How long do I keep him in his crib??

Lisa - posted on 12/10/2009

Do whatever you feel is right for your child. Mine has never attempted to climb out of her crib, and is staying in it. We are JUST starting the whole potty training step, so when she gets to the point where she needs to get out of bed to use the potty, she will def. be in a toddler bed.

Robin - posted on 12/08/2009

Naomi- my son (11-6-07) also LOVES his crib. Everyone is trying to make me put him in a toddler bed. He loves being in there and he doesnt try to climb out yet either. I am waiting til he does start trying and then we'll go from there. Its nice to know that my son isnt the only one. :)

Missey - posted on 12/07/2009

you could bye him a bed and let him pick on what bed he would like to sleep in and if he never picks the crub then i would take the crub down but not let him see you do that because he might wont it back.

Carmen - posted on 12/06/2009

Quoting Naomi:

How long do I keep him in his crib??

My son, Logan (11/3/07), still sleeps in his crib. In fact, he LOVES his crib and has yet to try to climb out. I certainly don't want to force him into a toddler bed, but at what age should I introduce him to a big boy bed? I know he's not ready to leave his crib, but I want to be able to prepare myself (and him) in advance!!

funny I should see this today, I was only having this conversation with another mum on Saturday. My little girl Sienna (16/11/07) is still in her cot (or crib as you have called it). I am quite aware that other two year olds are already in beds but i was always told there is no wrong or right, what ever works for your family. It is not hurting him to be in him 'crib' and if you and him are happy then I would leave him there. Just check the weight for the crib for the safety and do what is comfortable for your family. kind regards Carmen

Kylee - posted on 12/06/2009

My daughter is fie days younger than your son and she has been sleepin in a toddler bed since around her first birthday or so. She wouldn't sleep in a crib anymore she wouldn't stay asleep and wake up fussing everynight and then she would sleep good in our bed, so we changed her bed to a toddler bed and she started sleeping through the night i think it is when the child is ready for somethin like that, maybe get one and see if he thinks its a cool think an just see if he likes it and i not he isn't ready yet.

Beth - posted on 12/04/2009

Agreed! Each child/parent is different! We have had Jake (turned 2 on Nov. 16) in his convertible toddler bed for about 2 months, but we put a side rail on so he won't fall out. He loves that he can get into bed all by himself and that it is more like mommy and daddy's bed! We will be moving him into a "real" bed over the holidays. He is excited to get a real big boy bed. Most parents I know move toddlers out of cribs around 2, but a know a few who have waited until 3.

Sara - posted on 12/03/2009

All children are ready at different ages IMO. I recently read some research that most children are not ready until they are closer to age 3. We converted my daughter's crib into a toddler bed when she climbed out but she just wasn't ready. We ended up converting it back to a crib and she is much, much happier.

She just recently became a big sister for the first time and I think that might have had something to do with it but we will keep her in her crib until she's ready to make the switch. I asked her yesterday if she wanted her toddler bed back and she said no. I asked her if she wanted her cirb and she said yes.

I know she won't be sleeping in her crib forever and am willing to give her the time she needs until she's ready.

But I also have a lot of friends who switched their LOs to toddler beds at 18 months or younger and have had absolutley no problems. I think it just depends on the child and the circumstances.

Cheryl - posted on 11/17/2009

I think you can interest your child in a toddler bed very easily. I move a toddler bed into the room with the crib. I leave it there for about a month. The child can play near it, read books while sitting on it, pretend to sleep on it, etc. Then you try to put them down for a nap on it. You gently, but firmly, insist that they follow your rules for being a big kid - stay in bed, even if you don't fall asleep for instance - by putting them quietly back into the toddler bed. Soon they will take naps in the bed. Then you prepare them for nighttime in the toddler bed. Tell them at bedtime that they will get to sleep in the toddler bed soon (mine all reached for the toddler bed and then I knew it was time to just put them to bed in that and not the crib). Do that for a week or so and then just try it one night. Keep putting them back in the toddler bed if they get up. Gate them into the room if you feel safety is an issue. I don't really have a good age - I had climbers by 18 months for all of them or a sibling coming before they were 18 months old and I worked to get the crib for the new baby.

