Hello All! So my question is in regards to my almost 2 1/2 year old son. Wondering when is the right time to switch from a crib to a big boy bed? He is big for his age - he could absolutely get out if he wanted to, but never attempts to. He shares a room with his little brother (as there is no other option) which I believe will most likely complicate matters when the time comes. I would like to wait, if possible, until he is around 3 years old - when I assume he will be even easier to communicate with... We plan to put our house up for sale around the time that he turns 3 and so I realize it would be good to get him accustomed to his new bed before we would have to move because that will be a big enough adjustment as it is... as far as that goes - how long did it take your child/ren to adjust to their new bed? I just want to be sure he is adjusted to that before we have to move so that his bed is a comfort to him in our new house. Any stories or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!
I switched my son at a young age, as he was trying to climb out on his own. It probably took him a 2-3 nights to adjust to the idea of something different, but he loved the idea of a "big boy bed."
I think it really comes to how you handle the situation. If you make it fun and exciting, he will find it to be a fun and exciting event.
Good luck!
nk
My son has been in a toddler bed since about 16 months. We have a locking gate across his doorway so the door can remain open but he is retained in his room should he sleepwalk (his room is by stairs) but he loves his bed and made the switch very happily. If you are going to be moving-I would switch him now so he can get used to that before he goes to the new house-instead of 2 changes at once for him.
Good luck,
C.
Hi K.,
I'm sort of surprized that there are so many moms that switched their kids early. Every child is different so you have to do whats best for your son. My son was almost 3 before we switched him over. The reason we did was because he started climbing out of his crib. He liked his bed when we switched him but he was constantly getting up. We had to go through a couple of weeks of struggle to get him to stay in bed. If your kids are sharing a room it might be kind of difficult. I have a younger son that is 20 months and I am planning to keep him in his crib as long as I can. If he starts climbing out we will switch him over. I agree with the mom that said that you could get him excited to move by getting his own room and his own big boy bed. Good luck.
Chris
HI!! I put my son in a big boy bed at 18 months. My son took to it really well .. it was almost like it was easier to put him to bed in it because he would usually well about 95% of the time would just go right to sleep. Now up until about a few months ago he has realized that he could get out of the bed so he tends to get up to tell me "he needs a drink" " potty" "say his prayers" so he is makin excuses to stay up longer is what i think it is but other then that everything was terrific. so i would say your son being 2 1/2 should be ready. I made a big deal out of of him becoming a "BIG BOY" and we also got him a spiderman toddler bed and he thought it was the coolest. so hopefully it goes well..
i had to move my son to his toddler bed at about 17months because he did climb and fall out of it. it really only took him a few night to get used to it. although we have the problem of him not falling asleep on his own. we were trying to break that habit before while he was still in his crib and than that happened. so we do sit with him at night till he falls asleep but it usually only takes a few minutes. they say to keep them in the crib till as close to age 3 as possible unless they are trying to get out but i would say go ahead and try it. if you have room put up the toddler bed along with the crib still being there until he could get used to the bed if you can. we couldn't cause our crib turned into the toddler bed. i would def. get started now as you are right in saying that with you moving soon.
I think you have a good opportunity here to help 2 situations at once. Perhaps my opinion is different than others' but I think if you spend this time while your house is listed 'talking up' the big boy bed, then the transition will go more smoothly b/c he will be looking forward to both. Tell him that as soon as you move to your new house, he can have a great new big boy bed b/c of what a big boy he has become. Overall, I think it will go better than you anticipate, though.
~L.
If he is big enough to get out he is big enough to switch. My son was also big for his age. We put him in a big boy bed at 18 months. He never got out of bed. He did, however, sleep better because he had enough room to move around and be comfortable. Take him with you to the furniture store. Let him lay on one there. See if he likes it. Encourage him to "want" to change. Say things like "oh,look how much room you have to roll over and stretch out". Lay down with him and brag about how comfortable it is. He just might decide it is much better than his crib.
Good luck~ E.
No hurry to get him out of the crib, it'll just make it harder on you with the kids sharing a room. Wait till you move.
