Have you been wondering when to transition from crib to big kid or toddler bed? You’re not the only one. Here is an email I received recently, along with my response.
Hi Stacie,
My husband was just asking me when we should transition to a big girl bed. My daughter is about 22 months, and although she is tall, she doesn’t seem to be interested in climbing out (although I didn’t want to wait for her to try!) I’d like to do it before my daughter tosses herself overboard! I’d love to hear your thoughts on this
Hi MJ,
We’ve been all over the place on this one. Our twins were climbers and we felt pressured to get them out of the cribs just before age 2. Big mistake, at least for us. We had a horrendous time keeping our little guys in their beds. So much so that we went back to cribs and put crib tents on. This is a solution for the climber who may not be ready for a big kid bed. If you think your little darling is in danger, but you aren’t ready to move on, try the tent idea–it’s cheaper than a new bed too.
If it’s not a matter of safety, I say wait. We may have gone to the other end of the spectrum with baby #3, but our daughter didn’t get into a toddler bed until age 3. Seems old to me when I type it, but it’s the truth. And she didn’t mind. She was not a climber and never asked for a big girl bed. We just decided to move her into the toddler bed stage. She is really great at staying in bed–except for the occasional middle of the night wander into our room.
Ask yourself…Is it a matter of safety?
Yes. Consider a crib tent if you or your climber is not ready for the bedtime chase that will likely ensue. Or move to a toddler or twin bed with appropriate safety measures like bed rails.
No. Wait! There is no rush to get your toddler out of the crib. You’ll thank me for this little bit of advice later.
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DS is 25 months and still loving his crib. He is a climber, but thankfully has not attempted to climb out of his crib. He climbs in it by himself at naptime and bedtime, but never tries to get out. We also have a 4 month old and I’ve decided (after seeing my friends’ attempts at this transition) that he is going to stay in the crib for as long as I can keep him in there.
.-= Kelly´s last blog ..Bedtime by Myself =-.
Although our kids are huge climbers in general, none climbed out of the crib early, for some reason. So we never had that safety issue to worry about.
We waited later and later with each child. The first time, we shoved poor DS1 out at barely 2 years when DD outgrew the bassinet. Big mistake, as we spent many nights chasing him around the house. DD was 20 months when DS2 came along, so we decided to buy a new crib that could convert to a toddler and then a full bed and move DD to that so DS2 could get the old crib. That worked out really well for us, and we took rails down, etc., on DD’s own timetable with no pressure.
Now our laxness on the crib has reached new heights…DS2 is nearly 4 and still calls it home. He’s been able to safely get in and out for over a year now, of course. We figure we’ll bring out DS1’s old firetruck toddler bed for his 4th birthday this fall.
Gabe was a climber at age 13 months and did well with the transition.
Matt was moved out around at around 18 months because Jude needed his crib. He transitioned fine.
Jude on the other hand…we tried at 2. For 10 days we tried to correct him consistently, but he would not stay in bed for anything. So we decided to scrap that idea and tried again at 3. He was ready then and we were all much happier.
Mary Beth is 2.5 and is still loving her crib. She shares a room with Josh now and I don’t want her to have too much access to helping him awake or stay awake…so we’re waiting.
As always, I try to remember that each kid is different and we must approach them with that in mind.
Hope our varying situations help others to know that their situations are probably within the realms of “normal.”
I know it always helps me know that we’re not alone in our journey of parenting.
God bless.
Timely advice. Thanks, Stacie. I think we will wait for awhile.
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