Toddler bed or just take side off crib?

[bigmama67]

So my 21 month old DD is about able to climb out of her crib. Before she actually does it, we need to change her sleeping arrangement. We never got a toddler bed for my DS; he went straight into a twin but her room is too small for that. Is it worth buying a toddler bed for the moment (she will move into DS' room when he is older and he will move up to the attic) or should we just take the side off the crib and put up a safety rail? I am wondering if it is worth the expense...of course, when she is 5 she will want a "real" bed anyhow and we may as well buy it now and get more use out of it...right?

Thanks!

 

[hsembrick]

I would go with the toddler bed. She will feel like a big girl since she can climb in all by herself and you won't have to worry about her falling out of bed.

 

[pixiedust9]

I would go with the toddler bed too. I bought one for my daughter and she was able to get in and not with no problem, and thought it was a "big girl" bed. I loved it. My sister had the crib that you took the side off to make into a bed, my nephew would not sleep in it. I would climb out and sleep on the couch...after some talking, I gave her the bed to use, he loved it. You could easily get a few years out of it...and then pass it to someone else down the road...

 

[LuLuO]

With DD we just put a twin mattress on the floor. But we needed the crib for our son. He is 17 months old now and is a climbing monkey. Soon we will probably take the front off of his crib to make a daybed and see how that goes. If he has a problem with falling out then we will put a twin mattress on the floor for him too.

 

[grumpyskirtgirl]

We have 2 toddler beds. We have a 4 year old and a 2 year old. The 4 year old was in his before he turned 1 and the 2 year old for about a year.

We currently are not using one of the beds, just have the mattress on the ground because our 2 year old bangs his head on the headboard every few hours EVERY night.

I love that we could use the crib mattress so it wasn't a big expense. I think the beds were like $60/each??? I can't really remember. Totally worth it since we have gotten years worth of use from them. I figure I will wait as long as possible to buy the twin beds, so that they can use those beds as long as possible.

 

[bigmama67]

Thanks, all! Good to know it is worthwhile.

I will probably get one on Amazon which has good ratings and free shipping...one less errand to run!

 

[herdtoDisney]

I personally preferred the toddler bed-especially since by the time I would use one, I needed the crib for the next baby I also had very small rooms at that time. You can get them pretty inexpensively off Craigslist, and using your own mattress, it would be clean (I don't care for used mattresses). You could also resell it later.

 

[Swimalie]

We went from the crib to a full sized bed (that's what his converted to) for our son but he was almost 4 at the time. He only tried to climb out once and learned that it was not a good idea. I like the idea of putting a twin mattress on the floor for you. My thought is, why spend the money on a toddler bed that will only be used for a little while when you could just get a twin mattress and use that until she's ready for a twin bed.

 

[princessbride6205]

If you're still looking, Target is having a sale this week on toddler beds. There is a Toy Story one (which I think is plastic) for $54 and a plain white/wood-ish one for $60. We're still deciding crib versus bed...

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

I found the toddler bed to be the biggest waste of money. Not one of my kids would ever sleep in one.

 

[Kellydelly]

If you don't need the crib for another child, why would you go out and buy a toddler bed if the crib converts to a daybed? We converted our youngest's crib to a daybed and she slept in it that way from about 2.5 till 5. You can put a safety rail on it if you want to and it's FREE since you already have it .

 

[Colleen27]

We converted the crib for both our girls when they started climbing out. Only one of my three has had a toddler bed, and that's because I needed the crib for his little sister before he was ready to transition to a twin.

 

[dimimi]

So my 21 month old DD is about able to climb out of her crib. Before she actually does it, we need to change her sleeping arrangement. We never got a toddler bed for my DS; he went straight into a twin but her room is too small for that. Is it worth buying a toddler bed for the moment (she will move into DS' room when he is older and he will move up to the attic) or should we just take the side off the crib and put up a safety rail? I am wondering if it is worth the expense...of course, when she is 5 she will want a "real" bed anyhow and we may as well buy it now and get more use out of it...right?

Thanks!

You could get the regular bed and put it on the floor.

 

[cassandrap83]

We took the side off of my daughter's crib. She sleeps in it just fine. There is no safety rail. She fell out a couple times, but it's like 8" off the ground & never even woke up. She's been sleeping with it like that for a little over a year now. I will not buy a real bed until she stops peeing her bed at night.

 

[FoundMyPrince]

So my 21 month old DD is about able to climb out of her crib. Before she actually does it, we need to change her sleeping arrangement. We never got a toddler bed for my DS; he went straight into a twin but her room is too small for that. Is it worth buying a toddler bed for the moment (she will move into DS' room when he is older and he will move up to the attic) or should we just take the side off the crib and put up a safety rail? I am wondering if it is worth the expense...of course, when she is 5 she will want a "real" bed anyhow and we may as well buy it now and get more use out of it...right?

Thanks!

We've never purchased a toddler bed - just taken the front side off the crib and made it into a "day bed". We have used a safety rail for a short period of time, but the kiddos haven't needed it after a couple months. Just use what you already have and there is no need to spend the extra $$.

 

[amylynne01]

We converted our DD1's crib to a daybed. Ours came with half a rail so she can climb in and out but still has some protection from falling out. I agree with a pp - if you already have a bed to use, why buy another?

 

[Swimalie]

We've never purchased a toddler bed - just taken the front side off the crib and made it into a "day bed". We have used a safety rail for a short period of time, but the kiddos haven't needed it after a couple months. Just use what you already have and there is no need to spend the extra $$.

Here is an inexpensive side rail, a pool noodle. Put it under the fitted sheet and it will help keep them in. My son has had one and has only fallen out once.

 

[Mickey527]

According to mapquest it is 1 hour 35 min. from Bridgeport Ct where I live to Nutley NJ.
I have a plain white toddler bed that takes a crib mattress that I have been thinking of selling to Once Upon a Child. If you want to take the drive you can have it.
I bought it for my grandson and he used it for about a year until my brother gave him the Little Tykes full size bed that he is sleeping in now.
I found it in Goodwill and paid way too much for it, $60. goodwill isn't cheap around here, but I couldn't find one in the stores and made a dumb spur of the moment purchase.
We cleaned it well and decorated it with Lightening McQueen stickers and he really loved it until the car bed came along.

 

[Carrie772]

Here is an inexpensive side rail, a pool noodle. Put it under the fitted sheet and it will help keep them in. My son has had one and has only fallen out once.

Wow! No little ones in our house, but I am soooo remembering that for my neices and nephews!

 

[bigmama67]

According to mapquest it is 1 hour 35 min. from Bridgeport Ct where I live to Nutley NJ.
I have a plain white toddler bed that takes a crib mattress that I have been thinking of selling to Once Upon a Child. If you want to take the drive you can have it.
I bought it for my grandson and he used it for about a year until my brother gave him the Little Tykes full size bed that he is sleeping in now.
I found it in Goodwill and paid way too much for it, $60. goodwill isn't cheap around here, but I couldn't find one in the stores and made a dumb spur of the moment purchase.
We cleaned it well and decorated it with Lightening McQueen stickers and he really loved it until the car bed came along.

Wow, this is so kind of you! Let me ask DH about it. He will be going up to Boston on Friday 8/13.