When to Leave the Crib

My son is 2.5 yrs old and is in the crib still. He does not try to get out. I am keeing him in the crib as long as he fits and as long as he doesn't try to climb out. My main reason is b/c once he is asleep, I know he is confined and safe all through the night.

I put my son in the toddler bed at 18 months. My daughter I waited until she was climbing out. Big mistake with her. The younger they are the better they transition. Younger children take change very well. Where he had no problem staying in the toddler bed she was up every 15 minutes asking for something. We almost had to lock her in. I think what really helps is letting them pick out their own bed and sheets and having an involvment in the process too. I didn't want the crib to be a crutch for him, and it worked. Good luck! Keep us posted!

Hi D.,
My daughter transitioned to a bed this summer. She'll be 3 in October. She loved her crib and slept through the night since she was 3 months old. A friend was having a grandchild and wanted the crib. I'm a teacher, so I figured I'd transition her in the summer when there would be less stress involved. I talked up the "big girl bed" idea for a while before it arrived, so she was excited about it. It does take her a while to settle in at night, but she does eventually settle down and sleep (I'm thinking I need to eliminate her naps to alleviate this problem). She has gotten out of bed just a handful of times in the middle of the night. Although she wants to sleep with me, she never really sleeps, which means neither one of us does. So now I just take her back to her room. She cries for a little while, but she soons settles down and falls asleep.

If I were you, I'd hold off for a while before getting the bed. My daughter slept in a Moses basket for her first 3 months before I moved her to the crib. If your daughter does something similar, you'll have more time with your daughter in the crib. Good luck to you.

I just moved my 28 month daughter out of her crib two weeks ago because we are expecting our 2nd child in January. She got out of the bed during the first two days during naps, but never at night, and never since - granted, it's only been two weeks, but even when she wakes up in the morning, she stays in the bed until we come into the room. I made no changes at all to her room, safety wise.

My daughter is also one that has NEVER tried to climb out of her crib, so I'm not that surprised that she is staying in her bed. If your daughter is a climber, it might actually be safer for her to be in a toddler bed (or just a mattress on the floor, as my sister-in-law has done with her 30 month old. I would add a gate outside the door though, so she can't get out of her room. My friend has done that with her son. He constantly climbed out of his crib, and now gets out of his bed quite often, but plays in his room until he gets tired, and then either goes to the bed or falls asleep on the floor.

I made the transition much easier on my daughter by taking her to the store to buy brand new bedding, which I let her choose, and a new stuffed animal (actually an owl - shaped pillow) to put in the bed with her. She loved it. I also called it her princess bed, since she is really into princesses now.

Another friend of mine moved her son into a toddler bed when he was about 22 months old because she was expecting #2. They got him a car-shaped bed which he loves, and I think he has gotten out of bed a few times, but not really a big deal. The long and short of it is, your child is most likely old enough to move out of her crib. Just make it exciting for her. Oh, and DON'T let her know in any way that she needs to give up the crib so a new baby can take it. She'll resist like crazy. Make it seem like a big, exciting reward.

I took my 2 year old's crib out when I was pregnant and gave her a twin bed w a rail and also bought her a princess sleeping bag/couch conversion. Its hard to ecplian but they have them at toys r us--very cute, small and cuddly. She slept in that for months then we started bed for bedtime and sleeping bag just for naps then we bought her special pillows for her bed...
She was not trying to climb out of crib wqen we did it so it made the tranisiton easy bc the sleeping bag was easy to get in + out. We also played a CD at bedtime so whether she was in bed or sl bag she just stayed in bed to sleep. Good luck!

My daughter slept in her bassinet until at least 4 months old, so we didn't even need a crib until almost 5 months. Your daughter will probably be ready for a regular bed by then. We recently transitioned our daughter to a big bed at 20 months. It was a complete non-issue for her. We put rails on both sides, and I bunch up a big comforter at the foot of the bed in case she happens to roll down the bottom. She knows how to climb out without hurting herself when she is awake, but most mornings she waits in her bed until we come get her. Only once did she climb out herself in the morning. I would think that every child is different, though. Our daughter follows the house rules very obediently, to our surprise, and she is big on following the routine. She almost always napped in the big bed (which was always in her room), so it didn't seem like a major transition to put her to sleep there at night.

Both my kids started in a bed at about 20 or 21 months, and it was fine. We just put the bed on the floor (on top of the box spring), so if they fell out, they wouldn't get hurt. Also made the room baby proof so they can't get hurt. For the first few weeks every so often I would find my older one sleeping on the floor by the door when I checked on him, and I just moved him to his bed. No big deal.

I was worried about the same thing with my daughter - she 3 when we changed her crib into a toddler bed. But - once we put the ground rules down - she's followed them - she never gets up during the night and transitioned well. She did get up a few times before falling asleep - but once she learned the rules - she was fine. I felt the same way as you did though - I didn't want to move her out unless she needed to, but to be honest - would have moved her out before turning 3 if I had realized how easy it was. By the time your grandson will need the crib - she may be ready for a big girl bed anyway. Congrats on the adoption and hope all goes well with that as well as becoming a grandmother!!

