Hi everyone. I was wondering at what age you moved your little ones to a toddler bed. Also, are there any brands out there you are really happy with, or suggest staying away from? Thanks in advance for your help.
I also wanted to add, that my son is starting to show signs of potty training readiness. I want him to be completely comfortable in his big boy bed before we add on the whole potty training thing. There is a gate in his doorway that will stay there until potty training starts, and then it will be moved to to top of the steps so he has access to the bathroom.
My daughter was 17 1/2 months old. She climbed out of the crib at that time. My other daughter was 19 months old when we moved her because she was climbing out of th crib. We tried the toddler bed but didn't have much luck with it so we went straight to a full size bed. We went thru a few nights of putting them back to bed several times but it didn't take too long to get them used to it.
My son will be 2yrs on the 27th of this month and he is in a fullsize bed and has been for the past month or so, his crib only changed into a fullsize bed, and he loves it, he sleeps so much better in his bed, I just put big pillows on the outside and the other side is next to a wall.
The best way to know if your son will do good in a toddler bed, take the mattress from his crib and put it on the floor and put a gate up at his door and majorly childproof his bedroom. If he does Ok with the mattress on the floor you know he will do great in a toddler bed.
Good Luck & Happy transitioning
G.
Jake moved to the toddler bed at 23 months. We put the toddler bed next to his crib for a couple weeks. He would take naps in the toddler bed & sleep in the crib at night. One night, he climbed into the toddler bed & wanted to sleep there. I told him he could sleep in the crib. He rolled over, pointed at the crib & said "baby bed". He's been in the toddler bed ever since. About the same time, he learned how to open his door, so we had to put the safety knob over his door knob to keep him from roaming the house at night. Sometimes when he's really tired, he'll get up & walk around his room in his sleep. We still have the video monitor in his room, so if he's talking or crying, we can check on him. Good luck!
Hi! My son was a couple months from being 3. A lot of people thought this was kind of old to still be in a baby bed, but he loved his baby bed and NEVER tried to climb out. We totally skipped the toddler bed, though, and I would not change that decision (kind of we wanted to save money!). We went straight to a twin bed. We even skipped getting rails on the side (although one side is pushed against the wall). His bed is not tall. We got it at Wal-Mart and it has drawers underneath. It probably only comes to right above my knees. He did fall out a couple of times, but it wasn't a long fall so he didn't get hurt. Just scared him a little. We just went in, put him back in bed, and he went right back to sleep. Hope this helps a little! Oh yeah....also, my son doesn't get out of bed unless we go in there. We've been lucky with that. Even if we hollar for him to come on out, he won't. That was my biggest fear....my husband at work, me in the shower, and our son gets up and into something he shouldn't! Instead, he just yells for us when he's awake.
hi J., I think anytime between 2-3 is ok to move to a toddler bed, it really depends on the kid, sometimes it may backfire if it is too early and they keep getting up when you put them to bed, our daughter was 2 1/2 and did just fine with a toddler bed by then. I would say you could try it he should do fine.
Keep them in the cage as long as you can! Seriously. Unless they are climbing out of the crib and it becomes a safety hazzard. Many toddlers that move to toddler beds too early become restless sleepers - up several times a night searching for parents, end up in your bed, etc... Some even get up and start playing, turn on the TV, search for snacks. . . . Why give up the peace of mind of knowing that your toddler is safe and snug in their crib?
Both my kids moved into big beds at about 19-21 months. With both kids we happened to be moving at that time and we just decided in the new room to have a new bed and make the switch all at once.
I personally would skip a toddler bed and go straight to a twin or whatever you're going to have in their room later on. It just doesn't make sense to me to put them on the same size bed (you use a crib mattress on a toddler bed), just without the crib rails. I always felt like my kids were cramped in the crib and if they were in that same size on a little bed, they'd have a hard time having the freedom to get comfortable without rolling right off. I put both my kids straight into twin beds and they did great. With my first daughter she went into a regular twin bed and we used bed rails. My son's first bed was essentially on the floor, as it's a loft type bunk bed from Ikea and the bottom mattress actually rests on right on the floor. He loves his new big bed!!
Good luck!
I just happened to read this:
"When has baby outgrown the crib? Once the top of the crib rails are less than three-fourths your child's height, it's time to move to a toddler bed!"
on the One Step Ahead baby safety website.
Hope that helps!
I left my daughter in her crib until she was ready to get out. She didn't crawl out, but would call for us when she wanted out. It was perfect, I didn't have to worry about her getting up and wondering around in the middle of the night. When she 2 1/2, we just started leaving the side down and she could climb in and out. She went straight to a twin size bed when she was almost 4. It was perfect, because we already a younger one and it was her escape bed away from him.
