Is it too early to put my son in a toddler bed?

Courtney - posted on 03/03/2010

I was advised by the pediatrician to try a toddler bed when my son was 9 months old. He started jumping out of his crib at 8 months. He did fine with the transition. He only fell out of the bed once, but the bed has side rails to keep him protected. In addition, I lay body pillows on each side of his bed in case he manages to fall out. I would just say that if you have a wonderer you may want to babyproof the surroundings as now it will be easier to get in and out of the bed. (My son is now 16 months)

Colleen - posted on 03/01/2010

My 16 month-old daughter just went through the same problem with a nasty upper respiratory bug. Fall asleep in your arms, but scream bloody murder when you'd lay her down. Haven't made the switch to a big girl bed yet, but our doc suggested that we put a folded towel under the head of her mattress so that she'd be sleeping on an angle. It helped a ton! She could actually breathe. Between that and the cool air humidifier it cleared right up, and she's back to her normal sleep habits. Good Luck!

Hillary - posted on 03/01/2010

They have those side rails that you can use, if you're afraid of him rolling out. When not in use, they fold down & slide under the mattress. Good luck!

Carrie - posted on 03/01/2010

We have been working on the air mattress next to the toddler bed thing. Some nights one of us is on the air mattress most of the night. It's tough. We have coslept with DD since birth, so it's a rough transition for her to sleep on her own. She still wakes up a few times at night, but it's better than it used to be.

Laurie - posted on 02/28/2010

He just got used to you being with him when he was sick... now you just have to re-train him to sleep how you want him to sleep. this lady has some great advice : www.sleeplady.com ... you may need to sleep next to his bed for the first couple nights, on an air mattress or something, then as he gets more comfortable, move on out of there. if he used to sleep on his own, he will do it again, but he just have to remind him. just sit next to his bed and if he wakes up crying, pat him or sing to him til he's calm and comfortable. i don't believe in crying it out either... so unnecessary and traumatic for everyone. good luck!!

Anna - posted on 02/28/2010

It took a lot of work, but we moved out son to his toddler bed at 17months. He climbed out of his bed once, my husband dismantled the crib that night and converted it into a toddler bed. It took about a month for him to get adjusted, but now at 2.5 he's such a good sleeper.

Lacie - posted on 02/28/2010

I would be a little nervous about the toddler bed...because of the falling out issue. But it also depends on how tall your little guy is, and whether he has a fear of falling yet. My daughter thinks she is invincible and would walk right off the edge of the bed... Maybe try putting the crib mattress on the floor next to your bed? I had a friend who did that and just having her hand next to him comforted her, and the baby.
I commend you on not letting your son cry it out!!!!! YAY!!!! I am VERY against crying it out...simply for the fact that my baby is MY BABY! I am in NO hurry to have them grow up. I love cuddling my babies to sleep....and it increases the risk for SIDS as well! Babies get so upset that by the time they finally fall asleep they are in a much deeper sleep than normal and that deep sleep is a perfect time for SIDS to strike.

Casey - posted on 02/28/2010

the only thing you can do is give it a go if it doesnt work than there is no harm putting him back in a cot, we have one of those convertible cots and so i just took one side off to see if she was okay that way if she wasnt it wouldnt be hard to put just the one side back on again and so far has seemed to work and its alot easier if they fall asleep in your arms to lay on a bed than having to lift them over the cot side even when it is slid down and the noise of pulling the cot side up can also wake them, and i totally agree with what you have said. we also had the same problem our daughter went from all night sleeper until getting an ear infection and a month later we still bearly get a whole night of her sleeping or going to sleep in her bed. toddler beds are good that they are low to the ground so falling out isnt much of an issue and rails or sides are easy enough to get. all the best

Dawn - posted on 02/28/2010

I have 3 kids, all of them have been in a toddler bed before age 2 and I have never had a problem.
My oldest was 19 months.
My daughter was a year and a half, we took the sides off her crib...turned it into a daybed with a side rail and step stool leading up the the bed.
My youngest was 10 months.
I think the younger you are able to do it, the better they adjust, as long as you can handle them getting out as they please.

Jan - posted on 02/28/2010

my first was in his toddler bed by now, it was great. His room and mine were totally baby proof and I put a gaste in the hall so if he woke up at night he would just come crawl into bed with me. My daughter is still in the crib (or our bed) but that's just because she is sharing a room with her big brother right now and he has all those great choking sized toys 7 yr old boys have in there, once the addidition is build this spring she will go into the toddler bed and the baby (due in June) will have the crib when they are not in our bed of course. I start off the kids in their own beds and then they come to bed with us if/when they need too.

