How did you get your child to start sleeping in a toddler bed?

Question

My son is almost 2, I am pregnant with our third, due in Feb, I've got two toddler beds and one crib. So I was planning on getting him into a toddler bed before Feb anyway but hadn't put much thought into it. But now my son has figured out how to get out of the crib, so I guess now would be a good time to start. My daughter is 4, I don't remember having a problem with her, she was so much more advanced and I was a single mother at the time so she had always slept with me in a real bed not a crib so moving her to her own bed was really easy. So even though he is my second I feel kinda clueless on how to go about getting him to start sleeping in a toddler bed. He was a premie and seems a little slower with his learning and I know that he will be up and down all night and that he will get into things quietly that we may not hear right away. I know a lot of kids do that. We block off most of the house with baby gates but now he can climb over those too. continued read on....

I am not a deep sleeper and most of the time I hear every little thing, but he has gotten up a few times when I didn't hear him until 10 min or so later, estimating. I'm wondering if there are any parents out there that have found tecniques that have worked for them when it comes to this. I have no ideas. So any advice would help. How did you get your child to start sleeping in a toddler bed?

Answer 1

just keep on putting him back to bed, simple as that. I wouldn't buy a toddler bed because it's just too small. My son starting sleeping in a twin bed by age 15 months. Put two gates on the door panel, one on top of the other. Tell him that he is a big boy and he needs to sleep in a big boy bed. give him a kiss and tell him you'll see him in the morning. Be consitant with the removal of him from your room to his room. he also might not need two naps and he is staying up at night. My son is 2, but he looks like he is 3, but stopped naps very early, and he wakes up at 9 30 and goes to sleep at 9 pm. .

Answer 2

I suggest to make sure there is nothing in his room that he can get into if he wakes up...at least until he is more mature and you can trust him not to get into everything. Both my first and second children were in toddler beds by 15 months old. They took a while sometimes getting up in the night or falling out of the bed. Since its so close to the floor they won't get hurt if the bed is rounded with no hard corners. Of course, their door has to be closed or else they will wander the house. If you feel so unsafe with leaving him unattended like that, the best bet would be a play pen but they can get out of those pretty easily too. My third child is 13 months so i'm in the process of getting enough money to get him a toddler bed. My oldest is 3 and she's been in a twin bed for quite a while. Its all on your child. My middle child seems kinda slow but he did ok getting in a toddler bed so early so I don't see any problem in putting your son at his age in a bed. I am a light sleeper like you and you can usually hear if they get up but if they have nothing to get into, they will get bored and lay back down in bed. Good luck!

Answer 3

Honestly, she started climbing out of the crib, so at 14 months, into a toddler bed she went. Never had any problems.

Answer 4

First babies r us carries a 3 foot stretch net baby gate, we blocked our sons room w/ one feel better w/ door not closed & hom unable to roam. Secondly it will probly take a few weeks but he will get it, I ended up sleeping on the floor in my sons room for the first few days then I moved closer to his door, then back to my bed. It is just a matter of putting then back in bed over, and over and over. Good Luck

Answer 5

Are you able to remove the bars on the side of the baby bed? If you do that, he can get used to being in a bed without stable arms surrounding him. Slowly get him used to that, then try to transfer him.

Answer 6

When my children were 2 years old I took them out for the day and let them pick a soft toy and a night light. They were told that their new toy only liked to sleep in a big bed and they couldn't take it in the cot with them to sleep. I kept their cot in their room and started by getting to sleep in their bed during the day. It usually takes a few weeks for them to get used to sleeping in the bed and I never let them go to sleep with their new toy in their cot. This has worked for my 3 elder children and will be also trying this when its time for my younger ones to go in the bed. A friend said that she couldn't get her boy to go to sleep in his bed and I told her what I did with my children she tried it and within 2 weeks he was in his bed. Good luck with getting him in his bed.