How Many of You Have Kept Your 2Yr Old + in Crib?

My son was in his crib til he was 3yo...he was happy as a clam and never climbed out so we felt no need to do it sooner...thankfully we never had problems w/him getting out of bed so that's probably why we lasted so long!!

My baby slept in her crib till the age of 35 months. She loved her crib and it didn't seem right to upset the routine when everything was working fine.

My son slept in his crib until he was already 3 years old. Then somewhere along the line, while 3 years old, HE said, he wants to sleep in a bed. So we did. And he was fine.
Up until then... he LOVED LOVED his crib and slept SO well in it.
My son, would also "unwind" in his crib..... or, try getting him to CALM down and unwind... BEFORE he goes to bed....
tell him "Shhhh...... baby is sleeping....."

There are so many pro's to having them in a crib. I kept my boys in theirs until they were over 3 and almost 3. I intend to do the same with my third, she turned 2 in Dec., I have no intention of moving her unless she starts climbing out.

I had two cribs for years :) I opted to buy a second instead of bumping my toddler out. I loved the freedom putting a toddler in a crib gave me... time to shower, time to nurse, an extra 20 minutes of sleep if the toddler was awake and happy playing. Don't move them unless they are too big physically or climbing... that's my motto :)

J.

This will probably sound really bizarre, given that most folks are saying the child needs to come out of the crib as soon as they can climb out of it, but my DD is 3 years 5 months, has been able to get in and out for the past year, and she is STILL sleeping in her crib! Why? Because she loves it and has no interest in a big girl bed AT ALL! She has never gotten hurt climbing out, and once she's in there for bed, she stays in. She's been a great sleeper since day 1 and she does fine in there. She has blankets draped over the top so it's like a little fort or tent (her idea) and I think she feels really safe and secure in there - it's like her own special little hiding place. When we finally get her into a bed, I think we might have to get one of those bed tents for her!

My son adored his crib! He would also play around in there before going to sleep and when he would wake up from a nap, he would get really mad if I went in to take him out before he called for me. It was "his place" and he just needed his time in there to babble through his thoughts and unwind. He slept in there until just before his 3rd birthday and the only reason we took him out then is that he is very tall and was literally too big for it.

The first night in the toddler bed, he laid right down without complaint and we said good-night. The next morning we found him sleeping soundly on the floor behind his rocking chair because he had walls on two sides, a dresser on another side, and then the tall chair which had slats that looked like his crib on the fourth side! After a week of finding him there, I bought a sleeping bag and put it there and 8 months later, that is still where he chooses to sleep! The toddler bed sits in his room looking cute, but is never used. :-)

We just transitioned our son last month when he turned three. I would have let him stay longer-he loved his crib and felt very secure and never tried to climb out...selfishly I wanted to snuggle with him-otherwise he might still be in the crib!

my 3 yr old daughter is still in a crib, mostly because it was the only way we could keep her in bed but now she climbs in and out so we are moving her to a toddler bed next month. I think as long as they still fit in it and like it then there is no reason why they cant sleep in a crib.

adjust his bedtime to accomodate his "unwind" time.
ie - if it takes him 45 minutes to unwind, put him in bed
and hour before your daughter.

then just make sure to reinforce the idea of "quiet" time at bedtime
with your daughter to help minimize the risk of her waking him up.

I'd keep your soon in a crib till he can jump out. That's what I did with my daughter. Only when she started jumping out did I reluctantly put her in a toddler bed. She does well with it now, but it was a long process to get her used to it.

Good luck!

my daughter stayed in her crib until she was a little over 3. Because she slept well in it, we saw no reason to change. One day she asked for a big girl bed and my husband turned it into a toddler bed, and she's slept well since then. Now she is almost 4 and has a twin sized. I dont see any reason to change if things are working well.

My pedi told us to keep the monkey in it's cage as long as possible. Made me laugh!!! We kept our daughter in her crib until her 3rd birthday. For her 3rd birthday she got a big girl bed which really means we took the front off the crib and turned it into a toddler bed. At 4 she got a super big girl bed and we turned her crib/toddler bed into its full sized bed. This of course came with new bedding etc. My daughter never gave us a problem with jumping or trying to climb out. If you turn it into a toddler would he stay in it?

My daughter slept in her crib until she was 4. Then we got her a twin bed (with a rail that we can put up or down). She only jumped out once and after I told her it was very dangerous she never did it again. She would sometimes jump into it.

She did sleep with special shoes with a bar that attached them together. Thats why we didn't move her until she was 4, everytime she would turn over with her shoes connected she would end up on the floor, hard, and with her feet connected it would have been a more awkward/dangerous fall.

My advice is to not mess with something that is working! sleep is a good thing.

Yep - keep 'em in until they climb out! Our son was in his until he was 31 months.

my boy is 25 months and i am nowhere close to even thinking about putting him in a big boy bed. We have a 4 month old also, and everyone is flabberghasted as to why we haven't kicked him out to "make room for the baby". I think thats just mean. Its HIS bed and it converts to a toddler bed then a daybed so it will grow with HIM. Our daughter has a pack 'n play next to our bed (shes maaaybe actually slept in it twice haha...i prefer her under my armpit) and when shes ready to move out to her own space we'll find a second hand crib for free or cheap.

