Toddler Bed - El Cajon,CA

I've got twin three year old girls, who are big for their age and I still have them in cribs. We're planning on getting them their own big girl bed for Christmas. I've been lucky enough to have both in a crib this long and they haven't even tried to get out.

From about 2 years old, we got a twin bed for my girl. It had railings on it as part of the design, so that was good. We (she) got to choose her own sheet set and colors... we made it "exciting" for her and getting her own "big girl bed" and she was ready for it though. There is an adjustment time, but she got used to it right away and loved that she had her "own" bed which she helped to choose. Each child is different... but we switched her to a bed at this age, because she was "ready" for it. We also got her a cute flashlight which she could keep in her bed with her, just in case she got nervous or anything. It comforted her. And of course she put all her stuffed animals in her bed with her, to make it "cozy." Good luck, you'll get good suggestions here.
~Susan
www.cafepress.com/littlegoogoo

T.,

Just after my twins turned 2 years old, I decided to switch them to toddler beds. Neither one of them had ever climbed out of the crib, so I decided that I would reward them with a big girl and a big boy bed and keep it really positive. They adjusted better than I ever imagined they would. I had no problems with them staying in their beds at bedtime or at naptime.

Good Luck,
K.

I had my son in a big bed about 6mos. old well he slept with us alot first. I slept with him and had a wooden guard rail on one side, as the bed was against the wall on the other. Then over time I was able to go to my own bed again (after a year or so). He was great on his own as long as I was.

Our crib converts into a "toddler bed" (basically the front rail comes completely off) and we started using it after our kids turned 2. After a few months of the toddler bed (around 2 1/2 years of age) we bought big beds. For both occasions we thought we could have skipped the toddler bed and went straight for the big bed. With all the rail options they have now it's a pretty easy transition. Just remember without the confinement of the crib your child has the freedom to get out of bed as s/he pleases : ) I would not waste my money on a true toddler bed. Hope this helps.

I switched when she could climb out and did so on her own one morning. I just put the crib mattress on the floor and called it her bed. She rolled around the room all night. We did eventually get real beds and I put a rail on the side not against the wall. It works OK, but she still does occasionally fall out.

Hi T.,

Great question! I wondered that for a long time myself. We only recently made the switch, one week before our daughter turned 3 years old. She never tried to climb out of her crib (thankfully) and enjoyed sleeping there so we were in no hurry to push her into a needless change.

Before we converted her bed, we talked about it for some time (a few weeks) beforehand, off and on, gauging her reaction. Before long she became excited about it and that let us know it was getting to be time. We would have tried it a bit sooner than we did (maybe a week or so sooner), but what we did was convert our crib to a toddler bed (it's one that is made to do that) and I needed my husband's mechanically-skilled help to do it.

Rachel was VERY EXCITED that day and very happy to have a "big girl bed!" We put a big pillow on the floor next to it when she went to bed (my husband still insists on doing this for now) and the first night she sort of crawled out onto it one time and was hunkered down on it, still asleep. I think this happened because she always tended to press herself against the outer side of the crib (not the wall facing side) and when the side was gone, she had to get used to that. She has rolled out one time since, but it didn't even wake her up, we just heard the little thump and went and put her back into bed. :) She seems to have adjusted well and still occasionally makes a happy comment about having a "big girl bed!" :)

One more thing - she still doesn't sleep with a pillow as yet. I've offered a small one a few times, but she only wants to play with it (pretend night-night for her or one of her bears etc.), not actually sleep with it. Our chiropractor didn't encourage pillow usage, and said if/when she decided she wanted one, to keep it small and as flat as possible, not big and puffy.

GOOD LUCK - I hope it will be a very happy time for your daughter as it was for ours...it's a real milestone!

S.

I put my daughter in a toddler bed at about 18 months. She is very independent and wanted to be able to get out of bed herself. We went to walmart and got a bed there. Really cheap and it used her crib matress. We did have a crib that turned into a toddler bed but it seemed really high of the ground so i wasn't very comfortable with her sleeping it it. We never had any issues with her getting out of bed. We just made sure from the start that she new she was not allowed out of bed until mommy or daddy came in.

We had to put our daughter in a big girl bed at 19 months. We had another baby on the way and did not want to buy another crib. We started talking about it as if it was the biggest thing in the world and then we put just the top mattress on the floor for a while - this not only made it fun for her but it kept her safe if she accidently rolled off - which she did only once at least that I saw. She may have put herself back to bed - who knows! After a few weeks and when she was comfortable, we brought in the rest of the bed. Worked great for us!!

