My son is just weeks away from his 3rd birthday and he still sleeps in his crib. Needlesd to say, he is HUGE in it. He has never tried to crawl out. I think maybe is a comfort thing for him. I try to put him in his 'big boy' bed, but he instantly comes out. I have laid in there with him until he falls asleep, but then at midnight he wakes my husband and I up by flicking our light on. I just don't know how to make the transition. I have heard to start with naps, but he would never stay in his big bed at nap time. I have heard to use a baby gate at his door, but he knows how to open every gate! The kid is too smart for his own good! HELP!
A.,
I like some of the suggestions already made so here is something to add to it. Try taking him to the store with you to pick out some new 'big boy' bedding if you can afford it. If not try just picking out 2 special pillow cases (2 in case you can't get one through the laundry in time and he is mad he can't have his 'big boy' pillow case at bed time.)
Good Luck,
S.
I have a different take on it. Why can't he stay in his crib for longer? "If it aint broke, don't fix it." Both of my kids happily stayed in their crib until age three. If he is not climbing out, then I suspect your concern is more of a peer pressure or social appearance issue. I'm sure he looks huge in the crib, but unless it is hampering his sleep then I would let it go and address it again in six months.
You need to take his crib down and not allow him access to it. Make a big deal about him being grown up enough to sleep in a big boy bed, and have a ceremony for the crib. If he doesn't have access to it he will have to sleep in the bed and it may take a few nights, but he will learn. He will also become more comfortable with it the more he sleeps in it. I have heard about taking the crib down but leaving the mattress on the floor and letting them sleep on that without the crib for a week or so and then putting the crib mattress on the bed for about a week and letting them sleep like that, then just removing it, which might work for your little one. some kids just have a harder time transitioning, and he will get used to it. Eventually he will be so tired that he won't care. Good luck.
My advice....take down the crib. If it isn't there, he has only his big boy bed to sleep in. I took my 3 year old's crib down last year. We have had very few problems. He has ended up in our bed a couple of times, but not enough to make a big deal over. I would not recommend a baby gate. If there is a fire or other type of emergency, it will be a hinderance. Good luck!!
A.,
I would suggest a baby bed rail. It really helped my nephew through the transition. Here is a link I found for you to learn more about them and where to find them. Good luck! http://www.nextag.com/safety-baby-bed-rail/search-html
When we transitioned my son from his crib to the toddler bed, he had a habit of getting up and wandering. He would come into our room and wake me just to say he loved me. He was a little over three at the time. I read in Parenting magazine about this, and they suggested when you put the child in his "big boy" bed, to tell him you will be checking on him in a few minutes, then leave. Go back in his roon after a few minutes so he knows you're still there. Continue until he falls asleep. Then increase the time between your visits, 3 minutes, then 5 minutes, then 10 and so on. If he get's up in the middle of the night, he probably just wants to make sure you're still there. Gently, walk him back to his room. I also set up the baby monitor and showed my son that I could hear him in his room if he needed me. It took about 2 weeks, but the wandering stopped. Hope this helps.
Take care and God bless! J.
You sound exactly like me a year ago. My son also loved his crib and never tried to climb out either. We went to a toddler bed when he was 2 1/2 and had the same problem of waking up at night and wanting to sleep with my husband and I. I would imediatly take him bake to his bed and tell him that he could get back up when the sun was in the sky and after SEVERAL attemps it worked. Shortly after he turned three we transitioned again to a full size bed and we had to start all over with him getting up at night. I told him the same thing as before and after getting the same response from me each time he finally started to stay. He will be four next week and still gets up occasionally but nothing like he did at first. Just be consistant in taking him back to his own bed and after he sees that you will not give in he will eventually stop. Good Luck!
The best advice I can give is to just stick with it. My son did the same thing- even when we got him to fall asleep he would wake up and want his crib. The only thing that worked was to take the crib down altogether. Then his only choice was to sleep in his big bed. We did find him in the floor a couple of mornings and he insistently came out of his room, but after a couple of weeks of antics he finally settled in and has slept in his bed ever since.
Hate to sound cruel but if you want him in a "big boy" bed you have to take the crib down and store it out of his sight or if you're done with it sell/give it away! By it being up it tells him that he can still utilize it. We have 5 and when they are done with something and need to make a new transition we put the old away! You don't want to confuse him. I know the first month will probably be rough but consistency is so important. Continue to put him back in his bed, lots of sleepness nights but it will work and he will realize that is his only option! On the toddler bed issue, go straight past that and just get him twin (or whatever big you are planning him to be in), if you use the toddler bed you then have to transition to the bigger bed. Which might cause a problem also! I wish you the best of luck and with your love and support he'll be able to do a good job!
