2 year old - toddler or twin bed?

[Minnie824]

For my DD's 2nd birthday we want to get her a bed....we'll leave the crib for awhile for her to get used to the bed, but not sure if we should get a toddler bed or a twin bed. Any opinions? How long can a toddler bed be used (she's tall for her age) and also, what kind of pillow do you use with a toddler bed, and what kind of bedding? We want to do some sort of theme to her room now too...possibly Disney something with the Disney paints too. Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[debster812]

Most toddler beds use Crib mattresses. If she is tall for her age, she might be hanging off the end of the toddler bed very soon. That being said, we used one with DS for a while, but it was a handmedown (he was the 4th kid to sleep in it). I would go for the Twin Bed, and maybe just start with the twin mattress on the floor for a while, then once she is used to that, put up the bed frame (don't forget those bed rails!).

 

[nuke]

My son was perfectly happy in his crib until he was almost three. From there he went to a twin bed with rails.

 

[4greatboys]

I'd get a twin bed and get a rail to use on the side so she doesnt roll out. That way you wont have to spend the additional money for 2 beds instead of one. Also if you ever need or want to lay with her you wont fit on a toddler bed.
When my oldest went from crib to bed we found a great "barn door" bed style that came with a wooden rail that slid down into grooves so he wouldnt fall out of the bed and it was easily removable when he was older.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I would go for the twin bed. My DD will be 2 in August. She has been sleeping in a twin bed for 6 months. If you are worried you can always just put the mattress on the floor with no box spring or anything. And then when she doesn't roll off any more you can put it up higher. DD has never fallen off of her twin and only fallen off of our queen twice.

 

[FOJMO]

I can honestly say I've never even heard of a "toddler bed"

Our DD (17) went from her crib directly to her own room to a "big girl bed" -- a daybed!

 

[isyne4u]

My son had a convertible bed. It was a full size crib with attached drawer set in the beginning. Then when he was about 2 and 1/2 he started climbing out of his crib so I took the side off of his bed so that he just had a toddlerish bed. I think he fell out twice, not a very far drop and was back in bed before I could sprint to his room and check on him. Then for his 3rd bd in April I took the bed apart and turned it into a twin bed. The drawer set then became his nightstand. The night stand was the same width as the crib had been so with it next to the bed he doesn't roll out because it blocks his way and he notices it before he starts to climb out.

Although, I have to say he was very upset to see his "baby bed" gone and threw one whopper of a temper tantrum when I told him i couldn't put it back together again. I showed him how it WAS the same bed but in a different shape. It took a day or two for him to get used to it, but eventually he accepted it. Now he thinks he is really big boy!!


tara

 

[Minnie824]

ok, if we get a twin bed, we were thinking of getting one with a trundle underneath, just to have for later anyway. That way, if she wanted to sleep lower she could, and even if she slept in the regular bed, we could pull the trundle out and she'd fall onto that instead of the floor if she did fall. Does that sound like a good idea?

 

[isyne4u]

sounds like an awesome idea. Then when she gets older her friends can spend the night and not have to lug sleeping bags!! You could also sleep in her room if she was sick and you wanted to be near her. Go for it!

 

[believe]

I would get a twin with rails. DD#1 had to use a twin for a short time at 2.5 and she did really well. Now she has a full size. We have the grow with me beds, goes from crib to full size, so DD#2 who is 3 is still in the toddler stages of that bed.

 

[cgcw]

With DS8, we went from the crib to a twin. The first month or so, we didn't use the bedrails or headboard, just put it on the floor. No problem making the transition.

With DS3, we were given a toddler bed. He's been in it for a while but now is starting to get way to big for it. The other morning, he was hanging off of it with just his head on the mattress. Time to go shopping.

 

[CEDmom]

I'd go with a twin but here's what we did with DD. Our DD is very small for her age but when she got to be about 2 1/2 she wouldn't sleep in her crib. For awhile we put her crib mattress on the floor and she slept like that. Just before her 3rd b'day we got her a twin bed but instead of a boxspring we got a bunkie board (it's a piece of plywood covered with fabric). With the board instead of the boxspring the bed is much lower to the ground and DD can get on and off by herself. Until a few months ago DD didn't have a real pillow because I was still worried about her smothering herself. What I did was put one of her cloth books in a pillow case and fold it up and that became her pillow.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

DD4 went from crib to full sized bed (in corner with bedrails) at age 2. She fell out of it once after we took the rails off. She actually had a harder tim eon a twin bed at my parent shouse because she kept falling off of it. She didn't realize that she was running out of bed space when she tossed and turned since she was used to a full!

DD20mo will stay in a crib as long as she is comfortable. But eventually we plan to get her bunk beds with a twin on top and full on bottom.

 

[suzannen]

In our experience, our DD really loved her "toddler bed." She slept in that from age 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 and always felt very safe in it and slept great. We also have a weekend country house which had regular twin beds. Unfortunately, she did not feel "cozy" in them until she was closer to 5. She came wandering down the hall to sleep in our bed almost every night, every weekend we were there.

 

[KimRaye]

Sorry to derail......Minnie824, could you please PM or email me, yours are disabled. I have some Wiggles info you might be interested in. If you PM, please include an email so I can reply. THANKS!!!!

 

[SnowAngel]

All my girls had toddler beds from 2 to around 5ish. Then they moved to a twin bed. I felt they were too little for the twin and have been known to fall off one even now (and this was with the rails)
My youngest has a convertible crib which we just changed to a toddler bed. She loves it.

I used Pooh Bear for youngest.

My oldest two have nothing on the walls as they tend to take everything off the walls and do their own drawings on it

 

[Minnie824]

KimRaye - I enabled my PM if you'd like to send me one about the Wiggles. Thanks!

 

[MerryPoppins]

We went straight to a twin bed for DS, with a rail. I stored his old baby mattress under the bed and pulled it out at night, just in case he climbed over the rail and fell.

DD we put in a toddler bed for a year. You can often find them at garage sales, so the investment isn't that high. It was much easier for her to get in and out of that bed than it would have been a twin.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

My dd turned 3 this past Dec. and she got a toddler bed from Santa for Christmas. She loves it!! I also got the Disney princess bedding set from Toys R Us that fits it. It came with a pillow case, a fitted sheet, a flat sheet (that was fitted on one end, great idea!), and a little comforter. I think it was about $35 for the set. We just got her a regular sized pillow to use, but got a feather pillow because we figured she could scrunch it down to the height she felt was comfortable.

 

[Pin Wizard]

DS went from the crib to a toddler bed. He was in it until his feet stuck through the railing at the bottom of the bed. LOL! I knew that I wanted to get a "nice" bedroom set for him and wasn't ready to lay out the $$$ when he made the switch. Toddler beds are pretty inexpensive at TRU. Besides...he loved that bed at the time. And the railing came with it.