crib to toddler bed, at what age?

[Flower]

At what age did you allow your child to sleep in a toddler bed?

[tinkerbell04]

My DD was a climber and at about 13 months she started climbing out of the crib, so we moved her into a toddler bed. Then when she climbed, it wasn't as far for her to fall to get out. She didn't have any problems moving into the bed. BUT, I know a lot of my friends thought it was just too early for us to move her, they kept their kids in their cribs a lot longer. Moving her then just worked for us. I think each child is different and you really have to think about what is best for your family :) Good luck!

[Jessie]

I think the general "rule" is when they are able to scale a crib.

[magicofdisney]

None of my kids have used toddler beds. My oldest son went from crib to full bed around 18mos. My twin daughters went to a twin bed around 21mos. With my youngest son (2 1/2 yrs) we recently put the crib away for good.

[FlaTinkRAMESAM]

DD started climbing out of her crib during naps... so I figured she needed a toddler bed. This was about 4 months before her 2nd birthday.

[Dakota Rose]

We too went straight to a regular bed with DS when he was almost 2 I think.

[SAHDad]

We switched DS out of the crib sometime before his second birthday. As I recall, we had purchased the toddler bed at some point previous, and hadn't made the transition yet, when a thump and a wail announced that the munchkin had finally figured out how to break out of his crib.

(He was an early walker, but never much interested in climbing. Now, he's all but climbing the walls. Go fig.)

Anyway, when the kid can get out of the crib, it needs to go.

[mudpuppysmom]

DS climbed IN and OUT of his crib at about 10 months old!! We had to keep a watch on him a lot, but he was too little yet to go into a bed, so I just kept telling him it was dangerous for him to climb out of bed.

When he was right around 20 months old I finally took the slide side off the crib and he slept that way for about three months, then he moved into a twin sized bed with a bed rail for a side -- which he just climbed around!

[BrerGnat]

My oldest son was moved out of necessity around 21 months (needed the crib for the baby). He went to a toddler bed, which he loved!

My youngest son is now 22 months and we're moving him into his brother's toddler bed in about a week, because he has fallen out of his crib 3x now. He's very tall and very clumsy! I don't feel it's a safe place for him anymore. I also don't feel he is ready for a twin bed, since it would still be a big fall if he toppled off one. The toddler bed we have has high walls all around (it's a firetruck!) and it is very low to the ground, so it's easy to climb in/out of.

Our older son (3.5) will be moving into a twin bed when it arrives next week.

The general guideline seems to be "36 inches or 3 years old, whichever comes first." Once a child is 36 inches, the crib side is no longer tall enough to contain their head/neck, and since toddlers are top heavy, when they lean their heads over and out, their body follows. My 22 month old is almost 37 inches tall, so this is what's been happening with him.

[Flower]

Thanks everyone!

Ben is almost 15 months and has been showing extreme interest in the toddler bed we still have set up in DS4's old room (DS4 is sleeping in a twin bed in the baby's room, when DS4 is not sleeping on the floor which he seems to prefer).

Anyway, the baby was playing on the toddler bed yesterday and seems to love it. Last night I put him to bed in his crib, he woke up at 10 and when I set him down he went tearing into the toddler bed. I figured okay, lets try it, so I changed him, gave him another bottle and covered him up in the toddler bed and placed the baby gate across the bedroom door. I went to check on him a little while later and he was laying on the floor, as was his older brother - I have 2 weird kids!

Anyway, I am going to keep him in the crib as long as I can. He has not climbed out of it yet which is good.

[jennbunn]

ds was just about 2 when we made the switch. he loved it. then at 4 we switched him to the twin bed but still uses him toddler bed at gram and pop's house.

[ljv1975]

The general guideline seems to be "36 inches or 3 years old, whichever comes first." Once a child is 36 inches, the crib side is no longer tall enough to contain their head/neck, and since toddlers are top heavy, when they lean their heads over and out, their body follows. My 22 month old is almost 37 inches tall, so this is what's been happening with him.


My daughter is 2 and still in the crib. She is small for her age - only about 33 inches and 21 pounds. The doctors keep checking her weight and things, but she is just small!

Anyway, she is still in the crib and KNOCK ON WOOD, we haven't had any problems. She has never tried to climb out to my knowledge, and if she has tried it wasn't a success!

We are moving her straight to a twin size bed in the next few weeks as soon as her new "big girl" room is ready. We are doing a Disney Princess theme and she is just getting a big girl bed. I'm also pregnant and due in May, so we will be needing the crib and nursery for our DS.

My pediatrician said we could move her to a toddler bed at 18 months, but I just felt like she wasn't ready. At that time, she was still waking up in the middle of the night sometimes, so I thought the crib was the best bet until now.

[tinksmom02]

We moved DD out of her crib when she was 18months old. She wasn't a climber, but a very poor napper, and it was so painful on my back to have to bend over the crib to rub her to sleep. With the toddler bed, I could sit on the floor. In addition, I didn't want her to get to the point where she could climb out of the crib. Why invite trouble?

We got a plastic one from Kmart, I think it was $50 and it was the best investment we made. Right away she seemed to sleep a lot better, than she had in the crib. We put a baby gate at the end of our hallway so if she got up and wandered in night, she wouldn't go far (but she only ever really came into our room, and that was rare).

She actually stayed in the toddler bed until her fourth birthday LOL

I know everyone's different, and everyone has their own opinion...this is just what worked for us. I know many people whose kids stayed in cribs until they were almost 3, and people whose kids went from cribs to regular beds. Everyone's different!

[DisneyDog]

My DS never tried to climb out of the crib. We kept him in there past his 3rd birthday, and then he was just too tall to be comfortable in there any more. So, he went straight to a twin size bed. We had bed rails on it for a few months, but it was difficult to change the sheets and make the bed. By that time he was used to it, so we removed the rails. We actually got an older mattress that had not sold, so it was a lower profile. Good for a little guy, bad because I have trouble finding sheets to fit.