Kids moving from a crib to bed...

Gosh, it was a long time ago, but I think my kids were around two years old when they made the transition. They didn't climb out of their crib or anything.

I bought a toddler bed that was low to the floor and had small bed rails in case they rolled too much and fell off. I put a soft carpet beside the just in case.

Nap time is a good time to get them used to the idea of another sleeping surface.

No protests or struggles that I recall.

Oops, I was supposed to email?

OK - here goes (and really, I'm not as bad a parent as this might make me seem! )

1. We knew it was time when we were sitting in the kitchen with a DYFS social worker (who, I swear was there about a problem with my nephew, who was staying with us when his mom went AWOL - those of you who are lucky enough to not know who DYFS is - it's Division of Youth and Family Services) when we all heard this dull thud from upstairs. I go up and peek into my then 3 year old's room to find her on her hands and knees on the floor. She looked up at me with the most seriously confused expression and said, "I fell out da crib, mommy."

To make matters worse, she'd fallen off of something else two weeks earlier and gave herself a shiner as well. I had to go back downstairs and explain to the social worker, praying she wouldn't want to see my daughter for herself. Fortunately, she had a sense of humor and believed my kid was in no danger.

We went out the next day and bought her a "big-girl" bed.

2. 3

3. We just talked it up about how great a big kid bed was and, luckily, she was totally cool with it.

4. It was a simple, painless transition.

5. We didn't have problems getting her to go to bed, but we had a few problems keeping her in the bed. She'd fall out on a regular basis.

6. No - we took thick sofa cushions from the family room sofa and lined them up alongside her bed.

Oops... do you still want them via email? :0

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klow said:

I am writing an article for a parenting website. Need anecdotal quotes from parents about the experience of moving your child out of the crib and into his/her own bed.

1. How did you know it was time to move your child out of the crib and into his/her own bed?

With the first one, he was a climber. Started at 18 months, so in the interest of safety, I removed the slider side of the crib and made a daybed out of it. He was also an early talker, so before he started climbing, he would hollar out to me in the morning, "Mommy, it's time to get up now!" LOL. I worked nights.

With the second, he was a chewer. He noshed on the rail of his crib and ended up with elevated lead levels (nothing serious), so we ditched the crib and since he had a baby sister coming along within the month, we decided to buy him a big-boy bed (he was also 18 months at the time) and buy one crib.

The third one got kicked out early because we needed the crib for baby #4. He also left the crib early, because he wanted a big-kid bed like his brothers and sister.

2. How old was he/she?

18 months was about the average for my kids.

3. How did you handle the move?

We talked up the big-kid aspects of a regular bed. It helped me to make the transition by keeping the mattresses low to the ground. We have one frame that's super-low (bottom of a desk/dresser/bunkbed setup), so putting the little ones in that bed at first helped me to sleep by knowing that if they rolled out of bed, there wasn't much of a fall--mattress height plus a couple of inches, no box spring. My daughter went into a regular big-girl bed, but it's a double canopy and my little girl thinks she's a princess, so she took to it right away.


4. How did it go? Any struggles?

I miss the cageability of the crib! All struggles in my house were with me. Naptime disappeared because I couldn't keep them down. But the kids were fine.

5. What worked? What didn't?

Making a big deal out of it worked. Taking the kids to pick out new sheets and blankets, talking up all the new things they could do when they slept in their own big-kid bed. "You can go to the potty, or if you have a bad dream, you can come get mommy without waiting for me to come to you, and look! You can get in it ALL BY YOURSELF!" My kids love being able to do things all by theirself.

Like I said before, all that didn't work was with me. I didn't have any place to put them and know they'd stay!

6. Any safety concerns?

Just with the height of the beds, which we addressed by using low-frame or no-frame bedding. Now my youngest is three, and all the kids are in regular beds except the baby is still sleeping on the bottom bunk, a mere eight inches (roughly) from the floor. I have the typical momma's ear, so I wake if any of them go scurrying about the house, but then my only fear is if they somehow got outside. I keep a very clutter-free, baby-proof home. Saves on sanity.

If you can help me with any of the above questions please email me at [email protected]
Thanks so much!

Click to expand...

This is from what my parents told me about how they did it to me.

1. How did you know it was time to move your child out of the crib and into his/her own bed?

I never wanted to sleep, so I kept climbing out of my crib. My parents were afraid I'd fall and injure myself. One night they discovered me missing and found me out on the porch sleeping with the neighbor's cat. That was pretty much the breaking point.

2. How old was he/she?

Two or three? Probably two.

3. How did you handle the move?

My dad (a carpenter) made me a bed that was basically floor-level out of some leftover wood.

4. How did it go? Any struggles?

Nope, after that I could get up and play at night whenever I wanted.

5. What worked? What didn't?

I was much happier with it.

6. Any safety concerns?

Nope.

Actually I should mention that at the same time we were living about 50% of the time on a boat. My bed on the boat was a bookshelf above the galley sofa, which my dad fenced off with some canvas and bungee cord. That kept me in pretty well.

When my oldest daughter was two she took to jumping out of her crib and landing with a sickening thud. Since she had a baby sister on the way we got her a toddler bed with small side rails that kept her from falling out. She really never had a problem.
My second daughter was moved to a toddler bed at the same age. She still has problems staying put at the age of 4 1/2. She likes to sleep on the floor more than anything else.

klow - are you interested in anecdotes moving from family bed to own bed? Or is that outside the scope of your article?

My kids were both just under two when I moved them into the toddler bed. Both times it was due to a relocation to a new house. It was too great a hassle to dismantle the damned thing (the crib) and put it back together.

We didn't have any drama. I don't muck around with sleeping. Lights out, no television, no music, no onerous three drinks of water and twenty hugs routine. Bedtime is goood for the body. Darkness is goood for your eyes. Here's your new bed.

We were just matter of fact about it. Slightly celebratory, but not giddy. Honestly, I think it's a mistake to throw a party each time a child uses the toilet or sleeps in their own bed. It makes too big a deal of things, when the 'event' is just what we all do. Can you imagine how terrifying it must be to have the big people bang a gong and do a dance when all you wanted was to take a dump or get some shuteye?

Because we used a toddler bed (small frame which accommodates the crib-sized mattress) there weren't any concerns about falling. They girls could get in and out on their own, but weren't wanderers, so it was great!

We did things VERY different.

Our two oldest (the new born is still in the crib) stayed in the crib until about 2 months. Yep thats right. We got them a mattress on the floor so if they fell it was nothing to worry about. At a round 2 1/2 months both of my two oldest kids were sleeping throught the night on a mattress in their own room. No fuss, No danger, No struggles on either side. No problems at all.

Kevin Hill
Kaohsiung
Taiwan.

Mine are all grown. For one of them, we told her how big she was getting and since she was getting so big, she needed a big kid bed. This puffed her up with pride.

Another of ours was really resistant to the idea and so he and his mother were out, I dismantalled the crib and when they came back I said, "Oh my, your crib has fallen apart. Now you'll need a bed." That worked.

One of ours, a very strong little fellow, kept pulling the bars out of the crib and so we knew it was time.

Another of ours kept climbing out of her crib and we'd find her curled up in the bathroom sink. We convinced that a nice mattress was so much better than hard porceline.

In all cases we installed a side rail so they wouldn't fall out.