We had a 3-bedroom house, my 14 year old daughter and my 10 year old step-son when 'our' daughter was born. So she slept in our bedroom in her crib till my daughter graduated from high school and moved out 3 years later. I was a SAHM and nursed our daughter till she was almost 3. It worked for us and we didn't have any problems. She is a good sleeper (sleeps like her dad lol quickly and no insomnia)

Keep him there as long as you can safely. I would have left my son in his crib until kindergarten but he learned to climb out, so we got him a bed. Seriously, if he sleeps well in the crib and isn't risking injury by climbing out don't change it.

I say as long as possible!!!! I had to move mine to a toddler bed around two bc he had a baby brother on the way! But until then he did really well :) As far as the flailing around, I am not sure there is much to do about that except maybe get a white noise machine, it might help them both settle. I just put one in my 11month old's room and it is AMAZING :) Good luck!

My daughter will be 2 this month. My husband tried to get her a toddler bed. HA! Not happening. That little munchkin will be wandering around the house at night doing God knows what.

My daughter slept in her crib until she was 3 years & 3 months old. She loved her crib, did not try to climb out and still fit comfortably in it (with her many stuffed animals). It wasn't hurting her to stay in it....If it works, don't change it! The day she climbed out (successfully) we made the change to the toddler bed. (Then the middle-of-the-night visits began!)

I kept my son in his crib even after he started climbing out all of the time. He is now almost 3 and I would still have him in his crib, except HE wanted a big boy bed. We have a toddler bed now because I don't want to buy another mattress until he outgrows this one. And toddler beds are so cheap.
Do whatever works best for your family

I have twin 2yr old boys and they are both still in their cribs. They seem comfortable, content, and sleep through the night. They haven't figured out how to climb out either and for now, my husband and I don't want to disrupt their pattern.

I don't plan to move my son until he's 3, unless he starts climbing out. As long as he fits and doesn't need to get up to use the potty at night, I see no need to move him. We bought a new crib for my daughter because I don't feel any need to rock the boat.

Put him to bed first and her after he's asleep.

I always pass on these wise words: Crib til 3, unless he is climbing out.
Personally I cave to the "when's he getting a biiiiiig beeeeeeed? comments, THEN I read the wise words. Too late for me but maybe not for you. You know the saying--if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

My 3 year old loves her crib and has never tried to climb out of it. She is my last child so I don't need her out of the crib for any reason. She is still light enough to pick up and put her in.
If your child is jumping around and playing in the crib, I would be concerned about how well he would fall asleep and stay in a bed with the freedom to get out and walk around the house!

We tried with DD at 17 mos because we had a baby due that month....didn't happen. Tried 10 months later (after purchasing a second crib for DS) when she was 27 mos and it was great! She went into a Toddler bed, never got out and was an angel. She is now in a twin at a little over 3 years old. DS is now 2 (25 mos).....I am thinking of keeping him in the crib till he is 2.5 at least. We have a baby on the way (due in may when DS will be 2.5) and think it will be easiest that way. If he ever climbs out, we will do the change then because it will be safer. I think if you keep your kid in a crib past 3, you just do not want to do the "parenting thing" that is required to sleep train your child and get them settled....seems developmentally late and kind of lazy IMHO.

As for him needing some crazy time before settling down to sleep, maybe rough house with him before bed and then gradually slow things down and teach him to calm himself. We do that and then do family prayers, song and then sleep.

I say if he is happy in the crib, why disturb him? We had to move my daughter when she was almost 3 because we needed the crib, but she would have happily stayed there for a lot longer. My son climbed out at 2 1/2 and we had to move him out, but I really wish I would have tried a crib tent first, because he just wasn't ready for a bed. My nephew is almost 4 and he still sleeps happily in a crib (he will be moving soon to make room for a new baby though). When they are in the crib you don't have to worry about them coming into your room or roaming around. On the other hand, if he starts to climb out, you have to think of moving them so they don't hurt themselves. I can't help with the keeping him quiet, we are still battling that one.

We kept DS in his crib till he turned 3yrs old. He never climbed out although he did go through a short phase of "trying". He'd get a leg over then say he couldn't do it (although we are sure he could have). When he turned 3 we asked him if he wanted to stay in his crib or get a big boy bed (a toddler firetruck bed my FIL bought before he was even thought of). He opted for the bed. Now at 3 1/2 we just got him a full sized bed which he loves! Can't help you with the not going right to sleep issue - we still have that sometime. But do you put them to bed at the same time? Could you put him to bed before her and with any luck he's asleep by the time she goes to bed? Good luck!

I put my kids in a regular bed once they started climbing out of bed which was around age 2. =) I have 5 kids (ages 17, 15, 10, 7 and 9 months). Two of them take a long time to fall asleep and 3 of them fall asleep quickly. My hubby takes awhile to fall asleep and I fall asleep really fast... I think everyone is different. My husband just doesn't jump around and kick and play anymore...LOL Good luck!

mine is still in there at 2 yrs...i will keep her in till she climbs out

She climbed out at 13 months or I would have kept her in it until age 3.

