When to Move from a Crib to Bed

My aunt's son is almost 5 and has never tried to climb out of his crib. He's a big boy now, potty trained and everything, yet he still sleeps in his crib...in his parent's bedroom! Just don't wait that long :) I can't imagine the fight they'll have when they make him move into his own room and a big boy bed. They're older, next child in line is 16, so they spoil him to the extreme. Good luck.

I agree that when he tries to climb out (or does climb out) it is time. Otherwise if he seems happy in there, he is fine.

I have a 4 1/2 year old and a 3 year old and I took my cue from them. Once they could climb out or would get stuck trying to climb out, I moved them. She was right around 2 but he was earlier than that. I believe as long as they are sleeping good, happy and not in any danger of injuring themselves it really doesn't matter too much.

Hi A.,
I am the mom of one 3 year old little boy, and he stayed in his crib until he turned 3. He is tall, but he never tried to get out of his crib, so I waited until he moved rooms to change to a toddler bed. As long as he's not trying to climb out, I wouldn't worry about it. My son is also very verbal, so that helps since he's been able to express his needs.

Hope this helps!
S.

A. - We had to move our first daughter out of the crib @ 23-months b/c our second daughter was on the way (they are almost to the day 25 months apart). She NEVER got out of bed. She would call to us and get out when we said she could (not sure how we accomplished that). This was a blessing; however, it quickly became a curse when she was potty trained. We had to clean up so many accidents b/c she wouldn't just jump out of bed and go. So, the "moral" to my story is; do it whenever you and/or your son feels comfortable!

I personally believe the earlier the better because if you do it early on, there's no transition the child has to go through. I moved both of my kids from a crib to a twin bed at 15 months with a solid rail that slid under their mattress to keep them from possibly falling out. I never had either of my children fall out of bed. I feel bad for the kids who are kept in their cribs too long and then have to go through a big transition during a time of the day when they're supposed to be getting rest.

Honestly I will say I disagree with the other responses. As long as they're not crawling out of the cribs why do it so early when they really don't understand why they need to stay put. How many parents (and e-mails on here) saying "their child won't stay in bed, or can't keep the kids out of our bed" blahblah. Well we have twins and we waited until after 3 and I am being totally honest here, they NEVER EVER have gotten out of bed. The first few days they did at nap but we put them straight back in there and told them to stay there until we came to get them and it's never been an issue. We just kept a monitor and they knew that all they had to do was yell for us and we would be in there and they were always very comfortable with that and seriously even now at 8 years old they still DO NOT get out of bed. Now they have clocks in their rooms and we tell them a certain time they can get up, if they wake up before they can read quietly until it's time and they do. Hope this helps.

If you can, let him go with you to pick out a "BIG BOYS" bed. My daughter was 15 months when she started climbing out of her crib. We gave in and gave up when she was 16 months and put a mattress on the floor of her room for her to get use to it and then we got the frame for the bed a couple months later. Boys, however like car beds and other types. We used a mattress of ours, since we got a new one and that one was still in good shape and fairly new (husband had a bad back). Hope things work out.

When a child can climb out of the crib, which is dangerous because they might fall. Or when they are potty trained and need to be able to get up and go if they need to in the night. These were my guidelines when my kids were small.

I truly believe that if it ain't broke don't fix it. If he is sleeping well in a crib there is not reason to put him in a bed where he can't get out any time that he wants. If he has found a way to jump out of the crib that is another story. Also, when he is older and you do transition him to a big boy bed, you will be able to negotiate with him and that is something that you can't do with a two year old. Good luck with your decision

Hi!

We had to move Emily (my oldest) out of her bed at 22 months to make way for little Haley. We moved at the same time, so we talked up her new room and her new "big girl bed" all at once. She was pretty good about it, but the first few weeks there was a lot of up and down. We used our gate strategically..at first we placed it at the end of the hallway, but then moved it closer and closer to her door. (We have one of those gates that expands up to five feet and it portable.)

eventually we placed it in her door frame and she figured out that she was supposed to stay put, but it took a good 3 weeks to get her to that realiziation.

Honestly, Haley is 18 months old now and we are contemplating trying the toddler bed with her now. i think it all boils down to how ready your son is and if you think he will understand the concept. Good Luck!

No later than 2 years or if they are climbing out before that age. Ask your pedi.BTW, my kids never got out of bed. We put the bed rails on and they were fine!

I have two two-and-a-half year olds who are still in their cribs. We figure for their third birthday (february), we'll buy them big-girl beds. The only reason we'd get the big girl beds prior to their 3rd bday, is if they start to climb out of the cribs, but so far, they've never tried (we have video montiors so we can see what they are doing). I think at two years old, I would have been extremely nervous to let my girls out on their own. I'm still a bit nervious, but more excited as I see them grow and mature to get them their big girl beds. But for now, they don't know any different and are happy, good sleepers, in their cribs.

I'm waiting until my son either 1) tried to climb out or 2) talks about a bigger bed. He has shown no signs of wanting to sleep anywhere else, he loves his bed and goes down easily. When we put him on a big bed, he just plays, he doesn't seem to understand that our bed is where we sleep. I know it will be easier if I wait for him to be ready than if I force it on him.

My son turned two about two weeks ago and he is still in his crib, if you look online (babycenter.com, parents.com etc) they will tell you that anytime beofre they are three Unless they are climbing out of the crib is fine. We are switching to a big boy bedd soon, our goal is Nov. because we are expecting baby number two in Jan and I want our son to be all siuated before the new baby arrives. We had him help us pick out his big boy bed (we narrowed it down without him then brought him in) and we are decorating in his favorite movie (Cars) and I am really excited for the transition. So good luck but def check out the websites I told you about they helped me with many ideas.

Hi A.!

I went through this anxiety with every one of my 3 kids when they transitioned from the crib to a bed. They were great sleepers and I didn't want to ruin it! But I skipped the toddler bed step and went from crib to twin mattress on the floor (for maybe a week or two) to twin bed with side rails. If your experience is anything like mine, it is going to be way easier than you think! When they were on the mattresses on the floor, they actually wouldn't get out on their own and they would still call me to come get them from their naps! It's like they didn't know they were just inches off the ground! LOL But I did it with all of them right before their second b'day and it was all smooth sailing. :) And my kids weren't climbing out of their cribs, I just knew I had to deal with this issue once we started potty training, and I was trying to eliminate too many changes at once. It's like anything - just pick a day, DO IT and then when you are past that stage you'll take a big sigh of relief. :) Good luck!

As you can probably tell by the posts every child is different. My 1st daughter was always a great sleeper. I moved her to her toddler bed on her 2nd birthday. She still treated it like a crib and called for me so she could get up. She was 4 before she started to get up on her own. What a blessing. :)

My 2nd daughter started crib jumping at 18 months but still wanted to sleep in her crib. I have both a crib and toddler bed in her room. I got her a crib tent. She hated it at first but now (she is 2) and she cries if I don't zip her in. It makes her feel safe. I will probably move her to her toddler bed at 2 1/2 but she sleeps so well in her crib now, that I don't see the point in rushing it.

I think the big decision involves not only true saftey but also where your child feels safe. I also use a monitor until they are at least 3 or 4. It gives us both peace of mind. :)