When Is Too Soon for a Toddler Bed?

I have a 27 month old boy. We put him in a BIG bed just after Christmas, so just before he was two. He loves it. We talked about it all the time. We just set it up and put him in it one night. He's loved it ever since. We work on training him to stay in bed. He's not allowed out of bed when we put him down. Unless you already have a toddler bed, I would just get a big bed. It will save on time and storage space. Good luck!

That's funny. We've been married 3 1/2 years and we have an almost 2 1/2 year old and an almost 7 month old sons.

We took the front rail off the crib when my son was 19 months. What we did was take it off in the morning before his nap and created much excitment about the big boy bed and role played sleeping and getting up there by himself. He was delighted. Then nap time we did the same tuck in routine and listened by the door and when he would get back up we would put him back in bed without much talking over and over and over. Right when I was really missing the crib rail he stayed in bed and fell asleep for that 1st nap. All the best~

L.

What you can do is to set both beds up in the room ( if you have room in the bedroom ) and let him take his naps in the toddler bed and the crib at night for a while to see how he does with it.Then take the crib out. You might have to put a baby gate in the doorway for a while.
I hope it will be easy for you and he loves his new bed.

I have five kids and I put mine in a bed at around 2 mainly because they kept trying to climb out. I put those gates up on each side so they did not fall out. I think as long as your little one is willing to not climb out of the crib, it's safer for them to stay in the crib.

We just switched my son to a toddler bed, he is 24 months. Right before his b-day we started making comments like, the baby goes in the crib whenever we put him down for naps or bedtime. We then also got 2 different kinds of diapers pull ups and regular diapers and put him in the 'baby' diapers for naps etc, and then when he got up made a big to do about being a big boy and putting on his special big boy diapers. We set his bed up yesterday and showed it to him then took him to the store and let him pick out a cool set of sheets to use. He's slept in it tiwce over night and one nap time so far! I figured it was time because he was at the point where he didn't roll all over the crib. and we needed the crib for #2.

We transferred our son to a big bed (a twin size) when he was 2 years and 2 months old. We had another baby coming so I needed the crib. We purchased a rail for the side, but never really needed it. He was so excited about his big new bed that he never looked back. The only problem we had at the beginning was him getting out of bed in the middle of the night and wanting to play or something like that. We just ushered him back to bed either by not saying a word or saying it's still night night and left his room immediately. After awhile he "got" it. (-: We chose not to go the toddler bed route because they only used them for such a short time and felt it was better use of our money to buy him a nice big boy bedroom set (bed + dresser). Hope this helps!

Hi L.,

Actually right now is a good time to introduce your child to a toddler bed. The should already been introduce as soon as they turn one years of age. They now have bed rails for the bed incase you are scared of your child falling off the bed. Your child would be more willing to sleep in the bed more than a crib because he would feel like he's a big boy now. You also have to be patient with the bed. Just encourage him that he's a big boy now and sleeping on a big boy bed.

I am a licensed daycare provider. The children that I watched during the day, I introduce them to the toddler bed as soon as they turn one year old or a couple of month later. The children seems to want to sleep on the cot than a play pen. when they are up, they get up on their own or they just lay there until I tell them to get up.

So, try that. I know your son would be so excited.

AJ

we moved our second daughter to a toddler bed about two months ago and she will be 2 at the end of april. all i did was talk to her about the fact that this was her new big girl bed and it only took one night and she was excited about the independence and the fact that in the morning she could come get us. for the first couple nights i just stayed by her door to make sure she did not play and stayed in bed.

We moved our twins into toddler beds when they were about 18 months old... they weren't climbing out yet, either, but it was time. (One of them broke his crib by jumping up and down on the mattress so hard that the support literally fell out of the bottom!)

An advantage of moving them before they tried to climb out is that for a while they didn't know that they could get out of their big boy beds. We also practiced going to bed with them, doing the nightly routine reading stories etc. and letting them know we expected them to stay in bed.

If you have the side rails that keep kids from falling out of bed, that may help keep your son in bed for a while longer.

