When Do I Transition My Toddler from Crib to Big Boy Bed?

Keep him in his crib as long as possible! You will sleep better knowing he is safe and also not crawling in bed with you! Most kids transition to a bed between 2-3 years. Look for signs of pulling up on the railing with his chest at the rail height or above and trying to do a pull up. Take off crib bumpers so he can't climb higher. My boys went into a toddler bed at 18 mo. and 2 years, but they are climbers. I chose a toddler bed, so that I wouldn't worry about them falling out. They went to big boy twin beds when they were around 3 and that is because they are so tall.

J. -

I was so grateful you had this post! My twin boys are 17 months now and I was just wondering when this transition should take place. Now I know :) So thanks.

Hey J.! I was actually wondering what you do to work from home? I work from home too, and know that a lot of home businesses right now may possibly be looking for an additional way to earn income, due to the economy. I open customer accounts for a multi billion dollar wellness company. But never EVER have to sell, stock, distribute ANYTHING! I'm looking for some great business partners. Let me know if you're interested J.!

Thanks!
C.
Be home. Live well.
Create freedom!

We put our daughter from crib to toddler bed at 12 months. We put our son from crib to toddler bed at 15 months. It all depends on the kid. I know friends that kept their children in their cribs until they were 2 yrs+. We wanted to give the kids some independence. It's worked well for us but every child is different!

I dont take mine out until they climb out or after 3! My little one just turned 3 last month and I plan to move him at the end of this month. It's just better that way...if he's sleeping well, WHY DISRUPT that? ...that's my motto!

I was pregnant with my daughter by my sons first birthday. So we needed to switch him rooms. She was going to need the crib and I did not want to buy another one or get a toddler bed. So we bought a mattress and box spring put them on the floor with a bed rail. We decorated his new room with all kinds of sport balls, didnt let him see it till it was finished.

This was when he was 16 months. I didnt want him to feel pushed into his new room when the baby got there so I made the transition while I was still pregnant. 3 days and he was sleeping all through the night in his bed. The first night he woke up and asked to go back to the crib. He started his nap in his crib and after falling asleep I would move him to the new room. The second night he slept in the crib then the whole 3rd we played in his room. I laid on the bed with him played with his new balls and said he should take a nap in there. He did, it was a shorter one, So we played hard that day. Put him to bed very tired and didnt hear a sound till he called for me in the morning.

We put a baby gate in front of his room so he couldn't wander if he wanted to. He was told to stay in bed and sleep then call for mommy when he got up. He never wandered, he continued to sleep in his big boy bed even after sister arrived. We have had no problems even now that he is 5. He has never gotten into anything. When he wake up now he comes to our room and asks to watch tv or if he can turn on his light in his room.

You need to be firm. You need to be consistent. You need to make it a fun thing not a scary one. If mom is scared or worried then they will pick up on it. If your not ready they will not be ready.

If you want to hear how my daughter did email me. I would be happy to tell you.

I'd say when your toddler is ready and showing signs like climbing out of the crib. I wouldn't rush it. I think the crib gives me a sense of security. I'd have left mine longer if I had to do it over, we took our daughter out at about 15 months. I'd wait until at least two.
Take care,
K.

If he loves his crib and shows no signs of getting out, then keep him there! Our son loved his crib and did not get a toddler bed til he was 3. Once you go there - you cannot go back, and he has full reign over his room & house unless you put up a barrier at his door and lay down some laws (although at 20 months he may not know what laws are!). Good luck!

Maggie is our fourth and my feeling is that unless it is unsafe, let your child stay in the crib almost as long as possible. We have set up a regular bed in her room and she has the option of choosing which bed to sleep in. She is usually picking to sleep in the big girl bed. However, if she gets out of the bed she gets returned to the crib. It has actually worked out really nice because we only "fight" the battle once a night and she is figuring out that she would prefer the big girl bed. She is adjusting really well.

Occasionally (which I know I should be consistent all the time - but I am pregnant with twins and sometimes really need a break) I will put her straight into her crib. If she asks, I will put her into bed, but otherwise I am exhausted and really need to be laying down.

Hi J.-

My son asked for a big boy bed when he was about 26 months old. He liked his crib and NEVER climbed out, but he saw that a friend had a big boy bed and he wanted one. So we got him a big boy bed. We did not get a toddler bed. We got him a real twin sized captain bed. I put rails on the side so he wouldn't fall out. He never got out of bed at night. I think it still felt "cribish" to him with the rails. When he started sleeping without rolling all over, I removed the rails. He was fine after that. Never got out of bed in the middle of the night, and, util he was 5 he would sit on his bed in the morning until my husband or I would go get him. Worked out so well.

Mine climbed out at about that age but I had planned on moving him at around age two. But, there's probably no hurry if he fits fine, doesn't try to climb out and there's not another little one on the way that's going to need the crib.

Hi J., I'd love to see your responses. My little boy is now over 3 and has no desire to leave his crib for his little bed. I'd love to get him transitioned and get the crib out of his room. T.

I have always found it best to leave them there as long as possible. They're safer, you can feel more confident that they're not going to be roaming the house or whatever. My kids always moved around two, but it was always because of either my needing the crib or them crawling out. If he's content, I would leave him.

