How old for Toddler bed?

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Just a quick poll. My sons 3rd birthday is coming up, and I was thinking we'd get him a bed. He is already in a crib, which he is very comfortable in. I was just going to get him one of those small toddler bed deals for like 60 bucks. But a part of me is scared to take the plunge. So im asking all you mamas out there whose children were sleeping by themselves in cribs, and you moved them to a toddler bed. How old were they? How many of you out there waited until they were older then 3?

TIA!!!!

[Bellabaz]

Dd1 slept in a basinet then crib from the start. When she was 15 months, she started freaking out if we put her in the crib. so we put her matress ont he floor. A couple months later we got a toddler bed.

Dd2 just turned one. We ditched the crib because it hurt my back to pick her up at night. So her mattress is on the floor and for xmas we will get them a low kids bunk (like the kind with only 3 steps).

For what I know, I thought kids were supposed to be out of cribs around age 2 for safety reasons. But if its working for you then go for it. But I don't think its too young at all. I also think you could get a regular sized bed and skip the toddler bed or get a bed that extends. But thats just my opinion.
=)

[GardenStream]

DS1 started to climb out of his crib on his 2nd birthday. We got him a twin bed that day.

DS2 was throwing one leg over the top of the crib at 28mo. We converted his crib to a toddler bed a couple weeks ago.

[confustication]

DS1 (26 months) started getting a leg over the crib rail just before he turned two- within a very short time we switched him to a mattress on the floor. Since we were rethinking sleeping arrangements, we switched DS 2 (11 months) to a twin mattress on the floor as well.

Both are still in our room. DS 1 sleeps on his own all night, DS 2 still cosleeps with me for the majority of the night, but will sometimes start the night in his own bed.


I much prefer a mattress on the floor to a toddler bed for reading/snuggling time. During the day the room is left open and the boys come and go as they please. I do gate it at night so I know they can't get into anything. My bedroom is completely child-proofed and pretty barren other than the beds, so this works really well for us.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Originally Posted by Bellabaz

For what I know, I thought kids were supposed to be out of cribs around age 2 for safety reasons. But if its working for you then go for it. But I don't think its too young at all. I also think you could get a regular sized bed and skip the toddler bed or get a bed that extends. But thats just my opinion.
=)

Wanted to address this.

The crib we bought him is also designed to be a toddler bed. Im not sure exactly how it works, but you are supposed to be able to take the side slats off and shorten the legs so it becomes a toddler bed. somehow. I dont know but I dont want to try to figure it out. but to me this would indicate is can handle his weight. And he has never attempted to climb in or out, so I've never worried about that.

[Coconut Chronicles]

DS is only 13 months (so much younger than the PP's kiddos) but has already started to try and climb out of the pack n play he sleeps in. He can't quite get both legs over but it's only a matter of time so we bought a toddler bed and have it in his room so he can get accustomed to it. We made sure to get a low profile one that he can easily climb on and off of.

He probably wont be ready to sleep in it full time for a few months but for now it's one of his favorite "toys."

[confustication]

Originally Posted by Coconut Chronicles

DS is only 13 months (so much younger than the PP's kiddos) but has already started to try and climb out of the pack n play he sleeps in. He can't quite get both legs over but it's only a matter of time so we bought a toddler bed and have it in his room so he can get accustomed to it. We made sure to get a low profile one that he can easily climb on and off of.

He probably wont be ready to sleep in it full time for a few months but for now it's one of his favorite "toys."

This is a great approach for some kids- it worked pretty well for my oldest. I usually introduced new sleeping spaces gradually, and dd started sleeping in them when she accidentally napped on one.

[ShadowMoon]

DS just got his toddler bed a few months ago. He is 3.5 and only 30 or so lbs so he fits perfectly in it and probably will for a while. He co-slept with me for the first year of his life and then moved into a bassinet/pack & play type bed.

He LOVES his bed. We got it at Target, it's just a simple wooden bed that fits great in his room. The only thing I had to modify was the bed rail. We have the bed up against the wall along one side. He's a prone to fall out of beds so I took the bed rail on the wall side and bought brackets to attach it to the other side. Now I have both rails on one side and it keeps him in.

[curiouscanadian]

We made the switch at 17mo.

DS was tall enough that when I turned around one night to see his leg hooked over the top of his crib rail we switched him into a bed that week. We had an extra-long twin bed in storage in the basement anyway, so just brought it up and put it down on the floor.

