2 Year Old in Big Boy Bed???

I am in the same "boat". I'm not going to mess with a good thing. He's happy in the crib so we are waiting.

Sounds like he's ready. My boy was 2 when I converted his crib into a toddler bed and he didn't climb out unnecessarily. If he's not climbing out of the crib he probably won't jump out of bed.

My son was two when we moved him to a bed. He did great. He has a twin sized bed which had a bed rail. The bed rail actually was on for a very short period of time because he got sick and threw up on it one night...it never made its way back on. For a very long time he would never get out of his bed and would even call for me when he woke up. Good luck!

You are right it depends on the child. My daughter we transitioned at 18 mo because another baby was on the way. My son we transitioned a couple of months after he turned two because we were going on a family trip and he was going to have to sleep on a cot in the hotel.

With my daughter, she was a little jack in the box and was always getting out of bed. We would promptly walk her back to bed without saying anything. After a few times she would get the point. My son on the other hand has not climbed out once...even in the morning when he wakes up he just lies there in bed singing to himself. I think he still thinks he is in a crib. One point to consider is also how easily the child falls asleep. I found it a bit easier when they were younger because they were both so tired by the time they went to bed that they went to sleep pretty easily. By the time they turn 3 it gets a little harder and I think if they are already used to the bed by that point they are more likely to stay in it.

Hi E.!
My Name is L. Conzemius. Im from Breckenridge, Mn. I read your question and thought Gee she sounds EXACTLY like my situation!! My Daughter Savanna was in a big girl bed at about 16 months only because I couldnt stand the SCREAMING she would do every time she got put into her crib!
My son is going to be 20 months old at the end of this week and he has followed suit! We JUST got him a "big boy bed" and he LOVES it! I watched him crawl INTO his crib one day as I was putting clothes away and thought it would only be a matter of time before he learned to climb OUT and who KNOWS what he would do in the middle of the night! Jakob is a bit of an active little boy! We rock him to sleep and put him in his bed and he LOVES it! Just for precaution, I put a baby gate in front of his door. So far he hasnt tried to climb over that! I hope I helped!
Love L.

E.,
I think it totally depends on your child. We have had our 21 month old son on a mattress on the floor since he was 13mo. We lay down with him at night so he's not usually up and running around and when he wakes up, he just makes noise, but stays in bed even though he could get out. It sounds like your little guy is good at putting himself to sleep and it might just take all the fun out of it if he can easily get in and out himself. Sometimes I think they just like the challenge of the escape. Good luck.

E. -- Because of new siblings on the way, my older two children were in big kid beds (twin size beds) with bed rails on the sides when they were 15 or 16 months old. (I know people think I'm crazy -- it was necessity, and several of my friends made the same choice) My youngest just turned 2 in July, and we recently put him in a big kid bed (again, twin size with bed rail). Each child is different, but I can't imagine my kids still being in cribs at 3, or even 2 1/2. Safety is the most important thing in the world, so maybe even try putting a mattress and box spring on the floor (no frame) with bed rails. And be sure, as I'm positive you already will be, that he can't climb on his furniter (i.e. make sure it's secured to the wall) or pull down lamps, pictures, etc. You can do it, and I don't think you're crazy! GOOD LUCK!

My oldest moved to a big boy bed at 13 months, and my currently-19-month-old has been out of his crib for almost 3 months. My oldest did really well. My baby was a lot harder; it took about a month to get him to go to bed well, but he just wouldn't stay in his crib. Now, he hardly ever has a problem. He loves his big boy bed.

my son was barely over a year when he decided he was done with his crib and stayed in his bed very well. My daughters were 18 months old each. They all knew that they had to stay in and if they got out for any reason, I put them back right away. It was a no ifs ands or buts thing too, they had to go back into bed, I didnt say much other then its bedtime, I love you, Good Night. They still stay into bed until I get them up. :D

My daughter went into her toddler bed at 22 months. We kept to her same bedtime routine and it only took 2 nights before she stayed in it after we left her room. During those two nights she would get out of bed and either play or walk out into the living room. We simply calmly directed her back into her bed and told her it was bedtime.