When we moved our girls to their "big girl beds", we let them pick out bedding and also made sure that their stuffed animals (or whatever they sleep with) was in their bed too. We left the crib in their room (we were able to take the side off the crib) and put their stuffed animals that didn't go in their bed in the crib. We made a big deal about moving into the "big girl bed" for a while before we moved them. We had set a date in advance, so they knew it was coming. They both transitioned pretty easily.

Wait til he gets out of the crib on his own. my son is 2yrs 1month and just swung his leg over the top of the rail for the first time, yesterday. Don't rush it.

I would leave him there unless there is reasons for YOU to have him move to a toddler bed.

as long as he is still using the crib like he is a baby which I mean he is not standing up in it or jumping in it etc.

another 6 months is not going to hurt anyone especially him and you can be assured he is safer just that much longer.

My advice would be to leave him in as long as possible (unless he's trying to climb out)....
I got a toddler bed for my first son because #2 was almost here (at 18 mo).... I wish I would have just purchased another crib. It would have prevented ALOT of stress.

My best friend told me out of all the advice she got from me, this was the single most helpful advice. I hope it helps :)

We put our daughter in a toddler bed right after her 2nd birthday, when she started climbing out of her crib. We just bought her a twin bed, since she was getting too long/big for the toddler bed.

Keep them in there as long as you can! My kids also loved their cribs, so I kept them in there till they were about 3, unless they didn't fit anymore. Most parents that I know who put their kids in a bed too young have to deal with trying to keep them in the bed. Good luck.

I think it's more of "when is mom ready" more that "when is the child ready." I have 5 children and the longest any of them stayed in the crib is intil about 16months. We usually started putting them in a twin size bed. With my youngest we would sometimes put her back in the crib for naps only, but at night she was always in her big bed. With my oldest we had a daybed that we turned around backwards- kind of like a giant crib. Each one of our children have been slightly different. Even though they are in a twin bed (I don't use toddler beds because I hate the idea of buying another bed they're only going to be in for a short while) they still took naps fine. I think it boils down to what you feel the most comfortable with- there isn't a right or wrong answer. Good luck.

My son is two and a half next week, and still sleeps in his crib. He has climbed out once, and when he did he hurt his foot. He limped around for 2 days, and I told him that he shouldn't climb out of his crib or he could get hurt. That was 2 months ago, and he hasn't tried it again.

I feel more comfortable with him in his crib because I know he's not up wandering around and getting into stuff while I'm sleeping. I have always kept my kids in their crib until they climbed out or we needed it for another baby. For my older kids, that was around age 3.

Since you know there is no "1 size fits all" answer, here is what I did with my son:
he went from his crib to a toddler bed at 18 months. I didn't want to do it. My plan was to keep him in a crib until he was around 3, but he started climbing out and feel out twic ein the middle of the night, that was the final straw for me. He does get out of his toddler bed, but his room is safe for him to play in unattended, and he voluntarily gets into his bed when he is tired.
Hope this helps.

My oldest (DD#1) I kept in a crib until she was 3... and only transitioned her to a big girl bed because of the upcoming birth of her sister (DD#2) DD#2 moved to a big girl bed around the age of 2 because of the birth of DS. DS is our last child and is 18-months-old. And although we have a single bed in his room in addition to the crib, I have no intention of transitioning him yet. In fact, because of the birth of DS and DD#2 being able to get out of bed easily, DD#2 really hasn't taken naps since she was 24-months-old... which is when she transitioned to her big girl bed. I just couldn't keep her down... I know other people who had success during nap time, but I didn't with DD#2. And even with the rail, she still found ways to roll out of bed while she was sleeping (she's a very wiggly sleeper! LOL)

I say if you're happy and your little boy is happy... go ahead and keep him in there as long as possible! At least he won't be rolling out of bed!

My advice: Wait as long as you can, as long as he fits the crib, and is not trying to get out. Enjoy it while it lasts. My daughter's sleeping habits completely changed based on going to a toddler bed just after 2 yrs (b/c she was climbing out)--when in the crib, she would wake up, then fall back to sleep for another couple hours--sometimes sleeping in until 8 am or later. In the toddler bed, as soon as she woke up she was up, because she could get out of bed and come get me. Definitely enjoy it while it lasts. Don't be in a hurry. My sister still has my niece in her crib, and she just turned three.

We had both of our girls go into a toddler bed at about 18 mos. - 2 yrs. Don't wait until they're climbing out of the crib, because they may never try to climb out. The toddler bed is an easy transition. Let them help pick out bedding, etc. We did put a removable tension gate up in the doorway for sleeping at night since I didn't want her to wander around and go down the stairs in the dark, etc.

I know, I have a 26 month old and was wondering the same thing. I thought that "2" was the magic number, so I was about to transition him around his second birthday, but then I realized that he loves his crib still and wasn't trying to climb out. So my friends said to definitely wait because the crib is still a source of security for him. He has since successfully climbed out of his crib now only twice and only when I have come to get him out in the morning, but he typically still holds his arms up for me to pick him up. I guess I would wait until your son is really wanting out and is able to get out!

My advice, wait as LONG as you can, because once you do, he WILL get up in the middle of the night and wander around, and then be difficult to settle back into bed. All of my boys went into toddler beds first, because they turn around and fall out, so that was much closer to the ground. BUT, those few months of wandering kids in the middle of the night, as well as falling out of bed, was a bit of an adjustment for ALL of us. So, if he's ok in the crib, leave him as long as you can!

P.S. By college I suggest he be in his own "Big Boy Bed!!!"