Crib vs Toddler Bed

JadensMama05 wrote: I feel like recently, I've come to a bunch of different spots where I need to figure out what I'm going to do and how I'm going to go about it. Jaden is climbing up and down furniture like a pro but still isn't walking. My aunt told me that babies can get put in toddler beds once they can climb well and with ease. My mom said that she let me and my older siblings sleep in our cribs until we were about 2 years old. My fiance's sister moved her son from his crib to a toddler bed once he could walk without help. So when is a good time to switch Jaden over into a toddler bed???

Our Lil' Family replied: What I plan on doing is leaving him in his crib until he can climb out of it on his own. For me it's just easier this way, I don't have to worry about him getting out and playing with toys at nap/bed time. I have the mindset that I'm not going to rush him growing up and so he'll be in a crib until he can get out unassisted.

PrairieMom replied: I read in a parenting magazine that they suggest waiting until they are 3. That seems old for me.
We switched our boy over when he was 18 months old. I had no special reason. We were starting to potty train, and I had the bed so I set it up just so he would get used to it, and he was so pumped about it he slept in it the first night, and never looked back.

KingMom replied: Colin moved into his toddler bed in early June so he was...19 months old. He slept in it the first night and has also never looked back. I needed the crib for Lauren's nursery (she was due in early August). If I hadn't needed the crib for Lauren, he probably would have stayed in it until he could climb out or we would have converted it to the daybed/toddler bed around age 2.

I got Colin a toddler bed that has 3 1/2 sides so he would still feel somewhat enclosed and wouldn't fall out easily. I think he may have fallen out 2-3 times in the first couple of week but just climbed right back in and went to sleep.

Hope that helps.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: Hmmm... our first born was on a mattress on the floor around 11 months old... I think... it was before 1 year, anyways, and moved up to a regular single bed by 16 months, when our daughter was born. Our second child was on a mattress on the floor by 1 year also, and in a single bed by about 14 months old.

This last baby is still in her crib... mainly becuase the younger daycare kid I watch sleeps in the lower bunk in my daughters' room, but if he didn't sleep there, my youngest child definitely would be, since she can and does climb in and out of it fine.

If you think he's ready, he probably is. I've seen kids sleep in cribs until 3, then move up to a toddler bed only around 3, then move up to a regular bed only once they outgrow the toddler bed aorund 6 years old... it really doesn't matter all that much.

moped replied: I am one of the ones that waits til 3ish....Jack is still in his crib, hasn't gotten out - I think he likes his crib. He is 2.5 yo.........

Thats just me!

~Roo'sMama~ replied: 1 year sounds a bit too young to me. We just switched Andrew to a toddler bed this week and he's 18 months ~ even that seems kinda early to me but with the new baby coming and needing the crib soon we decided to go for it. He's actually doing great with it which is a big relief! Ideally though I think I would have liked to wait until he was 2.

Boo&BugsMom replied: Tanner was in his crib until right before his 2nd b-day. He never climbed out of it, so I didn't want to jinx myself. Right before he turned two we got him a big boy bed...a twin. We never got him a toddler bed. I find they are kind of a waste of money, especially when you can buy rails to go on the sides of a regular bed. Plus, Tanner has always been a big kid. A toddler bed would have lasted him maybe a year. 1 year does sound a bit young. If he's not climbing out of his crib, I wouldn't worry about it just yet.

CantWait replied:
3333333333, holy smokes. WOW why so a kid can climb out and fall on his head

I switched over as soon as they were trying to get out, or when I noticed they could get out. It was around 2 though.

Cece00 replied: I switched my oldest around 18 months to a regular bed with rails. A friend gave me a toddler bed and I switched my 2nd around 18 months as well. I will probably switch my daughter over (she is going to be 15 months @ the end of the yr...) in a few more months. I think 18 months is a good age.

blue72 replied: I wouldn't rush it. I'd try somewhere between 2 - 3 years of age. If you have a good bedtime routine, I'd stick with it. Why mess with something that is working.

Our Lil' Family replied:
Which is exactly why I'm waiting!

flirtycuddle replied: My dd was an escape artist from the begining. At 10 months she started trying to climb out of her crib to the point she was pulling herself up with her arms and then pushing up the corner iwth her legs. At that point I put her in a toddler bed(her crib converted). At 20 months she went right to a twin bed and still doesn't have a problem with it. The first week of the toddler bed she fell out a few times but I had blankets below her and when she would roll out she just slept on the blankets. It never fased her lol.