Good luck! The transition can be tough, but when it's time, it's time.

We moved our daughter to a twin bed when she was 2 (we were trying for baby #2 & decided it would be a good time), we put the bed up against the wall so if she had problems with falling out of bed it would only be on one side. She did great ... never fell out of bed or even got out of bed until morning. We made a big deal out of the whole bed experience starting w/ shopping for the bed & bedding, letting her be involved in the process. Then while we waited for the bed to come in we talked about how she was going to start sleeping in a big girl bed. The first night we did our normal bedtime routine but instead of sitting in the rocking chair & reading we layed in bed w/ her.
Good luck!

ps In selecting the mattress for her we went with a little higher end one in case we had to sleep with her for our benefit. :0)

We did not put our son in a "big boy bed" until he was almost three and that was because we needed the crib for his baby sister. A couple of things that worked for us - First I would suggest skipping the whole toddler bed and going straight for a regular bed with a side rail on one side and the other side pushed up against the wall. The whole toddler bed thing is a waster of money. You buy the bed, sheets, etc and they are in it for a limited amount of time. Our son transitioned real well from the crib to the bed but I think it really had to do with us talking to him about it well in advance and making it a really big deal about it. We made him part of the decision making process when it came to designing his new room (since we had to move him out of the nursery). My husband painted it bright colors and then we got some fun linens for the bed. We had the furniture delivered while he was at daycare and surprised him after dinner with his new bedroom. He asked for the crib a couple of times but really did not create a big fuss over it. The key was we coached him on this change for a good 6 mos. so that when we were ready to do it it as not a shock to him. As far as keeping him in it I think we have been pretty lucky. We have not had issues with having him as a visitor in the middle of the night unless he was not feeling well or he had a bad dream. The key is getting him back in the bed ASAP and not letting him get comfortable in yours. The other thing that worked for us is that our baby gate at the top of the stairs has a sensor light on it so we see the light go on from our room when he is walking down the hallway. Kinda nice having the "head's up". Not sure if this helps at all.

Hi L. :)
Both of my boys made the transition around 18-20 months. They did great. The hardest part is worrying about them getting out of bed. If you put a child's lock on the inside of his door so he cannot open it, you will easily hear him and can put him back to bed when it happens. It took a good 45 minutes the first couple of nights (new game! :) ) but by the 3rd night they had it figured out - bedtime meant bedtime. Good luck!!

When my oldest was almost two he started climbing out of his crib, so we converted the crib to a toddler bed right than and there. We didn't worry about keeping him in the bed, but we DID make certain his room was completely child-proofed and we made certain that he couldn't leave his bedroom unless my husband or I let him.

He really liked the freedom of being able to wander around his room. He did NOT like not being allowed to leave his room whenever he wanted. He did spend a night or three falling asleep on the floor. (We'd just sneak into his room and pop him into his bed.) But, overall, he would almost always climb into bed when he was ready to go to sleep.

I think your son is probably ready for a regular bed. If your crib converts to a toddler bed, I recommend doing that first. We did that and put a bed rail along the side, and put it toward one end of the "bed" so there was an opening for our son to get in and out. He always got in by himself but never tried to get out. If he does well, in a couple of months, go ahead and get him a twin bed and put the rail on that. If he's getting out of bed, make sure the room is child-proofed, and if he's coming out of his room, they do make a lock that you operate from the outside (it's attached to the top of the door) so that he cannot get out of his room. My friend has this and it's worked wonders for keeping her son in his room at nap and bedtime. She just unlocks it once he's asleep. Good luck - it can be a scary time. We did break down and buy a video monitor so we can tell when our son is in or out of bed and what he's doing. It's worth the cost for the peace of mind.

It can be intimidating thinking about switching them to a "big kid" bed, but it isn't such a big deal really. My son was almost 2 1/2 before I switched him (laid back kid) and he went straight to a twin mattress (on the floor at first in case he fell out). He got out of bed a little at first, but I just made sure he had a favorite stuffed animal and would tuck him back n and eventually he got the idea. I don't think a toddler bed is necessary, unless you just have a desire to do an extra transitional step.

