How to Make the Transition to a "Big Girl" Bed

You can probably find a used crib tent on craigslist. I know of several people who really regretted moving their child out of the crib real early. We moved my son out after 2 1/2, and I often wish we could keep him in the crib (he is almost 3).

I think she is too little to be out of the crib. For me, I needed to know exactly where my kids were at this age. A crib tent will cost you about $80. but will give you piece of mind. :)

I agree that 16 mths seems a little young to transition to a bed. My son was over 3 and my daughter was 2 1/2. I would absolutely try the crib tent. I have a few friends who used them and with much success.

Hi D.,
Not sure if this will help you, but this is what I did with my girls, now 5 & 8. My oldest stayed in her crib very well, and really loved it. I wanted to move her out due to the new baby coming, and she was almost 3 yrs old anyway. Seemed the longer she was in the crib, the more attached to it she became, so the transition was hard. Here's what we did:
First of all we read lots of books about going to the big girl bed, and how exciting it was going to be. We set up her new youth sized bed in her room, right next to her crib. For the first few weeks we let her choose which bed she wanted to nap/sleep in. She started napping in the big bed, but wanted her crib at night time. I think she had both beds assembled in her room for a long time- maybe 4 - 6 weeks. ?? Finally I just said one day "You know Hailey, I think your room would feel so much bigger if you only had one bed. Why don't we take apart the crib and see how it feels in your room?"
That was it. No tears, no issues at all.
I guess in summary, we really took it slowly, and talked about it a lot. Another idea is to let her call someone she admires on the phone, and be able to tell that person she got a new bed, etc. (someone like Grandma, or even a hero - like Dora, Barney, Thomas, etc. Just have someone on the other end pretend to be the hero)
Good luck!
A.
PT working mom to 3 (4, 5, and 8)

P.S. someone else mentioned the crib tent. We used that too on my 2nd daughter because she tried to get out before she was 2. She wouldn't stay in the toddler bed at night, so I got too tired, and went with the tent. Worked Great! I still have it, if you're interested in it let me know. I've been meaning to put it up on Craigs list.

Wow, 16 months seems awfully early to put a child in a big bed. Most pediatricians recommend holding off until they're 3 if possible. Honestly, I've never even heard of someone trying it until closer to 2.

I understand the concern for her safety. Why not try a child safety net? They fit over the crib so that your child can't climb out. Honestly, there are more safety hazards to your child being in a big bed at this point, even one low to the ground. She is far too young to be able to get out of bed and wander the house by herself at night (which she will do). Even if you feel like you've childproofed everything, just think of what she can get into when left to her own devices.

I would strongly suggest that you consider other options. She's not even 1 1/2 yet. You're putting a big responsibility on such a little girl.

Good luck!

Hi. I was reading responses to get some advice because I've been toying around with the idea for my 20-month old daugher and I was a little annoyed with some of the replies. You know your child; if you think she's ready, she probably is and I agree that it will be a big transition, but so is everything at her age. She'll adjust and learn how to manage her environment and you'll all be okay. My sil transitioned my nephew at 16 mos not only to a toddler bed, but to his own room (their crib was in the master bedroom and with a little sister on the way, Aidan needed to be evacuated) and he was fine. Another friend of mine moved her daughter to a big girl bed at 17 mos b/c she climbed out.

I guess I'm suggesting that you ignore the negative posts that question your choices for YOUR daughter and listen to the amazing advice of the MANY moms who have done what you are considering. Good luck!

you are right in making the change, if she is trying to climb out. when our kids were younger, we put them directly into a twin-sized bed. there were a few issues, so we put a gate at their bedroom door, so that that would not wander around at night! it only took a couple of days, and they were fine. they never fell out of bed or anything! we usually placed the bed with one side against the wall. They slept much better in the bigger space. they are now 19 and 13!

Hi, D.! I think you need to do what's right for your daughter. If you are so afraid of her getting hurt, then you don't have the peace of mind to get a good night sleep. I've heard of people moving their kids (out of necesity of hurting themselves) as early as you are doing it and my sister just moved her little guy at 3. Sure we'd all like our kids to be happy and healthy in their cribs until we are ready to move them, but that doesn't always happen on OUR schedule. We moved our son into a twin bed (I personally didn't want to spend the money on a bed he'd use for such a short time) he was 2 yrs. 3 months. We did the both beds next to each other to get him used to it and he one day said he wanted to nap in his big bed. He was in it since then. My daughter sounds a lot like yours. We are having #3 in Oct. and need the crib for her. Our kids will be in bunk beds till the baby is bigger and the girls will share a room. We went on a short trip and when we got home we said Ellie do you want to sleep in your big girl bed (which has been set up since June). She said yes and we figured since she hadn't been in her bed that weekend it was a good time. AGAIN her transition was fairly easy. She wants us to lay with her to go to sleep, but she's in bed and stays there all night. My theory is set up the bed for her to get used to, when she's ready she'll let you know. At least it worked for my kids. Now my # 3 will go to college in her crib (HAHA). I needed the crib for my next babies, so it was a bit different. Saftey is most important however.

Both of my children transitioned to toddler beds at 15 months. My daughter, the oldest was like yours, she always had a bump or bruise-on her face no less. We knew we would try transitioning around this time because we had our son on the way and wanted to avoid buying a second crib. Had we needed to, we would have, but the deciding factor came one day at naptime. She was jumping in her crib holding the crib rail, I presume, and something happened. We heard her cry that painful cry. Turns out she hit her eye on the bar--or the side of her face. Her mattress was already low, so her safety meant no more crib. We did as another poster said and child proofed very well. The transition was easier for both than expected. They had a few nights of getting out because they could, but we walked them right back and in about a week, it was done. Good luck.

