Converted Crib, Single Bed or "Child" Bed? What Do You Think?

Buy a twin size bed and just put the mattress/box springs on the floor for now, so that if he falls it won't be far and it'll be easy for him to get in and out off.

I see cheap toddler beds all the time on Craigslist, usually most are in pretty good condition as they aren't used for more than a couple years! We got our son a Little Tykes race car bed on there for $40 (and funny enough the people selling it literally lived within walking distance of us!) I'd check there though. Good luck :)

A., just thought i'd throw my two cents in. i had no clue how to convert our crib either, but then my hubby pointed out that the directions are on the bed - ours were on the bottom side of the wooden piece that the mattress sat on. but in the end it was a lot less complicated to go on craigslist and get a cheaper toddler bed. my son LOVES his firetruck bed, and we only spent 30 bucks on it. our crib was borrowed so it was a pretty easy decision seeing as how we weren't planning on keeping it forever anyway. the good thing about the toddler bed is that it uses the same mattress as the crib. anyway, sorry if it is jumbled my two year old is wanting attention, so off i go. good luck!

We bought one of those toddler beds (Dora - thinking it would be extra fun) for grandma's house. It has turned out to be nothing but a disaster! She won't sleep in it. We think it is because it is too confining. She hits the sides and wakes up. However, at home we have her crib converted into a toddler bed and it works great! I would suggest converting the crib or going with the twin bed. If you don't have the instructions to convert it, you can usually go back to where you bought it or look up the manufacturer on-line. good Luck!

I don't know how you made it until your son was 2 before deciding that he was getting too big for a crib, but I highly recommend converting the crib into a toddler bed. The crib we have converts into a toddler bed with a half-rail on the side, then you can take that rail off and have it completely open on one side, then it can convert into a twin bed. We converted the crib to a toddler bed when my son was not quite 18 months and he had absolutely no problems with it. We just recently took that rail off to get him used to not having anything at all on that one side. We just purchased a "big boy bed" for him (a regular twin bed) and we wanted to get him prepared to sleep in a regular bed without rails. He will be 2 on the 26th of this month and we plan to move him into the "big boy bed" shortly after his birthday. We are also planning on having another child, so after the transition to a "big boy bed" is complete, we're just going to convert the toddler bed back into a crib in anticipation of the next kid. (It's more cost efficient to reuse the crib and change it into a twin bed for the next kid than to give him that bed and have to buy another crib for the next kid.) With ours, it really isn't that big of a deal to convert it from one stage to the next. It was really nice to have the option to convert it rather than having to buy a bed when he was too big for his crib. Good luck! It's definitely a step toward independence for your little one.

Personally I would go to a twin bed, nothing too fancy, one that is stable enough. I say after he's potty trained to go for a full size bed.

My son is five and already is outgrowning his twin bed, of course he's pretty big for his age. He's rolled out of his bed a few times during the night. I just bought him a new bedroom set, and didn't think about getting him a full size bed. I regret it now.

Hi A.. I would recommend either going with a toddler bed or twin. If you are considering having another child you don't want to switch your son's sleeping arrangements more than you have to. My husband and I chose a toddler bed for two reasons, 1) size-we felt that our son would still feel secure and 2) cost-a toddler bed is inexpensive and you can use the crib mattress & bedding set you already have. Once a new addition is made to your family you only need to purchase a new mattress. My son is getting ready to turn four and for his birthday we are getting him a 'big boy' bedroom set. He is very excited and involved in the process. And it is great timing for us as his sister is reaching the two year mark the toddler bed will be ready for her just in time. Good luck, whichever bed you choose you can't go wrong. Many parents have had great success going straight to a twin bed.

Hi A., In my opinion I would move him to a twin size bed. The reasons being he isn't gonna have anymore room converting the crib to a toddler bed or even buying a toddler bed. Also when you do buy a twin size bed wether it be now or later I would look for one in a garage sale or in the paper, this way you are not spending money on a twin size bed and then here in a year you will be starting the potty traing and you will have some accidents. Just my opinion though, W. mom of 4.

I agree! I'd go with a twin size. We put my daughter in a twin bed just after she turned 2. She's fallen out of it once. You can get those rails to put up. Good Luck on whatever you decide!!

Hi-I had to respond because we have a lot in common! I have a 22 month old son who wants out of his crib but i do not want him out! And i am a part time child/family therapist. I have a 3 year old daughter also-when she got old enough we made her crib into a daybed, my sons also converts this way. It worked out great for my daughter but my son will not stay put, he has to be contained so I am hoping he does not figure out how to get out of his crib.

anyways , if your son will stay put I would say convert his crib if not keep him contained as long as you can. We did have a guard on my daughter's bed so she could not fall out after we converted it.

work ques: Do you work on your own or for an agency?

T.

When my son turned 2 yrs old we moved him into a twin bed that I purchased from JC Penney. This bed was low to the ground and we put up bed rails. We did have difficulty putting the bed rails between the frame of the bed and mattress but it was better than having him fall out. The bed was part of a college room set, that came this a nightstand and armour for around $500. It's not constructed to last forever but we only intend for it to last until he's 8 or 10. I believe you can still purchase them out of the JC Penney Catalog. Again like I said, it sits very low compared to other twin size beds and we only used a mattress. You will need to purchase a thin piece of plywood to put in the bottom of it, because it only has the braces. Hope this helps. :)

Hi A.! When my daughter outgrew her crib, it was around the same time that my oldest daughter got her own room (they had previously been sharing the room). We left my daughter's twin bed in there, and my mother-in-law bought a toddler bed for the baby to replace the crib. While I preferred the toddler bed because it was slightly closer to the ground, my youngest daughter preferred the twin sized bed. Either option will work. The perks to a toddler bed, which may have already been mentioned, are the fact that it is lower, they are pretty stable, they are much less expensive, and you can use the matress from the crib. If you have a waterproof matress in the crib, this is more ideal for when your son starts potty training. The perks to a twin sized bed is that he won't outgrow it so quickly, and they are still pretty close to the ground so if he rolls out of bed, he won't really hurt himself. You can buy the rails that slide under the mattress for support until he gets used to that kind of bed, and they also sell waterproof matress pads for twin beds so that when the time for potty training comes around, no accidents will ruin it. I agree that if you can find one in the paper, at a garage sale, or even at a thrift store, you would be better off. Just be sure that if you buy a used matress you check it over carefully for any stains or tears, especially along the sides. Bugs can get inside matresses through hiles and tears, and the last thing you want is to bring that into your home and have your child sleep on it. If you prefer to buy it new, there are a lot of places that sell at reduced prices on furniture.