I'd say, whenever you two feel comfortable with it. We moved my 20 month old to a toddler bed when she was almost 17 months. We have a baby due in late May and we wanted to make sure she was wasn't attached to the crib anymore by the time the baby came so at Christmas we got her her toddler bed. She took about a week to get used to it but now she does fine. She goes and lays down during the day when she gets tired and doesn't fight bedtime. We do have to put up a baby gate to keep her in her room though in case she does wake up, that way she won't just be wandering the house. She'll call out to us and let us know she's up. Hope this helps.

I transfered my son at 21 months and he actually slept better after a few funny escapes. He would call out in the morning from his big boy beg and ask if he could get up. My daughter was around the same age but she liked being confined so we turned her day bed backwards and she slept great. You never know until you try.

Good luck
C.

I don't think there is a "too soon." Our son refused to ever sleep in a crib, so he was in bed with us for the first 18 months, and then we put him in his own bed with those "rails." They're about a foot high, mesh material, and go for the length of the bed. As long as you're flexible during the transition--any time is a good time!

Actually we skipped the whole toddler bed and went straight to a twin bed. But my son was climbing out his crib at like 18 mos if not sooner. He was and is such a monkey. I was more afraid of him climbing out so fast and falling off the rails of the crib. But it worked for us. For some kids they need the next step of the toddler bed it is the same size of the crib, a lower to the ground, and has the snuggle effect because of the rails. But you can find twin bed with rails or buy just rails to put on the bed. We found a twin bed for a really good price on Craigslist, but it was made out of really good wood and had a rail on one side. For us it was perfect. I don't know about taking your son out of the crib if he is not climbing out of it. But you know your son better than anyone else. He might still like the confindment feeling of being enclosed. Plus, I also had a hard time spending about $100.00 or so on a toddler bed that my son would be on in for about 6mos and then move to twin. Good luck.

I moved my daughter to a toddler bed because she was climbing out of her crib. I moved her a month ago and she will be 2 at the end of this month. I wish I could have waited. With her molars coming in she sleeps terrible. But now she can just hop right out of bed instead of soothe herself. It's been hard on my husband and I. She doesn't seem phased by it. But I run my own business from home and used to have several hours in the morning before she would wake to work. Now she hears a little noise and she's out of bed. She's even like that at nap time. Just a few things to consider.

I also have a two year old son that shakes the crib...at times. He is my third child. I have decided to leave him in there as long as I can. As long as he is not crawling out he is just fine in there. I just check the screws and bolts on the crib from time to time to make sure they are not lossening up. I transfered my second child to a toddler bed when she was two to get ready to use the crib for my son. It was a nightmare. She was always getting up and coming to our room. Then she wanted me to sit with her. I am going to avoid that as long as I can this time around. So at 2 1/2 we may start thinking about a big boy bed if he seems mature enough to handle it.
Hope my opinion helps.

Hi L.,

We put our daughter into a regular twin before she was two. It's a 'captain's bed' so it's pretty tall. She liked it much better than the crib, which she was starting to climb out of at 18 months. We wanted to go straight to a regular bed because we felt the toddler bed was a waste of money when she was just going to grow out of it in a year or two anyway. Plus this way I can sit on the bed comfortably when I read to her.
What exactly is your concern? Are you worried about him falling out? or getting up too much?
This is a tip for preventing him from falling out- instead of buying a bed rail we rolled up a small blanket and put it under the fitted sheet along the side of the bed. The only time she fell out was when we didn't have the blanket roll there. It's worked great and much easier than a rail. Hope this helps your decision.
E.

Our pediatrician says keep them in a crib until they can climb out, because once out, they'll never be contained again! Which typically can be anywhere between 2-3. A mattress on the floor is great, because then you don't have to worry about them falling off (you can start with their crib mattress) but plan on interruptions and nighttime visits once you do this as they will love the newfound freedom.

we tried to move our son before he turned 2 but he wouldn't sleep in the toddler bed. we waited until he was about 28 months. i would recommend starting out by putting the crib mattress on the floor and see if he will stay in there. Good luck!