I had to chuckle a little when you mention that he isn't climbing out of his crib yet. We moved my DS to a big boy bed when he was 26 months. He also wasn't climbing out of his crib and I didn't think he could. As I was setting up his big boy bed I turned around and he had climbed INTO his crib. There was nothing near it to use as a step up so I know he had simply climbed the bars like a monkey. My mouth dropped open because if he could climb in so easily, obviously he was quite capable of climbing out!

Sounds to me like your son is ready for a big boy bed. Talk about the expectations ahead of time. Have him help shop for big boy sheets and help set up his new bed. Then go through exactly the same bedtime routine. If he does start getting out just take him back with no talking other than to say, "time to sleep". Do NOT laugh or let it turn into a game.

I have a son who will turn two in 3 wks. He too is very talkative, active, and showing some interest in the potty. I don't think it is too early to make the transition. Keep encouraging him about what a big boy he is and that a baby sleeps in a crib and that he no longer needs to. Also, reinforce him by showing him that his big sister also sleeps in a big bed. This will help him to make a connection to the fact he is growing up. We made the transistion for my son when he was 20 months old and we let him help pick out his bedding. He, of course, picked out Thomas the Train and was very excited to sleep in it. Occasionally for the first few nights he would try and get out, but we just kept going back in and laying him back down. After about 4 nights, he just went to sleep and didn't try again. I think your son will do just fine. Good luck!!

E.,

My son transitioned to a bed when he was 20 months old. He did fall out of bed a couple times, but after a week or so that didn't happen any more. I say if he's good at his bedtime routine and doesn't put up a stink when you leave, try the big boy bed.

We put together his bigboy bed and showed it to him earlier in the evening and made a big deal about it. He got to climb on it and check it out and play on it early in the evening, so he wasn't tempted to "play" at bed time.

Though he never did end up trying to get out of bed, we close our kids bedroom door and at the time we transitioned him, he didn't know how to open it and his room was babyproofed, so I felt safe, even if he did get out of bed.

My son was similar; we worried he'd get up and go outside to play, not thinking that it was 3 am. Well, turns out that when we put him in the big boy bed (before he turned 2; I can't remember by how much)he seemed to think he was still in his crib and never crawled out! It cracked me up a little. Also, I know he was afraid of our dark house a little, and that kept him confined to his room and the short trek to our room when he was scared or awake. If you have a pretty solid routine (we didn't even have this), he may well be just fine. If you have it all set up, you might as well try--if it doesn't work after day 1 or day 2, he can always go back in the crib.

He is definitely old enough for the transition. If you are worried about him getting out of bed during the night, simply put up your baby gate across his doorway so that he can't get out of his room. This worked great for both of my children. Good luck!

Our youngest son jumped/fell out of his crib at 18 months so that was the end of the crib. I certainly think you could transition him out of his crib if you wanted to. We started with a mattress on the floor. We did end up having trouble keeping him in bed though and ended up developing some bad habits. Unlike your son, he was never a good sleeper in the first place. Good luck.

You sound so in-tune with your kids. Good for you. I say, go with what seems right. If you're child is ready, then talk to him and try it out. After all, there's nothing set in stone which says he can't try it now and if it doesn't work out continue to sleep in the crib and then try again later. Personally, my little one climbed out 3x when he was 2 yrs old and all 3x fell on his head. We put up the crib tent and he continued to sleep in his crib with no problems. (By the way, we also set up a toddler bed in hsi room when he turned 2 but he showed no interest in it except to play and arrange his animals and toys in it during the day.) He's probably the rarity but to this day, he still prefers his crib with his crib tent. He's now 3.5 yrs old and says he wants to sleep in his crib "forever" or until he gets as big as daddy ! At about 3 yrs old, he asked if he could have a blanket or sheet draped over the top of his crib tent and so each night he says he's "Camping". My friends and I have found it amazing that he still loves the crib but then he's also small for his age (36 inches and 28 lbs at 3.5 yrs old) so we think he just feels more secure. Oh, you could always try the crib tent route but get it on craigslist, if you do decide to try it.

We started all our kids on a mattress on the floor before setting up the bed. Two of them were 2 years old, the third was happy in his crib until he was well past three.

