What age was your child when you replaced the crib with a bed?

[frannn]

DD3 (just turned 3 today!) has been climbing out of her crib for the past 4 nights, and crying, while trying to come into our room. At first, I kept putting her right back into the crib (several times a night). Then, I tried sitting in her room in the dark with her standing in the crib. Now, I hear her get out of the crib, and I just tell her to stay in her room (and I close the door). She opens the door, and has been falling asleep on the carpeted hallway between our bedroom and hers. Is there any solution to this? Should I buy a bed? A sleeping bag? She loves the Wiggles, so maybe a Twin bed with a Wiggles comforter? I don't know that I want to buy her a toddler bed because she's a tall kid. Maybe it would make more sense to get a twin bed. Any thoughts?

 

[imsayin]

When DD was 2 1/2, we put her in a twin bed. We didn't want to spend money on a toddler bed or railings that would hardly be used. We put the twin bed (mattress & boxsprings) on the floor without a frame. She was close enough to the ground that she didn't need railings.

 

[christinadei]

We moved straight to a twin bed when DS was about 2. This worked fine for us. I think that letting her pick out a new comforter would make her excited about the bed. Good luck!

 

[KelNottAt]

DS moved out of the crib on his 2nd birthday. He had to, DD was coming in about a week. We made a big deal about moving to a "big boy bed" because he turned 2. He was really into it...loved the whole idea.

 

[scorpad99]

my son was 2 1/2 when someone gave me a big boys bedroom set...........my son flipped out, he wanted his crib, so I left the crib up and added the bedroom set to his room. Everynite I`d coax him, do you want to sleep in your big boys bed, and he`d say no my crib. I think it was about a year, maybe longer b4 he actually slept in the bed! LOL

 

[Huntava]

We got a toddler bed for our DS at 18 months b/c he was climbing out of his crib more and more, and we would find him asleep on the floor in front of his crib. I was afraid he would end up hurting himself from climbing out so much. The first several days it was kind of hard for him to transition, but then everything was fine, and he loved his new bed.

 

[piglet33]

My DD was 18 months when we moved her to a bed. She kept trying to climb out of the crib so before she fell and got hurt, we moved her. I got her Disney Character sheet sets and she loves her bed.

 

[welovedis]

I guess I'm in the minority, mine was 13 months old. He climbed over the top rail of his crib at night and we bought a toddler bed frame the next day. It was relatively inexpensive (about $20) as we bought it at a huge yard sale, but it was still in the original box. Just used his crib mattress and bed rails with it.

My guy was a regular escape artist, he figured out how to climb over doorway gates, etc.. and when we would double gate him in, he would climb over the 2 (!!!!) gates anyway--little monkey! We did this because our bedrooms are on the second floor and he would try to get down the stairs to the playroom on the 1st floor during the night.

He moved to a regular twin bed just before his 3rd b-day.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I guess I'm in the minority, mine was 13 months old. He climbed over the top rail of his crib at night and we bought a toddler bed frame the next day. It was relatively inexpensive (about $20) as we bought it at a huge yard sale, but it was still in the original box. Just used his crib mattress and bed rails with it.

My guy was a regular escape artist, he figured out how to climb over doorway gates, etc.. and when we would double gate him in, he would climb over the 2 (!!!!) gates anyway--little monkey! We did this because our bedrooms are on the second floor and he would try to get down the stairs to the playroom on the 1st floor during the night.

He moved to a regular twin bed just before his 3rd b-day.

This is my son, he climbs everything!! Except out of his crib . Of course, he sits in it and takes his pajamas off while he's waiting for me to get him up in the morning, he's always naked when I get him, I guess that keeps him occupied. He's 17 months now so we'll probably move him in another month or so. He's my fifth baby. All of mine went to a toddler bed around 18 months except one. I tend to have big babies, around 10 lbs., so they outgrow their crib quickly, but one was smaller and stayed in until he was about two. What I do is put the toddler bed in their room with the crib for as long as I can (DS 17m. has had it in his room his whole life) so they're used to it.

I would definitely not put your DD in a crib anymore if she's climbing out, that can be dangerous, even if she gets down okay her pajamas could get caught and hurt/strangle her. If you want to skip the toddler bed I suggest either putting a twin boxspring and mattress on the floor as a pp suggested or getting bedrails for one.

This may be controversial, but I always put a doorknob cover on the inside of my kids' doors when they were smaller with a baby monitor inside so they couldn't get out and get hurt, but I could still hear them if they needed me. When I put my DD in a toddler bed she started out getting up and sleeping on the floor next to the door for awhile when she'd try to get out, but after a week or so she slept in her bed. In a fire safety class I took the Fire Chief told us it is safer for children to sleep with their doors shut so if there is a fire it can keep some smoke and flames out for awhile until someone gets them.

 

[MichaelsMickey]

I just moved my son to a twin bed as he just turned 2 I have on side against the wall and use a rail for the otherside--He has stitch bedding and just loves his new big boy bed. I have a very old house (the doors get stuck a lot) so we leave the door open and if he has a problem he just comes to my room to get me. We do gate the stairs still so he doesn't fall.

 

[CherylA]

My daughter never climbed out of her crib but when she was 2 1/2 we put a twin bed in her room and told her she could sleep in it when she was ready. The first night she slept in the bed and never slept in a crib again. I don't get the point of a toddler bed, you only have to buy a big bed in another year or so.

