When would be a good time to transition my 16 month old to a toddler bed?

Candice - posted on 05/20/2011

We just laybyed a bed for my son who is almost 17 months old - we are having a baby mid october so have it planned to transition him for the whole month of september and then still have 2 weeks in october if needed - hoping it works straight up! Goodluck.

Rebecca - posted on 05/17/2011

maybe I am just old fashioned in this way, but I believe in keeping toddlers in a crib until it is less safe to keep them in it then it is to have them out of it. To me that means my daughter will stay in her crib until she is 3 or can climb out of it. obviously if she can climb out, the crib is no longer safe. I am expecting baby #2 in 2 weeks and my husband and I just decided to buy a 2nd convertible crib. We will probably use the bassinet for the new baby for awhile though.

It could be just me, but I know my daughter would be out of her crib and playing in her room as much as she could if she wasn't confined to her crib at night. Other then that, the only advice I can give is that if you decide to put him in a toddler bed, do it now and give him time to adjust to it and have it be "his bed" before the baby comes. It could increase jealousy to switch him right when or right before the baby comes. he might feel like the baby is replacing him by taking "his bed"

Tiziana - posted on 05/14/2011

My son is 17 months also and I have thought of moving him in a twin bed, but since he is not climbing out of the crib yet I will wait. My son is a very active little boy, even in his sleep. You alone can judge if he is ready or not. My suggestion if you do move him is to put a gate on the door so that he cant get up and wonder around in the middle of the night. Another idea maybe to give him a little more time in the crib is to use a bassinet for the new baby, my son slept in his next to my bed for about 5 months.

Kate - posted on 05/14/2011

we kept our oldest in her crib as long as we could, she was walkin at 11 months and I didnt want her wandering the house at night, confinement was better, then we were expecting the second and like yousaid didnt want her to feel like she was getting pushed out because of her sister, we moved her to a BGB at about 2 years and again made a big deal about it being a BGB because she was going to be the BIG SISTER!

Tammy - posted on 05/11/2011

Keep in mind that once you your son is in a toddler bed, your nights will never be the same! He will be able to leave the bed when he wants to. It's up to you to decide if you are ready for your son to have a toddler bed. :)

Karen - posted on 05/11/2011

I'd also go right to the full size or twin bed and skip on the toddler bed. It was easy getting my daughter into the full size bed. We told her about a month ahead of time that we were going to get her a big girl bed soon and we would talk about it almost every day and she was super excided about having a "big girl" bed. The more we talked the more excited she got and the day the bed was there it was like the best day ever in her eyes lol.

LisaMarie - posted on 05/11/2011

GlenKelly always preffered his pack n play to his crib so we tried the toddler bed early at about 14 months now at 16 months hes doing amazing and sleeping threw the night 90% of the time.

Heidi - posted on 05/10/2011

My oldest went into a toddler bed ( with a rail) at 12 months. He did not walk until 24 mo. He was talking, and could get in and out himself. Make sure that you put a baby gate on the door. His brother was on the way, and needed the crib. This baby is 17 mo. not talking or walking so he will stay in the crib until toileting in the night, climbing out on his own, or asks for a big kid bed.

Emily - posted on 05/05/2011

I am glad this post was made.. I actually am thinking about transitioning. My son is extremely intelligent and decided to take a toy to the side of his pack and play.. so nowww.. no more bed (he was getting out of the crib so i wanted to put him in something lower)

I feel better since i read these responses because my oldest one didnt sleep in a normal bed until he was almost 3, so i was hoping he wasnt too young

Adriana - posted on 05/01/2011

i put my son in a toddler bed last month when he was 15 months old he hated his crib and now he loves the toddler bed so it just depends on your child and when u think he is ready

Darlene - posted on 04/28/2011

We moved my eldest to a twin bed with rails at 17 months. He did great! We took him with us to buy the mattress. He was so excited when we set it up that he wanted to go to bed right then! We plan to move Tyler closer to 18 months, simply because we have visitors coming and we'll need his room! :)!
Being that you are having another one, I would try to move him as early as you feeel comforable so he doesn't feel the baby took 'his crib' away. The family I work for had that problem when they waited until a month before the baby was due to move their 2 year old to a toddler bed.

Heidi - posted on 04/28/2011

Thanks for all the input, at the rate my lil man is growing a twin bed with rails might be a better option. I still have a few months to go I just dont want him to feel that he is being kicked oout of his crib because of his little sister (well I think it is a girl this time) ;)

Elizabeth - posted on 04/28/2011

We skipped the toddler bed all together. Probably the best decision we ever made. We had very good sleepers and moving out of the crib was a difficult transition for them...I can only imagine the turmoil it would have caused to do it two times. Crib to toddler bed then toddler bed to twin bed.



My opinion..skip the toddler bed and try the real bed with rails. Save your sanity and money because eventually you have to buy the real bed anyway.



edit: we moved both our daughters to twin beds when they were 18 months.

Billie - posted on 04/28/2011

My daughter started sleeping in her toddler bed when she was 15 months old. She was walking on her own at 9 months. She is very active which is why I transitioned her to the toddler bed. She had no problems and was sleeping though the night in her toddler bed by the second night. Good luck!

Carol - posted on 04/28/2011

In my opinion, especially since he is not yet walking on his own, I would keep him in the crib for now. But by September he may be ready, its a while away yet. My son is only 13 days younger than yours, he's walking, climbing on stuff etc...but i know he's not ready yet for a toddler bed. You know your child the best so go with your instincts!

Heidi - posted on 04/28/2011

He isn't climbing out of his crib yet, he is quite mobile and cruises furniture and stuff, but not walking on his own yet. I would like to have him get as much use out of the crib, but would like to make the transition a couple months before our new lil bundle comes home. How long did it take for your daughter to make the transition from the crib to a toddler bed?

Bri - posted on 04/28/2011

if he is climbing out of the crib i would put him in a toddler bed. but if you have a little on the way i would save the money and try to put him in the toddler bed and use the crib for the new baby. my daughter was 2 when i put her in a toddler bed . i was just trying to get as much use out of it as possible