When Is a Good Time to Put Your Toddler in a Bed?

I think it's up to what you end up wanting to do. My doctor says that she doesn't see a need to move a child from a crib to a bed until they are potty trained - so they can get up and go to the potty. Otherwise, she says, "Why change something that is working?" Or maybe you can make the switch when she just starts to crawl out anyway. My 19 month old is still in his crib because he doesn't like bedtime so much and complaines for 2 minutes before laying down and falling asleep. I know it would be a disaster if we switched him now. He would not go to sleep.
I don't know, see what she wants to do. Introduce the big girl bed and if she thinks it's cool, switch her. If she loves her routine and her crib, let her stay. That's what I think, but you are the mom. :)

Wait as LONG as possible!! Wait until she can climb out! It is so nice for you! Plenty of time for a big bed!

If she can climb out at all, its probably time... My daughter is 3 now and her crib converted into a day bed, I kept her bumper pads in so that it wouldn't be a big change. I just took the long end and cut it at the seem so that it was three sided (It may work with a new toddler bed if you need to buy one, just look for one with safety rails and you can keep all the sides of the bumper. It was great and there was no real transition other than she can hop right out of bed if she is not ready to sleep.... that is another issue :)

I put my son in a toddler bed when he was 2 because I was getting ready for my daughter to arrive. I just bought a bed that was low and had him pick out the Elmo bed covers. It worked out great he loved sleeping in a big bed.

I transitioned my kids when they were mature enough to stay in a bed...usually right around 2. Then, when I transitioned them, I would keep the crib set up in the room with the new bed and tell them that they got to sleep in the "big boy/girl" bed if they could stay in it. The first time they got out of it, I would calmly say, "Uh-oh," and put them in their crib for the night instead. Then we would try again the next day, and the next until they learned to stay there. It usually only took about a week for them to figure it out, and then I could take the crib down or move it.

The sooner the better I say. They are a lot easier to transition early. We moved my daughter at 18 months because she learned how to climb out of her crib and we didn't want her to get hurt. She did just fine in a big bed. We didn't waste any time or money on a toddler bed, we went straight to a full size bed. If you are concerned about her falling off, then you can just put the mattress on the floor for a while.

We did around 18 months with our boys and went straight to a normal bed with both. We were worried at first because they were both "active" sleepers, but they have both been fine. I think we've only had two falling out of bed experiences between the 2 and they were both at Grandma's house. Maybe the bed? We will probably switch baby girl over around a year.

As long as we had a good sleeptime routine, we just waited. There was no reason to rush. We moved when my son was 2 1/2 and didn't want to ship the crib so that forced the issue. He was great for a couple of months, then would keep walking out of his room after we'd turned out the light; that phase lasted about 6 months.
Good luck!

We waited until our son started climbing out. He's small for his age, so he was almost 3. It saved us so much hastle, and he was truly ready (didn't get scared or fight it) because we chose not to worry about what other people thought and just waited. It saved us countless hours of sleep too! I'm confident he's not scarred for life by it either. :) My suggestion would be if she's climbing out, change her over. Let her pick out sheets/blanket, etc. so she feels part of the whole decision and in control of herself.

I think you have to know your own child. We had a few false starts with our three. We would put them in a bed and then discover that they would then keep getting out and the bedtime routine would become compromised which is something I wasn't prepared to do. In the end it coincided with nighttime potty training at around three years because then they need the freedom to get up when needed to use the bathroom. I think a crib is a nice safe place for a toddler and I wouldn't rush it. But if your daughter seems ready and you don't think she'll get out and become restless then give it a try.

We put our son in a twin bed at 20 months. He has always been a good sleeper and still is. We just make it fun to get in bed now that he can do it himself. He climbs up at the end and then races to the top. As long as your routine stays the same, she should be okay. We are using a little railing to help keep him in, and I think he feels safe like that. But we are slowly moving that down the bed till we can just take it off. You know your daughter...talk up being a good girl, let her climb on it a little, show her how cool she will be!

Now if you want. I don't think it is a timeline if they are still able to fit in the crib and not climbing out it is up to you. If she isn't ultra attached to her crib you will be surprised how easy it will be, a breeze. Both of my kids did it in a night. Get a bedrail as that gives them more security and you peace of mind. If she is attached to her crib start with naps in a big girl bed, however take the crib away too as out of sight out of mind. I had to fill my daughters crib with stuffed animals to pacify her that she was too big to sleep in it! :)

I put my daughter in a big girl bed at 25 mos, my son at 26 mos I think it was. Both did great, took them to pick out their own big kid bedding, bought a twin bed (toddler beds are a huge waste of money) and they loved it. Got a bedrail at Babies R Us and it worked wonders.

If I were you I would wait a little while. If she is still going to bed good in her crib and not trying to climb out then take advantage of that. My neice was about 2 1/2. Sometimes the transition to bed can make for some sleepless nights so if you can wait and she is doing okay in the crib I would. My boys were all 18 months when we transitioned them because they started crawling out of the crib or falling out. A few of them did great and didn't even realize they could get out. They thought it was their crib. But a few of them wouldn't stay in bed. That is when we would put the door knob covers on the inside of their bedroom so they would have to stay in their room. Again, we would open their door when we went to bed because we didn't want them trapped in there at night. Once they understood they had to stay in their beds we would take the door knob cover off. Good luck!!

