Switching My Daugher to a Toddler Bed! HELP!!

Hello,
When I switched my daughter to her big girl bed, I took her to the store and let her pick out some sheets and a sham for her new bed. So, when it was time to go to bed, she was excited because she had helped pick out the stuff.I know it is a little thing, but it helped me.
Let me know if it helps!
B.

I switched my little one when she climbed out of her crib by herself. She too played with the toys in her room instead of going to bed. I just moved "bed time" up 30 minutes knowing that she was going to go play because this was something new. I would take her to her room and tuck her in as a part of our usual routine, when I walked out of the room she would get up and play. 45 minutes to an hour later she would climb back into her bed and go to sleep. During this time I also had to put a baby gate oon her bed room door to keep her just in her room since she thought it was so much fun that she could not only play with her toys but come out of her room as well. After a month or so that all passed and she just goes into her room and lays on the bed to go right to sleep now.

I really have no idea's to help with what you are going through. But I was told to just keep my toddler in her crib until she figures out how to climb out.

She is 17 months right now but when she hits closer to 2 years. I am going to put a blow up air bed next to the crib...just in case she figures it out. When she ever does then I will switch her to the toddler bed.

Good luck!

We use a crib tent in the crib and really dont try to rush putting them in a bed. with the crib tent, they cant get out of the crib.

we keep the crib in the room and the toddler bed at the same time (so they can get used to the idea of the bed) and once they are mature enough to understand the rules... we tell them they can sleep in the big boy bed but if they get out they go back into the crib... so if they get out you put them in the crib (with a crib tent on for safety) and they sleep that night in the crib... repeat this for several nights until they get it that if they get out of the bed, they have to sleep in the crib...but you must stick to the rule that if they get out they have to sleep in the crib and put them in the crib if they get out of the bed, no second chances or they will push you until you give in...

Another thing you can do is just let her play with her toys in her room, she will eventually fall asleep in her bed and eventually she will learn to go to sleep. the first few nights of a new bed are new and exciting to her once the newness wears off she will probably go right to bed... dont make a big deal about it as long as she stays in her room then she will learn to go to bed...

I really find that most kids prefer the safety feeling of the crib for longer than 2 years my 3 year old still sleeps in his crib and we are happy to have him there because he is not mature enough to sleep in his twin bed. He has a crib tent on his crib to prevent him falling out (the best place to get those is EBAY) Kids grow up fast enough as it is. keep them little as long as you can...

Good luck, A. J

I also just let my daughter play until she was ready to go to bed. She was in a room with the light off, door closed with just a nightlight. Not making an issue of going to bed I think helps b/c, at that age, they want to do the opposite of what you want. I like what the other mom said about moving the time up. Shortly after the time we moved our daughter to her new bed, she spent less and less time playing around and now goes to bed pretty much right away - every once in a while I'll hear her and when I go to check on her before I go to bed, she'll have a few things out and about, but for the most part, she just climbs in her bed pretty quickly and goes to sleep. Hope that helps!

It took about 3 months for the novelty to totally wear off for my twins, but we had an additional obstacle since they both share a room (once in thier toddler beds they discovered could run about and play together...one would kind of feed off the other and they would get wound up). Eventually though, enough of me coming up to the room when they were playing about and being stern about bedtime not being playtime helped and the novelty wore off. It's better to move yours to a toddler bed if there is even a chance that you think that your daughter might launch herself from her crib. Hang in there. She will adjust soon...it's just a little painful at first.

It was a difficult few nights for us . . . basically, we put the mattress on the floor for a few nights and then moved it up to the bed. The first month or so, we had lugs the same height as the bed on the side where he would fall out and that seemed to make it happen less often. We have a safety gate in the doorway which he can't open, and the room is childproofed. Our nighttime ritual (after several months) is singing a song, praying and putting him in bed. We can't make him stay in bed, but after a while he learned what it meant when we put him there, and it works pretty smoothly.

My daughter did the same thing! But I figured if she was content then i would let her. I started leaving her with the books we read for story time and that helped alot. Now she goes right to sleep. Good luck!

Let her play for a few nights. She will probably get it out of her system. It is a new thing, and all the fun stuff is in her reach.

If she is happy and content to play alone in her room, I wouldn't worry about it. Just leave a light on, and she may crawl in bed herself when she is tired. If not, you can go in there and pat her back and lay with her when she starts to get cranky.

I would leave her in a crib as long as you can. It seems that she is telling you she is not ready to go to a big bed. My oldest was in his crib until he was almost 3. He crawled out once but never again. I think if you wait for her to be a little older then she will understand better about staying in bed. I know I loved my son in his crib. He would wake up and play and then call when he wanted out.
Hope that helps.
K.

Our 2 1/2 yr old's crib turned into a toddler bed and we tlaked to her about and let her help switch it over, I would get her worked up about it all day by taking her in there and looking at it and saying "Big Girl" bed, she was excited and went to with no problem, she loves it, that may help, hope it does
C.

I would stick with the toddler bed. She will want to play just as much now as in a few months and it isn't worth the risk of her getting hurt trying to climb out of the crib. We put a few favorite books and toys in my son's bed to help it seem fun in the bed. For the most part he would stay in bed and play before going to sleep, but would sometimes get out to play too. We also ended up putting a baby gate in the doorway so that he could hear us/we could hear him, and he couldn't come out. He would fall asleep within an hour and was used to his big bed after a month or so.
He is not a very good sleeper anyway and he still reads/talks to his toys in bed every night, but rarely gets up to play anymore. My son is 26 months now but we moved him to a bed at 13 months. good luck with your 'big' girl!

When we first converted my daughter to a toddler bed, she did the same thing. She loved her new "freedom". I decided I would put her in bed, and close the door, and let her do what she was going to do. I would find her passed out on the floor, in odd places. LOL Even if I went back in and put her in bed later, she would still wake up on the floor. Sometimes, she even would take her blanket and pillow and sleep on the floor. Anyway, she's a lot better now. (it's been about 6 months) She willingly gets into bed, even walks to her room by herself when I say it's time. She allows me to tuck her in now, and she stays there all night. By letting her explore her new freedom for awhile, she's good now. By the way, she'll be 3 in March.

We went straight for a twin bed. We put it on a twin bed frame. It took her a couple of days, but she figured it out. We got her new bed linens, a big girl pillow, and talked it up alot. We made a big deal when the bed arrived so she knew it was special. We put it against the corner wall, and used a toddler rail on the outside edge. We were consistent. When she took naps, or at night, we would come in, read a book, and turn the lights out. She crawled out for the first 2-3 days, but we simply returned her to the bed, kissed her goodnight. Don't put any toys in her bed, and be consistant returning her to bed. She will get the swing of it soon. She only fell out once, and that is when we got the toddler rail.
If the bed is too high, get her a neat stool, painted with her name. Make it a princess bed that she will want to be in.