Transitioning to a Twin Bed

I put my daughter in her toddler bed at 18 months and in a regular bed at three when she got too big for the toddler bed. Just keep in mind that a toddler bed is the same size as a crib, so if you decide to keep her in the crib she may get too big to even go to a toddler bed, she may go directly to the twin.

My daughter started sleeping in a twin bed around 20-21 months because I was due to give birth to her brother and I needed the crib. No problems with the transition either. We had no problem with her getting out of bed. Since she was and is still a great sleeper along with her brother and they are 12 and 10 now.

IMO every family figures out for themselves which age is good because there are a lot of factors that influence the decision - is the child in question a climber, is there another sibling on the way who will be using the crib, etc. My personal opinion is "no hurry", but that's probably due mostly to my kids' temperaments - they never complained about being in their cribs, nor did they ever try to climb out (as twins, I think they thought of their cribs as their own "personal space" that was never invaded by their twin) so we didn't move them out of their cribs until they were a little over 3YO (might have kept them in even longer if it wasn't that one of DH's cousins was expecting and needed a crib). So we were able to skip the toddler beds and go straight to the twin beds with an added side rail.

Hi W.,

I was told that if they are fine in their crib, then it's okay to keep them in there for as long as you want. It's when they start climbing out and can potentially fall and hurt themselves that you might want to transition to a bed. I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old and the 2 year old is still in his crib. He threatens to climb out but has not actually done it yet. But I know that is coming soon. Then the night time chasing will commence!!! :)

W. I agree with everyone else. If she is sleeping well in her crib and not trying to climb out then leave well enough alone.

My son is 2 yrs four months and still sleeping great in his crib. He has the type of crib that the front comes off to make it a toddler bed but all I can picture when considering taking the front off is the endless trips he will make to our room if he can get out of his bed.

Good luck and happy sleeping

My daughter was able to lift her leg over the top of her crib at 18 months, so we had the concern of her climbing out (she never actually did), so we put her in a toddler bed a few weeks before moving. When we were packing to move, we just told her that the crib was staying at the old house and she was a big girl in her big girl bed. We moved and she transitioned well to the toddler bed, and within a couple weeks, she started waking up multiple times a night. One night, I went to check on her and she was sideways in the toddler bed with her leg stuck between the bed and the rail. We figured out that she was waking herself up because she didnt have enough room to move in her sleep. Her grandparents gave her a set of bunkbeds, and we took her to pick out new sheets, got them set up and she helped up get rid of the frame and said bye to the mattress (we sold it on Craigslist as it was only 6 months old!) and she slept through the night that night! She is 6 now, and still sleeps in the bunkbeds, but really wants a regular bed!

Hi W.!
I put mine in a twin mattress on the floor with no frame at about 18 months. We also had this blow-up bumper for the sides of the bed. He loved it. He especially loved getting out of bed with no problem and coming to find us.
We skipped the toddler bed altogether because our son is so tall and thought it would be a waste of money. THEN, when we got him the lightning mcqueen bedspread, he was thrilled.

W.,

We transitioned my son at 20 months. Our crib converts to a toddler bed. One day I pulled out the rail and asked my son to help me put it on. He loved watching how the bolts went on and off. After we were done, he played for awhile getting in and out, looking at books, etc. I asked him if he wanted to put his crib rail back on and he said no so he "helped" me carry it to another room. We have had no problems with the new bed! In fact, now when he wakes up, he'll grab a couple of books or toys and play for an extra 30-40 minutes in his room! We didn't have to make the transition now but I'm glad we did! Oh, another thing that helped I think, is that he's had a toddler pillow for several months now so he knew which way to sleep in the bed to keep his head on it. Good luck!

J.

The bottom panel on most cribs (the part that holds the mattress) is usually connected to the head and foot boards so you can take off the front panel (the part that raises and lowers). Take that off and put a bed rail on the side. If the crib is rather high off the ground, make sure that you put a step stool next to the bed so she can climb in and out of the bed. This makes a great transitional bed and she will still feel comfortable in it. When I did this for my son, I put the toddler bed in his room and when he was ready to sleep in it full time, he let me know and we put the crib away. PS Make sure you have a good night light in the room so that she can see the stool if she wants to get up in the middle of the night.

T.

Hi W.,

We transitioned our daughter when she was a little older (about 30 mos) because she was fine and didn't try to climb out or anything. When we did transition her, we made it a big deal. We took her bed shopping and linen shopping and let her pick out what she wanted (within reason). It was great. She loved her new bed and it took her a while to realize that she could get out of her bed without Mom and Dad.

D.

She is old enough that you could move her any time now, but don't really have to. You might want to check the weight limit on the crib, though. I think it is 35 lbs or so. If you have a big girl bed for her now, you may want to have her start taking naps on it. The more she is familiar with the bigger bed, the easier the transition will be.

As long as she sleeps great in her crib and isn't climbing out, leave her there. Why upset the apple cart.

S

Why change something that works. My daughter is 30 months and still sleeps in her crib and loves it.

I was thinking about transitioning my daughter around the age of 2 but then I read some research that said that it was actually a little too early for them and being in the crib towards the age of three was often better for them.

We moved my son right after he turned two. Wish I would have done it a little sooner. He LOVES his bed and we have had no issues with the transition.

W.,
I say leave her in there till she climbs out. Even them you can tent the crib too. My feeling is 22 months is early to me. My son was climbing out at 19 months and I was not ready to move him out of his crib till he finally had a bad fall. I still have the imagine in my head2 years later. I finally then decided to put him in a twin bed. His crib only converts to a double not a daybed type like some cribs. i was pregnant with my 2nd child then so I needed it when the baby arrived. My son is very long for his age so I decided to get him a twin bed instead of wasting money on a toddler bed for a year if that. I got him a boyish looking daybed with a trundle. He only fell out of his bed once and when he did he fell on the bottom bed. the only problem i had was trying to get him to go to bed now that he had freedom. Which i was doing it alone prego and my husband was traveling. Taking about ripping your hair out. I finally put a baby gate on his door. Im glad I did the daybed he felt like a big boy. Its funny now. He climbs into his old crib to sleep with his baby brother when he is crying. I just make sure he doesn't climb out of it, as it will just teach his brother how to do it earlier.

Good luck
sahm/zombie with 2 amazing, funny little boys. 3.5yrs and 10 months walking since 8 motnhs. UGH!!!!

Don't change until she can climb out. Mt twin daughters just turned 3 years old (36 months) and both still sleep in their cribs. I am waiting until they can climb out. If you daughter is happy, leave her where she is.

Hi W. - we transitioned our 22-month old son to his twin size bed. He did not sleep well in the crib though - always woke up in the middle of the night and cried until we picked him up. However, with the twin size bed, it was much easier for us since one of us would stay/sleep with him until he calms down.

good luck!

Hi W.,

My guy is 25 months old and he is still happily in his crib. A friend transitioned her little one at 19 months and it's been CRAZY with her. I'm keeping my guy in the crib as long as he's happy. Hope this helps a little!