Skip Toddler Bed, Straight to Larger Mattress on the Floor?

The hidden danger is that you will save a ton of money. Toddler beds are a marketing gimmick... nothing more.

We went straight to a twin bed with my oldest. She was fine. She was afraid of the rail, so we just put a pillow lengthwise next to her. She never fell out or had any issues.

My daughter was tall for her age and we moved her to a regular twin bed right after her 2nd birthday. We just moved her to the bed not the floor. We put the bed up against a wall and on the open side we used one of those side bar protectors. We never had any issues with her falling out of bed or for that matter getting out of bed all the time.

We moved my son from crib to full sized bed at 20 months. We were planning on getting him a toddler bed, but someone in our family gave us a whole bedroom set with a full sized bed. We don't have the mattress on the floor though, we bought bed rails for both sides that only cost about $30 total which work fine, he's never fallen off. He sleeps soo much better in the big bed and it's great to have because sometimes he will wake up too early for me, so I will go lay in his bed with him since theres plenty of room and he will go back to sleep.

skip the toddler bed...it isn't really any bigger than the crib, it just doesn't have walls. Do the mattress on the floor and save yourself the money. Just get a decent matress since it will probably be his for a long time and invest in some decent waterproof covers and you will be set. :-)

We moved my son into a double bed when he was about 2 years old. He didn't like the toddler bed so we just bought him a big bed-- put it up against the wall and bought a couple body pillows to ensure he wouldn't fall out. He did fine-- We co-slept up until that point so he was really comfortable with a big bed and the transition was fairly easy. A few nights of wanting to come back to our bed-but he very quickly loved his new space. Good luck!

YES that is what we do.
For both kids.
It is wonderful!
My son is big too... he loved his crib but once he hit 3 years old, he wanted out of it.
He sleeps on a floor futon.
He has a 'bed' but likes to sleep on the floor.
My daughter will too sometimes. Even though she has a bed.
Actually it is quite comfortable.
That is how they sleep in Japan traditionally and in Polynesian and many other cultures.
I even like sleeping of the floor futon.

good luck,
Susan

Hi J.,

I have a very tall daughter so we went with the extra long twin (half a king) for her to grow into. There are no more dangers on the floor than there are for climbing babies!

We actually bought a Tempurpedic that had been a floor model. All new mattresses these days are full of synthetic chemicals and do out-gas for a while (unless you spend the money for an organic one). A floor model has already out-gassed the majority of the fumes and is safer for a child with their small lungs. The Tempurpedics come with removable covers that can be washed and they are great support for a big person/big kid! Because it was a floor model we got it at an incredible price.

Regards,

M.

Hi J.,

2 weeks ago we moved our 19-month old son from his crib to a full sized bed. The bed we chose will be his until he leaves for college; it's the platform bed from Pottery Barn Kids. We love it because it's close to the floor and will be "cool" when he's 5 and 18.

He loves it! We anticipated a few weeks of sleep interruption, but he jumped in and didn't skip a beat with naps or bedtime. He actually prefers it because he's a mover and now can move about. We have put up temp. rails on either side. He's fallen out once, but got right back in.

Good luck!

That is what we did and I have had zero problems with it. I see no reason for a toddler bed unless they like the close feeling. My son isn't even very big but wanted more space and a more comfy mattress. He has been in his big boy bed since about 2 yrs old and he is now 2 1/2.

You can't sit or lay down on all toddler beds, that was a deal breaker for me. I have a difficult sleeper and wanted to be able to lay by him if I needed to. And now we read books in his bed before I turn out the light.

I didn't put a frame up. I think he is ready now. But it has been 6 mos of just the two mattresses on the floor. He could climb into bed himself. I got a mesh rail that you slide between the two mattresses that swings up and keeps him from falling out.

I had a convertible crib, so it wouldn't have cost me anything really to switch, but I still thought it was pointless. You will have to buy a big bed soon enough, why not now? I had no issues with skipping the toddler bed, and he has been super happy and sleeps much better in the big bed. :)

That's what my mom said she did with me and my sister. I think if that's what you want to do, do it! If he rolls off a few times, the mattress is on the floor and he won't have far to fall at all. My mom said she just put pillows on the floor in case we rolled off. Do what works for you and your family. =)

I went to a toddler bed (a $300 race car bed) with my son. I will not be doing that with my second, she will be going straight to a twin bed.

