Anybody thinking about going to a toddler bed?

Chelle - posted on 05/03/2010

I felt the time was right for my loch at 16 mths. He was starting to climb and i just had an intuitive feeling it would work well then. So he went from a cot to my old single bed, with one of those rails on the side. He loved it and only took a couple of nights to get used to it. I dont know if it made a difference that he slept with me in a bed when he was younger, but what ever it was, i am pleased. What was funny, i so expected him to get up and explore his room, but even when he was adjusting and crying, he would just stay on his bed and cry when he could, if he wanted to, move around. He is now 18mths and still barely gets up to play and explore when he should be sleeping. YAY :)

Melissa - posted on 05/03/2010

Personally I'd probably leave him in there as long as he's happy.

I surveyed my friends last week after my daughter climbed out of her crib in the middle of the night. Answers ranged from "I moved my son out of his crib at 15 mos" to "my daughter is still in her crib at almost 3." The ones who moved their kids early did so because of kids climbing out. I'll probably move my daughter soon, but will put up a baby gate so she can't leave her room. I am worried about her trashing her closet or playing with toys when she should be sleeping so I'm waiting till she climbs out of the crib again.

Amanda - posted on 05/02/2010

arianna slept in her toddler bed for the first time last night. she is 18 months. her big brother slept in his toddler bed at 1 yr but thats cause i was having arianna by then and needed him to be out of the crib. arianna did great last nite she didnt get up off the bed. and hopefully that continues

Nettie - posted on 04/29/2010

I put my sons in a twin size bed when they turned 2, I just put those mesh gaurd rails along the side so they wouldn't falls out while sleeping, they did great.

Amanda - posted on 04/26/2010

the toddler bed box says to wait until they are 18 months

Charlotte - posted on 04/26/2010

hi, we decided about 2 months ago to try a toddler bed as our daughter emma would not go near her cot. we managed to get to her sleep in her bed once she was asleep. its mad trying to get her to sleep its a nightmare at the moment but we have already got the stairgate sorted and she seems happy enough in her bed. do it when your ready and feel comfortable!

Laura - posted on 04/25/2010

I tansfered my eldest to a bed when she was 2 1/2 i plan to put my youngest who is 15months at 2.

Andrea - posted on 04/25/2010

I have an 18 month old son and I was thinking about this for the past few days now. Is he ready for a toddler bed? I am just not sure he would stay in it when he is not sleeping. I have ready a lot of reply's and most state that your child goes into mommy and daddy's room, I don't want this to happen so what to do???
I am not sure he is ready

Samantha - posted on 04/25/2010

my son has been in his big boy bed since he turned one he adjusted quickly an loves it he will even hope in it him self an go to sleep when he is tired it is really up to you when you want to change him hope all goes well :)

Racheal - posted on 04/25/2010

both my sons went in a toddler bed from their first birthday i started with the toddler bed next to my bed in my room, then at about 16 month i moved them into their own rooms but put the stair gate at top of the stairs rather than their room so if they woke up in the night they could come in my room but it only happened a few times.



also if your worried about your child falling out of the toddler bed try putting a single duvet (rather than a toddler bed duvet) on the bed put it the opposite way to which it usually goes on a single bed and tuck it under the mattress both sides of the bed((hope this makes sense)) I did this with both of mine and they only fell out once or twice but i had the old cot mattress from their cots which i used to tuck under the bed until bedtime then i used to put it on the floor next to the bed so they were cushioned if they did fall out! ................ good luck x x

Sky - posted on 04/24/2010

we moved Keira to her toddler bed in feb. she was15- or 16 months.... she loved it cuz she went from being all alone in the computer room to sharing a room with her 4 year old sister. we have had prettymuch no problems with the transistion.

Sarah - posted on 04/23/2010

Hey everyone!our son Zayne has been in a single bed since he was 10 and a half months old...and he loves it,not once has he fallen out an since being in it he has slept all they way through the night where as when he was in his cot i'd be up every hour on the hour....so it really depends when you as a parent thinks its right =)

Kayse - posted on 04/22/2010

We just switched to a toddler bed a couple weeks ago. I wanted to do it before DD actually climber out, I think I got it at the perfect time. She would put her foot up on her crib like she was going to climb out, but never did. Now, she just stays in her bed the only time she gets out is after he nap is done (she'll even lay in her bed for a bit) and when she wakes up in the morning- her door is shut at nap time so she knocks on her door then and it's open at night so she comes into our room right when she gets out of bed. this works great for us, except now I can't sleep in a little in the AM anymore as she used to just lay in her crib and talk to herself until I got up to get her out. now she comes in after DH's alarm goes off like 10 times

Amber - posted on 04/20/2010

My daughter Scarlett started sleeping in her toddler bed when she turned 1 last October. She did not want to be in her crib anymore and would try to climb out. She has a brother that is two years older than her and she wants to be just like him. They share a room right now because they both sleep much better knowing they have eachother. My son was 14 months when he made the change so I think it just kind of depends on the child. When they attempt climbing out of the crib I would say it is definitely time. I still use the baby moniter in their room so I know what is going on. It is also important to make sure that dressers and bookshelves are anchored to the wall so there is no risk of them pulling something over on top of them. Hope this helps, good luck!

