Toddler Toddler Bed - Sacramento, CA

I agere with the other suggestions, and thought I would add just one more thing: when we changed my twins to beds, we put the mattresses on the floor, so that there wouldn't be much room to fall if they did. Over time, we brought in the other part and they now have regular beds. It worked really well.
But don't be in a rush if you don't need to be!

I had to switch my daughter at 20 months because baby # 2 was almost done with the cradle, We did use a toddler bed because they were still sharing a room and it was smalller. One thing that helped was when we started to move her to the toddler bed we kept all the same sheets and bedding so it looked the same, just not up in the crib. As long as she had the same sheets, she was happy! Maybe this will help ease the transition!
I am a mom of 4 beautiful girls.

I agree with most of the advice you have received so far...wait as long as possible. Who needs to have the added worry of a toddler having free reign of their room or even worse the house in the middle of the night! We transitioned our daughter at around 2 1/2 years of age to a twin bed and put pool noodles, those long floaties kids play with in pools, under her sheet at the edge of both sides of the bed as a reminder of where the edge of the bed was...cheaper and I think safer than those guards. We also put a gate at her door way so she was confined to her room while we were asleep and now it is just proped at her door so we can hear her leave her room to use the potty. Good luck.

Switch when the crib no longer works for her, not a night sooner. This can be a big transition and it's different for every child. from my experience it's best to leave well enough alone till they are climbing or attempting to climb out. Then try to keep the same bedtime routine assuming it includes reading books and tucking in. And then don't be wishy washy about them coming out of bed. Just quietly retuck them back and let them know that is where they sleep. If even once I let my now almost 3 year old daughter come and snuggle in our bed she wants to do it every night and I have to work to get our routine back for several nights. She is just to young to understand any exceptions. With my 1st and 2nd I allowed this but with my third and my 4th on the way our bed time routine is not something I want disrupted.

Hi T.,
I asked our pediatrician when we should put our now 3 yr old daughter into a toddler bed and he said to wait as long as possible, even if that means getting a crib tent to keep her in her crib. Toddlers have little understanding of imaginary boundaries like a regular bed and you could have some serious bedtime battles if you make the transition too soon. We have decided to wait until she no longer fits in her crib. I am lucky that she loves her crib still. My advice is to wait another year until your daughter is more developmentally ready.
Sincerely,
L.

We did what a lot of people do, waited as long as we could. My son never did climb out of his crib (which was always in our room) until he was about three. Then we bought a toddler bed for his room. The way we did it was to NOT actually introduce it. What I mean is, we brought the bed home and set it up. All we told him when he asked who it was for, was that "oh, one day, when you want to, you will sleep here at night." We said nothing else about it. I put some pillows and blankets on it so it would be a good comfy place to read or play, and then ignored it. Within three weeks our son had asked if he could sleep there at bedtime. Of course, in the first few weeks he did end up back in our room a lot, but we did not comment on it and at the end of three weeks he was sleeping all night in his bed.

I have twin grandchildren (boy/girl) who will be 2 next month. Several months ago, girl twin climbed out of her crib twice, once rather smoothly, once with a big bump on the thickly carpeted floor. We decided to transition them to toddler beds (one crib converted to toddler bed, and we have another toddler bed handmade by grandpa when Mom was a toddler). We talked to them about sleeping in big boy/girl beds, they watched us working on the converting and "helped" make their new beds with their own sheets, etc. The room is already completely baby-proofed (dressers and bookcase tethered to walls, drawer locks, etc.). We had already installed a baby gate at the door when girl twin escaped from her crib during her nap, so they were used to that. They immediately took to the new beds with only one "fallout" during a nap one day. They are able to get up and move around in the morning and at naps, but are safe. They have some books and toys to play with. They almost always go right to sleep, both for naps and bedtime because they know it's expected that they do. Occasionally they will "read" books for a few minutes and/or chat with each other, but they both eventually fall asleep. Once boy twin decided he wasn't going to go to bed and lay on the floor crying, woke up after his nap on the floor and decided he didn't like it there. Children sense what you're feeling; if you are tentative about putting them in a toddler bed or "sad" because they're growing up, they will feel that, too, and it won't go well. If you handle the transition as if it's the sensible thing to do and just matter-of-fact, they will go along with it. It's not the end of the world --- they all grow up.

