Toddler Bed?

My 1st son was just over 2 years and we are doing the same for my younger even though he has been climbing out for months now!!

When my older son got big enough we bought a Cargo (now Pier1) bunk bed and put the top bed with the rails in his room (the bottom one without the rails is in a study). This has worked great for him!! We removed the rails when he was old enough to sleep without them. Now that my younger son is ready for a big boy bed we will move the upper bunk with the rails to his room and the lower bunk to my older son's room.

We did this because we now have the option to use the beds as bunk beds or regular beds.

Hi, Shonda. I have two girls (8 and 4). I read an article once that was written by Dr. T. Berry Brazelton who recommended waiting until the child is 4 before transitioning out of the crib. Only exceptions were if the child was climbing in/out or if you needed the crib for a newborn sibling. We moved my first born out of the crib when she was about 3-and-a-half because I was pregnant with her little sister and due shortly before she turned 4 and we wanted to transition her way before her sister came so she wouldn't think she was taking over her crib. She had been napping in a twin bed during the day so the transition was easy for her because she was already used to the twin.

We moved our second child out of the crib when she was totally potty trained (about 3-and-a-half). This meant she was dry through the night as well. When she stayed dry long enough we took her to pick out her sheets and bedspread. We never used toddler beds for our kids. They just went straight from crib to twin bed.

My daughter went from a crib right to a twin bed at 2-1/4. We were expecting another little girl in 6 months so we did not want to have the switch happen too close to when her sister was arriving (especially because she was getting a whole new "big girl" room). We put the bed against the wall & have a rail on the other side. It is still like this & she will be 4 in January. To us, there really wasn't a point in having the in between toddler bed. Of course now we are expecting #3 & our little one will only be 19 months so maybe that toddler bed would have come in handy. We will wait to see how she is closer to #3's arrival but might put her straight into a twin bed as well. One other thing is we got a 2-step step stool to help her get into bed & this worked wonders for independence.

Good luck!
C.

I was going to get a toddler bed when my son was little over 2 - but decided to just buy a twin mattress and box spring. I have the rails too but will wait til he is alittle older. The mattress is next to the wall and I just put another pillow on the other side under the covers so he doesn't roll out. I tried a rail but he wanted to lean over it!! This way everything I buy is Twin size and not Toddler size

My little one went into her toddler bed at age two. She was ready a little earlier than that but we left it until after a move to make the transition. She is now almost three and a half and will make the move to a 'big girl bed' soon. We got an extra 18 months use out of the crib bedding and mattress and they are built so close to the ground that they are very safe for wild sleepers who manage to make it over the sides!

My daughter went to a junior bed really early. Somewhere between 12 and 18 months. She took right to it, no problem and doesn't crawl out at night, but I suspect she's an exception.

The junior bed is a daybed from IKEA and might be a bit longer than a typical toddler bed. So this one she could be in quite some time, until the futniture needs replacing or I get ready to really redecorate. I could see her in it until she's 4 or even 6. Toddler beds are shorter, so the convertible type makes sense so you can transition as needed to full.

Hi Shonda,
We had our two kids shy of 14 months apart, so I moved my then 19 month old into a full size bed (with rail of course) so that the then 6 month old baby could go to the crib (from the bassinet). My daughter has done great in her big girl bed. It does not have a box springs, just a piece of wood the size of the mattress under the mattress for support. That way it was not too high in case she fell out, which she has about two times. When she gets bigger we will add the box springs. It has worked for us!

K.

Shonda,
We moved our daughter to her big girl bed a month after she turned two (we were expecting our son and wanted to move her early enough so that she wouldn't think he was "stealing" her bed). We bought a normal sized full bed and put safety rails on each side. She has never had a problem. We still have the rails up - she just turned three - and probably won't take them down for another year or so.
Hope that helps!
D.

I agree with the other moms. 1) Put your son in a "big boy" bed now so he doesn't have to give up his crib to the new interloper. 2) If I had it to do over again I would have skipped the "toddler" bed entirely and just gone for one smart lady's idea. Get a twin set and store the box springs for later. use the plywood to support the matteress and when he is older you can install the box springs....also, just bite the bullet and invest in two really good quality mattress protectors.(wsh day goes faster if you have an extra set)....I wish I would have done that early on. If you invest in those and the right bed now, you'll save a lot in the long run. My 14 year old is still on a twin.

My girls are 17 months apart. I really did not feel that my daughter was ready for a toddler bed when our 2nd daughter came along, so we bought a 2nd crib from a resale shop. I am very glad we made that decision. Our first daughter did not move to a toddler bed for more than a year after little sis came along-- around 32 months. We first took the side off of her crib, but she kept falling out. I bought a $50 "princess" toddler bed at Target which uses her crib matress and sheets. She does not fall out nearly as often, and if she does, she is much closer to the ground. My personal feeling is it is a good thing to keep them in the crib as long as possible, as once they can get out of bed, they will, and I wanted her to be older and more responsible before I was ready for her to be up roaming about. Have a safe delivery!
A.

My son is 2.5 yrs and he is still in the crib. He loves his crib so we will probably wait till he doesnt fit in it to move him to a big bed. My 2 older children (9 and 12) never used a toddler bed so I dont think he ever will. He will just move into a twin or full bed when ready. Hope this helps!!! S.

Shonda,
All 4 of my kddos moved out of a crib between 18-20 months- mostly b/c there was another one in line for the crib!
I have only had one wander out of the bed for a few nights, but a firm reprimand worked.
Oh! wait, I just remembered- #4 went right from a crib to a bottom bunk bed- she was only 18 months when we did that.
#3 went from a toddler bed to a TOP bunk (long story) at 3 y/o....
Really the bed switching has been no big issue at all.

D.

My son went from his crib to a twin bed when he was a little over 2 years old. We used my old bunk beds from Cargo, and he did great in it. I didn't buy the rails because the beds are in a "L" shape, so his body is mostly trapped in between the bunk bed wall and the dresser.