Beds

Ah yes when to change from crib to bed.  On average, kiddos transition from somewhere between the ages of 2 and 3.  A good sign that you child may be ready to switch to a bed is if they magically appear by your bed at 3 am with a large grin on their face, while you could have sworn you put them to sleep in their crib hours before.  Once a kiddo is making lots of attempts and consistently getting out (or close), it is probably time to switch.  But there is a lot to consider before making this switch: can your kiddo be trusted to remain in their room if they wake up at 2 am? Is there any furniture that they could climb and fall off of or pull down on themselves?  Are there stairs they have access to?  Windows they could fall out of?  If your kiddo is climbing out of their crib, but is not quite ready for a bed, there are a few options.  The first is a tent you can get to go over a crib or a toddler bed.  They often have fun themes to make them seem less prison-like to the kiddo.  But, in case of a fire, these need to be able to be ripped off easily.  Another option that can bide time is if you have a square crib, you can place the crib mattress on the floor and then lower the crib upside down over the kiddo.  Again, rather cage like, but safer than falling down the stairs.  And again, you should be able to lift the crib up with ease in the case of emergencies.

Often times kids will not go willingly to a new bed and that is ok.  Try having the bed and crib in the same room and allowing the kiddo to pick and choose where they sleep by incentivizing the bed with things like bigger kid books for story time, and extra 5-15 minutes of awake time etc., will give the child agency and active participation in their bedroom “grow-up”.

A tricky time to introduce a new sleeping area for a kiddo, though, is 2 months before or 2 months after a new sibling arrives.  We don’t want older sibling to think that the new addition is the reason for the change and that they are “stealing” their crib.  So, if you are going to make the change, best to do it long before baby comes or at least 2 months after.