Time to convert to toddler bed??

Hayley - posted on 02/18/2010

hi. my son has been in a full size single since he was about 2 and a half. benefits include if they wake in the night you don't end up bringing them to your bed or having to lean over a crib hurting your back etc you can just go climb in with them or sit on edge and comfort and they go back to sleep in their own environment. never did the toddler bed thing - possibly because i'm stingy and always avoid all those extra things they try to make you buy that i cannot see the point of!

if you're gonna go for a bed ham it up telling them they're gonna get a big boy/girl's bed for a while before and pick out a duvet set with something they love on it and make a huge happy deal of it when it's in place. i scanned all options for one that was lowest to the floor as possible which happily coincided with cheapest options :-) (told you i was stingy) so falling out would not be too disastrous and also put a long stuffed crocodile thing on one side of the bed and the other side against the wall.

the extra added bonus was that when we went away travelling he was ready to jump in whatever bed was available and sleep without problems.

good luck - don't worry about being behind/in front. whatever works. think my granddad slept in a drawer for a while as a kid and he always seemed ok to me x

Regina - posted on 02/16/2010

My daughter got a Dora toddler bed for her 2nd bday!!!...she loved it! We set it up in her room but kept her sleeping at night in her crib for a few days but let her nap in her bed to get ued to it....She's tall for her age(already size 4T) so when we moved (in Nov) we were noticing that she would toss n turn alot and it seemed too small for her and we put her in a twin bed with the mesh rails...and, of course, Dora sheets.

Jessica - posted on 02/14/2010

my son was out of one as soon as he was crawling... why? he crawled into his older sisters bed one day while she was gone... and feel asleep. and after that he wanted nothing to do with his crib. so we just invested in a really good baby gate.. and she got a new bed. lol

Allie - posted on 12/05/2009

My son has been in a toddler bed since 16 months.. I imagine they are ready at all different ages .. she is probably ready

Kasia - posted on 12/01/2009

I finally did convert the crib to a toddler bed as I mentioned before. She sleeps better! Does not get out at night at all and has not fallen out either. If I knew this would be so smooth I would have done this long ago.

Amber - posted on 12/01/2009

we put our son in a toddler bed in like end of June first of july

Hillary - posted on 11/11/2009

i put my son in his big boy bed a twin bed a month before his 2nd birthday and he slept in it from the first night on and loved it i chose not to get a toddler bed to save me money in the long run since the toddler bed will only last a few years and cant be very comfortable this way in the evenings i can crawl in bed with him and watch a movie or read a book with him too

Helayna - posted on 11/11/2009

Thank you all for your helpful replies!

Rhonda - posted on 11/10/2009

I think our daughter was in a toddler bed around 18 months as she started to put her leg up on the rail. I didn't want to wait until she hurt herself. She loved it! Now, she is finally potty training. I have heard that if they are fine in their crib to just keep them there. It's up to you. It is easier to read them stories as night time and such when they are in a bed vs. a crib. Our daughter never fell out of her toddler bed. Also a tip to to go freecycle.org to see if there is a community near you. We got our toddler bed for her for free from there.

Kasia - posted on 11/06/2009

My daughter still sleeps in her crib. She is not climbing out but we want to move her to toddler bed because of potty training. She is potty trained during the day but at night we put a pull up. She got up every night and called out to go to the potty which we did. Eventually we got lazy and stopped going so she is backt o peeing in the diaper and now seeing Monsters and not sleeping well. Maybe a toddler bed will give her more freedom so she won't be so afraid and with the nightlight and potty in her room she can go on her own. Good luck and I might try to do the same.

Suzi - posted on 11/04/2009

I have 2 kids who are older and than my little Sam..... he started crawling out of his crib at 9 months old... so i decided to put him in a toddler bed than....( because he was so little still) however with my other two, they went straight to a twin bed from the crib at 3 years old.

Jennifer - posted on 11/04/2009

We put our son in his daybed at about 18 months. We did this because he was starting to try to climb out of his crib. For about a week he got out of bed, got a of his toys out, piled them on the bed and eventually fell asleep on top of the mound of toys out of exhaustion. He got over it and eventually stayed in bed and went to sleep ( most of the time anyway! ). Just yesterday we put him in a full bed, no rails. He has done great so far.Doesn't come out of his room and sleeps a little longer. I think he was getting pretty big for his crib/day bed. Every child is different though. Don't stress about it. Do whatever is comfortable for you and your daughter. Good luck to you!

Shelby - posted on 11/03/2009

My Hunter is 2 years and 7 months. He has been in his toddler bed since right before he turned two. He fell out 2 times and has yet to fall out again. The first 3 times he got up several times, because he can now. LOL. We used the back to bed technique that you see on Supernanny and it worked. He loves his bed. He relaxes and plays in it all the time. I think for sure it is time. Good luck.

Victoria - posted on 10/29/2009

my daughter went to a toddler bed around 18 months I think but when we moved in July we decided not to keep her in the toddler bed anymore and just got her a twin! she sleeps better in that then she did in the toddler bed! She has been in the twin since mid Aug and hasn't rolled out of bed once (did often in the toddler bed) and she is so proud of her big girl bed!

Helayna - posted on 10/29/2009

Thanks, Heather!

Heather - posted on 10/28/2009

We put our son Joey in a bed about 2 months ago and the transition went very smoothly. He was still in his crib, and I would have left him but his sister wanted a new bed so he got her old one and we didn't have room for both... He hasn't done anything different except that he can climb into his bed on his own.. He lays down and goes to bed just like he did before. Good luck, but don't feel pressured that you feel behind. You have to be comfortable to put your daughter in a bed or it could be worse for you than her and she will pick up on the anxiety.