Transitioning from the Crib

I have 3 children, all three were climbers. I went to a toddler bed as soon as they started climbing out of the crib. They were almost 2. But since they were climbers, gates did not work on their bedroom door. They would just climb over them. So for my ease of mind, I put up screen doors on their bedrooms with a latch outside the door. So I was able to hear them when they were up.

K.,
My son started sleeping in his own bed at 2. At that point I felt like it was more of a hazard keeping him in a crib because he could climb so well. He actually transitioned right into a twin bed with safety rails on the sides and that worked really well for all of us. He loved the "big boy" bed and I did not have to worry about adjusting him to yet another bed when he grew out of a toddler bed.

Hi K.!

When we transitionsed my son to his first "big boy" bed, he was two yrs. old. I wish we could have let him stay in the crib longer, but we were expecting twins. We first moved him to a toddler bed. It's lower to ground and thought it wouldn't be bad if he fell out of it. We pushed it against the wall so he would feel some sense of security. He really missed having the side walls to keep him from falling out and feeling secure. We transitioned him to a twin bed about 6 months later (it was on loan and had to go back). He still falls out of his bed sometimes (maybe once every three months). He's doing great though!

Hope this helps!
A. M.

My son left the crib at 1 year old. I started to use the toddler bed because he learned how to
"escape" from the crib.
I had no problems with the bed and he used it until he was almost four (We had to buy a "big bed" because he is tall).
When we were using the bed, every night, I put him on it and close the door of his room. He learn to stay in the bed because I told him if not, I will put him on the crib again.
Blessings.

Hey, well our crib turned into a toddler bed butit really isnt as low as a toddler bed, but we put our daughter in it when she started to climb out........they say that is when they are ready for it.....our friends told us to go straight to a regular bed because it makes it easier on the child so one day there up high the next too close to the floor and the following month up high again......but our girl did great she has fallen out of her bed once and that was the first night and she hasnt since....we put a blow up mattress next to her bed just in case this happened....any ways good luck

I put my youngest in a toddler bed when she was about 19 months old because she kept climbing out of her crib (our crib converted to a toddler bed, so it was easy). She never fell out of the bed, but sometimes she would get up. Emily has always been a good sleeper, so I was never really all that worried about her in the toddler bed. I did, however, put a baby gate up at her door every night for the first couple of weeks, just in case she got up and "roamed." There's been a couple of times that I've gotten up and she's on the couch, or sometimes she'll come into our room if she wakes up, but mostly, we have had no problems. I think she fell out once when we first put her in it, but only that once. Anyway, you know your toddler better than anyone, and you will know when he/she is really ready to come out of the crib...

Hi K.,
My opinion on a toddler's bed is, dont bother! We bought my daughter one when she was almost 2, and it was a waste of money. She was always getting up in the middle of night, and sleeping in our bed. Once we bought her a twin size bed, that all stopped. She didnt have to rails, but I would recommend them if your not sure your child won't fall out. We transitioned her by putting her in the bed for naps(both w/ the toddler bed & twin bed). And we would lay w/ her at night until she fell asleep. Ultimately do whatever you feel comfortable with, but I say around 2 it's time to get out of the crib, but you'll know for sure. Well I hope this helps & good luck =)

We bought my sons first toddler bed when he was around 2 yrs. He never slept in it b/c he had slept in our bed since birth, so we went and bought him a Thomas Train bed and he falls asleep in it but doesnt stay but Im confident he will when he's ready. Toddler beds are relatively safe due to them being really low to the floor. Depending on your child and his curiosity you might want to make sure he/she doesn't have a nack for sticking their heads inbetween the side rails. Toddler beds are a great transition for toddlers but most of the time a pain in the butt for those mothers who were use to their child not being able to get out of their crib b/c once ur toddler discovers he/she can now get out at will there will be another challenge to over come. Also make sure ur child doesnt like to roam the house while ur asleep if that is that cse just simply put a baby gate up at the door of ur childs room. But Regardless of the inconvience of ur toddlers now mobile freedom a toddlers bed is a must for ur growing child.Children also normally outgrow a toddler bed by the age of 4 for my sons bed its 5, but make that decision based on ur child.