 

[jennifer293]

DD5 was 18 months when we made the transition from crib to toddler bed and we never had the first problem with her, when we put her in it she stayed in it and never tried to get up at night to come find us. Our newest DD is now 17 months and there is NO WAY I am taking her out of the crib yet she is nothing like her sister and I know for a fact she would be trying to get up and play or get out of the room all together to get to me..(we really spoiled this one since she was our last baby ) SOOOOO I am thinking it will be a while. Plus the house we lived in with our first DD was a single level home and now the girls are upstairs and we are downstairs so I want to keep her "contained" as long as I can...

As the pp said it is better to keep the doors shut at night in case of fire, being married to a firefighter it kinda gets drilled into your head...LOL

 

[SHSFire]

We moved DD directly from crib to twin bed when she was 19 months old. DD had climbed out of crib one time and fell, I was not going to have this happen again. DS, we moved from crib to twin bed at about 16 months because he kept getting his arms or legs between the slats while moving around in his sleep. He is still very active when he sleeps. We used side rails on the one open side and the open end. Never had a problem.

 

[Downrivermama]

My dd went into a bed at 22 months after she took a header out of the foot of the crib. heard her thud and when I got there she was sitting on her butt! I didn't want to have her hurt herself so put her in a twin bed (which I already had). She use to be an early riser 5:45 AM! You know that feeling when you can sleep in and wake up because you feel eyes staring at you! Now she is 7 and gets up sometimes around 6:45 AM but often later.

 

[PaulaSue]

Honestly we were co-sleepers most of the time and the girls didn't use the crib much. They all went into there beds about 1 to 2 yrs old, first with the mattress on the floor and then bumped up with rails on the side.

 

[Nini]

purchased the "toddler conversion rail" for her crib. She started having sleep issues (getting up at night like 5 times!!!! ) about four months ago. We just used a twin bed, box spring & mattress my mother & dad had and bought her really cool pink flower bedding. No more sleep issues!!!! I was shocked over how good she sleeps in her "big girl bed". We made such a fuss about her "big girl bed" and she also knows the responsibility of making her own bed now that she is a big girl (will be turing 4 in Oct.) .

She never missed a beat changing from one type of bed to another. Just like potty training...once I committed to it, it was over in a flash!!!

 

[klj27]

My daughter switched when we moved to a new house at 2 years 5 months. She has the bedroom furniture from when I was younger and her first bed was a full size. Our son switched at about 19 months. He transitioned to a twin bed with no problems and we even had the crib still set up in his room. Our youngest is 19 months and I can't even imagine him in a big bed yet. Maybe it is because he is our "baby". He'll probably be in the crib until he tries to climb out of it or we move in a year or so.

 

[sk!mom]

For DS, moved to a Toddler bed at 2 1/2. He was such a great sleeper, I didn't want to change anything. The transition was smooth.

For DD, a toddler bed at just after turning 2. She was always in a hurry to grow up and had begun to complain about the crib- "I'm not a baby!" I took her shopping for bedding and she was excited to move to a regular bed. I only did the toddler bed because I had it (hand-me-down from a relative). if I needed to buy one I probably would have gone straight to the twin and purchased rails and a good thick mattress cover.

 

[PatsGirl]

I put my son in a twin bed just about his first birthday after spending months of him climbing out of his crib, which he started to do at 8 months. It began one night with a "thump" and him crawling out to the living room. This happened night after night. Sometimes he would go right to sleep but other nights I'd put him to bed and 1/2 hour later, here he'd come, crawling into the tv room. One very early a.m. I found him sitting in the windowsill holding in his mouth, hands, lap, probably a dozen binkies, "singing to the birds". Another time, I found him sleeping on the kitchen floor with the fridge door open, containers of yogurt and juice half eaten. Figured it was better to have him sleeping in a bed not climbing out of his crib night after night. Needless to say, there was very little sleep for the next year or two
This child also learned to climb the stairs about the same time after figuring out baby gates and all the other gadgets they sell. So, we named him Houdini

Baby #2: Screamed and cried for hours when I replaced her crib with a twin at 3 1/2 years old. She would stay in her crib all day long and play if I let her. She's still content to sit and color or play with dolls for hours on end (and she almost 9!)

My son also had issues with carseats and highchairs but my daughter would sit in either for hours. Wonder how they'll differ in the teenage years? He's been a little tough (to say the least) but there's 8 years difference, so it'll be a while before I know how she handles the hormones

 

[DisneyPhD]

My kids are rather the oppiste of PatsGirl. My oldest loved her crib and when she was over 2 years old I took the side off it since I was sick of hanging over it. (it converts to a day bed.) This worked for her for a while. We told her if she got out of it with out permison we would put the side back on. We hever had too. However she would still roll over on the the floor nightly. We had to put a bed rail up.

Since I was pregnant we put the crib away and just gaver her a matress on the floor. She loved it. She had less of a distance to the floor.

She now has a bed, with a rail on it (still is a tosser at night.)

Her baby sister HATES her crib. She doesn't try to crawl out of it, but she hates it. She seem to like soft matresses (like ours.) I see the day coming when she will climb, she doesn't walk yet, but she can really climb. Also my oldest never would dream of it with out an example. My youngest has that example since her sister will climb in the crib with her, she knows it can be done.