I kept both of my kids in a crib until they were 3. My son was actually in his a few months after 3. It just made life easier (less running around telling them to get back into bed).
After reading other post I want to add that my son started climbing in and out of his crib shortly after he turned 2 and it was not a problem. My son showed my daughter how to climb out of her crib when she was 14 months. I got a crib tent from Walmart to keep her in.

Until they climb out!

My son stayed in a crib until 2 then he moved to a toddler bed only bc at 2 our 2nd baby was born and toddler beds are cheaper then cribs! lol He didn't have any problems with the transition. Ive heard they can stay in the crib until they start trying to climb out. At that point it's too dangerous and they should be put in a toddler bed.

our 4 year old is still in the crib:)

I kept my son in his crib till 3ish. It was fantastic. It was his safe place, and it was also where he went to calm down for timeouts. We just lowered the bar and he could get in and out for the bathroom. Even though he COULD climb out, the rule was simple... if the bar's up, you have to stay in. The other, kind of obvious, benefit is that by keeping him in longer he was actually able to *understand* the concept of "stay in bed" when we switched to a full/queen size bed. We had a couple nights of him getting up "just because he could" and that was it.

Kept my first daughter in the crib till she was almost 3--she never tried to climb out. 2nd daughter was 2 in September and still in crib also--never tried to climb out.

My son slept in his crib till he was 3 1/2. He was comfortable, it kept his blanket and stuffed animals from falling out, and we kept the gate down since he could climb in and out without any problems. He felt secure sleeping there.
When we switched him to a twin bed with bed railings on both sides, it felt very big to him, but he really liked that I could sit with him and read bedtime stories (then he didn't want me to leave). He'd been sleeping in his bed for a month before we took his crib down and he didn't like that at all. He just liked it in his room even if he wasn't using it. They deal with the change eventually.

Your child tells you when really.

In the meantime, besides putting him down early to wind down, emphasize to him that since he is sharing a room, both he and his sister must be quiet for the others sake. Sometimes I suggest a reward for the first time they break a habit -- coming as soon as possible the next day. Sometimes, a number of gold stars given/earned to get the reward. Rewards should be tangible but not expensive.

My son is 2.5 and usually sleeps with us or in his crib. I know a lot of people who have switched to the toddler bed, but for us, we are nowhere near making that switch. He does fine in the crib and has never tried to climb out. I really think if I switched, he would not stay in there and like some other moms, I know he'd be wandering around the house at night.

Wish I could help but my son also has a rough time. I guess it is a good thing he is able to get himself to sleep at all even with a little struggle. Maybe with time he'll get the hang of it. Glad he is a good sleeper for you!

our son would still be in his crib (which converts to a toddler bed) but this year we got him a used race car bed for his birthday.

as long as he isnt climbing out, keep him in there as long as he wants.
however, if it is a drop side crib that is getting all kinds of attention; get rid of it NOW before his jumping and goofing off gets him hurt or worse.

but anyway, as long as hes not crawling out, hes good. if yours converts to toddler bed, you could do that and see how he deals with it, but otherwise, just do what feels best to you.

My son is 2.6 and he's still in his crib! At my parents' house he sleeps in a toddler bed when we're visiting and does fine. At our house, I want to keep him in the crib as long as he's safe!

I asked our pediatrician this question last time we were there and his recommendation is to keep them in the crib until they are no longer safe- attempting to climb out or actually climbing out!

We're not there yet, so we'll stay put!

I think when you start potty training is a good time for a big kid bed. My son is two and still in his crib, we have baby on the way so we will be kicking him out shortly for his crib. ;)

I kept my son in until he was climbing out. Unfortunately that was just before his second birthday :-/ Oh well. Anyway, I say if he's happy in there, that's where he should sleep. You're certainly YEARS away form him actually exceeding the weight limit, why rush it.

HTH
T.

Keep him in as long as you can! If you think he has a hard time falling asleep now, wait until he has physical freedom. My twins both decided on the same day they were done with cribs and kept climbing out (21 months). Nap time is no fun at all (they share a room and have to) since they can jump, play, and run around.

So, keep him in the crib as long as he will stay in it!

DS slept in his crib until after he turned 3 - and he was perfectly happy there - never tried to climb out. We just switched because we thought it would be easier for us if he could get up and go to the bathroom himself (well turns out yes he could but he still felt the need to yell and notify us he was going).

My oldest was in a big bed right after she turned two, but that as mainly because I had a new one on the way and didn't want to buy another crib! She is my "responsible" one and never tried to climb out of her crib, when she went to the big girl bed I told her that she wasn't allowed to get out of her bed and she never did, not even once!

My youngest turned two in August and she's still in the crib. She's potty trained and would do fine in the big bed, but I'm not ready. She's never tried to get out of the crib, and she's not nearly as "responsible" as my oldest. I know that as soon as she's in a big bed she'll be up until midnight playing with her doll house!