i put my son in a toddler bed when he was about 2 1/2-3yrs. but i just put my daughter (turned 2 last month) in a twin bed last week since we have a baby due in 5 wks. instead of using box springs and a mattress, we used a monkey board with a mattress on top so it's really low (just like a toddler bed) and that way we won't have to buy both. we'll just add a box spring when she's older. i remember my son using the toddler bed till about 3 1/2. also, my daughter had no trouble transitioning. we just kept talking about what a big girl she was and everytime i lay her down i say, go night night in your big girl bed and i lay her babies on one pillow and her on the other. also, i've always closed her bedroom door, so she's used to it and that way she can't walk out. there's only been one time she didn't fall asleep at nap time, but other than that she's done great. good luck.

I always had my kids on a futon mattress on the floor. As soon as they started crawling 6-7 months, they could get on and off of the bed all by themselves and felt really secure with that. No crying when they woke up, just get up and play in their room or come crawling out to find me. It's great! This is a Montessori method.

My son started using a toddler bed at 1 1/2.....very young, but he could climb out and it posed a safety issue. He stayed in the toddler bed another year until my daughter was born. He's in a twin. My daughter is 1 1/2 and I think she'll be in the crib for awhile.
My sons transition was pretty easy. THe whole big boy with Spiderman bed set helped a lot. He's always been pretty easy to train though...I think it just depends on the kid's personality. My daughter is much more difficult.
My friend kept her son in the crib safely until he was 3, he never tried to get out and there was no reason for her to use the toddler bed yet. do what works best for you and your family. Shoot, in all actuality my sont slept with my husband and I off and on until the baby was born!
If you dont want to risk her fallin out of the bed, they sell railings that go on the side of the bed, my son still uses it. he's never fallen off.

I bought a toddler bed for my son when he was 2 1/2 yrs old. I even bought all new bedding thinking that would help and he NEVER slept in it once! So we went and bought him a twin bed and he absolutely loves it. I guess he likes it better because it's more like mom & dad's bed and he feels like a big boy. He doesn't stay there all night but at least we can lay down with him and you can't do that in a toddler bed.

We moved my son to a toddler bed when he was about 20 months old. He was able to climb out of the crib at that time so we decided it was safer for him to be in a toddler bed. He did great with the transition (better than my husband and I who were worried about him getting up in the middle of the night). He's now 27 months old and is sleeping in a twin bed with a bed rail on. He loves his big boy bed! The biggest thing I would worry about is making sure that there is nothing the child can get into or hurt himself with if they get up during the night. My husband and I also have a trail of nightlights to our room in case my son gets up.

However, my son has NEVER gotten up during the night. Even when I'm putting him to bed and he throws a tantrum, he won't get off the bed (which is a blessing). But you'll just have to see what kind of sleeper you child will be in a big bed. Then adjust your needs accordingly. Good luck!

My son switched from a crib to a twin bed when he was almost 3, but i've heard of toddlers being switched as early as 18 months. It depends on your child. Mainly, if your child is big enough to climb out of the crib with the mattress at it's lowest position, then it's time to switch. My son was big enough to climb out, but he never did. The only reason we moved him to a twin was because we were moving and knew he would have to move to a bed soon, so rather than put the crib back together, just to take it apart again, we moved him to his twin bed, which he LOVED. We do use a bedrail since it's beggier and higher off the ground than a toddler bed. My son had little problem switching to a toddler bed, but some kids do. The thing to remember is to stay consistent. Don't let him/her sleep in your bed one night then say he/she has to sleep in his/her bed the next. Good luck!

