How to Move a 26 Month Old to a Twin Bed

We moved our daughter to a twin bed on her 2nd birthday for the same reason. We bought a rail for one side and pushed the other side up against a wall. She actually only got out of it a couple of times. She didn't have any trouble with it and we really played up her "big girl bed" so that she wouldn't think she was losing her crib to the baby. Maybe you could let him pick out some sheets that he likes and get him excited about sleeping in it. You may have to lay down the law about getting out of bed, but honestly, it took my daughter awhile to even figure out that she could get out, so I maybe wouldn't mention it until he tries it. Good luck. This transition can be different for every kid, so I hope it goes well for you.

Check out Nov. 11th, 2008. This was a similar request. about the Transition into a bed.

Here was my response.
Our child wanted out of the crib at 1 year. We took the crib out while our child was not home one morning. We placed it in our storage shed so she would not see it.

We actually purchased a queen bed, since we only have 2 bedrooms. We placed one side of the bed up against a wall and borrowed a guard rail that sticks in between the mattresses.

The day we set it up, we sat in the bed and read books to her and played with some of her toys while in the bed. We talked about staying in bed at night just like her old bed.

We allowed her to pick the toys or books she wanted to sleep with. We also had her take her nap in the new bed. That evening, we sat next to the bed in a chair to read to her. She was excited and it took a little bit longer for her to get to sleep.

We had friends that did not actually set up the bed frame at first. They would just place the mattress on the floor. They were worried about their child rolling off of the bed. They also placed the mattress up against a wall. Once they were pretty sure their child would not roll off, they would set up the bed frame

On Nov. 4, 2008 there was a question about kids staying in bed in the morning.

This was my response.
Our daughter did not realize she was allowed out of her bed when she woke up until about this age. If she did not hear us, she would sit in her bed and look at books till we walked into her room.

If you put a safety gate in her doorway once she is asleep at night, tell her when she wakes up, she may get out of bed and play quietly with her toys until you or your husband wake up.

Hardware stores also sell light switch extenders. This will allow your daughter to turn on her own lights.

I have a friend who says her son used to wake up early on the weekends and would go to her side of the bed to ask her to wake up. She said she would tell him to go around to the other side and wake up dad! I love that....

If you do not like this idea, you could put her to bed 30 minutes later each night.

Hi Alexa-

We moved my son to a twin bed when he was 20 months old in anticipation of the arrival of his sister. First of all, we started with just the box spring and mattress on the floor and a bed rail on the side to prevent falls. Then we placed a door knob cover on the inside of his door to prevent him from coming out in the middle of the night and falling down the stairs. Honestly, since he was used to being put to bed and staying there, he didn't figure out that he could actually get out of bed on his own for quite a while. We weren't concerned with him playing with his toys. He explored and experimented with his new freedom in his room for a while but then would either just fall asleep on the floor or get back in bed on his own. Once he was used to it, it wasn't that exciting for him so he started staying in bed. That just wasn't a battle that we wanted to fight and letting it run it's course worked for us.

If you haven't yet bought the bed for his room, have you considered a daybed? I have a friend who bought a daybed but then placed it backwards against the wall so her older son basically had a crib again that he couldn't get out of. If it's really a concern for you, that's one way to go.

Good Luck,
K.

My advice... borrow a crib or buy a very cheap one from a garage sale somewhere. My 3 kids stayed in their cribs until they were almost 3 and I never had the problem of them getting out of their bed at bedtime. I transitioned them by removing the side of the crib that moves up and down and replacing it with a rail designed for the side of a regular bed. Oddly enough, they still didn't get out of bed even though they could. It wasn't until the twin bed that they would get up and come to my room (way too early on a Sat. morning!) My kids have very different personalities but this process worked well with all of them. When the twin bed came into the picture, naps were shorter and they were no longer happy to just rest in the bed until I came in.

I would see about getting one really cheap and not worry about what it looks like for that short period of time. It may give you a few more peacful moments with your new baby for a few months.

Good luck!