I think in the first couple months he rolled out a couple times, but it was so low and onto carpet that he certainly wasn't hurt at all, just startled. I did learn to scootch him closer to the wall before going to bed if he had rolled too close, but I think he's now learned to do that himself.

Oh, and he was always the type to cry/call out for us when he woke up when he was in his crib, so I wasn't particularly worried about him wandering while we slept but we did eventually put a baby gate in his doorway to keep him contained (mostly since he got tall enough to reach things in the kitchen that he shouldn't).

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Originally Posted by ShadowMoon

The only thing I had to modify was the bed rail. We have the bed up against the wall along one side. He's a prone to fall out of beds so I took the bed rail on the wall side and bought brackets to attach it to the other side. Now I have both rails on one side and it keeps him in.

OMG, that is BRILLIANT!! My sons bed will be up against the same wall his crib is up against now, (to allow as little adjustment as possible) And that is a fantastic idea. It might even give my son the extra security he might already feel in his crib (he really does love his bed the way it is, but I dont see him having a problem with a new bed)

[thehighernest]

We probably moved DS sooner than the usual (he's 17.5 months), but in the last month, we noticed he would want to get "in" his crib when he was tired and "out" in the mornings when he was nice and awake, so we moved him to a toddler bed. He's been doing pretty great with it actually. We sorta anticipated a lot of him getting out of bed in the middle in the night to play with his toys, but that hasn't really happened. He has often gotten his little pillow and moved to the floor altogether, lol, and slept the rest of the night there perfectly content.

[Megan73]

I've got the same problem - DS is 25 months and tall but LOVES his crib. He's never tried to climb out (although he often tries to climb IN). On top of that, he refuses to even have a nap without his Grobag so we have two battles ahead.
So let us know how the transition goes!

[lifeguard]

We moved ds to his own bed & room at 18 months. We never did a toddler bed.

[dividedsky]

i don't really get the toddler bed at all. i think the crib mattresses are totally uncomfortable and too small. anyway....

i moved my twin boys from cribs to twin mattresses on the floor (with pillows on the floor, to cushion any falls) at around 15 or 16 months. they loved it from the start - and i did, too, because it made getting them to sleep immensely easier. now, my husband and i can just lay with them until they fall asleep, and slip out once they're down. i keep the door closed and use a monitor. when they wake up in the morning, i walk in and they're hanging out and reading books or doing puzzles!

[Mrs.Music]

My DD was never in a crib, she shared the bed with me. But when I was about ready to pop with DS, I moved her to a toddler bed. She was almost 2. I'm debating how old DS will need to be since he'll be 2 when baby #3 rolls around and I don't particularly want to buy another crib. I've discovered that moving baby out of the bed with me around 6 months was waaay easier than co-sleeping into the toddler years.

[LadyCatherine185]

We moved Liam into a twin bed from our bed at ~19 months old.. so not from a crib to a bed, but from a bed to a different bed. He did great! I think the idea of the bedrail is a good idea, though we just put pillows on the side of the bed that isn't against the wall and I think he feels "snuggled" enough.

[redvlagrl]

DD went from her crib to a mattress on the floor at 14 mths. I would put her in twin bed but we don't have a frame. I have a friend whose 16 mth old sleeps in a twin with a bedrail.

[The4OfUs]

Our crib converted ot a toddler bed so we had DS in that at about 18 months, because we coslept part time and were tired of goig and getting him and wanted him to be able to come to us on his own. It was just taking the drop side off and having th emattress on the lowest setting. Worked out perfectly. He went to a twin mattress + box spring on the floor (no frame) at 2 yrs old.


DD was in the crib (part time crib, part time cosleeping, too) until about 14 months until one day I was folding laundry in her room and watched her climb INTO her crib with the rail UP....that day we got her a twin mattress and box spring and she has slept on that every day since.

Since we cosleep, it was way less work for us to have them start in their own room and then wander in with us whenever they woke up, and then they didn't wake US up. We just had to teach them the first few nights how to do that....then as they got older and slept naturally longer on their own, they came to us less and less. At 4 and 6-1/2 they're both in their own beds all night 99% of the time.

[Bellabaz]

Originally Posted by Barbie64g

Wanted to address this.

The crib we bought him is also designed to be a toddler bed. Im not sure exactly how it works, but you are supposed to be able to take the side slats off and shorten the legs so it becomes a toddler bed. somehow. I dont know but I dont want to try to figure it out. but to me this would indicate is can handle his weight. And he has never attempted to climb in or out, so I've never worried about that.

I get it. I wasn't trying to critize btw. I hope it didn't come across that way. It sounds like a cool crib.