Toddler Bed or Twin Bed?

I would go for a twin bed if your crib isn't a convertible one. Another mom had a great idea about putting the pool noddles under the fitted sheet on each side instead of buying safety rails which I thought was a great idea and even saw a similar thing in the One Step Ahead catalog yesterday! Of course you will be dealing with how to keep her in a regular bed at night once you make that transition so be prepared. Our pediatrician told us to wait as long as possible, even if that means buying a crib tent, before moving our daughter into a regular bed as toddlers have a hard time understanding the imaginary boundaries. My daughter is 3 and still LOVES her crib so we haven't had to face this issue yet.
Sincerely,
L.

We couldn't afford to buy a toddler bed and then turn around a year or two later and buy a real one, so we've always just transitioned the kids to a real bed. When we bought our daughter's twin bed, the salesman at Sleep Train offered a lower bed frame, which is ideal for kids learning to use a big kid bed. It's lower than the typical bed frame, making it easy to get in and out and it's less of a fall should that happen (neither of my kids have fallen out).

I actually got a toddler bed for my Daughter. It worked out great cause she can get in and out of the bed herself. She loved that. Not sure if you know this but you can use her crib mattress for the toddler bed. Also their is not much bedding for a toddler bed as well. The Twin bed on the other hand will last a lot longer as well. You could make it really special for her and make it like a princess bed. They have the netting that can go around the bed that hangs from the ceiling. They also have like a tent that can also go on the bed that makes it really cool also. The toddler bed my Daughter sleep in that all the way up to she was 5 years old. It just depends on how tall she gets and if she is not a wild sleeper. How ever you decide just make it really special for her so she will sleep in the bed cause it is very different for them.

M.

I think it depends on if your daughter is taller than average, and if you're planning on having more kids. When my older daughter was around 18 months, she was ready to be out of her crib, so I bought her a toddler bed since I figured it was more "her size" than a twin bed. She used it until she was about 4, at which time she transitioned into a queen sized bed. Our younger daughter started using the toddler bed at about 18 months as well (apparently both of my children feel that leaping from the top of the crib rails was a fascinating pastime). She is a little over 3 now, and will fit in her toddler bed at least another year. My younger daughter is shorter than average, and my older daughter was/is way taller than average. So I would say your daughter could possibly fit in the toddler bed until 4 years old unless she is super big/tall. Of course if you are planning to have more children, then a toddler bed would be used quite a bit more, making it well worth the cost. We ended up using the toddler bed for a longer time than we used the crib.

I hope that helps! Good luck.

R.,

For us, it was a more economical idea to just go for the twin size bed. My daughter got to go shopping for her own sheets and comforter and we made it a big deal for her so the transition was easy.

D.

We never used the toddler beds - just went straight to a twin with bed rails attached. But, I also kept my kids in their beds until they were 3+. They never crawled out and I figured the longer I could keep them in their cribs, the longer I could go w/out having to worry about them out of their beds while I was sleeping.

I guess if I had a child crawling out or had really outgrown the crib at age 2 I'd probably still get the twin bed...no need buying two beds w/in a year or two.

I posed this same question earlier this year when my then almost 2 year old was ready to transition from crib to bed. I received various responses. I chose to go with a twin bed and he has done GREAT! Either way you choose, just be prepared for the fact that your daughter will be able to get in and out of her bed on her own, whenever she wants. This stage requires a lot of patience and persistence. Good luck!

We just went through the same concerns :-) Our first is ready (almost) for his big boy bed. At first we thought about buying the twin because it was, we thought, more economical. We were also concerned about the length and my son growing out of it. But if you look at the growth charts as kids go from 2-5...the height really slows down. We were also concerned about the price, because we are saving for a new baby (due at Christmastime), of a twin bed set. anyway, what we decided is that we were going to get a "toddler" bed from Ikea. They have beds that are 63 inches long, instead of the usual 52" (I think). Plus it is a lot cheaper! The bed we are getting is about 90, plus the mattress is about 35. When my son grows out of this one, and he needs a bigger bed (probably a full) then the next chil will move to the toddler bed.

The other thing that we were thinking is this, a twin bed can be more econmical, IF they won't even need a bigger bed. My son is in the 100th percentile for height and 75th for weight. There is no way that he will be able to go through is teen years in a twin bed, so we would have to buy a full later anyway. Still two beds, but at least one is cheaper? I don't think there is a perfect answer ;-) Darnit!