When Should a Toddler Start Sleeping in Toddler Bed??

When they start climbing out of the crib. Otherwise, bask in the joy of that crib!!!! Once they have free reign to get up and explore, it's all over!!!! LOL!

My daughter, who is 16 now, had a toddler bed already in her room. Someone had given it to us , so she put all her stuffed animals and "babies" to bed on it. When she was about 19 mos old she fell, inside her crib, and wrenched her arm in the bars..it took 3 weeks of visits and xrays and finally a bone scan to determine she broke her forearm. Poor baby was in pain that whole time! At 22 mos she decided to fall out of the crib twice in one night, reaching for something on a tallboy dresser near the crib (as near as we can tell, similar to what happened when she fell and wrenched her arm..she was trying to get something..reaching for it). That night, we put her in the toddler bed.

She never ever got out of it tho. She would sit there and say, or yell (we had a monitor in the room and she knew it!) "Momma, I'm 'wake now!" so we would come get her in the morning. Otherwise, she has always been a child who loves to sleep. Her room was childproofed to the hilt, dressers anchored to walls just in case, etc. If she did get up, she was in stealth mode in there!

As a daycare provider, I encourage parents to give up the crib around 2 years old, as I also STRONGLY encourage potty training right at the 2nd birthday mark, for every child. Success has been ours for every child in the last 18 mos. The first few were 27/28 mos when we started trying the potty training boot camp method...the rest have been 22-24 mos. If you are old enough to be potty trained, you need to be in a bed, not a crib. Thats my opinion.

Good luck!

Why wait until she can climb out? A friend's daughter broke her arm, at 18 months, the first (and last!) time she climbed out of her crib. Put up the side of the crib and look at it carefully: Look at the distance from the top of the raised crib rail to the floor. Now picture how big a fall that is for a small child -- and what if the fall were head-first? If she's tall enough and strong enough that she could climb out, I'd go ahead and transition her to a toddler bed (or even a mattress on the floor -- that's fine!). It's going to take time and patience because she's no longer "corralled" and can get up and out by herself, so you'll have nights and naptimes where you have to return her to her bed, repeatedly. Yep, it's a drag, but if you're very consistent and refuse to engage her, just return her without talking, she will get the idea--eventually. It happens sooner or later and has to be done; I'm a fan of sooner, certainly before they can climb - and fall- from the crib. Crib "tents"? Just trying to put off the inevitable. I know some parents just love them, but I figure, if they're ready to escape, they're ready for the next stage.

My son moved to a toddler bed when he was 2 yrs and 2months old, he NEVER climbed out of his crib, but he had started climbing IN to his crib, lol, both my kids like their beds, lol...my daughter moved about a month before she turned 2 because the first time she tried to climb out, she fell and scared me to death. I switched her the next day. Both of mine did great with the transition around the 2 year mark. Good luck!

When she is climbing out, or before she potty trains since she may need to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. My boys transitioned at 16 months and did great with it.

We moved our daughter to a toddler bed at 15 mo and were nervous, thinking she was too young but it is one of the best things we could have ever done. She was still young enough that she went with the flow and didn't really challenge the change. Super easy transition. My opinion for what its worth...the sooner, the better.

Well, my child will be 2.5 in Feb and still in her crib. I've read that keeping them in their cribs longer might actually be safer. I figure in the next 6 mo. she'll sleep in a toddler bed, but right now she won't stay put without the rail. Our bed converts, so her bed will be the same size, just with a railing on the side. You could also try putting the mattress directly on the floor.

just to add, we dropped the crib way down and it turned into a modified toddler bed. Maybe not all cribs can do that, but it worked well for us. It was low enough that even falling out wouldn't be dangerous. (A crib mattress is the same size as a toddler bed, btw)

She is probably big enough to skip the toddler bed. If she is outgrowing the baby bed the toddler bed is out too. They are the same size.

A twin or full size mattress can be put directly on the floor until she is older and won't fall/roll off in the middle of the night.

Toddler beds are for toddlers, from 12 months to 2 years old. After that they are too big and the cost is wasteful.

A toddler bed is no bigger than a crib, they use the same mattress. I have a friend who has a 3 1/2 yo girl and she still sleeps in her crib, she has been potty trained day and night for over a year. Her pediatrician says it is fine because she feels safer in there.

3 years is a great time to move from the crib to a bed.

I'm and not sure if there is a right time, all kids are different. My 8 yr old moved to a toddler bed at 18 months. He was climbing out of his crib at that time. It took us about 3 nights before he would sleep his bed but smooth sailing after that. My now 21 month old moved to a toddler bed at 20 months. His crib was not only a dropside but recalled so instead of spending money on a new crib for a short time, we moved him to his toddler bed. He LOVES it. He slept in it from the first night on with NO issues. He has actually become a better sleeper and self soother because of it. If he wakes up him the middle of the night, he might go get a book or a toy from his bin and then crawl back in the bed. I hardly ever hear him whine for me in the middle of the night anymore. His sleep AND ours has gotten better!

i had to put my son in a toddler bed around a yr old. he started tryn to climb out of his crib around 8 months and he eventually fell on his head and so ithrew the crib out the back door (i was very mad!) we set up a toddler bed and he did great in it, and about 6 months ago graduated him to a twin size bed. he will be three at the end of january. we dont have any problems with him roaming around the house getting into things he shouldnt. he comes right to us for a morning wake up, or im already awake, so its never been an issue. good luck

When they start crawling out of their crib. Also, toddler bed takes same mattress as standard crib, so you won't gain any space. For me personally, I wanted mine in there as long as possible. Made me feel safer. Looks like your anxious to move on to the next thing. I think if you want to give it a try, there's no harm in it.

We switched my daughter when she was around 30 months. My mentality was to keep her in her crib as long as possible because the idea of her getting out of bed in the middle of the night (and navigating down stairs) scared me. However, when she started to take off her wet pull-up and toss it over the crib's side, I knew it was time to give her direct access to the potty at night.

Safety wise, you want to keep her in the crib until she has totally outgrown "flipping" directions. If you put her to bed with her head towards one direction and she wakes up in the opposite direction, then she's still flipping while asleep. You don't want her to sit up in a toddler bed and fall full force in another direction in a bed with wooden foot/head boards or short side railings. She could hit her head, chest or arms on the wood and/or flip herself completely out of bed (into a wall or other furniture).

As for climbing out, once my daughter started to do that, I reposited her crib in the middle of the room so it was no longer touching a wall. She couldn't climb out without using the wall for leverage. It might have look funny with the crib in the middle of the room, but it kept her in there for another 8-10 months.

Good luck!