Sarah - posted on 04/20/2010

I read in a book that if your child is happy in the crib, there's no hurry to make the transition (Elizabeth Pantley, The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers). The toddler may start to get in and out of bed more frequently because they aren't used to the freedom, which can make bedtime more challenging. We are 3.5 mo. pregnant with our 2nd child, due in Oct. Currently we co-sleep with our son, but are thinking about moving him to a toddler bed gradually (or to a toddler mattress on the floor) sometime this summer and before the new baby comes. It might take some trial and error, as every child is so different. :)

Emma - posted on 04/20/2010

my lil boys been in toddler bed for bout 2 months he loves it i put stair gate on his door so if gets out cant hurt himself i put toy box in beed rom keeps him happy and he sleeps lot better

Tanya - posted on 04/19/2010

we took our daughter out of her crib at about 14 months (before she was able to climb out of her crib) She won't get out of her bed, she's been really good about it.. we set it up, put her pillow and blanket that she's used to on it and told her it's time to get in her big girl bed and she's slept in it every night since! lol

Kim - posted on 04/19/2010

I put my oldest in a twin sized bed at 17 mths because I was about two mths from giving birth to my second daughter. My oldest adjusted without any issues. My youngest is very tall for her age and we also have put her in a twin sized bed at 18 mths. This is day three and she is doing wonderful. You can always ask your son's pediatrician what they recommend.

Jaquelyn - posted on 04/19/2010

My daughter will be 19 months soon and i'm thinking of putting her in a toddler bed. Plus im expecting my son in 3months so i think its time to slowly switch her to the toddler bed. So when her brother is here shes not confused on why hes sleeping in her crib.

Kim - posted on 04/19/2010

I attempted to put my 18 month-old in a toddler bed a few weeks ago. She can't climb out of her crib and she's not too heavy for me to get her, but I was afraid that she would get her legs stuck in the rails by trying to climb out. She fell asleep in the bed just fine, but I didn't have the screws to attach the side rail, so she fell out twice during the night. Unfortunately, she's not quite tall enough to climb back in it by herself, or to open the bedroom door to come get me, so I was worried that she'd just be crying and banging on her door and I wouldn't hear her, so after the second fall, I ended up just putting her crib wall back on. We'll try again when she's two. :)

Lyndsay - posted on 04/19/2010

I know for my first son we put him in a full size bed when he was 18 months old. He loved it but he was getting too big for his crib. We skipped the toddler bed and went to a full size bed and he slept all night again. He would turn around in his crib and he was just too long and would get stuck so he would wake up in the middle of the night. It was the best thing we did. Now my second son is 18 months old and he still loves his crib and sleeps all night in it, so we are not going to move him to his bed until he has problems sleeping in his crib.

Annaka - posted on 04/19/2010

hi my eldest boy went in a bed a 9 mths as he was so un settled in his cot but ma youngest who is now 18mths as been in his for bout 4mths he gets out but he cart go ne were as i put stair gate on his door and it was the best thing i did for both mine, but every child is different as ma auntys little one is 2 in may and he is still in a cot so its how u feel bout it try it one nite aand if dont work then put sides bac on it worth a try

Nicole - posted on 04/18/2010

Our little Emma has been sleeping in her big girl bed for about 2 months now, my husband and father in law built a castle bed for her, it fits a twin size mattress and the day that they brought it over to our house to assemble we took her crib down and she's slept in it ever since. She loves it. She gets in bed all by herself and gets up all by herself in the morning and comes to wake us up. I think any time you think you're ready switch him to the toddler bed. We didn't have any problems with our daughter getting out of bed or anything like that either.

Amanda - posted on 04/18/2010

my son, Aidan, has been in a bed for about 2 months now. i still use the crib to creat a barricade on one side to keep him from falling out, but other than that he does awesome in it. when he wants to get out of bed he just pushes the crib out of the way and goes to town on his toys. if you have the room to do this, it works great, if not, well, not so much, we also have hardwood.

Aleta - posted on 04/18/2010

My son Devon has being sleeping in a toddler bed at our house since he was a year old. We never had an issue with the transition. That be because we have had him sleeping in a bed with a bed rail in our trailer since he was 6 months with out a single issue he slept through the night the first time.

