Crib and toddler bed?

Question

My son is 16 months and everywhere. If it weren't for the bars, he would fall out, but I notice a lot of people starting toddler beds as early as 18 months.

How do you know when a toddler is really ready to not use a crib anymore?

Answer 1

When he can climb out of it. Then you let him sleep in a toddler bed(or a big boy bed with a safety rail) and just put a play pen in the doorway so he can't get out

Answer 2

my twins are active sleepers and always had their legs and hands through the bars but right around a year old they started to climb out of the crib and i found this scary and didnt want them to get hurt. We switched to a transition bed 3 crib walls and then one without.. they did great.. they are now in a regular wood toddler bed (no more crib bed) and they dont have sides just small rails and they have never fallen out of the bed that I know of..

your toddler is ready to switch when they can get out or it just doesnt seem to be right for them, or they have gotten to old

Answer 3

My daughter is 1 year old and already in a toddler bed per say.  What it really is is her crib.  Her crib lowers down so low that the matteress is only 2 inches from the floor.  We had to do this cause she kept trying to climb out during the night and was getting her knee stuck between the bars.  It is much better now, cause when I put her down for bed at 7 pm and she isn't really tired enough to go to sleep rather than standing in her crib crying, she sits on the edge of the bed and scoots off.  Then she plays until she gets tired, usually about 10 minutes and then gets back into the bed and off to sleep on her own.  

I think alot of hers being able to do it so easily is that she has control over when she gets into the bed...an independent thing....lol

Answer 4

I really didn't have a "toddler" bed I had a twin bed mattress that I put on the floor on top of a wooden pallet and as soon as my kids started trying to climb out of their cribs that's where they went.  My oldest was about 18 months, my middle one was the climber and was in the bed at 14 months my youngest actually waited until she was two.

Answer 5

If they can get up in a bed ont heir own and they show you an interest in the big kid bed... let them have it.  My youngest daughter still gets out of bed some times but we keep a baby gate at her door.  She also has a tendency sometimes to fall out of the bed but we keep a bean-bag or pillows there on the side so it isn't a big blow, lol.  They will fall out most likely and you will be worried.  But it isn't a big deal and it really shows them that you view them as getting bigger and more mature.  Often you will see improvements in action (maturity) after taking steps like this. = )

Good luck!

Answer 6

My son stopped using his cot when he was 10 months old - I think it was because he is a very sprawly sleeper and his arms were hitting the bars.  We moved him onto a low toddler bed (less than a foot off the floor) and he's been fine in that. He loved it from the moment he saw it.

You can also get side rails for beds that keep them in.

I was quite surprised when I found out how early so many children stop sleeping in their cot (and very glad I'd borrowed one, not spent a fortune on something that would have been used for 6 months).

But it's one of those very individual things that each child gets to in their own time.

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

It's a whole new ball game when you trasfer into a big boy bed. Now you will need to train him to stay in his bed without getting out and crawling into bed with you or getting up in the middle of the night and getting into trouble.

My son was 24 months old when I moved him and that was only cause I needed the crib for our new baby, now that new baby is 2 1/2 and still in her crib. She isn't trying to climb out of it yet so I am not in a huge rush. We have many new things going on in our household so I am waiting until things settle down before doing something very drastic. But I do plan on moving her into her big girl bed within the next month.

Your son is only 16months, I wouldn't rush it. wait atleast until he's 2.

Best of luck!!!

Answer 8

i put mine in a bed just before she figured out how to climb out of the crib. i didn't want her falling and getting hurt.  

Answer 9

When the child is starting to try to climb out of the crib, it's time to make the big move.  Hopefully your crib converts to a toddler bed.  If it doesn't, skip buying a toddler bed - it's a worthless purchase.  In that case, go straight for a twin bed with some rails.

The first few days may be a little hairy, with the little one getting out of bed, but put him back in a couple of times, then if he gets out again, leave him out.  He'll learn really quickly that staying in bed is his best option - it's a lot more comfortable than the floor.  I know, it sounds terribly mean and all, but sleeping on the floor once or twice won't harm your son, and it will be really helpful for you both in the end.

You'll also want to look into some sort of stairs, so the little guy can get into bed on his own.  Target has some great steps that do just this.  We've got 2 sets, one for each of our kids.

Our older one started sleeping in a twin bed at about 18 months (we needed to get the crib ready for #2's arrival, and didn't want to buy furniture twice for the older one), and our youngest has had the crib rail off with the mattress dropped all the way down (aka converted crib into toddler bed) since she was 15 months.  #2 is our stronger willed, no, make that iron willed child.  She got out one night, beat on the door for 2 minutes, yelled for another 10, then got back in bed and went to sleep.  She hasn't done that again since.

Another crucial point for the success of this strategy is making sleeping the most attractive option in the room.  Remove books, toys, etc. for while you're getting the little guy situated and used to sleeping in the bed.  If he gets out and there are interesting things around, he'll play.  If he's bored, he's going to get tired quickly, and get back in bed to sleep.  Lastly, you need to make sure he stays in the room, so think about adding one of those doorknob childproofing things, so he won't be able to open the door.  Of course, now you'll need to leave your door open enough, or use a monitor, so you can hear if there's any real trouble brewing in there.

Answer 10

Well, I was reading articles about that a little while back, and experts recommend you do it when A. They can climb out, or B. They are 36 inches tall and are tall enough to do it now, so might as well change them before they fall. Lol. We just did my daughters transition last month(she was 19 months), but all we did was take the side off of her crib. I had her "help" me and then show me how big girls sleep in the big girl bed, and she hopped up and laid down. About 6000 times that day, lol, but she got the idea and knew what we meant. For some reason, she just doesn't get out of her bed at night, or even in the morning until we open the door and turn on the light, lol. I'm not complaining, but think it's a bit odd, but hey, ok. We did zip up all her toys before bed in her mesh toybox for about a week, so she could only access her big ones, which we turned off. So if she did get up that first few nights, she was bored and went back to bed. But we don't even have to anymore.

Good luck!