3 year old still in crib

[Abylite]

Just checking in to see if it's ok that DD who just turned 3 is still in her crib. I consider myself lucky that she NEVER has once tried to get out. We have a 10 month old in the house who sleeps with me right now (that's another story!) and I'm not in any mood to transition her to a "big girl bed". Anyone else have an older child in the crib? She "fits" just fine BTW...sleeps curled up. DH is pushing the bed....

[Llyra]

I think it's fine, if she's happy and comfortable in there. My mom says I slept in a crib until 3 1/2. My only concern would be potty training-- if she's ready to be dry at night, and needs to get up to go to the bathroom. With my DD, if she calls for me and waits for me to come to help her go, by then it's too late and she's wet.

[lmkirche]

My ds turns 3 on Dec 6. He is still in the crib and we are not planning on moving him anytime soon. He does not try to get out and is not even interested in having a "big boy bed". I was told by many other people to keep him in the crib until HE ASKS for a big boy bed. The only other consideration to have is going to the bathroon in the middle of the night - how does that work for you? If it is working well, I would not bother moving out of the crib.

[EarthMamaToBe]

I LOVED my crib and since I was small I fit just fine too! I didn't move to a "big bed" until 4. I don't remember getting up in the night to go to the bathroom as a child.

[Abylite]

honestly, she usually sleeps the night. Yeah! At least one of my kids sleeps!

She sometimes dry upon wakening, sometimes not. We always wear pull ups to be (and most of the time for her 1 nap a day)....

She hasn't asked for a big girl bed! I'm in no rush!

[graymom]

My 3rd child was in the crib until he was 3 1/2 and my 4th was 3 and 2 mos.

This is how you will know when your child is too big for the crib.

When your 3 1/2 yr. old and his 2 1/2 yr old brother tip the crib upside down and use it for a cage. my 3 1/2 yr old pretended he was a lion at the zoo.

[angie7]

I think it is just fine. My twins are 29 months old and still in a crib. Never once have they tried to get out.

[greeny]

My son will be 4 in four months. He has two beds in his room: a crib and a twin size bed. Most night he sleeps in the twin bed, but some nights, like last night, he slept in the crib, which he will not let us remove from his room. He can climb in and out of the crib on his own. We're leaving it up for a while longer. I want to get rid of it because it would open up a lot of space for him to play, but he insists on having it around a bit longer.

[G's mommy]

I definitely think it's okay. DS slept in his crib til he was 3 and a month or so... he was comfy, he liked it, and he never tried to climb out, so I knew he was safe at night. The only reason I pressed to move him out was because I was pregnant with DD!!

Whatever works for you is the right thing!

[kdtmom2be]

I don't see anything wrong with it. That said, is there a possibility that you can take the side off? Thus turning it into a toddler bed but not really changing anything else? Some cribs you can do this with, some you can't. That's what we did. Your DD might accept the transition better, you won't have to buy anything new and your DH feels like you did things his way. Win win win I think, might be worth looking into.

[Shanana]

DD1 just turned 3 and is still sleeping in her crib. She can climb in and out, but stays put when I tell her to, which is a good thing. She still mightily resists going to bed, so I'm frankly terrified of moving her to a regular bed, as I'm not sure she'll stay put in that. We've also had a lot of changes lately, with dd2 being born, and we are potty training right now. So I don't want to change too many things at once.

As for going to the bathroom, I still put her in dipes for nap (when that happens ) and night. If it gets to the point where she needs to get up during the night to pee, she can get in and out of the crib on her own, so that shouldn't be a problem. I imagine that will be the point when we might try to switch to a bed.

When we're ready to make that change, I might start by lowering (not removing) the side of the crib, which will make it seem a bit different. We already have a toddler bed from Ikea, and we bought a little tent thing that goes over it to give it a more enclosed feeling, in the hope that she will feel snug and secure. But at the moment, she doesn't know that bed exists .