We switched right after my son turned two. I don't think there is an age that is right for everyone but rather a few signs that your child might be ready. My son started climbing out of his crib and once he figured that out it only happened once before we switched beds. I didn't want him to fall and get hurt. Also, we didn't see the point of making him stay in his crib when we could put that energy into teaching him how to stay in his big boy bed. We have a new baby on the way and wanted to make sure that before it came, he would be adjusted to his new bed. He surprised us and only got out of bed a few times during that whole first week. He loves the bed. I think that because we switched when he showed signs of being ready and didn't have to struggle with him over staying in his crib, it started off positive. He didn't feel like he had to win the bedtime battle with mom and dad. I think he felt that he had a little control and that does wonders for a toddler. hope some of this was helpful.

I don't think toddlers climbing out of the crib is a sign or good reason to immediately switch to a toddler bed. Our younger son is 2.5 yrs & has been climbing out of the crib for about 4 months now. Early on, he was in & out several times a night (until he fell asleep & then stayed in it for the night) but now, 90% of the time he stays in & goes straight to sleep. He shares a room w/his older brother (7yrs) who sleeps on the bottom of the bunk bed. I am REALLY ready to get the crib out of their room (which is small)but know our 2.5 yr old isn't ready for the bottom bunk. I've tried him in it & he gets out even more than in the crib. Some people also think 2 is the golden age. Our older son never once tried to climb out of the crib, never crossed his mind. In fact, I was teaching him to climb in cuz he was getting too heavy to hoist in to the crib! He was in the crib til 3 yrs & only got out cuz my brother made him a toddler bed. So, my thought is, unless they absolutely won't stay in the crib &/or you need it for another baby, leave them in it til at least 3 yrs. Sometimes, if you take them out too early, it completely messes up any kind of sleep routine & nobody wants that! We had a toddler bed but if it wasn't made for my son, I wouldn't have bought him one. Even tho the crib mattress fits on a toddler bed, I don't think they're worth the money. Kids aren't in them that long so I suggest you buy a regular twin & either put the mattress on the floor w/o a frame/box spring or get a gate for the side of the bed. Hope this helps & good luck!

We changed to a twin bed and added a side rail from Target when our son was about 2. We went to the store and let him pick out all the bedding. If you take this route, be prepared for the choice that may be made. We came home, set up the bed but left the crib up in the room for 2-weeks filled with his stuffed animals--just in case he wasn't ready. At the end of the two weeks, we took down the crib and told him that we were giving it to our friends so that their little baby girl would have a nice place to sleep. It all went pretty smooth. He had one moment when he connected the dots that he wasn't going to sleep in his crib any more. He wanted some time to himself and then it passed.

I put my daughter in a toddler bed when she was around 19-20 months old. We have a convertible crib and I was pregnant and could no longer bend over to put my daughter in the crib so we had to convert it. She did great. She did not come out of the bed. Although, I hear of others who have had major problems about that. All kids are different. And then we moved her to a "big girl" bed when she turned two because we needed the crib for the baby and I wanted to give enough time for my daughter to forget about the crib so that she won't be upset or jealous that the baby is sleeping in "her" bed. And that also worked out very well. She loved it. I personally think that if you don't have a convertible crib, you should just skip it and move on to a "big girl" bed. Buying a toddler bed would be a waste of money. If you are worried about the height of the the "big girl" bed, you could also just put the mattress on the floor.

Well, with our first we switched him into a twin when he was 12 or 13 months (my husbands idea, he just wanted the crib out) which was too soon. It took us weeks to get him to stay in the bed. Our second we waited till he was 15 months, still too soon. Our third was just over 2 years old and that was perfect. We have very few problems with him getting out of the bed, he is now almost 2 1/2.
One thing to consider, none of our boys ever tried to get out of the crib at all. If your child does, you may want to switch sooner, if not, then why not wait?

I cahnged both of my kids to toddler beds when they turned 1 1/2 and I just told them that they are a big girl /big boy and I found a bed that they liked and just reminded them that they do not have anything to hold them on the bed and to remember that. My son did very well and never fell off the bed (he's the oldest) my duaghter fell off a couple of times and I just laughed and picked her up and said...your silly thinking you have a lot of room still...and she would think it's funny. But everything is well. Good luck. Just make sure you make it a big deal about being a big girl ;-)