I think it is perfectly fine to transition him to a big boy bed. We moved my son into his toddler bed before he turned two because he did so well with the bed time routine. About him getting out of bed, when he does just pick him up and put him back in bed. The first time, be nice about it, the second time, be stern and serious, the third, don't say anything at all. Just pick him up and put him in his bed w/o speaking to him cause thats what he wants (your attention). Keep doing this until he gets it. To help avoid that situation I normally let my son have a book in bed with him. That way if he truly just isn't ready to fall asleep, the he can flip through the book. That normally helps, especially at nap time.

He sounds like a very smart two year old! It seems like he is ready, especially if he is starting to potty train.
I have a two year old boy who sounds exactly like your son. He, too, is potty training and has been sleeping in a twin bed for two months now. He loves it! He never once climbed out of his crib, but I am expecting another boy in a month, and so he had to transition. He did really well, and actually sleeps more comfortably.
I say go for it! I would recommend bedrails to protect him from falling out. Another suggestion would be to put up a pressurized baby gate so he doesn't wander about the house during the night. Good luck!

I am going through the same thing w/ my 20 month old daughter......she gets scared when she wakes in the middle of the night.....so we've been just taking naps in the big girl bed for now until she's got plenty of time to get used to it.

We moved our daughter out of our bed a bit after she turned one and onto a futon on the floor. Just before she turned two, she got to have a bed. I don't make her take naps on it (she's fighting having naps anyway) and she won't fall asleep by herself. So she falls asleep in our bed, then we move her and generally she stays in her bed all night long and then comes and wakes me up. We're due to have #2 any week now so this may be rearranged shortly, but it's what works for us right now.

You will have plenty of success with his new bed E. if you switch from picture books to chapter books. Picture books are stimulating, where as chapter books are sleep inducing. He will fall asleep while you read instead of getting geared up for the next fun thing.

Start with Winnie the Pooh and Little Bear. Read softly and slowly so that he relaxes as you read. He will konk-out before you have read a chapter and you will have had the sweetest bedtime routine you ever dreamed of. Add some soft music (non-lyrical) and you can't go wrong.

It's not the bed, it's the routine.

Lots of great responses. We used a "real" bed for our 21 month old during an extended trip. It took some time for him to get the idea to "stay in bed." the first night was 2 hours of putting him back. Hugs and kisses the first two times he got up and nothing for the countless :) times after that. The next night it took 1/2 hour and then less each night after that. We got to where it was about 5 minutes of putting him back to bed. Anyway, my point is stick to your guns if you decide to this, it will get better.

I am a SAHM of 2 beautiful girls, 4 and 2 years old. Both of my girls transitioned from crib to big girl beds at the age of about 18 months (climbing became the hazard and catalyst for the change for one and a ne child soon to arrive was the reason for the other). Both transitioned just fine. The first took a small bit of regular encouragement and sometimes a consequence or discipline for getting out of bed. The second moved right into the big girl be and never got out since the first night. Naps are a bit less perfect even yet somedays they just have a hard time settling down but they do share a room. I say go for it. You are his mother and you know him best. What helps for a lot of kids to do this transition is a special toy/stuffed animal that can only be held when in the bed and/or a sticker chart reward system. My girls didn't need either just mostly gentle but consitent encouragement. Hope all goes smoothly!

All 3 of my kids were in a toddler bed at around 18 months. My youngest, who just turned 18 months, sleeps in hers all the time now...the crib is waiting for the new baby. So, no -- he isn't too young at all. Have fun! :)

My son turned two in June. We've got him in a twin-size bed now. He's doing quite well. He doesn't talk very well, even though he tries really hard. (I've kind of learned his language.) He does understand almost everything I tell him.

He is doing well in the bed. He gets up at about 5 or 6 in the morning and crawls into bed with us and falls back to sleep. It is very sweet. Only once did I find him downstairs on the couch at 5 in the morning sleeping without a blanket. I felt really bad. I didn't know what time of the night that happened. For the most part, he is doing great. I expected to be putting him back into bed the whole first night, but that never happened. He just knew it was bed time.

Good Luck. It sounds like you have a routine, so that helps extremely. He may surprise you like ours surprised us.
J.