Transitioning Your Toddler from Their Crib to A Big Kid Bed
Two days before Christmas, a milestone I have been dreading for more than a year was achieved. My two year old learned that he was more than capable of getting out of his crib without my help. I unassumingly went to retrieve him from his nap one day and discovered him waiting by the door for me. He immediately ran to his crib and said “up” and wanted to show me his newfound skill. I thought for a second about buying a crib tent for him until we were ready to transition him to a big kid bed, but decided I was only delaying the inevitable. Anyway, we will be needing his crib for Reese when she comes home in a few months. So, I set up his twin size bed frame and mattress we already had waiting for him.
We transitioned my daughter out of her crib when she was 18 months old. There are a couple of reasons she made the move early, but the primary reason was I needed the crib for her brother who was incubating in my womb. I also was a first time parent who didn’t understand the benefits of waiting for some of those great milestone moments! That being said, I have now successfully transitioned two children from their cribs to big kid beds and bedtime is rarely a difficult task in our house. I will be fair and admit that I have two children who never been especially difficult to coax to bed. While my children do not typically fight sleep in our home, they will never sleep in the car (yes, 5 hour round trip day visits with my family are always fun!) and getting them to go to sleep in any bed other than their own is a next to impossible task. So, my anxiety about transitioning my son to a new bed was warranted. Here is my son’s transition story and some tips that helped us in moving our children from their cribs to big kid beds.
Getting Ready for Your Transition:
- Go overboard on baby proofing! Put a door knob safety cover on the inside of the door or a baby gate at their door, cover outlets, secure ALL furniture to a wall stud, take away any climbing temptation, eliminate any small or sharp objects in their room, check for strings on pull toys and other choking hazards, and make sure your windows are secure and do not pose a choking hazard (blind cords especially!!!) Babyproofing should go beyond your child’s bedroom. Make sure there is a gate at the top of your stairs if you have a two-story home. If you have an alarm for your front, back, and garage doors, be sure to set it. Wandering children in the middle of the night is never a good thing!
- Limit the number of toys in their room. Toys can be a big distraction from falling asleep. My daughter had a small basket of books and a small basket of baby dolls in her room. Gradually, we have increased the number of toys in the bedrooms.
Ready or Not!
Whether your transitioning your child to a toddler size bed or a full size bed, make sure they cannot roll out easily. We took a very “Super Nanny” approach in our transitions. We went through our normal bed time routine, informed our children that it was time for sleep, and we encouraged them to stay in their bed. The first night my son slept in his big boy bed was rough. He went to bed at his normal bedtime, but every time I left the room, he would get up and cry scream bloody murder by the door. We watched the clock and every 15 minutes, I would go in his room and place him back in his bed. I reminded him the first time that it was time for sleep. After that, I didn’t say anything to him. I did this about four times and he was not letting up. So, I decided to go in his room and sit in the dark by the door. I told him to stay in his bed and he did as long as I was in his room and fell asleep after about 10 minutes. The next night, we started off with the initial routine from the night before, but after hearing him call for us pitifully saying, “No! Mommy! No! Daddy!” my husband and I decided that one of us should sit in his room with him until he fell asleep. He was asleep after 5 minutes of me sitting by his door. On the third night, he didn’t need me in the room and went straight to bed without any reminders to stay in his bed.
Naptime wasn’t much different. He isn’t napping as long as he normally did before he moved from his crib, but he is still taking decent naps. After a couple of days of reminding him it was time for nap and not giving in by taking him downstairs to play, he is now a pro at napping in his new bed.
I think the main reason our children transitioned well is because of our consistency. While we did give in a little by staying in the room with him until he fell asleep, we didn’t give in by taking him out of his room once it we began bedtime. He takes us seriously now when we say it’s bedtime and doesn’t put up a fight. That being said, I think if we had other sleep battles from the get-go this transition would have been much harder.
How was your child’s transition from his crib? What worked for you during their transition? What didn’t work for you when you transitioned? Was your child already a good sleeper when it was time for them to switch beds?
Share the fun: Email + Del.icio.us + Digg + Technorati