Transitioning your baby to a toddler bed is a huge milestone, ranking right up there with walking and potty training. Some children take to it easily and some need time to adjust. Your toddler's personality and readiness, as well as family circumstances, may dictate when and how easily the transition takes place.
Safety will likely also be a factor. Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh suggests moving your baby to a bed as soon as she can climb out of a crib or is 32 inches tall. Regardless of how your reach this milestone, you can smooth your baby's transition to a "big kid" bed.
Step 1
Transition your baby gradually. Talk up "big kid" beds beforehand. Read storybooks such as "Your Own Big Bed," by Rita Bergstein or Sesame Street's "Big Enough for a Bed." Point out friends, cousins or even characters on his favorite shows who sleep in big kid beds. Get excited and get him excited about growing big enough for a big bed, suggests clinical psychologist Laura Markham of Aha! Parenting.
Step 2
Involve your child in the process. Let her pick out the new toddler bed or the new sheets. Let her help you convert the crib to a toddler bed, put together the new twin bed or lay the mattress on the floor until she gets used to sleeping outside her crib. Her new bed will be more familiar to her come bedtime and will make the transition easier.
Step 3
Keep his bedtime routine similar. Put the bed where the crib used to be. Give him a bath, read a story, put some music on and tuck him in the same way you used to. Try to incorporate the bed into the routine. Sit on the edge of a twin bed and cuddle with him, or on the floor next to the toddler bed so you can rub noses, for example. It is something you couldn't do when he was in a crib!
Tips and Warnings
- Transition your baby to a toddler bed at least two months before a new baby comes along, suggests Elizabeth Pantley, author of "The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Preschoolers." Put the crib out of sight and when you bring it back, make it different enough that your toddler won't think the new baby took her bed.
- Equip the "big kid" bed with bed rails if it doesn't already have them. Your toddler will need time to adjust to being outside the safe confines of a crib and he will likely fall out of bed at some point. A twin bed mattress can be laid on the floor for a while before putting it on the frame, or lay a body pillow on the floor next to the toddler bed if bed rails won't fit.
Things You'll Need
- Storybooks
- Bed rails
