When to Transition Baby to Toddler Bed

Before they go to college!
Sleepaway camp is also a goal,
especially if they are counselors.

Our son is almost 27 months and is still in a crib! He isn't trying to climb out yet so he is staying put :) We have a 3 month old and she is in a bassinet, we plan on making the change when our oldest starts climbing out of his crib. Good luck!

For us the transition to the toddler bed was the beginning of about 2 years or so of very difficult nights. I regret turning his crib into a bed so early - he was just about 2. But I was so paranoid about him falling out of his crib onto his head or something like that. He hadn't even tried it yet but I went by his height and the fact he could get out if he tried. We put the gate up as well. It got to the point though that he would charge it to knock it down so that he could come out. Since he had such a difficult time falling asleep, he usually slept later than I did anyway. I had to get up to go to work in the mornings.

So what I would do is wait a bit and see what your daughter "tells" you. Some kids might actually enjoy sleeping in the crib - it might feel safer to them. So just play it by ear and see if she starts to seem unhappy in her crib. I wouldn't do it before 2 yrs old though.

I think around 2 years tends to be the mark for when kids get into a toddler or twin bed, on average. It depends on your son. If he can climb out of the crib now, then it's probably time! We put our oldest in a twin bed around 25 months because we needed the crib for our newborn. It took my oldest about 2 months to stop getting up out of bed at random times, but we put the gate up at her bedroom door to be sure she wouldn't get hurt on the stairs. She always went right back to bed and was really good about the transition to the bed in general. We then waited another 5 weeks or so to put the baby in the crib so she wouldn't feel like her little sister was "taking" her crib. I can honestly say that even if we hadn't needed the crib, my oldest would have still done fine with a bed, though we probably wouldn't have moved her into one until a few months later if the baby hadn't been born when she was. My advice would be to wait until you feel your son is really ready, then make a big deal about the "big boy" bed and he'll be more interested! Be sure you have a guardrail on the bed and a gate by the door and he will get the hang of it in no time. Good luck!

I switched my daughter to her toddler bed only about 2 months ago and she will 3 next month. She was completely content in her crib and never tried to get out so I found no need to change it. I only decided to change it because I thought with her almost being 3, that it was time...plus she is getting so heavy to lift over the rail. She did great. I am not sure if its her or if its the fact she was older but she would sit her bed in the morning and yell for me as if she couldn't get out of bed. Plus her door is very hard to open so even she did get out she was still confined to her room. Every baby is different though......I have heard of 1 year olds in toddler beds, mostly because they become escape artists then its a matter of safety. I have a friend whose daughter is the same age as your son and she is expecting her 2nd in April and she plans on buying a second crib (I personally feel that is a waste of money) because she does't think it will be necessary for her daughter to be in a toddler bed yet. So it depends on you and your baby and what you feel is best.

We put our son in his toddler bed around 19 months, but then quickly put him in his big boy full bed.
When we did the transition we put a bed rail on the toddler bed to prevent him rolling out. It still allowed him to climb down at the head and foot of the bed though.
We ended up putting a baby gate on his door. His room is completely child proof, so there was no fear of him hurting himself if he did get out of bed.
He was really pretty good about staying in bed. However, if he did get out of bed, he just played in his room. There were two occasions that he got out of bed, played then fell asleep on the floor.
We just reinforced the idea of staying in bed every night during his bedtime rituals. Even to this day he asks to "get down" out of bed when we get him in the morning.
Best of luck to you during this transition!

M.:

My daughter at about 16 months was trying to climb out of her crib. A baby sitter told us that she was trying to eventhough I had not seen her do it. I went to buy a Crib Tent. However, once we put it on her bed I did not like it because I could no longer hold her hand while she was falling asleep. So I returned the Crib Tent. However a couple of weeks later I was standing there while she was trying to climb out I decided to stand there and watch to see if she was able to do it and be there to catch her if needed. Yep, she had 1 leg complete over the crib. That night I put her in my bed and immediately went back to the store the next day to buy the Crib Tent. She was fine sleeping in it since we told her it was just like her play tent. About 2 months later at age 18 months we did transition her into her toddler bed that was inherited from her older brother. Of course, she kept getting out as she had found her freedom. However I was able to put the crib tent into her toddler bed also. Eventually, I kept the crib tent unzipped and about 3 months ago when she was 2.9 yo, we took the crib tent out and she sleeps in her bed without wandering out of it. Good luck.

HI M.. Our son is 2 and 1/2 and still in his crib. He sleeps on a cot at daycare, so I know he can. He just LOVES his crib. Our pediatrician told us to keep him the crib until he outgrows it (either physically or "mentally"). I do think right after the holidays we are going to think about "moving up" to the toddler bed (we also have the convertible crib), however we are also attempting potty training (again) then, too, and don't want to introduce too much change. I think it's when YOU and BABY are ready. Good luck.

I also have a 16 (almost 17) month old. I spoke with our pediatrician at our last visit about transitioning to a toddler bed. She said to wait as long as possible, reason being that they can get out of bed, as you mentioned. We're transitioning around 19 months or so because we will have a new baby coming a few months after that. We'll put a gate up on her bedroom door and make sure her room is as child proof as it can possibly be.
I think my cousin wait until her daughter was almost 3 years old, which I'd probably do if we weren't expecting another baby soon.
Good luck!

If I were you, I would enjoy the opportunity to keep your son in a crib...unless you are having to swich to a toddler bed cause he can now climb out of his crib? If he isn't yet then I would keep the crib as long as possible. It was such a pain with my daughter when I changed cause she totally freeked out when I tried to get her to sleep in her new bed. It wasn't as neat as I thought it was going to be. She constantly got out and was wandering around the house and it scared me. I went from crib, to toddler bed, back to crib and then at around 2.3 years of age I tried the toddler bed again and it still scared her but after a couple of nights she got used to sleeping in it.
If I were you and if at all possible, I would keep your son in his crib until at least 2 years of age. You dont want him to get up and wander around your house when your not aware of it. My son is 21 months and still in his crib and I am keeping him there as long as I am able to..lol.

I have two sons and they both are in regular beds now. We went from crib to regular bed, skipping the toddler because of having a twin bed in the house already. We put the mattress directly on the floor for a length of time and thy would "fall" out of bed and not get hurt but know that something happened. When they didn't "fall" out anymore we added the risers and no real problems whith either doing it this way. I would try to do it when it is not a hectic time though, like not during the holidays.
As for the getting out of bed, one was the sleep till dawn type, so no real help there. But the younger is a restless sleeper, and so long as you have gates at the top of stairs and a clear hallway to your room and your son knows it's ok to come and see you but not stay with you (ie bring him back when he shows up in the middle of the night) he'll get the hint and get himself back to sleep after a while. It seems to be a more gentle way than locking him in his room (unless it gets too bad after a while of tying this)
Good Luck!

We transitioned our kids kind of early since they were just not happy in the crib from day 1- my son was a little over a year (began walking at 9 mo) and my daughter was about about 18 months (began walking at 10mo). Both of them we began with their crib mattresses on the floor and then transitioned up every few months to help them transition also-
With my son, who would come climb into our bed in a heartbeat, we baby proofed his room completely and then put up a baby gate at his door so that if he woke up earlier he would gain some independence and play quietly until we got up. My daughter never came out of her room, she would just sit at her door (like she had an invisible gate!) and cry for us...not sure why!
I think depending on your child, you could transition him anywhere between now and 3! You can always try different stages and see how he does. My daughter LOVED a toddler bed, my son only wanted to go right to a twin bed (and actually santa is bringing him bunk beds this year- he is almost 6). Happy Holidays and good luck!