Kara - posted on 02/27/2010

Im having the sam issue with my son who is also 16 months. When do you move them from the crib to a toddler bed????

Jessi - posted on 02/27/2010

My opinion is that it depends on the child. My 16 month old has slept in bed with us since day one. When she turned a year old, we put her toddler bed next to ours and that's where she has slept since. She was excited about her own bed, but still has the comfort of mommy and daddy until she's ready to sleep in her own room.

Some kids take to it like it's nothing and some don't. Similar to potty training. Some kid's are potty trained young (around 18 months) and some take longer...years. My best advice is try to keep him comfortable with a new situation by making it a "cool" thing, yet at the same time something familiar.

Hope I helped! Good luck!

Jade - posted on 02/27/2010

no i dnt think its too early, same age my daughter went into a single bed, and my son is same age now, still wakes through the night but ive taken the sides of his cot to get him used to a bed and he's fine gl x

Kimbeley - posted on 02/26/2010

My son has been in a toddler bed since about 14 months and is great in there (although in saying that, he is still in a safety-sleep which he takes off himself when he wakes in the morning). I was also one who could not / would not let him cry himself to sleep - (as a side note, it makes me laugh now when people are visiting at bedtime and I stick him in bed, and they say to me 'gosh, you can't even hear him crying from here'... ummm, that's because he doesn't cry in bed lol).

Brandy - posted on 02/26/2010

Brittany, my son, Jaiden, has been in a toddler bed (which his crib converted to) for about 3 months now. He LOVES it! I put it up early in the morning, and we playe a lot in his room that day. So he could get used to his "big boy bed". I had no issues with him going down that night. However, he was recently sick and having the same issue as you. He'll be sound asleep but the minute I put him down he starts crying. I can't stand to hear him cry, it just breaks my heart. So I usually stay in the room with him, I've even crawled into his bed with him and snuggled him and I sneak out of his room about 10 minutes later. So to answer your question... no I don't think it's too early for him to be in a toddler bed. And just do what you feel is "right"...

Katherine - posted on 02/26/2010

no your son isnt to young to go into a toddler bed my daughter has been sleeping in one since she was 3 months old when she grew out of her moses basket and has been in her toddler bed ever since, my son used to be like that he loved his cuddled to go to sleep and you moved him and he woke and screamed so i tried a different tactic i put him in with his brother in his room and it was a 100 times better he not only slept all night but he also knew there was someone there if he woke up in the night, my daughter falls asleep on a bean bag in the nights and if you move her to bed she does wake up so i just leave her there till i go to bed and she may wake up on the way to bed but as soon as i get into bed she climbs into hers with her doggy teddys and falls straight back to sleep so im quite lucky there all you need is to stick with the same routine everynight and he will soon get used to it and before you know it everything will be better for you good luck

Jacqueline - posted on 02/26/2010

Hi, My little girl is sleeping in a todler bed since 14months and she's loving it!!! The 1st 2 weeks were tough, she got up and slam on the door until we open. After the first 2 weeks it only went well, I now have to wake her in the morning. Go for it!

Nicole - posted on 02/26/2010

Hey sweetie like helen menninga said i with her on all that she said im having the same kind of trouble with my 16month old son just like you and i spoke to his grandmother and she told me it could be his crib that he doesnt want anything to do with it anymore but here is my thing you will never know if your son is ready for a big boy bed until you try it dont take the crib down until about a week of letting him try the big boy bed out and if he does great then out goes the crib and big boy bed stays and yes the little is going to fall out but my thing is how are they going to learn to sleep in a big boy bed until they try it i hope this helps along with what others are telling you good luck

Mindee - posted on 02/25/2010

I'm really grateful that you have listened to that inner voice telling you not to let your son 'cry it out'. I have read TONS of books on both crying it out, and not, and the chemical and emotional damage that is done from letting your child 'cry it out' is life long. It is essentially training your child that you will not respond to him, that you cannot be trusted. What a terrible lesson to teach a baby. Only in our western culture to we not sleep with our babies. Cribs don't exist in other parts of the world.
I have a 16 month old, and we are preparing to get her a toddler bed for her to become accustom to before her little brother/sister arrives in 5 months. Getting a side rail is important for such young little ones.
I highly recommend the book, Good Nights, by Jay Gordon, M.D. It will change your life as a mother and you will feel like a better parent for having learned so much about your baby!
I wish you the best of luck! And remember, he's a toddler, not an adult, so don't let other's get you to think he should sleep the same as you, because he shouldn't.

