I know I said I wouldn't comment on this subject again, but people keep directly addressing me and the subject of cribs vs. beds, so I think it's appropriate to respond.
Oh and after 28 foster kids I have come to realise that pediatricians are just people. They scratch their butts and pick their nose just like everyone else. I had one tell me that a baby should be on formula only until they were a year old!
Individual pediatricians can offer both good and bad advice, and I never held mine up to be some paragon of perfect advice. What I said is that the AAP statistics show a steadily increasing risk of injury beyond 16 months, and that
my pediatrician recommends transitioning to a bed at around that age.
I have twins that will be 30-months-old on December 20 and they both still sleep in a crib. They have never tried to climb out of them.
My son had never tried to climb out until the day he did and cracked his head on the floor. Let me tell you something -- when you pick one of your kids up off the floor, and he looks at you and starts crying, but the cry lasts for only about 2 seconds because he then loses consciousness and goes limp in your arms -- that's scary, and it renders all the well-intentioned advice about how it's okay to keep kids in cribs until you
notice them trying to climb out irrelevant.
Now grant it - I am not in their room while they are sleeping, but I put them in their cribs, they usually fall asleep within minutes and get them out when I hear them awake.
We thought the same thing, with the exception that we were even more careful than that -- we only ever put the kids into the cribs when they were already asleep.
I worry that if I have them in a regular bed they'd be jumping up-and-down and could hit their heads or fall out of the bed (They like to jump on my bed).
I would respectfully suggest a toddler bed or low frame bed like a futon bed in that case. Nobody can bounce on a futon bed, and if they fall out of bed it's like 7 or 8 inches to the floor. Falling out of a crib means falling 3-4 feet, and has a much greater chance of serious injury.
I did ask my pediatrician about moving them into a toddler bed when they turned two and she told me to keep them in their cribs until they attempt to climb out.
As I mentioned above, individual pediatricians can give good or bad advice. Waiting until you notice a child trying to climb out of a crib means you're giving them at least one chance to fall that they wouldn't have with a low bed. Kids don't always make noise when they're awake in their cribs, and parents aren't always able to immediately rush to a child's room if they hear noise on the baby monitors.
I have never once seen the AAP make a stance on the subject by using age, its always been height, and right now its 35 inches. 16 months?? That's a tad ridiculous in my opinion.
Let's be absolutely clear about what I said, because it's clear some people are misinterpreting it. I never said the AAP recommends transitioning to a bed at 16 months. If there's any question about that, go back and re-read what I wrote. I said:
Side note: cribs for 22 month-olds? Our pediatrician strongly recommended we not keep any of our kids in cribs past 16 months
That's a recommendation from
one pediatrician, not the AAP. Here's what I said about the AAP:
AAP statistics show a significant rise in crib-related injuries, including concussions and broken bones, after 16 months.
That's a citation of a statistic... that crib-related injuries show a significant rise beginning at 16 months. To be more specific: the rise in crib-related injuries rises steadily from 16 months, increasing with every additional month of age.
And no, most parents don't at 22 months. There doesn't need to be sources cited to back up that claim.
Any statement of fact is worthless without a source cited to back the claim. You know this... how?
Like the previous poster, I hate to keep this ridiculous discussion going, but the 35 inch rule is what the AAP goes by, not age. Here's a link to the AAP site that states it:
http://www.aap.org/family/inffurn.htm
Again, I never said the AAP recommendation was for 16 months. I said my pediatrician recommended 16 months. Maybe he used that age because he was judging by his examinations of my children, or their heights, or because that seems like a safe recommendation to him.
35 inches seems like a reasonable recommendation though... and so I would encourage the OP to take that into consideration, especially if her twins are close to that height.
I'm sorry you had a terrible tragedy with your child.
It wasn't (thankfully) a tragedy. It
was scary and it
could have been a tragedy if the CAT scan results had been otherwise.
Just because it happened to you doesn' mean it will happen to every child. SOme kids are climbers, others aren't.
Every parent with a child injured from a crib fall thought the same things prior to the injury.
I think you are out of line judging the OP. You don't know him nor his situation or kids.
I am not judging the OP, and would appreciate it if you wouldn't accuse me of such. I offered some information the OP doesn't like -- though for what reason, I can't imagine.
Incidentally, I'm not sure if the OP is male or female, but I've been referring to him or her as "she." Apologies if you're a "he."
David
, but when doing Disney, I want to stay at Disney.
I did ask my pediatrician about moving them into a toddler bed when they turned two and she told me to keep them in their cribs until they attempt to climb out.
