My daughter is 2 1/2 and still in her crib. She loves her crib. I think it's a security thing...My mother bought her a toddler bed that we set up in her room but she doesn't seem to want to sleep in it except when she's pretending or playing. She is very content in her crib. We've tried putting her in the bed a couple of times when she was already asleep, but she wakes up in the middle of the night crying and runs into our bedroom.
What age should a child start sleeping in a bed and not a crib? Will she know when she's ready or will it always be a struggle training her to return to her bed and go back to sleep?
I think you’ll know. Our daughter was a little over 3 before she wanted to start sleeping in it and we never had any problems. We just waited until she was ready.
My rule is when they start climbing out of the crib they go to a bed.
Although with my daughter, I was close to moving so I just dropped the side of the crib, placed a step stool there and she could climb in and out of the crib without getting hurt. When she was a month away from three we moved and made the switch then.
IMHO, never. They’re a complete waste of money that most kids outgrow in a year or less and never support adult weight (meaning you can’t sit and read, play, check a fever, soothe a nightmare, etc.).
Since you already have one? She may already be too big for it, and if not, whenever. I wouldn’t try to fix something not broken (hey, my son slept in his crib till well into 3s -although was in bunks, twins, queens while traveling…, and the cognitive development was GREAT… No 1,000,001 night of leading him back to bed. Just 2 times total (not 2-20 in a single night for weeks or longer).
I think the best rule is to transfer them out of the crib once they are capable of climbing out…
Most of us have to endure the middle of the night visitor tho, it’s a phase that lasts for awhile but eventually stops.
I would slowly transition into the toddler bed. if she tries to climb out of the crib, she may hurt herself. It will take a while before she starts to feel comfortable with the new bed, but just keep reassuring her and she will probably wander in your room at night, that happens. My son was 2 when he went to his toddler bed, he is almost three and still wakes up and comes to sleep with us. We dont care, as long as we get sleep, that is all that matters. They will eventually grow out of it. Good luck!
Not really an age as much as ready. When they’re climbing in and out, or potty training or trained, those are definite times they’re ready.
In our house we chat changes up beforehand, potty training, sleeping in a bed, etc. I told my guy he would start sleeping in his bed on a certain date, a couple of weeks before, and showed him his new bedding, set up the bed, and put his stuffed animals in it to “try it out.” He started wanting to take naps in it and started sleeping it in at night, his choice, before my set date ; ) We dismantled the crib and got it out of the house the next day because he “now slept in a big bed!”
I’ve noticed that the younger a child is, the easier they adapt to going from a crib to a bed, I’ve been blown away by 14 through 17 month olds that just do it, I guess because they aren’t at the rebellious independent stage yet and just do what they’re told.
And I don’t think it will be a struggle if you don’t make it one, it just is what it is, we sleep in our own beds. A baby gate across her door will keep her in her room until she accepts that’s where she stays at night, I saw it as a safety measure, it kept my guy in his room where I knew he was safe.
I moved my older son from his crib to a regular bed with a rail a couple of weeks before his 3rd birthday, just in time for his new baby brother to get the crib. I think my younger son moved to a big bed at about 2 1/2 because he wanted to be a big boy like his brother. If she is happy in her crib I don’t see a reason move her in a hurry, unless she starts to try to climb out on her own. She might not want to be in a crib when she starts bringing playdates to the house, because she might get teased. They grow up a lot between 2 1/2 and 3.
My son stayed in his crib till he was 3 1/2.
He could climb in and out anytime he wanted to.
Then we moved him to a twin bed.
We had long rails up on both sides for him - he never fell out.
And he REALLY liked it that I could snuggle in with him for story time.
Why do we want to always rush our kids to grow up? I think you could move her when she is not happy with the crib, when you have other need for the crib such as another baby, when she climbs out of the crib, etc. I moved our first one at 15 months into a twin bed because I needed to move him. His brother was needing the crib and so he was moved but I always felt bad about doing it so soon as he liked his bed and didn’t fall out, etc. You can teach a child that age to sleep in a toddler bed, which we never had as they don’t last long and a twin bed can be used and sat on and we put a board on the bed frame with no box spring so they child could get in and out easier and if they did fall out not so far to fall. Of course when they are around 2 1/2 or so when ready to potty train I would think it good to be out of the crib for bedtime trips to the potty. It’s just up to you and the child as to when to move them.
can you convert her crib? That is what we did at about 1.5 then she was in a big girl bed by the time she was 2.5. She loves her bed, maybe she just needs a gradual change. gl
My son will be 3 in September and tonight is his first night in a big boy bed! I didn’t want to move him until he was totally ready (which really means until I was ready!) and I was happy to have him in it until 3 or so, but we recently found out he was climbing out of it. He must have been doing it a while because he was really good at it! LOL!
Anyway, we made the move today! I think if she’s happy in her crib leave her in it. If you have the space leave the toddler bed in there too and maybe after she turns 3 you can tell her you’re getting rid of the crib and she uses the bed. I’d just go with the flow for now!
Keep her in the crib for as long as you can. Kids love the coziness of it and she will get a much better sleep. I bought a toddler bed for my oldest and he never liked it. With my youngest he went straight from crib to a twin with rails and that was a much better thing. THe rails gave him the safe feeling of the crib and he never tried to get out.
I really think it depends on the child. My first son was in his crib until age 3, when he turned 3 we turned his crib into a toddler bed and bought him some car themed bedding for it…he was excited about it and transitioned easily. The reason we waited was simply because sleeping in a crib was working just fine for him, he could easily climb out when he wanted to but he stayed in it for the most part.
My second son was constantly climbing in and out of his crib, and well I didn’t ever worry about my first son falling out and getting hurt, I did worry about my second. He would climb out in the middle of the night and I’d hear a thud, that was when I knew it was time for a toddler bed which was right around his second birthday. He often still comes out of his room several times a night, we just keep bringing him back and telling him to go to bed and he eventually does. With my first son, he just goes right to sleep. They’re all different!
I put my kids in a toddler bed as soon as they could climb out of the crib. Then it was more of a safety issue. I babyproofed the room, especially attaching the dresser to a beam in the wall, and then gated the door. My kids loved the independence of getting out of bed and being able to play with their toys right away.
we put my daughter in a twin bed when she was 16 months old, and my son when he was just 2 years old. I’d say the earlier the better. If you are going to put her in the toddler bed, then do it. You can’t go back and forth. Take the crib out of the room and have her sleep in the bed. It will be hard at first, but after a few months she will get used to it and it will be ok. Good luck