Hi L.,
I have an almost two year old son and my huband and I are already in the process of getting him a toddler bed and we are going to do the same thing that we did with our daughter. We for a while, put her in bed when she was already asleep and made sure the bed was in the same spot as her crib was. We decided we would always do the switch before the kids were able to reach the door knob to wander off. I also always need to make the switch pretty early because of younger siblings, I just wonder how old my youngest(my 4 month old) will be before we get him out of the crib, right now I just can't wait to get him out of the bassinet.
Oh to add I did first let my daughter take naps in her new bed, I just had to do lots of moving around with the furniture, luckily her room at the time was a big one. I think I needed that reminder, that was a pretty big detail in getting her used to her big girl bed. I hope my input helps, I just can't wait to do the same for my almost two year old son so that my youngest can have a proper sleeping space.

According to my pediatrician, keep your child in the crib as long as possible. He has seen lots of cases of toddlers in beds getting up in the middle of the night and getting into all sorts of danger, including falling down stairs, eating medications, walking into walls, etc etc. If your child can't climb out, then keep him there until he can.

When you feel comfortable is when you should put him in a toddler bed. My oldest never had a toddler bed she slept in the crib till she was almost 3 and we moved her to a full size bed so that she could get up at night and go potty herself. Now her sister at 2 1/2 is still in the crib. Every kid is different. My friend just switched her 3 yr old to a big bed and she had lots of problems with him staying in it, but then she was having problems with him climbing out of the crib too. I think the trick is to be firm when you let them know that they have to stay in bed unless they have to go potty. Then stick too it. That is always the hardest part. Just take a deep breath and do what works best for you and your son, even if it is a little bit different than what everyone else is doing. Best of luck

I had my son (for safety reasons) in a toddler bed at 12 months old. He was very mobile and would climb out, so I got him a twin bed that was low to the ground. I put a safety gate at his door during the night to keep him from leaving. I did have to spend a small amount of time consistantly puting him back on his bed as he got up, but it only lasted a small time and it was better than him falling and getting hurt. Like anything else, consistancy conditioned him to stay put and sleep. I also made sure that there was nothing in his room for him to chole on or make a huge mess incase he woke up early and thought he'd be sneaky. My room was directly across from his, so this wasn;t really a problem. Your son is older and will understand more of your words when getting him to stay put. As my son grew, I allowed him to make his bed, or choose his sheets so he felt like he owned it. That independant feeling for children actually helped him listen to me and stay in his bed! GOOD LUCK

Two year olds can adapt to a bed just fine. You have to be the one to adapt and let him know that when you put him in it, you expect him to stay there. I like the idea of having him pick out his own sheets and stuff. Make it his special project and he will be more apt to take to it. Just make sure your house is child proofed for those times when he may wake up in the night. I woke up one night at 3am to see the light from the tv on. My 2 year old was sitting in there watching it.

I asked the same question when my son was that age! Around his 2nd birthday I thought it was a good time to switch to a toddler bed. He was getting too big and trying to climb out of his crib. I put the bed in his room and always put him to bed in the "big boy bed". At first in the middle of the night he would want to go back to the crib but over time he chose his big boy bed more often and we moved the crib out. I noticed that with him if we left a night light on for him he would stay in bed more often than the nights when there was no night light. I hope this helps!

Hi L.,
My kids were in a normal bed by two. They did get out a lot at first, but I would continue to let them know when it's bed time they need to stay in their bed. Some kids are better about this than others, but you can't leave them in the crib for too long or they could hurt themselves. My oldest son tried climbing out and hooked his pj bottoms on the outside of the crib and was just handing there by his bottom, it was pretty funny but we knew we had better get him a bed.
You should take your son shopping for his own bed and bedding.

My son is two and we are going to be buying a twin bed soon.
He's my third and last child. I wouldn't buy a toddler bed if I were you. You can't lay down with him to read him a story and he'll out grow it so quickly. Just a suggestion. We are buying a twin bed and we have a bed rail for it.