Have you looked into a crib tent? You can get them at Babies R Us.

We transitioned our son at 16-17 months for the same reasons & it was a breeze. We super baby-proofed the rooom (switeched to the swivel outlets, corner cushions on all furniture, removed anything potentially dangerous)...basically made his room one giant crib. The night we did the switch we just made sure he was really tired, read stories like we always did and he went right to sleep. It took 3-4 days of him waking up screaming after naps & in the morning - he was just confused. Now he wakes up & plays with the few soft toys we have in there, "reads" books, etc. He LOVES his little bed. Personally, I almost think it's an easier adjustment at this age than 2-3 when they're more likely to test the limits of the new arrangement by coming out of the room, etc.! Regardless, if you are concerned for her safety, then you are doing the right thing by switching her now. It only takes one fall from the crib to cause serious injury. Good luck!

My daughter just turned 20 months yesterday and she has been in a twin size bed since she was 16 months old. I found it fairly easy to switch her. For about a month I had just put the mattress on the floor, incase she feel of the bed, she wouldn't get hurt yet she would learn not to roll off the bed. She doesn't normally do well with change either, but she loved her new bed and not being trapped in her crib anymore. It took a couple of nights to get her to stay in her bed, but she quickly learned that if she wasn't ready to go to sleep, she could read in her bed. She loved books. After a month I added the box spring and she has yet to fall off of the bed. This month we will be adding the frame.

Hi D.,
We had to put our daughter into a regular bed at 15 months becuase she was starting to climb so I feel your pain! We decided better safe than sorry and just went for it. I bought a bed rail that sits on top of the mattress and is hooked under it. It is pushed all the way down so no one can get stuck underneath and then that night we just put her in it the way we did our regular routine. I didn't want to put it in her room and let her play on it or climb on it first because I was afraid she would think it was a new toy and then we would have started a different set of problems! Of course she could just get out in the morning so we needed to remember to make sure everything was kid-proofed but it but was worth it so she didn't fall out. Good luck! and remember to stick with your routine to avoid confusion!

Hi D.,

I personnelly think 16 months is to young for a youth bed. Is there any way you can lower the mattress? I know you are afraid that she may get hurt if she climbs out but she can get in worse trouble if she gets up and is walking around when your sleeping. I did daycare in the past and most parents usually start the transition around the age of 2yrs old. Maybe you could put a blanket on the floor by her crib at night in case she does climb out.

However, I have noticed when the kids do start to climb out they are pretty careful and use there legs to clib down. After one or two falls they either quit climbing(which I have seen many times) or they get it down pat where they do not fall. I also know they have a mattress pad alarm (like a monitor)so you know when your child is out of bed, that may help with your worries as it will let you know if she does get out of bed.

Good Luck

Let her play on/around/near/etc. the big girl bed. Start with trying to get her to take naps in it... it might be a couple/few days of going back and putting her back in each time she gets up. I would, also, highly recommend a baby gate for her door. My son, too, is very active. When #2 was on the way, he was 20 months old and we started naps in the big boy bed. When the baby came, we got away from it. Right around 2 years old, we asked him one day if he wanted to sleep in his big boy bed. He said yes and that was all the transition there was!

Oh yikes! If she's that active I would NOT move her out of her crib. Just imagine what she can get up to in the middle of the night while you're sleeping!

I know it seems wacko but the crib tents are excellent. I have friends who used them and their kids loved them. It became part of the night-time routine to zip them in at night. Babies-R-Us has them.

Seriously, keep that kid in the crib as long as possible. You're going to have losing battles over her staying in the little bed and lose all kinds of sleep (both at night and during naptime), not to mention potential dangers to all of you. Let the big girl bed sit in storage until she's at least 2.5 if you can.

Good luck!

Before toddler beds were all the rage our daughter started to climb out of her crib too! So it wouldn't be a huge change for her we just dropped the mattress to the lowest setting and took the fron off the crib this way it was just like a small day bed...

Okay..I have a very similar daughter who now is 10. It was very hard to get her to sleep when she had the freedom of the bed. I would suggest maybe setting the bed up in her room if possible and putting the side rail down on the crib, this way the bed would be available...my dtr slept for awhile with the rail down so she could get in and out of the crib without getting hurt, this also made it difficult to fall asleep b/c she liked getting in and out of the crib but it was better than sleeping with me b/c it was her own space. Try a couple things and who knows maybe she will fall asleep nicely in the bed, she may just jump between the two and never sleep, or want to go back to the crib. Good luck.

My son is also very cautious, slow to adjust to change and try new things. And we were shocked that when we put up his big boy bed he wanted to sleep in it that very night! Naps were more of a struggle and we let him continue to nap in his crib (it contained him) for a few more weeks. But eventually he transitioned to the bed for naps too. So you might be pleasantly surprised. I would give her the option, big girl bed or crib...and see what she says!

I too have very adveuroous children, though none of my four have ever been as active as my last little one who will be three in oct. When he started to jump out of his crib not only to come in our room, but to also redocorated his room as well as his brother and sisters room ( all in the middlke of the night), i went online and ordred the crib tent. It is all mesh tent that you put around the crib mattress and it attaches to the crib. I tried to put him in a big boy bed since we have moved and he is sharing a room with his brother, but he kept getting out of bed so I just put the crib tent on top of his bed. It is a little expensive but worth every penny.

buy a mattress gate for her safety and put her bed in a corner against the wall.