Would like to have input from other moms who recently transitioned a child from crib to toddler bed. My son who just turned 27 months just hoisted himself out the crib twice in front of me. Was not ready for this yet, he had not expressed any interest in this before. I put his crib mattress on the floor, but he does not like it and I find him on the floor. We have a crib that converts to a toddler bed , but can no longer be used as a crib once that occurs(plan an another child in the future). We have a twin bed available but it seems too high even with a rail. Any suggestions ?
D.,
With all three of my kids we just made a really big deal we bought them new bedding and everything. We totally got rid of the crib and just told them that this was there new big boy bed. It took a couple of nights to get them to stop walking out of there bed and getting up but other than that it was a piece of cake. Before bed we let them sit in there bed read a few books sign a few songs and then the lights go out,
D.,
If you dont want to "ruin" the crib, and have a twin bed available try the rails... If you arent comfortable with this take the frame away and put the box spring and mattress on the floor. I had to do this with my younger son and not for fear of him falling (kids can climb anywhere) but he walks in his sleep....Still he loved it..we let him pick out the sheet sets and comforters
Good Luck
T.
My twins climbed out of their cribs for a long time. I just put a stool by their cribs to make it a little safer. When I did switch to a toddler bed I just took off the side rail on the crib and got one bed rail from Wal-Mart/Target (they aren't bolted onto the crib at all so that I could use the crib for future babies), and used that. It was closer to the ground than a real bed, but I didn't have to purchase a toddler bed. One of my twin sons did fall out of that a lot. I would hear a thump, peek in and he would stay asleep after he fell out. I would just let him sleep wherever he fell. It was so clsoe to the ground it didn't matter.
We put our 18 mo in the lower bunk of his brothers bed, when I was 7 months preg with my daughter. He never had a problem with it, and he never fell off. He's been sleeping in there ever since. Also we didn't have the rail toddler rail on, we wanted to see how he did without it. He will do just fine in a twin bed.
Actually, as long as the rail is in place and secure, a twin bed is fine. When we moved our kids to regular beds, we bought regular beds to cut down on the expense of a toddler bed. You could buy a toddler bed, but since you have a twin available, the rail is a lot cheaper and works fine. We've never had a child fall out of bed with a rail in place. :) I hope this helps.
I have a daughter that is 25 months and she is sleeping in a twin bed. She climbs in and out of bed by herself and doesn't use a rail. We started with the rail, but soon found out that it was more of a pain than anything and that she usually is very aware of the side of the bed. I do have toddler beds from when I did daycare, but they kids just use those in the toyroom to watch tv on. I wouldn't invest the money in one if you already have a twin. My youngest wants to be like the others and does things that I am not ready for, but she is! Best of luck
What we did, which worked wonderfully, was use her bed she was to sleep in permanently and bought a bed rail for each side. She is 4 now and I still keep them on since the bed is high off the ground. She used to nestle right up against the netting, which says it's a good thing they are on there! They are easy to put on and are reasonable to buy at Walmart.
We tried to make the "big girl" bed a big deal and introduced a parent to show her the bed and she could take a certain toy into the bed with her.
Hope that helps!
Hi D.,
I would look around for a toddler bed. We first put my son in a twin bed thinking it would be fine. He didn't like it because there was so much room. He always stayed in one corner of his crib. We then bought a spongebob toddler bed. If I remember correctly it was only 40.00 dollars. He loved it. He was so excited to go to bed. Sometimes I would go in his room and he would be laying in it and "reading". It was really cute. I think the smaller bed was what he needed. Good luck.
Chris
Hi. I have 3 that I have transitioned out of cribs. With all of them, we didn't even bother with a toddler bed because the time they can actually use it is so short that it seems impractical to even buy one. Around 18 months, we just took a twin bed off the frame and put the mattress directly on the floor (without the box spring). It took a little getting used to not being "trapped" by the bars of the crib, but within a couple of months, all three had gotten used to their new beds and enjoy sleeping in them. Sometimes (especially at naptime) we would find them on the floor somewhere instead of in the bed, and we would put them back in for the remainder of the nap, but they almost always end up back in bed for their night's sleep even if they don't stay in bed from the beginning. I don't recommend putting every child into another bed at 18 months. We only did so because we were going to need the crib again. My oldest is 3 1/2, next are 18 month old twin boys (who have been sleeping in twins on the floor since 15 months) and a 4 month old girl. We kind of recycle through cribs pretty quickly. But they have all loved the "new" bed pretty much right off. I think they like the freedom of not being stuck. They also like the bigger twin mattress as opposed to the small crib mattress. At 27 months, maybe your son just wants some more space...
My youngest was in a twin bed before he was two. with the rail and a few blankets on the floor, he stayed safe. I never had any problems. But he doesn't move much in his sleep.
My oldest was in a crib for two years and then went on to a toddler bed. I'm sorry I can't help you more. Good luck.
My son is 28 months and has been in his toddler bed since his birthday. He did fall out a few times at first but did not get seriously hurt. He is used to it now and hasn't fallen out in a while. If I were you I would try the twin bed and use the rails, maybe put something soft on the floor in case he does fall out. If that doesn't work just put the mattress on the floor. Good luck, it takes some time but he will get used to it.
I just moved my son (23 months) into a toddler bed on Nov19th. We have a twin mattress that we put on the floor beside the toddlerbed, that way if he rolls out he has the other mattress to catch him. after that, its the floor. You will find that your child might end up sleeping on the floor a few nights but eventually they learn to stay in the bed. I also put the babygate up on the outside of his door. HE also learned how to open doors the same week. That way if he gets up at night I know he cannot roam around the house before I hear him. HE does good with his bed, but we are having to rock him or lay with him for a while to make sure he stays in bed.
Hope this helps,
W.
Hi D.. Wow, that brought back memories of my daughter when she was 18 months old. It really freaked me out the first time I saw her climb out of the crib. At 18 months, I thought she was a bit too young for a regular twin bed, so I ended up using a toddler bed for just a few months. Then I noticed how much she enjoyed climbing up on my bed, so I thought she was ready for a "big girl bed". Indeed she was! She loved it, and felt better with the rails on it for about 6 months or so.
Good luck!
Go ahead and put your son in the twin bed use the rails you can buy, I had my daughter in a twin at two and really had no problems, but for my own peace of mind I put a comforter on the floor just incase she fell out, it did happen once or twice but she never even woke up, they are amazingly resilient little creatures.