Hi D.,
I debated with this same question for many months. I finally decided to just leave my son in the crib until he showed signs that HE was ready. I had to borrow a crib from a friend for baby #2. I figured- why disrupt his sleep with moving him to a bed if he was doing just fine as is. Around 2 1/2 he started climbing out of the crib so we took the side off (convertible to toddler bed but more like daybed) and stayed with him the first few weeks until he fell asleep. He did wake up and get out of bed in the middle of the night. I would take him back to bed and lay on the floor for a bit. After things were going well we didn't need to do that anymore. This summer at 3 y. & 4 m. we talked about buying a big boy bed. He was very excited about it. He WANTED it! So we bought one and he hasn't left once.

Good luck - just know that things might not go smoothly at first but they will once she gets used to it :)
~A.

My daughter slept in a crib until she was a little over three years old. Her brother and sister were born when she was 2.8 years old, but I waited as long as I possibly could to give one of them her crib. Like yours, my daughter slept through the night and I was afraid a bed would change that. There were also times that she was resistant to her bedtime and Iimagined that without the confinement of the crib that we were in for a long period of Supernanny's "Back to Bed" technique. When I actually did it I was amazed by what an easy transition it really was! I learned that I once she gets to sleep,she sleeps like a rock, crib or no crib. So late night play sessions were never an issue. I also learned that I could teach her that no matter how she feels about bedtime/naptime, she is expected to stay in that bed...and she does!

Your daughter will be about a year younger than mine was. I suggest that if you want to buy more time, get your oldest a bassinet or a Pack-n-Play with a bassinet and tell her that her baby can start out sleeping there and when the child is too big, then you'll give her the crib.

I remember talking to my pediatrician about this subject and I took her advice which was to leave my daughter in her crib until she was at least three. She said that before the age of three, children do not understand the bedtime concept as well and we would have multiple problems keeping our child in her bed. We did wait and fortunately we never had issues with our daughter climbing out of her crib so we redid her whole room when she was between the age of 3 and 3 1/2. She transitioned beautifully and we never had any issues with her getting up out of her bed. When she started to get up early, we gave her a clock and showed her how to see 7:00 and that she needed to stay in her room until that time. Since she was old enough, she could understand that and we did not have to worry about her getting hurt somewhere in the house. Waiting definitely worked in our house! Best of luck to you-I am also a foster mom-right now to two little ones-a girl 17 months and a boy 19 months!

I just want to congratulate you and your baby girl on the pending adoption. I adopted 4 brothers from foster care 12 years ago and it was one of the best things I ever did. they have made me very proud.
As far as the bed goes, I would make sure her dresser is attached to the wall. They sell kits that can do that. And cover the outlets. Otherwise I dont think she will get up in the night and play unless you have a bright light on. If she doesnt climb, you can place a gate in front of her door so you can hear her if she wakes up. Or plug in the baby monitor.
BTW my grand daughter is 6 weeks younger than one of my adopted sons. They always got along great.

My daughter happily slept in her crib until she was over 3. She never tried to climb out. Shortly after her third birthday we took off the front section to convert it into a toddler bed and she slept in there until she was over 4. Then we moved her into another room and she now sleeps in a full bed. The only reason we even converted it was because she was fully potty trained since she was 2 and 1/2 and I thought it was time to give her the freedom to get up and go by herself at night if she needed to (with the hallway safely gated, preventing her from getting anywhere but the bathroom, her room or our room).

You are correct. Keep her in there as long as possible. It's the safest place for her to be. There are very affordable cribs out there that your daughter could use until you are finished using yours.

The new baby won't really need the crib for at least a couple of months after it is born. I would suggest getting a bassinet for the first few months.
By that time, your younger daughter(and you)will probably be more ready for a big girl bed. If you let her choose some bedding and make it a fun change, she will probably be fine.
I moved both my kids out of the crib just before they turned 3. They both did fine.

Hi D.. My mom tells me I was happy in my crib until I was 3 and my baby sister was born. If your daughter's baby is not due until Dec. and the new baby can be in a cradle or bassinette for a few months your daughter may be ready to give up her crib to the new arrival. When the newness wears off and she is reminded that big girls stay in their beds it should work out OK. All children are different and I hope this works out for you. Grandma Mary

I would wait. I moved my son to a bed when he turned 3 and he was perfect! He never came out of the bed! I think an older age is better because they have impulse control skills.

Our oldest boy stayed in his crib until he was almost 3. He went into a toddler bed. We made the change because a friend offered us a cute race car toddler bed.
His sister got a big girl bedroom set about 6 mos before her third bday, and 7 mos before our twins were born.
Twins were put into beds when they were about 2 yrs old, they were climbers, but only in the middle of the night.

We never had a problem with any of our kids just getting out of the new beds and wondering around.

Hi.

My youngest is 2.5 and is FINALLY sleeping in his own room and bed.