JoLynn - posted on 04/18/2010

It is recommended that children under 15 months remain in a crib, unless there is a need for a toddler bed (ie: climbing out of the crib on their own). My daughter, Amity, has been in a toddler bed for a month now, since she was 16 1/2 months old. She is the same as your little one in that she doesn't get up and try to get out of bed. If she isn't sleepy, she just plays with her toys. The transition was easy. If your little one needs a little coaxing, you can stay in the room with him until he falls asleep a few times, but I would recommend keeping that to a minimum because he could get attached to that idea.
In the end, only you will be able to tell if your little one is ready to move on to a toddler bed.
Good luck!

Melissa - posted on 04/18/2010

We transferred our son over just a few days ago, he is 17 months and he loves it. He used to hate going to bed in his crib and would go to bad mad and it would cause him to wake up through out the night depending on how made he was. Now he goes and lays down and loves that he isn't caged and and unless hes really not tired he will lay down and just hum himself to sleep.

Dawn - posted on 04/18/2010

We switched our 18 month old Gavin from his crib to toddler bed about a week ago and he is doing fairly well.It doesn't have sides on it so he has fallen out a few times but I put those foam puzzle piece mats all around the bed so when he did fall he wouldn't hurt himself. He is very much enjoying being able to get in and out of bed by himself.

Tammy - posted on 04/18/2010

hi we put katy in her grown up bed when she had just turned one, we knew she was ready because she was able to get in and out of it safely. also she would wake in her cot and cry and cry, now she loves going to bed sleeps all night and gets up in the morning and plays with her toys, we don't shut the door or even put a gate accross her room because she stays in her room. i thought personally that these are good signs for her to change from cot to bed, but every child is different so if you think its time maybe it is, good luck. tammy, xxxx

Amanda - posted on 04/18/2010

My son who is 17 months now has been in a toddler bed for the last 7 months because he was and is able to climb out of everything even a play yard! I would say move him to the toddler bed! but make sure he is ready keep the crib up just move the mattress so if he ends up not liking it you can easly move him back for a little while longer, also put a baby gate in his door so he wont wonder around at night. I do have one concern about toddler beds though, that you might want to do, place the bed in a corner of the room with the head board facing out and the foot board on the wall because its shorter and a toddler can easley stand to lean over and fall off the end the head board is taller. so backwards from what you would normaly think to put the bed. also for the first few nights place a couple pillows on the floor just incase the side rail dosent keep him in.

good luck!

Annee - posted on 04/17/2010

my son is 18 months now and he has been in the big bed for about a month, but my sister in law put her 15 month old in a big bed because he was getting too big for the crib and they are both doing good in the beds, her son has to be put to sleep and laid with for awhile but my son lays down and goes right to sleep

Stephanie - posted on 04/17/2010

he has fallen out of the bed once, but he was much younger and thankfully we have a crib that changes into a toddler bed, that we can also lower several levels. It seems like the consensus is whenever they fling themselves out of the crib:) lol. He does the same thing. He gets in his bed, and if he isn't tired, we hear him in there for up to an hour talking and playing with his stuffed animals. It's adorable. Thanks everyone. I think I will wait until he tries to get out. Or until he grows out of it, which, since he has daddy's height already, might be very soon:)

Stacy - posted on 04/17/2010

We've JUST done the move to a "little kids proper bed" but we did it so soon as we have a 5 month old who is growing so fast, we need to move him from the mini-cot to the cot so we needed my daughters.
Be prepared for them 'exploring' their bedroom far more.

Angel - posted on 04/17/2010

Hi, when my son was about 18 months old, he kept hiking his leg over the side of his crib trying to get out. My friend who had a much older daughter told me that meant he was ready for his toddler bed. We converted his crib to his bed the next day and he has been sleeping in it ever since (he's almost 4 now). I laid a body pillow in the floor in case he fell (it sits very low to the ground) and I also put up a gate in his doorway in case he got up before we did-we have very mischevious children, lol. My daughter is now 18 months and she has gotten out of her crib twice-I don't know how, but she never cried.... I think it's time for her toddler bed! Good luck. :)

Sacha - posted on 04/17/2010

i have just purchased a toddler bed for Jed so that his baby sister can have his cotbed, he rarely falls asleep by himself anyway so i don't think i will have a problem with him getting out of bed until morning. and i'm hoping that he'll just get out and play or come and wake me.
i'm sure he'd be fine hun ,you never know till you try !

Diana - posted on 04/16/2010

You should be able to transition your son into a "big boy" bed when you feel he is ready (sleeps through the night) and you know he'll be safe. For my first son, we finally transitioned him into his toddler bed when he was about 1.5 years. We were going to put him in his crib that converts into a day bed, but because I got pregnant again, we ended up buying him a toddler bed. I was very weary about moving him into his own bed in his own room, but once we got a camera and monitor in, I was okay.

