Is It Time for a Toddler Bed?

I personaly did not move my son out of his crib until he was almost 3 but he didn't seam to care until then. He was never a very good sleeper though. My neice was always a very good sleeper and my sister moved her out of her crib shortly after she turned one. So if you think it will help give it a try and if it doesn't work out you can always move her back. When I did move my son to his own bed I put a gate in his doorway at night after he fell asleep so he couldn't get up and wander the house.

My 2 year old is still in her crib. I am not ready to worry if she is up and about before me getting into things. We are getting ready to put a gate up at the top of the stairs and we can lock all the other doors up here so she would only have access to her area, I may even try to find one of those bedroom alarm doors so when she starts getting up when we move her to the toddler bed I will know. That would be my only concern for you. 15 months is still young and you just need to make sure you know when they wake up. If you have a monitor in there but they dont need your assistance to get up you may never here them! Most people I have asked said 2 and a half! :)

Hi S., how about getting the toddler bed and see how she responds to it? If it doesn't go well then maybe there is another reason she doesn't want to go to bed. It wouldn't hurt to introduce her to a toddler bed, let her choose maybe. I put my son in toddler bed about that age it took some time for him to understand that he needed to stay in it.

Good luck and have fun!

R.

If your daughter is already clinging to you, putting her in a bed might just make it difficult to get her to stay in it. She might just get up and try to go to bed with you. My daughter went through a phase like that. My daughter was just testing me to see what she would get, she figured out that if she cried or screamed, mommy would come and hold her. Those tears and screams can make you feel guilty, but you know she is ok and letting her cry for a little will be ok as well, because she will figure out that crying wont get her what she wants and that night time is for sleeping.

I have a 2 yr old son, and in my experience, when kids start to bcome more mobile and independent, they are upset when put in their crib because they might miss something. A regular bed at that age only means your baby will be able to roam free, while missing out on the rest she needs. It is recommended to keep a baby in a crib as close to 3 yrs. as possible. Because she is a girl, and they usaually develop faster than boys, she may be entering those "terrible-twos" a bit early. She has a ton of feelings, but because they can not be verbally expreseed, she has fits of emotion.

It is NOT reccommeded that a 15 month old sleep in a bed! At this age, they are still babies - she clings and cries when you put her down because she wants YOU, and not to sleep, not that she feels she is trapped in her bed. If you put a 15 month old in a toddler bed, you are asking for it - she will get up over and over all night long, and I guarentee you, she will not sleep at all because she has the option of getting up and down whenever she wants.

She is likely just going through a cling to mommy phase, or an "I dont want to sleep" phase. 15 months is a HUGE milestone month, one of the months that pediatricians and child psychologists consider the most important month of development. She could be wanting to stay up for a variet of reasons, but do not think that you can fix them by putting her in a toddler bed. In fact, you would be inviting stress and anxiety in both of your lives: it is very important that you keep her routine how it has been so that she has consistancy.

Here are a few ideas to make her more comfortable at bedtime:
-Consider putting her to bed later than you currently do, as it will be easier for her to want to go to sleep.
-Does she still take two naps a day? If so, consider taking one of them away so that she is tired at the end of day.

Often, children give up one of their daytime naps at this age. She may just not be tired enough at night, and puts up a fuss because she's not ready for bed yet.

Im a child psychologist, and have experienced this question MANY times in my practice. Feel free to email me for any more ideas!

It definitely depends on your child I guess... we put my son in a big-boy bed at 14 mos and my daughter in one at 11 mos. My daughter slept in a crib as an infant but my son never did (went from our bed to his bed). We just used a regular full-size bed without the frame so that it would be low to the ground - we put two body pillows on each side of the edges and pillows on the ground as well in case they ever did roll over the pillows and out but they never did. This worked great for them and us. They had a completely child-proofed room with a gated-open door and neither one of them ever got out of their bed to play instead of sleeping at night. They are now 23 months and 3 years old. You can always just try it out and see how it goes - you will need the bed eventually anyway... good luck!! :)

My daughter was 18 months when we transitioned her into a toddler bed. Every child is different. I would suggest trying it, and if it doesn't work, then bring the crib back. Our rule of thumb was, if she could climb in and out of her crib, then it was time for a toddler bed.

We had a toddler bed and crib in my son's room from the time he was 16 months. We tried to get him to sleep in the toddler bed at 16 months, but all he would do was run around the room like a wild boy. We decided to keep him in the crib until he gave us more signs that he was ready. Then finally when he was 22 months we asked if he wanted to sleep in the big boy bed and he did. We started him sleeping at night in it and within a week he was sleeping at night and naps in the toddler bed. If your 15 month old is capable of staying in the toddler bed and not running around the room and playing then I'd say go for it. If she's not then it's going to be a lot of work and I'd say to wait awhile. Like the other response said, your daughter is just crying because she probably is fighting going to bed. I would wait for signs like she's trying to climb out of the crib before you switch her or otherwise wait till about 2 yrs.

every baby is different. I put my daughter in a twin bed at 16 months and she did great at first. Then after about 2 weeks, she figured out that she can get out of it and she wouldn't stay in it. We tried a few more time and it didn't work. Finally I told her that she has to say goodbye to her crib beucase I am due in July with baby #2. She said OK, and has slept in her bed for about a month now and doesn't get out. We also took her crib out of her room.