Big Girl Bed - Tampa,FL

As soon as each of my 6 kids was able to climb out of the crib, I put the crib next to a single cot & told him/her that when he/she was ready, the Big Bed was waiting. The longest wait was 3 nights. No trauma resulted, since the child made the choice with no anxiety.
Patpanda

I have two girls (5 1/2 and 2 1/2) and we moved them to a toddler bed right at 2 1/2. Luckily, we have had a good experience with the both of them. We didn't do anything special as far as transitioning. We just took the crib down and set up the new bed, which was very exciting for them. They even stayed in it when it was naptime & bedtime.

Hi I am a grandmother and wanted let you know we are local professional childproofers and we have guard rails for the bed to keep her in and we could also help you child proof the home so that if she does get up it will be safer, but as we all know nothing takes the place of parental supervision. Check us out on the web www.babesafejax.com
Let us know if we can help! E.

My daughter also just turned two in December, we are getting ready for my husband to build her a nice headboard and foot board for a twim bed. When it gets done we will move he into it. My son was in a twin bed at 1 and he did just fine, so I think 2 is a great age maybe even a little old to still be in a crib. I hope this helps. Best of luck to you.

I moved my daughter out of her crib when she was about 28 mos. And that was only because she was trying to climb out and it was a BIG fall! I decided that the time was NOW, so I painted an old twin bed I had in the garage and let her watch, all the while telling her it was going to be her "big girl" bed and all that. She transitioned with no problems whatsoever. She still calls me to come and get her when she wakes up, she doesn't even try to get out of her bed in the mornings. However, I know other people who have had problems with their kids getting up at all hours of the night, so I think it just depends on the child. I had been considering it a few months before the "big move" because I knew the day would come that she would try and climb out of the crib, and what if she succeeded?! Luckily I was in the room when she attempted it and was able to "catch" her. You basically just have to go with your gut on what you feel like you child can handle. Good luck!

I would keep her in her crib as long as possible. Once you move her into a regular bed, she will be free to get up whenever she wants--early in the morning......middle of the night......right now she doesn't know what she's missing. With subsequent children, they KNOW about big kid beds and they are more anxious to get into one. Enjoy having your daughter in a crib for as long as you can.

L.,

My Dr. told me to keep my little girl in the crib until she looked like she was getting too big for it. My friend kept her little girl in the crib till she was 3. As long as your little girl is not trying to climb out of her crib I would keep her in there till you feel it is time to move her into a big girl bed. It's more work for you to try and transition her into a big girl bed and if she isn't ready it's not going to be a good experience for anyone. If she isn't climbing out keep her in there for a little longer then have her start to look at big girl beds when she can understand and get her excited about the change and hopefully it will be a easy transition for everyone. Have her pick out the sheets that she likes etc so she feels she was part of this change as well and looks forward to going to bed.

Good luck!
R. J.

When my step-daughter was about two and a half got one of those little low to the ground toddler beds and put it in her room next to her crib. That way it wasn't like her crib just up and disappered and she could choose where she wanted to sleep at night. It was a little crowded in there for a while but not too bad and since it was a toddler bed it used the same sheets from her crib which was nice because it was familiar. It didn't take that long before she was only sleeping in the toddler bed, maybe a few weeks. She ultimately liked the freedom of being able to get out of bed on her own in the morning instead of waiting around (or yelling) for my husband or I to wake up and come get her. Now she could come get us. (She enjoyed that more than either of us did. Why is it they like to get up so early at that age?)
That is one thing to keep in mind when transitioning to a toddler bed - the little one is now free to roam at will, which means unless you want your TV remote colored in black sharpie you need to take an extra look around before you go to bed or find a way to keep her in her room until you wake up. I had forgotten that the little one was no longer cribed and had been doing some writing before bed and negleted to put everything away. That was the last time that happened!

If you're ready to deal with the issues that come with moving your child into a big bed then go for it. Otherwise, I would keep her where she is as long as you can. If she's not crawling out or potentially hurting herself etc then she's fine. Personally I think 2 is a little young but that's just me. My daughter will be 3 at the end of February and she shows no interest in a big girls bed. No climbing or screaming so she'll stay in her crib until she's "ready".

I have four children and they are all different. Our youngest will be three in March and still sleeps in her crib. She will stay there until she shows an intrest to get ou. She has not ever tried to crawl or climb out, that is key. When your daughter begins to try and get out that is the time to put her in a big girl bed so she does not get hurt.

Well, we decided to put our first daughter in a big girl bed (toddler bed) when she was 18 months. The only thing we didn't think of, was that the time change was the same week-end. OOOOPS!!! It was the spring ahead time change. So, putting her to bed when the sun was still out and she was used to being up for another hour, was a challange. It took about 2 weeks to get her used to it. She fell asleep on the floor a few times, so we picked her up and put her in her bed. She is now 5 and in a twin bed. We moved her into the twin when she was fully potty trained (including over night) We started our second daughter at about 19-20 months, well after the time change :). She gets up sometimes and plays, but then gets back to bed all by herself. She has turned into a real climber, so we are glad she's not in the crib anymore to climb out and fall down.