We decided to move him to a toddler bed. We decide to use a toddler bed because they are closer to the ground and use the crib mattress & sheets (plus we had one from our older sons). also depending on how fancy you wanna get... they aren't that expensive... you can get one at target/walmart for about $50, or see if someone you know has one they would be willing to lend or sell you.

we did not remove items from his room... we secured the big stuff to the walls. We we do have some things that are at his level...

we also put a baby gate in the doorway to avoid him coming into our room at night...

so far we haven't found that he gets up to play... once's he's a sleep he's down for the night.

If she doesn't get up now (in the middle of the night) then it's not likely that she'd do that once she is in a new bed.

When you decide to get her the "big bed" if you go for the twin bed instead of the toddler one... then you'll have some other decision to make (i.e., (1) the height of the bed... and ask yourself will she be able to get in and out of bed easily, (2)using a bed rail to keep her from rolling off the bed, and maybe a few other issues)

Hi D.,
I have a little one who will be 3 in October. She was in a crib in my room until about 3 weeks ago. Well, the crib is still there, but she climbed out of it within seconds, (for about 6 months) so we took the side off so it's like a day bed. She's sneaky; she didnt want anyone to know she could do it, and only did it when nobody was looking.

We also put a single bed in my older daughter's room at the same time.

I have 4 kids and live in a 3 bedroom house. My oldest daughter, 18, just moved to her fathers to go to college, so my 16 year old daughter has a room to herself for the first time, but that lasted only about a month before I put the youngest girl in there.

The boy has a room to himself since he is the only boy, he's 8.

I'm keeping the crib in my room, I sleep in the basement, so when my daugher goes away for weekends or overnight, the "baby" sleeps in my room, in her 'big girl crib'. And when the 16 yo is home, she sleeps in her 'big girl bed'. She stays in both beds with no problems, just the occasional walk back to bed and tuck in when she's not so sleepy. But is well with that and she sleeps all night without problem.

She is upstairs now, in the room by herself, in her bed taking her nap, and I don't have any problems with her getting into stuff that she shouldn't unless my older daughter leaves stuff out.

If your baby is going to be in a room by herself, there wont be so much for her to get into. Maybe keep the toys minimal and clothes put away. Lotions, powders and such- you can only keep them put up high and make sure there is nothing to make climbing to get them easy, or out of the room completely. (my little one loves to climb!)

You shouldn't have a problem. I just got my little one excited about the big bed, she loves it.

good luck.

Hi D.
God bless you and your wonderful family
Let's see
Oldest -- we took out of the crib(which could have been made into youth bed but we did not)when he was 4, because we found out that we were expecting our younger son.
Younger boy -- climbed out of the crib at 5-6 months -- we thought our oldest was getting him out of the crib, so don't know exactly when he climbed out first. Yes, we saw him shimmy up the inside of the side and down the outside of the side.
Twin girls -- were about 2 when they just needed more space for sleeping and turning than the cribs afforded them. We put them on a full mattress on the floor so they could not fall so far.
All my kids were not sleepers. None had naps by 18 mos, and none slept through the night. They all simply came to us as it was too dark to play and I told them to do that. Of course, our younger son as you might have guessed climbed in with his brother, when he was obviously too young to reason with. I did place the second twin bed against the wall and abutted the older boy's bed to it.
Two of them walked in their sleep, and I was so tired with the twins that I never knew the first one came into our bed, but realized they were both there when the second one started to vie for space. Never the same one so just let them be til AM.
I say let your daughter have the crib probably your little one will be out of it soon.
God bless you
K. --- SAHM married 39 years -- adult children -- 38, coach; 33, lawyer, married with son 1 yo, and slept/sleeps 2 hours in 24; twins 19 in different colleges after homeschooling and both on the dean's list.

My first one, my husband change the crib to a bed and our first was fine with it and he was learning about going potty at the time.
My second, he was climbing out and we got him a bed and aboutnd that age too and it seemed fine.
Our third, I was recently worried that sleeping in a bed was going to be a problem because he was getting up so, so, so early, but at last tried it and he does fine in the bed and climbing out and and so forth.
What I have seen is this, some children are different. My second and third wanted to be a bed because our oldest and seeing they are in bed s and booster seat at the table they want the same thing. My third is doing great sleeping in the bed with his brothers and it was like, okay, maybe sleeping in the crib was waking him up and felt that he wanted independence and wasn't getting any and can't move as much, but we are still keeping an eye on him in that situation.
If they climb out and waking up early in the morning, it maybe the time for a bed and sometimes you are not sure and you have to try. I kept the dresser in the room but position it where they can't climb up on it and if it falls over because they pulled on it or whatever, have something in front so that it doesn't go all the way down the tchild. I didn't think of that but the room was small enough when the older boys pulled on it with a rope or something, it came down almost on them, but the changing table that is attached to the crib was in the way and protected them. I don't know what other people's advice will be on that. Let us know what you decided on that and what happened, I am curious about that and if so, congratulate her for getting a big girl bed and that way she feels that she did something good that big girls gets.