My son turned 2 in March and we just made the switch to a "big boy bed" this week. We decided to go with the Full size bed (my son moves around a lot while he sleeps and figured he can have this bed until he is 18y.o, plus good for when guests visit). For now we just have the mattress and boxspring on a frame (will buy the actual bed itself when we have more money). The boxspring we got is 4 inches lower than a standard boxspring; used for kids. It is low enough that he can crawl in and out on his own. We have the bed pushed up against the wall with a mesh railing on the other side to prevent falls. He did fall out the first night, but went right back to sleep. I am actually really amazed at how well he is doing in his new bed! No real problems.
Good luck to you!!

We went straight from crib to twin bed (frame and all with fold down side rail) at 14 months with both our kids. Never had a problem. I agree, Toddler bed are marketing gimmick.

That's exactly what we did. My 2 year old is very tall the crib was just not working. So we took our "extra" bed out of the guest room and put the mattress on the floor. It is a full bed and he absolutely loves it. I love it too bc I can lay in the bed with him comfortably (8 months prego here) and read to him, comfort him, etc. The only thing I have caught him doing was jumping on the mattress. We just added the box spring to the mattress to make it taller off the floor and he has yet to fall out (knock on wood). His bed is on carpet and and so I am not too worried about him falling out and getting hurt. So I say skip the toddler bed and go with the mattress. Good luck.

We just did this for our son and it is working great. We got a twin mattress and box spring, put it in a corner, and installed a simple bed rail (metal frame with mesh) so he won't roll out.

Not that you don't already have this answer, but we skipped the toddler bed as well. Many are correct - a waste of money as it's the same size as the crib. Our son went straight from the crib to a bottom bunk bed (twin size). Because it is higher than normal, I used the crib mattress as the 'rail' in case he rolled. You can put a mattress on the floor, but we just thought it would be one less step & just have him in the 'big boy bed' right away so he could adjust. He did fabulous!!! Good luck & now you can buy a nice outfit w/ the money you just saved yourself - but don't tell your hubby I said that! ;)

I don't see why not. Go for it. My son was in a twin bed (a regular bed though, not on the floor) at 3 and did fine. The only reason he ever used a toddler bed was because he was still in the "baby room" at our old house and I didn't have the energy to make room for a bigger bed in there. When we moved, I just got him a twin bed.

We did this as well with our big for his age son. He moved straight to a twin bed with a rail at 2.5. I did read in a Montessori book that they recommend a mattress on the floor and not even use a crib for a baby (obviously with very serious child proofing in that room).

Hi J.,
Yep, I like your thinking! Maybe that's because I did the same for all 3 of my children. They all were out of their cribs by age two and when right onto a full size bed and box spring right on the floor. We used rails on both sides, since with the box spring they are about 20 inches off of the floor. It worked really well for them and they all loved it. It also gives us (mom and dad) a place to lay and snuggle with the kids at night or nap time. Later on when they are old enough to climb up into a bed with a frame I will buy them bed frames. For now they are very content!

We never used a toddler bed and my older son was on a twin by 16 months or so. I bought a double bed rail since it didn't fit his room well to have the bed against a wall, so that gave him some kind of buffer on both sides. I was also pregant (his brother was born when he was around 21 months) so we ended up taking the rails off early since I had a horrible time getting over them to snuggle with him and he almost never rolls over at night. His is on a low frame with no box spring, but friends of ours have their children's mattresses right on the floor and did the same thing. My husband and I had our mattress on the floor until a year ago (soooooooo exciting to finally be more than nine inches off the ground! Our mattress is low to begin with.). If the mattress is right on the floor, you can lay something soft on the carpet next to his bed in case he rolls out (I used to roll a towel and put it under the bottom sheet). The only other major concern is making sure his room is safe for him to wander in. A toddler bed is a novelty in my opinion, and unless someone really wanted to give me one I don't think I would ever use it. Some cribs convert, but ours didn't. I will be putting our younger child's crib mattress on the floor soon since we don't have a twin for him yet, but thankfully he hasn't climbed out of the crib.

When our son was nearly three we moved him from our bed to the "little bed", a full-sized futon on the floor. It's worked well. It's big enough for my husband and I to snuggle with him at bedtime (or sleep with him on hard nights) and my son has no drop-off should he roll off the bed. The low mattress will do the same for your son.

I agree, too, with SH's post. I grew up in Honolulu and used to sleep on mats on the floor when my parents wanted some 'alone time' and was fine. Your son will appreciate being able to get up and move about his room; you might find some containment issues coming up (I love gates) but being able to flop around when sleeping and not bumping into the side of the crib might be just what your son needs.

toddler beds are a waste of money.. put the mattress on the floor, that way if they do fall out, they don't get hurt and they can get used to the bigger bed..

I'm assuming you want to put the mattress on the floor so he doesn't roll out? My son was really bad at that, we would find him all over his room during the night! We finally got the top bunk of bunk beds, since it has rails on all 4 sides. He has done really well with it, and he's very proud of hid "big boy bed." Good luck!