Loni - posted on 11/12/2009

My daughter has been in her toddler bed for about 2 months now. She did not like to go to bed in it at night at first. But during the day, naps were okay. Also, my daughter loves Elmo. My mom got the toddler room in a box... Elmo theme. I think that helped out a lot too.



Once they start crawling out the crib, it is time for the toddler bed. Safety!!!

LaTasha - posted on 11/09/2009

my daughter turned 2 on the 1st. kaydnse likes her crib, she nvr has tried to climb out, but she does try to climb in. i've been wanting to change it into the toddler bed for a few months now. i usually try to make her grow up, took away bink at 2, got her big girl panties about 4 months ago, made her to go a sippy cup at 1. and got her a lil table for her bday instead of her highchair, coulda done that part earlier, but couldnt afford it. but her dad doesnt want to do the toddler bed thing yet. i think it'll be good for her. exept nap time wen she doesnt want to sleep.. idk how to keep her in there if she didnt have a crib haha.

Lacey - posted on 11/04/2009

Im kinda picky when it comes to this kind of stuff. For both my daughters, EVERYTHING goes at 1. Breastfeeding stopped, bottles stopped, crib was gone, pacifier was gone. By 18months they were both potty trained, using cups, sitting at the table w/ us for dinner. My oldest was in her toddler bed, but now since we have 2, they are in twin sized bunk beds. Personaly, i i dont mean this rudely because i have to tell myself this as well, its all in the parents. Children learn from us, so if WE are scared to move them to the big kid bed, they will be too. If WE make a big deal of pacifiers and bottles, they will too. Good luck!!!

Lori - posted on 11/02/2009

If he in not trying to climb out, and is happy in his crib than don't worry about it yet. I was planning on letting my son stay in his as long as possible, or until he turned 3. However, he had other plans and began trying to climb out. He is now sleeping on his own in a toddler bed, and it was much easier than I expected. If he is already sleeping well on his own, by that I mean sooth himself to sleep than he should make the transition well.

Jane - posted on 11/01/2009

Hi, my little boy will be two on 11/11 and he also loves his cot so I am in no hurry to transfer him into a bed. Why cause yourself grief when he is perfectly happy!

Sandy - posted on 10/29/2009

I feel age 2 is far enough in a crib

Michelle - posted on 10/26/2009

My son is a couple weeks younger than yours and has been sleeping in a crib that we converted to a toddler bed for 5 months now. He didn't try and climb out but we thought we could try it. He fell out a lot for the first couple of days but after a week or so he was used to there not being a railing. He's maybe fell out a couple times since then but gets back in bed all by himself. Lately he hasn't fell out :-) I don't think there is an age where he needs to be put in a toddler bed. It doesn't hurt to try and if he doesn't like it then you can always put him back in his crib until he is ready. :-)

Casey - posted on 10/23/2009

My son is 20 days younger than your son and we have had him in a toddler bed since he was a year old. This year we are moving him to a twin bed. If he is happy in his crib and so are you I would let him stay there. Their are people that still use cribs when their kids are 3 or older.

Heather - posted on 10/23/2009

My son is one day younger than your son and he too LOVES his crib. He isn't ready to move out of it and actually asks to go to bed. We did take the front off for just a night and he rolled out over and over so we put it back on. I think we may try to convert to the full around Christmas time, but we will see. I say for now, why fix what's not broken.

Dj - posted on 10/22/2009

If possible (some cribs it's not) you could try taking one of the sides off of the crib and getting a bedrail thing so he doesn't roll out. That way it would be set up like a daybed and it wouldn't be such a harsh adjustment because it's still his crib, just one side is more open. I wouldn't do anything just yet though. Your son is 15 days older than my youngest and she actually sleeps in her playpen every night. She never liked her crib, so we sold it and just use the playpen. Its set up in the same room as our other daughter, who is 5, and she sleeps on the bottom bunk of a bunkbed. We are thinking maybe for Christmas we will get the little one a twin sized bed set and try to transition her to the bottom bunk, and move our 5 yr. old to the top bunk. Originally I was thinking maybe we would do that for her birthday, but I just think it's still too soon.