As long as your child isn't climbing out of the crib then I would try and keep him/her in there as long as I can. Everyone I know that has children has switched their child to a bed once they have figured out how to climb out of the crib. I too will do this with my son, who is 20 months, once he starts climbing out. Also, I am going to place him in a full size bed oppose to a toddler or twin to save on having to buy more beds over the years. Just my opinion. Good luck.

I recently moved my almost two year old (21 month old) out of his crib and into a bed. I think part of the decision to change beds should be if the toddler will be will to stay in the bed and not wonder around at night if he/she wakes up. I put my little on in the toddler bed and padded the floor well in case he fell out which he did. At least three times a night. After the second night I went and bought a portable bed rail, its a rail that usually just slides uner the matresse and is not the lenght of the entire bed so the toddler still has the independance to climb into and out of their own bed at bed time and in the morning but won't fall out at night. I have his bed against a wall on the other side. He stays in his bed very well, and was excited to show the grandparents and god-mother his new bed when they were over. I didn't wanna wait til my son started falling out of his crib and maybe hurting himself, cribs are much higher to fall from than a bed. I would have used a twin bed, but when i was preg. I was given a toddler bed and thought i would hold out just a little bit longer before i went and invested more money in a bed. Hope this helps...

Well for my daughter I started as early as around 1. I had another child on the way so I wanted to make sure my daughter was secure in her toddler bed before he was born. What I did was take her matress out of the crib and put it on the floor. For me I move her crib over in front of her closest doors and put the matress right where the bed was. I would do this in the morning after she would wake up. That way she could practice getting up on it and I just wanted to see her reaction. Well I would leave it down for nap time and she would sleep with her head on the bed but her body on the floor for a while. After about a week or 2 she would lay down on it for nap. Now she would get up and play but I used a gate at her doorway so she knew it was naptime. After she was fine with taking a nap I got her the toddler bed. That night was the test run. I put her crib in front of the closet (just in case this wasn't going to work) and to my surprise she climbed up and loved it and said she wanted to take a nap. She slept that night on her bed just fine. So just practice with her and she how she reacts to it to determine if she is ready.

A little about me: I'm a stay at home mom with my 2 children a girl-2 and a boy 1. My husband is in the military and I am a Mary Kay Consultant. We have been in Augusta for about 3 1/2 years.

Initially, my husband and I were looking into getting a toddler bed, but as Lynn N. said, we decided that it was a better idea to use one of our existing twin beds with side rails. This was because we did not want to have to adjust our son to another bed after he'd outgrown the toddler bed, and because we already had a bed he could use. (Space was also an issue for us as we're in an Oak Ridge "A" house - if you're familiar with the term.)

Our son was just 2 when we transitioned him - and for us, it was a safety issue. He was climbing, and had already fallen out of the crib twice. (Trust me, NOT something fun to deal with at 3:00 AM!) His transition was seamless, and we were very lucky. We made a very big deal of his getting to sleep in a "big boy" bed and made a special shopping expedition to Wal-Mart for the side rails and special sheets just for him - and he got to pick what he wanted (within reason, of course).

The thing that surprised me was that once we had transitioned him to the big boy bed, and the bed was open enough for him to climb in and out of without posing a hazard to his health and safety, he didn't. He stayed put. He LOVES his bed and the transition has been extremely easy.

Personally - I wouldn't worry about getting a toddler bed unless you just want one or your child sees one he or she cannot live without. They're not terribly expensive, but why spend the $$ if you don't have to?

Good luck! Let us all know how it goes!

J. S.

My son was 2 and my daughter was closer to three. I don't think there's any need to hurry them out of the crib if they are not climbing out and are sleeping well. Take adavantage of the peace of mind. I also wouldn't waste money on a toddler bed... unless your crib converts, you might as well go for a twin or full size bed (with side rails). My kids had NO trouble at all adjusting and after maybe a night or two of getting out of bed it was no problem at all.