We just moved our 18 month old to a toddler bed last week because she learned to crawl out of her crib, and it became a safety issue. If your daughter is not yet doing that I would not worry about a toddler bed yet. With both my other children we keep them in their cribs till they could get out of them and then changed to a toddler bed. For mine there was no intro needed our crib converts to a toddler bed so one day daddy and the child converted it and that night they slept in it. We did put up a baby gate at the door of her room so she can not get out of her room. The fist few naps and nights there is a little bit of testing from the child as they now can get up and are no longer confined hence the baby gate in the door way. Good luck.

Depending on the temperament of your child transitions can be easy or difficult, so just take little steps and go by what your child is telling you.

Consider beginning with naps in the toddler bed or an extended bed for your child in your room before moving onto to their own.

Hi,
I am a mother to two great kids and currently prego with my third. I have a 3 year old(boy) and a 19 month old(girl. From my experience I would hold off of using a toddler bed until your daughter is much older. We changed my sons crib into a toddler bed when he was around 2 1/2, because he had climbed out and he was potty trained. If your daughter is not trying to climb out I would keep her in the crib as long as possible. Once they are able to get out of bed it is hard to keep them in bed!!!!
My friend but her son in a toddler bed at 19 months and he will not stay in bed at all. They have to lay with him until he falls a sleep and in the middle of the night he get up and goes to there room! At this age they don't understand.
My daughter is the same age as yours and I am in no hurry to move her to her own bed. She can stay in her crib as long as possible. I would move her out of a crib when you start potty training, around 2 1/2 or so. Then she will be able to use the bathroom at night. She will also understand more that she needs to stay in bed all night.

Hope this helps.

I agree with Love R. Keep using the crib as long as possible.

You switch when the need arises, when she starts climbing out of the crib on her own. You don't want her to fall off, so it's time for a toddler bed.

s

Hello T.,
I agree with the other responses about leaving your daughter in her crib as long as you can, until she starts to climb out. Some kids never do at I say put them in a bed when they seem ready. My son started to climb out at 23 months. We didnt' get a toddler bed as i felt it was a waste of money. I got my son a boy wood daybed and there were no issues with the transition. We let him help dad build (of course just play with tools) Made a big deal about it that he was a big boy. The nice thing is we also got the trundle for under the bed so we pulled it out at night in the evet he fell out of bed he landed on that. He has only fallen out 2 times. Plus i was pregnant at the time and we wanted to get rid of the crib out of site out of mind for a few months so he didn't feel we kicked himn out of HIS bed for the baby.

Good luck
SAHM, 39, 2.5yo son and 1month old son, Married for 4 years to a wonderful man who has to travel eery week for work. I feel like a single mom.

If she is getting to big for her crib or looks uncomfortable and is trying to get out it is time. She is about the right age to transition to a toddler bed. I would set it up and start out with naps first with a side rail for her security then after a bit do it at night. Make it cute for her so she is excited about it and tell her she is a big girl and big girls get big girl beds.

Go directly to the store and show her a toddler bed and tell her she could have one of those.

Hi Tina,

At 19 months, it's not necessary to switch your daughter to a toddler bed, unless you really want to. I had to switch both of my boys over early (first because #2 was coming, and second because at 15-mo's he was climbing out of his crib!), and I wish that I could have kept the restraint of the crib a little longer. It's nice to have the peace of mind when they are so young that they're where they should be - not roaming around unsupervised. Anyway...if you choose to change her over, make sure you involve her. Talk about what a big girl bed means for her and let her help pick it and the new bedding out. Involving her in the process will allow for a smoother transition. And if she's not ready, be prepared to bring the crib back until she is.

Good luck!

My son will be three in December and we just put him in a toddler bed. What my husband and I did was asked him if he wanted to sleep in a big boy bed like his brother. He was very excited. Then we took him to a store that had toddler beds and we let him see what they looked like. It was tough transitioning from the crib to the bed at first, but now he stays in bed without getting out anymore. He has been sleeping in it now for about 2 weeks. It just takes LOTS OF PATIENCE!!

I found toddler beds to be an unnecessary expense. Most children are ready to go into a full twin bed when they stop tossing and thrashing in their sleep. Another indication is that your toddler starts climbing out of her crib. Some children initially fall out of bed (no harm done) when they are adjusting to a bed that has no siderails. However, most quickly make the adjustment. Best wishes.