When to Switch to a Toddler Bed?
Whenever is right for you; when your little one can understand the change and won’t totally freak out. We switched Micah soon after we moved and that was probably a little early, but we needed the crib for baby girl and figured making the switch to a big boy bed at the same time as moving would be smooth (WRONG, btw, it was easier for us to move the crib right into the nursery, but harder on Micah to lose his familiar bed, he slept in the pack n play a few weeks during the in-between.)
Toddler Bed Transition
I am definitely not an expert. Micah fought the transition way more than I expected. We spent a lot of nights getting frustrated because he wanted to be in his toddler bed but as soon as we left the room he’d scream and cry.
We tried a few different ideas:
Routine
First, we tried the routine. We changed his diaper, read a few books, said night night, gave him his monkeys and blanket, and left. He cried. And came out of the room. Repeatedly. I would walk him back in, tuck him in again, and leave. And he’d come back out. I started giving him three chances, so on the third time out of the room he went in his pack n play instead (it was still set up in the room). That quickly became a game, he’d come out smiling and laughing, then scream and cry at being put in his pack n play.
Cuddling to Sleep = no
I was tempted to try cuddling with him, but I really didn’t want to start a habit of him needing us in the room to fall asleep, so that idea got thrown out quickly. We cuddle while we read, we don’t cuddle to sleep unless he sick or scared for some reason.
Standing Outside the Door
I tried standing outside the door holding it closed and telling him to go back to night night. That just seemed to give him more energy to stand crying at the door knowing I was right outside.
Locking the Door
Finally, I changed the door handle (from a handle to a knob), because he could open the handle and he hasn’t yet figured out a knob. Please understand, I know my little boy, so I know that taking away his ability to get out would take away the game. I have a video monitor in the room to know he’s safe and I made sure to stay close enough to hear if he was scared or hurt.
We made sure he was familiar with his room, had pacifiers in reach and nothing dangerous in the room, we did our bedtime routine and left. This first naptime he was mad. Mad because he couldn’t open his door anymore, not sad or scared, just mad. It took about 15 minutes and he gave up and fell asleep on the floor next to his bed, so I went in and moved him to his bed. That night, he cried about 10 minutes then gave up and crawled into bed and slept. Each night the crying and trying to get out got shorter (with a few rough worse nights thrown in) and now he just whines when we leave the room, then plays with his animals and books until he falls asleep.
Playing instead of Sleeping?
Some nights and naptimes he plays for quite a while in his room before going to sleep. We keep his toys in the living room so he really only has his stuffed animals and a few books to play with. Most nights he wants to read longer, so I always tell him how much longer he has and then leave even if he’s mad. We initially tried to take away his books, but quickly noticed he would get out of bed to grab books off the dresser and take them to bed. I’m fine with him “reading” himself to sleep, and it made him happy to keep his books with him, so now we just leave the books beside him when we turn out the lights and leave.
Picking a Toddler Bed
Most cribs now are convertible cribs that change into toddler beds, so if you don’t need the crib right away for another baby, just convert it. If you need the crib, start bed shopping! Or just put a mattress on the floor. If you buy a frame, buy a twin frame so the kiddo can use it for many, many years to come. Just make sure it’s not too tall, your little one will want to be able to get in and out by himself and have a short fall if he rolls out. If you do have a really mobile sleeper, but side rail parts so they don’t fall out!
My grandsons switched over to a toddler bed around age two. Luckily they both thought it was really neat that they could climb in and out on their own and didn’t have any issues with transitioning.
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