when he was one, no problems.
I hope this helps

There are side rails with mesh available in the baby section at Target. They slide in between the mattresses and look pretty sturdy.

Put the twin mattess on the ground, initially, so he gets use to the dimensions and if he falls, it's a small fall.

I put the crib mattress right on the floor, so she would get used to sleeping without the bars but if she rolled or fell off she didn't go far (about 4inches). After she woke up a few times half way on the mattress and her other half on the carpet she adjusted her sleeping habits on her own because after a week, she never woke up that way again. Then I installed her new bed and mattress and never had an issue.This worked well with both of my children.
Hope this helps
Deb

If there's any way you can replace a crib rail with a bed rail, where your child can climb in and out by themself - it worked for our son before he was 2.

A toddler a bed may be a better transiton since it is lower to the ground. Our crib converted to Toddler bed-this way it still felt like the same bed. We used a safety rail. The first week she would get out and we found her sleeping on the floor a few mornings (use a gate at door if worried about wondering around the house). We put her in a twin when we needed the crib again at age 2 and it wasn't a big deal for her.
If definitely going straight to twin, get the saftey rail. Take her to the store to pick our her own bedding.

Hey H., I put my toddler in a toddler bed, not a twin, when she was about 2 and a half. We just put her in it, said our nightly prayers and turned on the night light, closed the door and told her good night. It was also a new room for her and her baby brother, so I was a little worried, she had been sleeping in her crib sort of and in our bed in our room for her entire life, so I didn't know how it was going to work out, but she only woke up one time for the first 3 nights, and I reassured her and put her back in her bed and she has been in it ever since. Good luck, hope this helps a bit!
M.

My son climbed out for over a week, so be ready just in case. You can reward him with a book reading while he is in his bed if he doesn't climb out. Also, I bought him a large, very soft blanket with satin edges, he loves this blanket and it makes his bed cozy. Make sure he is comfortable in his bed. Good Luck!

For our two-year-old, we took the side rail off her crib (it's supposed to be convertable to a toddler bed, but is much more like a petite daybed even to the height of it... she can get on and off it without too much trouble though, and I make sure there is nothing beside it that she might fall on if she does roll off) but, it is rare for her to go to sleep without someone in the room laying down with her... usually on the floor... pillows and all... that being said, it probably would have been easier to do as Julie suggested and just put the mattress on the floor.

We bought a toddler bed from Wal Mart for $50, and set it up. I made it real fun, and we played with his toys during the day on it. I kept saying, "this is YOUR bed!" He thought that was cool - then I just expected him to sleep in it and he did well. I had to use 'supernanny' tactics during naps because he kept getting out of bed, so I would keep walking him back to bed several times - but now he's really good and will stay in bed. The transition was the only bit of a pain, but your little one will get used to it :)

I told my daughter she's a big girl and it's time to sleep in a big girl bed and that hasn't worked since day one, lol. So I don't know what's the best approach. I have an older daughter and the younger one sleeps with her 99% of the time and that works just fine for me. So my little one's toddler bed stays empty most of the time. But I think coaching your two year old into the new bed is best. Tell him/her that there are great surprises in the new bed and that he/she can have a treat if he/she does well and that they are a big boy/girl and that's what big kids do. Mine isn't two yet so that might have been our problem. Good luck.