When Do I Make the Toddler Bed Switch?

My son is 29 months old and last night was his first night in his big boy bed. He is also a great sleeper. We just put an extra full size mattress on the floor. The week before I asked him if he wanted a big boy bed and made it sound really exciting and special. He got to pick out what color sheets (blue) and got his first pillow. He slept all night through till 8:30 this morning. Every little one is different. If they like their crib and not trying to get out, eep them in till you think they are ready. My little boy was starting to kick his crib like crazy and I didn't want it to break.

Absolutely! You are blessed with a child that actually WANTS to go to bed. If you can put a toddler bed in the room without dismantling the crib, that would be ideal. Her love of bedtime may be a phase, or she might just love the security of being in her crib. In either of these cases, it would be nice to still have the crib available to you.

17 months is still a bit young, so please keep safety in mind. Remember that she can get out of a toddler bed as easily as she can get in (smile), so make sure there is a gate at the top of the stairs if her room is on the 2nd floor. Make sure outlets are covered, furniture is anchored to the wall, bedding is tightly fitted, breakables are out of reach, etc. You may even want to skip the bed pillow until she gets a little older. (I was always terrified of suffocation when my girls were that age.)

Good luck!

Funny story...We (my husband and I) were ready for a switch with our son at 20 months. He LOVES bedtime. We decided to use our bed to compare to his crib. He said he wanted a big boy bed and so we converted his crib to the day bed, cleared the lower shelves, attached furntiure to walls, removed the door and put up a gate. 2 days later he was crying through the night and we thought we'd made a mistake...ready to put the crib side back up and try later, I though maybe he's just upset that his bed doesn't look like our bed afterall. We put up a twin bed against the wall with a bed rail on the open side, left the daybed (just in case), and prayed he didn't fall out or drown in covers.

He was crying because of a double ear infection...He didn't give a hoot about the darn beds and has been in the twin ever since, sleeping through the night and not leaving the bed until we go upstairs to get him in the morning.

If she is still safe sleeping in the crib, she is not trying to get out on her own or anything, I would enjoy the crib as long as you can cuz once you go to a bed all bets are off. I have four kids and the youngest is 16 months, he is still in his crib because as soon as my other kids had the freedom of the bed they got in and out and went up and down the hallway whenever they wanted and would keep coming out at bedtime over and over and over. Good luck with the transition.

I too have this same question. My son is 18mths. At what point do I put him in the toddler bed.

T.

Good morning L.,

My daughter is very much the same way. When we say time for "nigh, nigh" she runs into her room and gets right in her bed and lays down. She is now 21 months. We put her in one about 3 months ago and she took to it with such ease. I think she is ready. Let her be a part of it though. It will help her with the transition more. I think you should go for it! Now that my baby is used to it, someitmes she tries to get up and play but I think that is to be expected. :) Good luck with this, I believe she will do just wonderfully.

I have two children my daughter is 29 months and my son is 19 months. both still sleep in their cribs. I figured if they aren't climbing out why not leave them in there. this way i know they arent out of bed getting into things while i'm sleeping. i have been thinking about gettting my daughter a big girl bed but as long as she's happy in there I guess I'll leave her in there as long as I can.

Hello L.. Even without one of the newer cribs "designed" to convert into a daybed, you can easily take off one side of the crib and lower the mattress all the way down and you can skip purchasing a toddler bed. My sister's crib is 8 years old and she just took the one side off when she was ready with her middle son. I think it also made for an easy conversion into a regular twin bed b/c the crib is bigger than a toddler bed and higher off the ground like a twin bed. Pluss, if it doesn't work out it only takes about ten minutes to put the side back on :) Best of Luck!

I think it's time. Our daughter who just turned 2 is going through the same thing. Good luck, I hope it works out for you, and well for me too :)

Hi L....

Here's my opinion. I have 3 children. My oldest, who is now 7, was in a day bed by the age of 16 months due to she crawled in and out of her crib. My middle child, who is now almost 5, had no desire to crawl in or out, he let us do it....so he was in his crib bed (coverts to a daybed) until he was 2 and then we took the one side off and put up one of those little rails....which didn't help, he fell through the middle...ha! Our youngest, which is 18months old today, is doing exactly what yours is doing. When he's ready, he's already upstairs. I found him the other day climbing (from the outside) up his crib trying to get in, he was just short of 1 leg over from being in. We have debated on changing him to a daybed, but we could go ahead. He knows how to get up/down the stairs just fine, but I still worry about night time. We skipped the whole little toddler bed thing and went to daybeds or twins....if you think about it, they are used to being up so high, and those little toddler beds are like pillows laying on the floor they are so tiny....good luck....