"I want out!" That'south the message your toddler will transport (in 1 way or another) when he's ready to bid adieu-good day to the crib and say hullo to a big-kid bed. Your child might really verbalize displeasure or, more likely, simply first climbing out of the crib.

While there'south no hard-and-fast age when a toddler is set up to move on from the crib, little ones generally make the switch any time between 18 months and 3 1/2 years old, ideally equally shut to historic period three as possible. The timing is dissimilar for every child, but if he's hit 3 feet in height, makes a jailbreak on a daily basis or repeatedly asks for a big-child bed, it'due south probably fourth dimension to ditch the crib.

Choosing a toddler bed

You have two toddler bed options: a toddler bed, which looks like a mini version of a twin bed (and tin can come disguised every bit a race car, fire truck or princess castle), or an actual twin bed outfitted with rubber rails. Both are prophylactic options, so let your wallet, space constraints, child's temperament and design sensibility guide your decision. (Of grade, if you purchased a crib that converts to a toddler bed, no need to shop.) Whatsoever model you cull, if you're in the market for a new bed for your toddler, make sure it is:

  • Sturdy. In that location'll be enough of rolling, wiggling, jumping and bouncing on that bed, so make certain it can stand up to tough toddler treatment.
  • Low to the ground. Keeping the bed on the down-low limits injuries from falls and makes it easier for your child to get in and out all past himself.
  • Equipped with track. The bed should come with side runway (some toddlers are wild sleepers) or permit yous to add together them.
  • Simply designed. Choose a headboard and footboard without ornamentation, cutouts or protrusions to forestall rambunctious or curious toddlers from bumping heads or jamming fingers. Check to run across that the cease is smooth (no splinters!) and all edges are rounded.
  • Matched with a mattress. Your all-time bet is to purchase the bed and mattress together then you can exist certain of a snug fit (or buy a toddler bed that'southward designed to exist used with a standard-sized crib mattress).
  • Certified. Check for a sticker from the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) on the bed and whatsoever portable track you purchase. (Note: The JPMA doesn't certify twin-sized beds — simply toddler sizes.)

Where Should Baby Sleep?

Toddler-bed safety

Done shopping? Time to prepare upward his sleeping space with safety in mind.

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  • Find the right spot in the room — that ways away from windows, bullheaded cords, draperies, radiators, heat registers and wall or flooring lamps.
  • Identify the headboard affluent against the wall and leave ample space on both sides of the bed (or install rails on both sides) to limit the adventure that your child could get trapped between the bed and the wall.
  • Put a soft rug, sleeping handbag or pillows on the floor effectually the bed to absorber falls.
  • Bank check joints, screws or other hardware regularly to ensure they're not loose.

Tips to transition from a crib to a bed

Here are 10 things you can do to brand this transition a smoothen and prophylactic one:

  1. Time it right. If your toddler's life is already chock-total of change — new infant brother or sister, new school, weaning, potty training — wait before introducing the big-child bed. This should be an exciting transition for everyone, not one that'south overwhelming or scary.
  2. Consider a convertible. A convertible crib that turns into a toddler bed with the removal of the front panel tin make the alter seem less desperate to a toddler.
  3. Read all about it. Find a few books well-nigh the big move, and share them with your toddler. Betoken out that the characters in the book are "just similar you lot," and merely equally bravely moving on to their new bed.
  4. Let your child get in on the action. To mark the occasion and help your kid experience excited about the change, let him cull new sheets and child-friendly bedding, and encourage him to personalize the new bed with a few favorite stuffed animals. If you make up one's mind on a toddler or twin bed, enlist your child's help in picking it out.
  5. Re-evaluate your childproofing. Yous've likely already taken measures to toddler-proof your home, but this is a good time to re-evaluate. Are there any other prophylactic precautions you should have in example your toddler does get adventuring during the night? You may want to consider blocking any stairwells with safety gates, locking windows and whatever doors that lead outside (or to the basement) and double-checking to ensure your child can't get into whatever areas where cleaning products, medications or other hazardous materials are kept.
  6. Ease into information technology. If your toddler is giving upwards a crib for a new baby, the switch calls for an actress dose of TLC. You don't want your child to experience similar he's being displaced. If you can, try to go the new bed set upward before the baby arrives. Allow your tot "practice" napping in it to feel more comfortable with the new digs.
  7. Don't alter the bedtime routine. Put the bed in the same space where the crib was, if possible. And if the bath-books-bed formula for transitioning to sleep worked before, stick with it. Mixing upward the bedtime routine volition just mix your child upwardly.
  8. Keep exploration to a minimum. For nearly kids, the newfound freedom to roam volition be irresistible. Information technology's up to you to reinforce bedtime rules. Request last-calls for water, stuffed toys and trips to the potty before the final tuck-in, and make sure your fiddling one understands information technology'southward concluding.
  9. Practice patience. That said, be prepared for your child to constantly pop out of bed for a drink of water, a snuggle with Mom or some other escape-from-my-room alibi. Calmly and silently render your toddler to bed equally many times as it takes. Proceed it as deadening equally possible and he'll get the idea. For kids who don't, some parents put gates at the bedroom door. If your little one has already proved he can climb out of the crib, chances are a gate won't be much of an obstruction.
  10. Praise your tot for practicing proficient bedtime habits. A helpful solution for decision-making your kid's roaming habits might exist a sticker nautical chart. Give one sticker for each night he stays in bed. By the cease of the week, advantage him with a special treat, like an extra story at bedtime or a favorite family unit outing. Remember, toddlers honey pleasing you lot and doing things for themselves. Helping yours learn to dear a big-kid bed should be a win-win situation.