Kaitlyn - posted on 02/25/2010

Ive had the EXACT same problem with my daughter. I have thought of the toddler bed since her crib changes into one, however I wouldn't do it until she is 2. She also got sick and started screaming everytime I layed her down and left the room...I was at wits end when I was losing so much sleep over it and went to the extreme of climbing in her crib with her!!! LOL (good thing I am young!) I didn't want to make that a habit, but I knew she needed someTHING atleast there to comfort her so I introduced a soft baby doll to her to sleep with. Now, after a week of doing that, she has been putting herself to sleep perfectly fine again which is a relief. If I were you, introduce a stuffed animal-- be sure to include the stuffed animal in daily activites and YOU and your fam need to show interest in the stuffed animal to get your little guy interested too. Tell him a story before bed, or rock him, while making sure the stuffed animal is with him. Eventually he will learn to love it, and it will comfort him when he needs that extra comfort that you cant give him around the clock.
Good luck =]

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Valerie - posted on 02/25/2010

this is what my son was like from about 7 months he could stand in his cot hed get up and just cry so id take him through with us i did this for months then i took the sides off his cot and tried him with just the bed part before i put him in it we would just read stories and play then the first night was like a dream come true went to sleep straight away it and has done ever since i put pillows up the side and that keeps him in to be honest he doesnt move that much and touch wood hasnt fell out yet and i have to say my daughter fell out more when she had the transission and she was 2.5 ryan was 14mnths, id recommend it but everyone is differentxx

Amber - posted on 02/24/2010

HI i know the feeling when it comes to trying to lay them down and they start screaming!! my first thought was - WHAT HAPPENED I THOUGHT U WERE ASLEEP - lololol BUT i could never let my son just cry it out either, so what i did was wait until he was fully asleep and then put him into his own big boy bed. and after a couple weeks of doing that he got used to waking up in his own bed so now he goes right to sleep in his bed. but there is still the occasional nights when he wants to be in my bed.. and i let him.. i hope this helps good luck :)

Amanda - posted on 02/08/2010

Hey no, not too young - I have just put Emily (15 months) in a big bed a few days ago with no problems and put her 3 siblings in beds at the same age. I say "where's Emily's big bed and she runs to it and feels like a big kid. So im sure you can do the same, you do what is best for you and him, you can always put a bed rail up or a pillow under the sheet to stop him from falling out in the night :)

Brittany - posted on 02/08/2010

Thanks for the advice girls. We dropped the bed down to the toddler bed setting yesterday. He hasn't slept in it yet because he's sick and I've been sleeping propped up with him on my chest so he can breathe. We'll see how he does in a couple days after all this crap is done. :)

Shannon - posted on 02/05/2010

We put my son in his toddler bed at about 15 1/2 months to make way for baby #2 in the crib. He's doing GREAT! In fact, I think it was easier to do at this age because he's young enough that he's still really adaptable and wasn't attached to the crib. He fussed for about 20 mins the first night, one minute the second and has been fine ever since. It's been about two weeks now. We have a low bed with a rail because he does roll around a bit. I'll admit, I was hesitant because he's so young but now that I know how easy it was, I'd do it again in a heartbeat! If you think your son is ready, go for it!

Tara - posted on 02/05/2010

My nephew has been in a toddler bed since he turned about 17/18 months as he was climbing out of his crib already! He does very well in it. If you feel your little one is ready then go for it. I don't think there is a set age. There are rails I believe you can buy to attach to the side to help prevent them from falling out! All the best!

Helen - posted on 02/05/2010

i understand the feeling. its hards to just let them cry, but i am thankful that i allowed myself to let my daughter go through that cause me and my fiance are actually getting sleep at night. but like you said, and im sure your not alone in that you dont want your child to cry, you want to comfort them. the only concern that i can think of for getting him a toddler bed would just being careful about is during the night if he rolled over a little too far or something and fell out. if he does good in a bed all by himself i see know problem with getting him a toddler bed. every child is different, every parent is different so if this is what you need to do to get him to sleep, go for it. if he is hesitant about having his own big boy bed, just encourage him and let him know how much of a big boy he is having his own bed. Hope anything i said is helpful, good luck!