Wow- after reading everyone's replies, I wonder if I'm a bad mom! LOL I put my daughter in her toddler bed (which was also her crib) at 13 1/2 months, but she was already trying to climb out of her crib, and she had no issues getting in and out of bed. Every once in a while I'll find her slithering out of her bed (I don't know how else to explain it- it's not falling but more like she's easing herself out of it like crawling) but otherwise, she's still a great sleeper- 12 hours a night, for all night! I did put a gate up for those occasions when I don't get up before her... so was I wrong?

My daughter was 18mos when she went into a twin bed. She wasn't trying to climb out she just simply wanted to lay in everyone elses bed so i thought she might enjoy her own. Also when she doesnt feel well it is much easier for me to lay with her in her own bed. The first night I left her crib up as well and I asked her which bed she wanted, she sat in her big girl bed for about 5 minutes and wanted to go back to the crib. I put her in there and I layed in her bed, she immediatly wanted back over and regardless to say the crib was taken down 2 days later. I just have a box spring and a mattress on the floor, and a few pillows on the floor for the times she rolls off i wanted to do the bed rail but never got around to getting one and what we have is working so i will bypass that, shes close to the ground she wont hurt herself. We do babygate her bedroom though so she doesnt wander, i have a feeling this will be up for some time. As long as you keep the elephant and a book I believe the transition will go smoother than you thought it would.

Hi N.. I am in the same boat. She is a great sleeper and I posted on this site asking a similar question..more about types of beds. What I have got out of all of the research is if they sleep good in the crib, there is no reason to change. Mine turns 2 this week. We are going to start to try for another one so I thought that I will keep looking for a good deal on a twin bed/trundle and then transition before I have another. Then give the crib to the next child (when/if that happens). If I don't have to break down the crib, that would be nice. Just roll it in the other room would be wonderful! Good luck.

Now would be perfect time. My daughter was 2 when we turned her bed into a toddler bed, now shes 2.5 and in a twin size bed. The transition went perfect but also know there will be testing with freedom after a while. Just be consistant with the same times that she is comfortable with. I still have to remind my daughter to be quiet or get back in bed on a rare occasion but she does listen. She has always been the last one alseep and the first one awake always afraid she will miss something :) Good luck!

I would say now. My daughter will be 2 in Dec. and we have our next baby due in Jan. so I wanted to get her in her new room and bed so the nursery is ready for the baby. Your daughter sounds like mine. She gets a bath, a book and then goes to bed no problem. I was so scared the first night I put her in her twin bed but she did fine. It was like she had always slept in there. She loves it and gets so excited when I tell her to get in her big girl bed. So I would just give it a try. If is goes really bad you can always just put her back in her crib but i bet she will do great.

My 2 kids have always been good at putting themselves to sleep and they both transitioned just fine to a bed. I skipped the toddler bed and went straight for the twin bed. They both did very well - no sleepless nights. My daughter had just turned 2 and my son was 2 1/2.

Whenever you are comfortable putting her in one. I put my son in a twin bed about a month and a half before he turned two. He did great. My daughter on the other hand is two and half and I dread having to put her in a big bed. I know she won't stay in it and it is going to be a struggle! It sounds like your daughter might do just fine in a big bed. But talk about it and prepare her for it and let her pick out some new sheets so she feels like she is part of the decision. Some kids have a hard time switching, others don't. And the ones you think will transition fine are the ones who usually have the issues! But every child is different. I would say once she is two would be a good time to transition. Maybe, if there is enough room in her bedroom, you could set up the new bed and let her check it out first before actually having her sleep in it.

I put my DD in a toddler bed when I figured out she was tall enough to climb/fall out of her crib. Better to fall a foot than four, she's only rolled out once and didn't even wake up fully. At first we put a baby gate up at her door, now she stays in bed consistently, it's been almost a year.

Good job N.!

I would keep her in the crib as long as possible unless she is getting out at night by herself. We had to switch my son to a big boy bed at 19 months because he discovered he could get out any time he wanted. It is an adjustment for them so make sure you have the energy the first couple of nights you make the switch. Good Luck!

I have a 2 1/2 year old son. I asked my MIL this question a while ago and she suggested to me - if the child isn't trying to climb out of it then keep them there. I thought that was pretty good advice. I knew someday that day would come when he tried climbing out, and sure enough that day was less than a week ago. I just transistioned him into a full size bed and he's doing pretty good. He does get up at 6 am and come climb into bed with me, but I guess thats better than trying to get out on his own and hurting himself.

T.

she will let you know. I have had friends wait until nearly three as their child just preferred the crib, some left the sides down, others had it up. I moved #1 just before two because we needed the crib for #2. It was a mistake. she was beginning to crawl out. she is now up all the time and just at 4 years and a half am i getting her to bed at 7;30 (without napping). But maybe she is just that way. my son was a bit before two. He had the 'guest bed" in his room and he just started climbing into it. so we figured to try it one night and see. One thing for sure is, if you think she is ready, do it now, today. do it before the holidays. Otherwise, i would wait until January. the stres, relatives, and late nights will cause poor habits if trying to do t during then.

My son was almost 3 when we transfered him to a full size bed. The only reason that he had to move was because he was just getting too big! I think that if your daughter is happy and secure where she is and there isn't anyone on the way that needs the crib you should leave her where she is. I like the peace of mind that a crib provides. You know that they aren't up wandering around in the night. When the time came to move our son we set up a whole new 'big boy' room and once he moved he never looked back!

I would wait as long as possible. My nephew was switched to a big bed when his sister was born. He was two and had always been a good sleeper. Seemed like once he had a big bed and was able to get up on his own he did. It took a long time to convice him stay in bed at night. Seems the transition would be easiest to make the transition once you were confident you would be able to communicate and reason with your child that they need to stay in bed.