Alicia - posted on 04/16/2010

I put my daughter in her toddler bed about 2 months ago. she was starting to try to climb out of her bed, and yes she got out of bed alot at first but i would put her back in bed and tell her goodnight with a kiss everytime and i put pillows alongside the bed incase she fell out which she did a couple of times. In the morning she gets up and goes and plays with her toys until shes ready to eat or just wants out. I have heard her in there for up to an hour just talking and playing with her toys i hope this helps.

Adele - posted on 04/16/2010

i have a 18 month old little girl and she has been in her toddler bed 4 4 weeks now and she loves it she loves getin in and gettin out wen she wants she knws wen its bed time and takes herself to bed x

Tracy - posted on 04/16/2010

My first three daughters didn't sleep very well in their cot so were all in a big girl bed at the age of 1yr but my fourth daughter loves sleeping in the same cot and at the age of 18mths I'm in no hurry to move her, we have her new toddler bed on stand by in case things change. will keep you posted.

BooBoo - posted on 04/16/2010

My son has a convertable crib as well... But I bought him a toddler bed for his first birthday... he's now 18 months old and the bed is still in the box lol... we got the toddler bed because we were expecting another child (born on march 5 this year) and as she is not in need of the crib yet I still have my son sleeping here... It's a pain in the hind end as he ways around 35 lbs and he is rather unhappy especially when he wakes up and is unable to get out right away... however our living situation is not one in which he can have free rein of his room and get in and out of bed at will (me him and our newborn share a single room)... I'm moving in august and when we relocate I'm going to transition him to his toddler bed... and move the baby to the crib...

Kristi - posted on 04/15/2010

We just switched two nights ago. We were in no hurry to switch but our son's crib is a hand-me-down so it was a little worn out. If it had been new we probably would have kept him in it until he started crawling out of it. The toddler bed had been in his room for a month or more so he was already used to it. Then two nights ago we took out the crib and he did just fine in his big boy bed! :) Good luck!

Claire - posted on 04/15/2010

It's hard to believe how much time has passed, but our little guy, 18 months tomorrow, has been in his toddler bed for about 9 months already. He hurled himself out of his crib one day and that was the end of it. He was too young to teach him how to CLIMB OVER the bar and out of his crib, but he could already climb on and off his sister's toddler bed. Easy decision for us.
Go for it, you have nothing to lose except a few hours sleep...and it's not like you really had those to begin with! :)

Jackie - posted on 04/15/2010

i just switched tristan [[18 months today]] into a toddler bed last month. i had the toddler bed and the crib both set up, and at first i'd put him to bed in his crib, and when he was sleeping i'd put him in his toddler bed. i did that for 3 nights, and on the 4th day i put him down for a nap in his toddler bed, and that night he gladly climbed into his bed for night-night as he calls it.

Lisa - posted on 04/15/2010

I had to last weekend my little one learned how to get out of the crib so now he is in a race car !

Deb - posted on 04/15/2010

I'm one of those who has not converted the crib to the toddler bed yet. Our 18-month-old is a wiggly worm, squirming and moving all the time. For instance, the few times we take her into bed with us when she's having a bad night, she often ends up sleeping perpendicular to us with her feet in my face! She is also very active and likes to jump on our bed and her crib when she's awake, and she has no idea that if she runs off the edge of the bed--which she tries to do all the time--she'll fall and break something. With a kid like that, I'm keeping her enclosed as long as I can! We'll see at 2 years if she's mature enough to keep from breaking her neck. (And yes, we always say 'no jumping/walking on the bed' but she just thinks it's funny...)

Amanda - posted on 04/15/2010

I tried to put my daughter into a toddler bed and she didnt take to it at all. so we ended up setting the crib back up and she is happy in there. My oldest did fine switching when she was 15 months old, but now my youngest hated it the first time we tried.

Tiffany - posted on 04/15/2010

From what I've read when they are climbing out or get too big is when you should switch! Our son seems quite content with staying in his crib. Ours is a convertible on too! I think we will wait until he seems ready! He is small for his age though!!

Leslie - posted on 04/15/2010

My daughter is almost 3 (in May) and my son is 18 months.... they are both in cribs....
I know I need to make the switch,but I think I will just make it together now.. they both still sleep so good in cribs, and never get out, its hard to get motivated to make the switch..

Katherine - posted on 04/15/2010

My oldest went into the toddler bed at 15 months - he HATED the crib and was only happy after I gave him a bed. He climbed out of his crib before he was truly capable, and I was afraid he'd truly hurt himself (he fell out twice the week before I went tot bed! Thank goodness for the thick rug & carpet!)
So anytime after 15 months is good, the only recommendation I have is make sure your house is childproof enough so exploring before coming to parents is not an issue, and the baby rarely wakes up a night (you don't want to revert to putting them back to bed at 1am every night).

Shannon - posted on 04/15/2010

We had to change over to the toddler bed a few weeks ago when our daughter, Zoey, climbed out of her crib! She was about 16 1/2 months and she loves!