What age to get them out of the crib?

Question

My daughter is only 10 months now, but I was just curious for the sake of future reference. How long can she sleep in her crib before she needs a toddler bed? I would worry about her getting up in the middle of the night and me not knowing about it if I put her in a toddler bed too soon. When you make the transition with your children, do you find that it is harder at first to get them to go to sleep? Or does it make bedtime more fun since they are more easily accessible for hugs and kisses and you get to tuck them in?
I just remember my cousin telling me about when she put her son in his toddler bed and he kept getting up in the middle of the night, running around the apartment and trying to crawl into bed with her. I can understand why she was stressed out because she was worried that he might get hurt or something might happen while she was asleep... Anyway thanks to anyone with helpful information or suggestions :)

Answer 1

My 19 month old was in a toddler bed at 16 months, and only because she crawled out of her crib then. It all depends on the child; some need a bed very early, some not until 2 or 3. I would put child safety knobs on your daughter's bedroom door and try to child-proof everything in her room. If you have carpets, chances are she will not hurt herself if she crawls out of her crib. As soon as she does, however, I would recommend immediately buying a toddler bed. My daughter definately gets up more now that she's in a bed, and it does make things quite a bit more tough. It is harder not only to get them to go to sleep, but also to stay asleep, because the natural reaction is to get up and run around. As long as you keep her bedroom door shut though, and a minimum of things to do around her room, she'll most likely learn to stay in her bed very quickly. It'll take patience and lots of repetition. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

This really depends on the size of your crib. If your daughter is not knocking around in the current crib too much, she can still stay in there for fear of her rolling off the mattress at night. A big milestone to shift her out onto her own bed could be after her first birthday... so you can help her disassociate the frightening thought of the big move with a happy memory of her getting her very first bed on her first birthday instead!!
One more thing - you might want to ease her into this transition starting 4 weeks ahead of her birthday party so she can get excited and get used to the idea earlier. Lots of love and encouragement helps a lot!

Answer 3

I am a mother of 4 children...my youngest being 2 months old and my oldest is 12. I can tell you that I kept my children in their cribs until they were successfully crawling out of them. I know that sounds dangerous and it can be, but it's a good marker as to when they need to be in a bed. I never had the problem of my children getting out of their beds at night. My two-year old son just went into his toddler bed about 3 months ago and he's fine with staying there. I don't have issues with him going to bed as I stick to a nightly routine every night and if he does get out I just quietly put him back without talking to him or giving into what he may want. Worrying about your child running around the house is a problem that's why you want your child to be old enough to understand what you're saying to them when you say "you have to stay in bed." I would say that's usually close to the age of 2. Good luck!

Answer 4

Kids need a bed when they can climb out of the crib. If a child climbs out real young, I would suggest a toddler bed for for an older toddler, go straight to a bed. Most kids will get out of a bed because they can and it's a new freedom.

Answer 5

If your child goes out of the crib without anybody's help,it's time to let her sleep in a bed.Other parents usually move their children to bed at the age of 2 but there's nothing wrong if you do it earlier.Just you have to be sure your child won't overturn and fall off the bed.The first months when the child is in bed,put some mattresses beside the bed in order to keep the floor soft.

Answer 6

As long as your daughter can successfully climb in and out of the bed without hurting herself. My son was in a bed at 13 months he slept on his own all night and doesn't wake up at all and run around (now 2 1/2) he slept in our bed up until then because he hated his cot. Best thing we ever did. But it depends on your little girl. My 12 month old wont be in one for while because i feel he is not ready yet and he is happy in his cot.

Answer 7

it depend on you and your child. don't listen to anyone else but your self. after reading this you should probably ignore mine too. LOL. My son went in his own bed at 16 month. way Young for most people. I've seen children in them until 3-4. I've seen children co sleep with there parents, my son was also one of those. you got to do what makes you feel comfortable. and you don't got to get anything to fancy. As well when it comes time and you are afraid that they will fall out of bed just put a mattress on the floor to get started. that way you will see how it plays. plus you got to think of your daughter. can she climb out that is the first sign of getting a bed. better for her to make a fall out of a kid bed the a big fall out of a crib. trust me i was told that is what i use to do. well best of luck and just take it as it come. Good luck.

Answer 8

I had to put my oldest daughter in a toddler bed at 10 months because she could climb out of the crib and I was afraid of her breaking her leg or her neck. I would leave your daughter in her crib for as long as possible or until 2 years of age unless she is attempting to climb out and that wouldn't be very safe. Also, when my daughter was in her toddler bed, I used close the door after she fell asleep (the door knob had one of those plastic things so that young children can't open it). I had the baby monitor up on a high shelf and turned on so that I could hear her during the night if she woke up. And with my son who hated the dark, I bought two pressure mounted baby gates and stacked them one on top of the other in the doorway so that he couldn't get out in the middle of the night after he fell asleep... sounds kind of barbaric... lol but he was SAFE. I also installed latches on the inside of my exterior doors (like hotels have) to prevent my kids from opening the door to go outside on their own. I woke up one morning at about 5am with our dog barking in the back yard.... I looked out the window to see what the heck was going on and there was my son, two at the time, running around with the dog in our backyard in his pjs...... Ya, get the hotel latches.....

Answer 9

It just depends on the child, but for sure once they try to climb out of the crib. You also need to put up a baby gate to the bedroom they are in. Then you can hear them if they get up, but they can't roam all over the house.

Answer 10

i didnt put her into a regular bed till she was between two and three, and she put her girl in a regular bed shortly after she turned two, after the newness of it all wore off Lily stayed in bed pretty good, and amber really never strayed out of her room much that i remember at night.