As a provider of girl's furniture, I started my company because my daughter was in the same predicament, the answer is yes, if it has a safety lip.

My little girl was 18 months when my husband a designer, made a bed for my little daughter. He designed it in such a way that it had a "big" girls look, but was safe enough for a toddler.

There's a safety lip around the whole bed, so the child can't possibly get out.

We are now selling and have been for 8 yrs here and abroad.

WWW.Princesscanopybeds.com

We moved out daughter from her converter crib (crib to toddler bed) to a queen size when she was just under three. I took her shopping and let her pick out her comforter and some toss pillows and made a big hoopla about it.
I was concerned about her falling out- but it has never happened. I suppose because we went so big with the size of bed (not out of choice but it was supposed to be a temporary move until we relocated and bought her some "big girl furniture). She is now 4 and still in the queen (husband is a slacker!!) :-)
I have friends that have started with just the mattress on the floor until the child gets used to it- then added the box spring and then eventually the whole frame.

My son is 3 and we had to take the rail off his crib at about 1 and 1/2. We bought his his big boy bed at two. It really is not that much different from his crib without the rail except it is bigger. We decided not to buy a toddler bed that we would have to replace when he was older and went straight to a twin size bed. We actually bought him a big bed with a slide and tent. I figured if you are gonna do it might as well go all out!! Anyway, we had no trouble with the transition. If she is still sleeping in a crib try it without the side rail for a while, that will give you an idea if she is ready.

Take Care

T.

First and foremost, watch your daughter for signs that she is ready. Maybe try taking the side off her crib for a night or two to make sure she won't fall out (that is, if it isn't too high).

That's about the same age we let mine move up. The transition was easy for us. Take her with you to pick out a toddler bed, this will get her excited about having a big girl bed. The first night, we told her we had to put it together while she was sleeping, but that it would be ready in the morning. The anticipation sent her right to bed so she could wake up and find her new bed. She climbed up on it while it was still in the dining room.

We have a crib that has a swinging/locking door on the side and we left that open for her and let her pick which bed she wanted to sleep in for the first several nights. She picked her crib; then her bed and switched to her crib in the the night; then finally she spent a whole night in her bed. At that point, we were able to explain that her crib was going to be for her little brother now still two months away (well, he was supposed to be).

When little brother came only 4 1/2 weeks later, she was in her big girl bed and he had his crib. She has never even looked back.

We made a big deal about her big girl bed and she just came along for the ride. Now she picks between her toddler bed and a Tinkerbell sleeping bag with a tent. What fun that is!

Make it fun and the transition should go well.

I did it whem my daughter was 3, I think is a good age for them to sleep by them selves.

I have 2 girls. We moved one out of the crib because we needed it for the baby. With both of them, I didn't make a big deal about it. Didn't show it to them weeks in advance, didn't ease them into it. Maybe I'm not the best mother, but I just basically moved them from crib to bed. No fuss. And they both sleep fine. They have not been traumatized. I think 2 is a good age since that's about when it worked for me. Probably you should do what you think your daughter can handle. If she needs more gentle coaxing to get used to things, then go with that. You are the best judge of what your angel can handle :)

Hi L.,
We moved our daughter into a big girl bed when she was about 2 and 1/2 yrs. The reason that we had another on the way and needed the crib:) We got a bunk bed that can be used as 2 separate twin beds. We used the top one for now since it has rails and i put lots of pillows around so she wouldn't get hurt while sleeping (she rolls around alot). At first, my daughter would wake up in the middle of the night but now she has gotten used to sleeping in it. Good luck...
N.

When my first son was about two and a half I moved him to a "big bed", so I could have the crib for baby number two. He had no real problems, but often snuck out of bed and fell asleep on the couch while I watched tv or read a book. My husband was deployed at the time, and I was pregnant and tired, so I just let it slide. Now that my second son has turned two, we moved him to the "big bed" too. He was trying to climb out, so it seemed safer. But, it sure has been a hassle. He LOVES the freedom, but I am not as laid back as I was two years ago. I want him to actually stay in his bed and sleep. He has not had a real nap in three days, and has been up until at least 10pm for four nights in a row. Hopefully he will adjust soon, so I can get some sleep too! So, if you don't care about her staying in her bed, I am sure she will be fine in a big bed. Just take into account the fact that she may not actually stay there! Every child is different, but with my current emotions, I would recommend staying in a crib as long as possible!

I think all kids are different with this. Our son is 2 1/2 and he still sleeps in the crib. He has only climbed out once and has shown no interest in climbing since then and since he hasn't out grown ii, he is still there. My pediatrician said to keep him there until at least 2 but try to keep him there until 3. We will probably be transitioning him to a low profile twin bed in the next couple of month, but I'm in no hurry...because I know there will be that many more issues to deal with once he knows he can get out on his own.