Advice on Transitioning Almost 3 Year Old into a Big Bed

Try starting him on napping in the big bed. Once he gets used to it, he might even decide on wanting to sleep in it at night. Maybe even come up with something only he can do because he sleeps in a big boy bed that his little sister can't do yet, but will someday when she changes to a big girl bed. Good luck.

I put the big boy bed into my son's room and also left the crib there. At first he only slept in the crib but gradually he'd play on the bed etc, and one day he told me he was ready to get rid of the crib. The whole process took about 3 momths. Good luck.

Hi H., A lot of kids have trouble with change, becasue for some kids it rocks their security, but you want them to experience some change, becasue without it, things don't grow, and when he enters kindergarten, that's going to be his first big change, but if he hasn't had experiences with small chage, that may be devestating to him, and I do agree at 3 he needs to be out of the crib, how does he get up to go potty during the night if he has to go? Before I had put my kids in a twin bed, took the crib down, and just layed the crib mattress on the floor, with their stuffed animals all around it and that's how they slept, until going into a twin bed at 2. If the room is big enough I would leave the crib there, but put up a twin bed, get spiderman bed set, or what ever he is into make up the bed, let him discover it, and get familar with it, he may suprise you and want tro sleep in it, if you feel that putting him in a new bed cold turkey will be a bad experience for him them do it gradually, just make a big deal about, make it sound exciting. well good luck praqy it all works out. J. L.

My 3 1/2 year old is exactly the same way! Any time anything does not happen as usual, he will speak up or try to correct it. That is all day long, and bed time is no exception. Advance notice is critical for our little guy. We made the switch to a toddler bed at 2 yrs 9 mos. I had planned to keep him in the crib until at least 3, but he had figured out how to climb out of the crib and the challenge was too exciting for him to resist. Then he would destroy his room. I wasn't worried about his safety. He is such a cautious kid, if he feels even the most remote sense of danger, he avoids it. But I expected him to stay in bed, and the prospect of climbing the crib sides was a temptation he could not resist!

This is how we made the switch. We had the bed in the garage (in pieces) and he had seen it before, and was very curious about it. A couple of days in advance, we told him we would put the bed together and that was going to be his new bed. It is a "fire engine" toddler bed, and he loves all moving vehicles, so this was terribly exciting. We talked about it several times and he was very excited about getting a fire engine bed! We put the bed together in the morning so he could play in it a little bit before it was naptime. The sheets, pillow and everything he liked to have in the bed was the same as in his crib. We talked about how he needed to stay in bed until we came to get him. Then we went about the usual routine. We still remind him everytime what we expect of him (stay in bed, be quiet - he has a tendency to exercise his loud voice while he plays before falling asleep) and it has been about 8 months now. It was a very exciting transition for him and it went very smoothly. He loves his fire engine bed! After a little while, he began to push the limit sometimes and get out of bed, but it's just a matter of obedience and a work in progress!

If you talk about it in advance with your son and he doesn't seem to catch the excitement, or he seems anxious about it, I don't think there is any harm in waiting a little longer, unless you have other reasons for needing to make the switch now. My son loved his crib, too (until he didn't love it enough to stay in it!:) and now he loves his fire engine bed.

I hope it all goes well! I would love to hear about it when you decide to go for it!

Hi H.,
I actually left the crib and bed in my son's room together for a couple of months so he could sleep in whichever one he wanted. My son hated his crib but wanted to go back in it when the bed came. We asked him when we could get rid of the crib and that's when we put it away. You can also let your son pick out some new fun sheets for his bed to get him excited to sleep in it. There will be a bit of an adjustment period no matter what you do. But eventually he'll sleep in his bed.

Good luck.

I agree to have your son be a part of the new bed, helping to pick it out, etc. If he really resists it, maybe you should wait a bit. Putting the new bed and keeping the crib for a while sounds like a great idea. Also, we got our daughter a firetruck bed because it was more enclosed and made her feel safer. She was pretty young when she went to a bed (11 months) but she would not sleep in her crib so this really helped us. We got it at Toys R Us. Our second daughter (only 17 months) won't sleep anywhere but her crib so I'm thinking it will be a while before she's ready for a bed. There's really no rules, just do what you think is best for YOUR child and if friends or anyone says anything, just remember that just because they say something doesn't mean it's the right thing. People tend to give advice based on their own experiences (which is natural) but just remember that your situation may be completely different. Go with your "mom's intuition" and you'll know when it's right. K.

I also have a little boy who will be three in Sept and he is still in his crib. He is such a great sleeper and I am scared that he will NOT be once he gets into a bed. I would love it if you would let me know if any of these suggestion work. This is not my first baby, I have three! My oldest I kept in her crib until she was just a bit over 3 (she climbed out) and she is still a great sleeper, we started with a toddler bed, the twin just seemed too BIG. Then while baby #2 was still in his crib I got prgnant with baby #3 (boys are 14 months apart) anyway I wanted baby #2 to stay in his crib so I got baby #3 a new crib. Long story short - we moved when baby #2 was 2 years old and I did not want to take both cribs and he was climbing out of it anyway; so he went to a toddler bed, now he is still the WORSE sleeper EVER!! So I am really concerned about moving my baby out of his crib even though he is almost three and should be in some kind of toddler bed. Can you let me know if any of this works? My daughter had no trouble with the transition, but my baby is just like yours and he likes his schedule and routine ALOT!