My son went straight from crib to his own bed (queen size) at almost 2 y/o, but not on the floor, on it's regular frame and no rails.

My 2 oldest went right from the crib to a twin size bed. I had my oldests bed up against the wall and the other side had the Fisher Price bed rail that folds down when they are not in the bed. She did just fine. My son went from the crib to the Little Tikes racecar bed. This was nice because with just the mattress on the bed it sat low enough that he couldn't roll out. My youngest will soon be moving to her big girl bed, which again is just a twin bed against the wall and I will get her a bed rail as well, since she is such a mover when she sleeps....

Good Luck and save yourself some money and go right to a big bed....

we did the toddler bed thing and it didn't work out. we went straight to a queen size becuase it was less expensive then a full.

The only danger would be making sure that he can't move it around the room.

you can totally just move him up to a regular size bed. When my daughter was about 21 months I moved her to a twin sized bed and I just got one of those guard rails (which was actually a mesh like material so even if they sleep with their face right up against it they can breath just fine) It was great because she had tons of sleeping room but with the rail up she couldn't fall out and it gave the bed a feeling of a crib so she loved it from day one and slept in it no problem. I have heard lots of people say toddler beds are just a waist of money cause kids just grow out of them too fast. So I really think going with a regular sized bed is the best option.

We did a twin size on the floor. I kept it away from the wall, I was paranoid he could get trapped somehow. I also did not do all the usual bedding. I only used the fitted sheet and his baby blankets if he needed it. Once we felt comfortable that he wasn't going to fall, I got the frame and some bed railings.

I have four kids and Just wanted to add a response that is the same as all others... YES, go straight to a twin! I did it with my oldest 3 (youngest is not two yet).

I LOVED what Riley J said! RIGHT ON!

I think two is too early. Three is more like it. Being in a crib can keep him there for naps and such. once you leave the crib the child can get up and wander off. More work for you!

My son went from co-sleeping with us to a twin sized futon mattress on the floor for a while at around 24 months and then we set up his bed around 28 months (with a bed rail around it).

I don't see any reason to spend the money on a toddler bed when a twin sized bed is just find and will save you money in the long run!

Yep--I believe toddler beds area waste of money! Just put him in a twin (or full) with rails--same safety but you can get on there too if need be. Lots of people just put the mattress on the floor, but if you use rails, I don't see the point.

Hi! We skipped the toddler bed altogether. My son went from the crib to a full size bed with bed rails at age 3. He did fine. I hope this helps. Good luck!!

The best creation ever is the ikea kids bed that looks like a fort and can have the mattress straight on the floor or on the top with the fort below. For toddlers, this bed is amazing and they love it. Check it out!

I think toddler beds are a huge waste of money. They're normally only in them for a couple of years tops. I went straight from a crib to a twin sized bed with the mattress rail on the outside. My kids both slept great from day one, I switched them at 15 months.

I think personally that the toddler bed is a waste of money:) for both our kids we put mattress on the floor. My son was very restless sleeper so we used the mesh railing. It worked great and we never had problems.

Good luck!

We did that (and he is 3.3 now, and still on the mattress (does not want a big bed yet) and I am not about to waste money on a toddler bed! No falling out problems...it's 5 inches from the floor! I would keep the crib in the room and set up for 1-2 weeks so if he changes his mind, or starts misbehaving you can easily threaten with returning to the crib.

We went from a co-sleeper or co-sleeping to a mattress on the floor with both of my children at about 15-18 months. There are no dangers as far as I can tell. The only consideration that they can easily get out of bed- but they can also get into bed themselves. We liked this option because it makes it more their own space!
Good luck!

We just did the same thing. My son was waking up 3-4 times a night from knocking into the sides of his crib. I figured he obviously needed more room, his crib turned into a toddler bed but I thought he'd just roll out for as much as we heard him hit the sides of the crib. So we bought a full mattress and put it right on the floor, no box spring, and he's sleeping SOOOO much better! We keep the door to his room gated, and keep his room safe for him in case he explores before we hear him. But so far it's been a huge success. I think toddler beds are a waste of money. I would go right to a twin or even a full, if you son is a big mover when he sleeps!

I agree that a toddler bed isn't necessary. We borrowed one from a friend and John like to play in it but had no interest in sleeping in it! We had a twin mattress on the floor for a few months and then moved him into a day bed with a trundle underneath. He's slept great in bed for over a year and a half. There of course were a few hiccups like getting out of bed and turning on the light in the middle of the night! But once the novelty wore off he's enjoyed the big boy bed experience.