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The Transition from Crib to Bed
Whether your toddler loves her crib or is eager to jump out of it at the first opportunity, at some point, she'll be ready to graduate to a big-kid bed. When is the best time to make the transition, and how can you do it smoothly and safely? Here are suggestions from the experts.
Unlike some developmental milestones of early childhood, such as learning to use the potty or starting solids, the move from crib to bed doesn't involve a checklist of signs indicating that your child is ready. The one overriding concern is safety. As a general rule, parents should move a baby from a crib to a bed before he is able to climb out of it on his own and possibly hurt himself, says Mark Widome, MD, a professor of pediatrics at Penn State Children's Hospital in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Most toddlers have the ability to hop over the crib rail when they are about 35 inches tall and between 18 and 24 months of age. Of course, some babies are particularly agile and will attempt to climb out sooner (at which point they should be moved to a bed), while less adventurous types will not try to climb out at all. If your toddler is comfortable in his crib and not a climber, then it's okay to let him sleep there past the age of 2 -- just as long as you're mindful of his safety, says Jack Walsh, executive director of the Danny Foundation, an organization dedicated to crib and child-product safety. But the longer a baby stays in his crib, Walsh adds, the more emotionally attached to it he may become and the harder it may be for him to make the transition.
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my son is a 18 months, he is still in a crib. would like to put him in his toddler bed, but i'm not sure due to he tosses and turns at night. if we put him in the crib with his head facing us, the next morining his head will be facing the other direction. Does anybody think that it is a good idea to switch him to the toddler bed or just wait awhile longer due to his sleeping patterns and habits? ashley, pa
11/9/2011 07:40:33 PM Report AbuseMy son's bed is a 4-in-1. At 18-mo I tried switching, put him down for his nap total failure. So switched it back. Now he is 23-mo, I switched it yesterday morning. Put him down for his nap, took about an hour for him to go to sleep, he played & cried, & played (in his room), only had to go in once, then he slept perfect. same last night, today pretty good, and we will see how tonight goes, fussed for about 5 min then silence.
9/25/2011 10:48:27 PM Report AbuseMy daughter learned 2 crawl out her crib @ 18 months. We took off the rail 2 the crib. She didn't want 2 go 2 bed. The times that she did fall asleep she'd wake in the middle of the nite from falling off (she's a rolling sleeper). There was no converter kit 4 my crib, so I was creative... I raised the mattress back up and the bed rail 2 the bed but resting on the floor this way it's a small rail and put a step at the bottom. :) she loves going 2 bed not a problem!!!!
7/20/2011 09:06:29 AM Report AbuseOur granddaughter, who is 20 months old, refuses to sleep in her crib anymore - she keeps climbing out. They tried converting her crib to a toddler bed and she will have not part of it. They tried a mattress on the floor and, again, she will not lie on it. She sleeps on a blanket on her bedroom floor. She sleeps well. Is there any problem with this? I just found out that one of her cousins did the same thing and he slept on the floor for 2 years before sleeping in a bed.
7/9/2011 07:10:13 AM Report AbuseWhen my oldest two turned 15 months we moved them onto a twin size mattress on the floor. They were so excited (my second child wouldn't even get off so we could make the bed!!) and were great about staying in bed until we came to get them. Once they turned 3, they started getting out on their own and coming to our room in the mornings. We were so lucky that the transitions went to well for us! Just remember, the more confidence you show to them, the better they will react to the change!!
7/9/2011 07:02:02 AM Report Abusei have a 3 year old who is 40 inches tall and in a toddler bed. he sleeps great in it but tosses and turns all night long and wakes up frequently from hitting the sides... he's our first child and we are a little apprehensive of putting him in a twin size bed just yet... any thoughts??? Thank you!
7/8/2011 03:10:08 PM Report AbuseOur daughter will be turning 3 next month. She still sleeps in her crib, but she jumps in it a lot! So we are a little apprehensive about converting it to the toddler bed in fear that she may hurt herself by jumping. We are expecting our second child in January so I would like to have her make the transition as early as possible, any suggestions?
6/6/2011 12:58:32 PM Report AbuseI didn't put my son in a toddler bed until he was 3. While he was a great climber, he never even tried to climb out of his bed. In fact, he would call me in the morning to let me know he was awake. He also had night terrors, so it was for his safety, per his doctor. Once in his toddler bed, he still didn't climb out. He continued to call for me to let me know he was awake. It wasn't until he was 4 that he decided he would venture out of bed on his own.
5/19/2011 09:58:37 AM Report AbuseMy daughter at 21 months went to a toddler bed I thought she was going to fool around and get up at night because that is her personality at least I thought it was because she doesn't which is fantastic I think she feels like a big girl that way and free,it is actually easier to get her to sleep.
5/17/2011 04:42:39 PM Report AbuseMy 23 month old thought the toddler bed was awesome. Helped Daddy build it, played on it when it was ready, but then once bedtime arrived, he didn't want to have anything to do with it. He's back in his crib and happy for now.
5/4/2011 01:12:47 PM Report AbuseMy 21 month old was an awesome sleeper. She climbed out of the crib this weekend. I took the rail off and made it a toddler bed. Not happening. She's not liking it. Don't know what else to do!
3/15/2011 01:36:18 PM Report AbuseMy 22 month old daughter would love to have her toddler bed. I tried once abiut a month ago and she loved it. But how do I keep her from gett off it in the middle of the night? She's back in her crib because of that (the crib turns into a toddler bed).
11/16/2010 11:27:42 AM Report AbuseWe had an easy time of it deciding when to switch. The crib got recalled!
6/10/2010 12:58:22 PM Report Abuse