Keep the crib as long as you can!!! As long as you don't need it for another child and he is not posing a danger to himself by escaping, just let it be. One of these days, he will either climb out or decide that he needs a big boy bed. In either case, you should present him with the options that are available (for us, it was putting the crib mattress on the floor!!!) and celebrate the fact that he is now a big boy - HOORAY!!! YOU HAVE A BIG BOY BED!!!! etc. If he enjoys that cocoon feeling, you might try bunk beds (him on the bottom of course) or something else that makes him feel like he's enclosed and safe. Have fun with it, and don't worry, sometimes kids handle transitions really well when they are ready for them to happen!

Dear H.,

Then you need to involve him in the planning and moving and get his input all of the way. Don't hurry him. Start with letting the crib side down all the way and see how that goes. Then help him choose the bed, if you can, choose the sheets and pillow cases, and his sleeping toys for the new bed, then help chose the day or night he wants to try it out. It will be better that way and he will love you even more for not forcing him to do something before he is ready. You will be happier too. C. N.

I took my daughter from a crib to a queen size bed at around the same age. I let her choose the comforter, which looks (we still have it) more appropriate for a teenager than a 3 (now 5) year-old. We also painted her room and bought all new furniture (baby #2 was on the way). I was amazed, but it was actually very easy. Our nighttime routine changed a little, but she adjusted. She was very excited about her new big girl room.

Hi H.! I have a 2 and 1/2 year old boy and we got him a big boy bed right after he turned 2. I was kind of scared too cause I didn't know how he would do but he did great. We bought a full size bed, that way if we have any problems with him being sick or anything we could lay in bed with him. We also got him a full size bed because we knew that he wouldn't be in a toodler bed for very long and we knew that he would have this bed for a long time. We talked to him about his new bed and showed him the bed he was getting and we went out and bought him some sheets that he likes. He loves the movie cars so that is what we bought. He was really excited. I play music in his room for him to fall asleep to and I read him a book, brush his teeth, we pray and tell him good night. He will ask me if I will leave the door open and we tell him that if he stays in bed that it will stay open. As soon as he gets up we put him back in bed and close the door. He will cry sometimes for about 30 seconds and then he is out like a light. I also have a door knob cover on his door just incase if he were to wake up in the middle of the night, I don't want him wondering around the house. well, I hope this helps! God Bless you and your family!

Hi !
I would let him stay in his crib !
Society puts these rules about at what age kids "should " be doing XYZ but I say listen to your child. He feels safe and he is happy. Why mess with that when there is no problem only an expectation based on his age that he should be different. They grow up fast enough as it is and I promise he won't be 10 still wanting to sleep in his crib. Listen to your child.

The trick I used with my two girls worked like a charm - I gave them complete control over the move.

The girls got to pick out their new bed, the new sheets, etc. Then we set the bed up in the room with the crib and told them that they could choose which bed they wanted to sleep in. They both chose the bed the first night and slept great. We made sure not to put any limitations on the sleep arrangement. When the chose the bed, we told them if they changed their mind, that was no problem, they could sleep in the crib. We left the crib up for a couple of weeks and let them choose each night where to sleep. Once they tried the bed, neither one of them ever wanted to go back in the crib.

Once they were comfortable and familiar with the new bed (2-3 weeks) we took down the crib and told them we had to give it to a baby who needed it (which was actually true in both instances, so that helped, too!)

If you treat it like it's no big deal and like you have no vested interest in the outcome, your little guy will feel confident and comfortable making his own choices.

Good luck!!

I would prepare him ahead of time, by reading books about it, or making your own book with stick figures about a boy who becomes a big boy who is ready to move into a big bed. Take as much time as you think he needs, make the story about him, with his name being the boy's name. Talk about the new bed everyday and how he has become too big for his crib and he is such a big boy that he will receive a new bed, a big bed, because he is so big and you are so proud of him, etc...

Then, I would shop online, with him, for beds and linens. I did that with my son, we looked at IKEA's sheets and they have some really cute ones with animals and stuff. They are all reasonably cheap, so it was OK to ask him which one he wanted. He liked a certain one and I went and got that one. When we showed him his new bed, I think he remembered it was the same sheets as he saw online. I would even go shopping with him, and maybe buy a couple new stuffed animals for his new bed. Make it inviting and exciting.

Either way, it will be a transition and he will probably wake up at night at first, but I think the more you prepare him, the more familiar and the less upsetting it will feel to him.

Good luck!

A.

Hi
Try getting him involoved and excited about the whole process. Talk about him being a big boy, let him choose the sheet set (spiderman, cars, transformers). There is also a great free book called "sleepy creepy" about a boys first night in his big bed, if you can find it.
Good luck

HI. I am confused as to why there is a specific age that he has to be out. If it is a safty issue then i get it. I just think that people are asking their kids to grow up to fast. Why ruin a good thing? You know he will have free reign of the house at night and you will probally not sleep a full night for a long time.

My daughter is almost 3. She too is still in a crib and likes the safty and comfort. She sleeps thru the night. I am not messing with that. All her other friends are in big beds and sleep most of the night with thier parents.

I figure she will ask to get a big girl bed and then i know she will understand the concept of staying in it and putting herself back to sleep.

GOod luck and use your insticts.

If he's not climbing out of the crib, what's the rush? There's no magic age at which a child should be out of the crib. (Of course, you can't keep him in there until he's 18!) :)
If the crib converts to a toddler bed, you might want to try that. If you do, put him in there for a nap first, then move to night time. If you keep the same routine, he shouldn't have a problem.