2 1/2 Year Old Transition to Toddler Bed

When I was putting my 1st daughter in her toddler bed, we went shopping and I let her pick out some new sheets for it so she knew if she wanted to sleep on those sheets, she had to sleep in her bed. It worked very well.

For both my chikdren we took the crib down that same day. We made a big deal about moving into the big boy / big girl bed. They got to pick out the sheets and which stuffed animals they wanted. And as we kept the same crib mattress for the toddler bed they were familiar with the bed. They were very excited and had no problem with the transition. If they pick up that you are having difficulty with the transition it may impact their readiness. If you are anxious they will be too. I also suggest letting them get settled on their own. If you keep popping in and out of the room at the first sound they may look at this as a way to get your attention and put off bed time. Best of luck!

Hi L.,

My name is C.. I have 4 kids. It took us a little while to transition each one into their toddler beds. The hardest one was my oldest whose is now going on 7. She really loved her crib and wanted nothing to do with a bed. Then we decided that once a week, usually over the weekends, we would take turns sleeping with her in her room. We told her we would only do this if she slept in her bed. Believe it or not, a little over a month of doing this, she was sleeping by herself in her bed.

Its a big step for them and it takes a little time and patients. Give it a while and a few ties, and she will love it.

we never used a toddler bed. We put our kids in a regular twin bed. we found that when they were around 2 to 2 1/2 they were moving a lot in the crib and hitting the sides. not enough room. a toddler bed isn't really much larger than a crib. We just put them in the bed and all worked fine. we took the crib down and that was that!

I agree with the posters who suggest you need to get the crib out of there. Given the choice, your child will pick what she's used to. In our house, for both sons, we didn't make a big deal about the transition. One day we just converted the crib to a bed and that was that. Neither child had any problems. My younger son did complain a bit when, at last, we moved the toddler bed out of his room and put a twin bed in. He didn't want to nap in the big bed at first, but after a few minutes of complaining he snuggled up with his blankie and went to sleep. Good luck!

My first son was more willing to transition and did when he was under 2 years old...we left the crib in there, but took the mattress out so it "wasn't comfy", but rather the big boy bed is comfy now.
My now 2.5 year old is much more strong willed, so we did not want to push the big boy bed until he was ready. We had his bed in there for quite a while before using it and now he uses it asking for his "basketball bed" because it has sports blanket and pillows...he's obsessed with sports by nature.
So your situation being as it is along with what worked for us...maybe taking the mattress out of the crib, so it's not available except for emergency and putting something she loves on the toddler bed to excite her about it. Best wishes!!

My son was 2 1/2 when he switched to the "big boy bed". We had the big bed and the crib in his room before switching him. Every night before bed and before naps we laid on the big bed and read a book or two. After a week he said he wanted to stay in the big bed instead of going to his crib to sleep. The transition was super easy and smooth. Be sure to include your daughter in picking things out for her new big bed.

Hi L., I have 4 children. With each one we had a "toddler bed" party to transition into the Big Kid Bed. We rolled the crib out and put the crib bedding on the Toddler bed. Then we let our child decorate the bed with all their favorite stuffed animals. Mommy, Daddy, and siblings all stayed in the room and served the Big Girl or Boy pizza and cake in their bed, they were the King/Queen of the party. We played party music, took pictures, it was an entire night ordeal.
The first night Daddy laid on the floor while they went to sleep in the bed. The next night we insisted they sleep on their own. Only one of our children really cried, all the others went right to sleep. By the 3rd night all the kids went to bed in the new bed. Good luck!

Hi,
When we transitioned my nephew to a bed, we made a HUGE deal about it. Everything was "Let's go read in your big boy bed" "Let's go put monkey on your big boy bed". We also let him pick out a comforter set that he really liked. Plus, we put the mattress on the floor so he wouldn't be scared of falling out of bed and that way if he did he wouldn't have far to go. I hope this helps some what...let us know how it goes.

Hi L.,
Early last year while I was pregnant with my second child, we transitioned our 2 1/2 year old from her crib to a big girl bed. Napping in the new bed is a great idea. I started out having her take her daily nap in the bed (I had to sleep with her the first few times). She watched us transition the spare room into her Disney Princess room with her help. She continued to take her naps there and on the night of her third birthday she slept in her big girl bed. We got her a special night light and let her help pick out the decor. Maybe you could get her a special pillow or cute sheets. She might be more receptive if you show her that the toddler bed mattress is the same one from the crib. Best of luck - don't worry, she will be in the big girl bed before you know it. I hope that your neck gets better.

I have to agree with Leslie. Our crib was a convertible so to do a toddler bed, the crib had to come down. It really was easier than you are likely anticipating. Both of mine were about 18 months when we transitioned them and it went great. She will likely get out a few times, but it's only because she can. Just keep putting her back. Eventually she will get tired and go to sleep. Also, in a few days, the novelty will wear off and she will likely just stay in bed. I will say that with both of mine, bedtime was much easier than naptime but they are now five and three and sleep wonderfully. Good luck.

Hi L.. I have 4 children ages 2 - 8 and as soon as they turned 2 I put them straight in a regular bed. At first they loved the freedom of it - being able to leave the bed when they wanted to and walked over to my room. But I have learnt that children are creatures of habits but its our job as mothers to instill that habit. So we started with quiet time in the afternoon and I would set a timer for 10 minutes at first and usually they are asleep before the timer goes off. They have to stay in their bed until the timer goes off and I leave the room. If they follow me, I just walk them right back to the bed and leave again. Then at night, if they walked into our bedroom and asked to sleep with us, I do the same thing. My second child was insistent on sleeping with us in our bed and would often throw a fit. So our solution to that was that she could sleep on the floor in our room and not in our bed. She did this for one night and decided her bed was much more comfortable. By the way, I learnt this habit from parentcenter.com
It wasn't easy at first but eventually they got it and by the time my last one came along, it was a breeze. She will turn 2 next month and is already in her toddler bed.
Goodluck and hang in there.

My son was that age when we put him in the big boy bed, and we took the crib down entirely and put it away. Why tempt them or remind them of it? I think it would have been more confusing if the crib had been left in the room. We also made a big deal about the bed beforehand and let him pick out his own sheets. Other than that, we kept the nap/bedtime routines the same. His transition was a breeze and a real pleasure for him (and us). Good luck!