How old do you think a kid should move from a crib to a small bed?

Two years of age is the average age. I never got a bed with bars on it though. My girls went straight from crib to bed. However, do not leave the crib up and put the bed in the room. My first daughter kept wanting to back to her crib. I had to take the crib down completely in order for her to make the transition. I never had a problem with either one of them after that... no falling out of bed, no getting up and following me out of the room, no getting up over and over again. I probably had it easier than most, once i realized I needed to take the crib down.

Like Patgalca we took the crib down when my son was about 2 years old. We did get him a toddler bed with the high sides near the top of the bed. We made a HUGE deal out of it for him, and we never had a problem. he might get up to get a toy to bring to bed, but that's all he did. About 6 months ago, we made the transition from toddler bed, to another "big boy" bed, which was a twin size platform style bed, and he's done beautifully with that also. it was the same thing where he might get out of bed to get a small toy or a book to take to bed after the lights went out, but there's never been a serious problem with him getting up or wondering around. We did think small steps would be good in that process though, so that's why we went from crib, to toddler bed, to twin size. i think with small children, too big a change can be a little daunting, and the toddler bed and mattress only ran us about 120. LOL now the twin size bed..that's a different price tag entirely!! But that's the bed he'll be in the the next many many years, so it was well worth the cost.

My son was 15 months old when we put him in his bed. We moved into a new house and jsut never put the crib up. We got him on of those car beds and a safety rail. One side is agiant the wall so he could roll out - which was a concern because he is a mover and a shaker in his sleep!

I was always told that when a child started to try to climb out of their crib then its time to switch to a toddler bed. Most of our children were out of their cribs by the time they were 15 months old. We always got them a toddler bed with rails and then slowly moved up to twin beds. I would switch the child over when you feel comfortable about doing so.

I have 2 kids, a girl and a boy. With the girl she was about 2 years old when I decided she was ready for a bed. With the boy, again about 1 1/2-2 when he started to climb out of the crib. I did wind up putting on a bar, cause he kept falling out of bed.

i personally think it depends on the child but with my son i did it when he was 2 years old but with my daughter i dont think she will be ready at 2yrs old but shes aliot further behind than my son was at her age!

My sister went from the crib to the toddler bed at the age of 2 1/2 but she had to have her toddler bed in my moms room right beside her bed at first. I think making it exciting for them is the best way to go about it. Make a big deal about it like she is a big girl now and she needs a new bed. Again talk about it to her make a big deal about it and tell her she cna pick it out or the color she will take to the bed better if she is the one who picked it out. Toddler beds have raised sides so htey won't fall out. My niece is always falling out of the bed becuase she is used to the sides of the crib instead of the bed. Some people wait till three but it is easier ot potty train them if they can get up and go in the morning instead o having to wait to be picked up out of the crib. Well, Good luck hope things work out. And that she loves her new bed.

I agree with most of your response. My daughter is now two and she has two other older brother's who tought her how to clim out of her crib so i moved her to the big girl bed. She just turn two in feb. and does great with it. She can't fall asleep in it right away just yet but once she is out she sleeps all night with out any problems. I think that we will be moving her to a twin when she turns 3. She loves her brother's twin beds and they are 5 and 6. She wants to sleep in that size bed already but i can't deal with that just yet. It makes me feel like i'm getting old and i'm only 25. My boys where put into the toodler beds when they where 2 and 18 months and they did just fine in them once they got used to it. So i think about two and girls are always faster then boys are at this kind of stuff. she be greatful when she knows that she is a big girl.

My boys were 18 months when I got them a toddler bed. No safty bars on it. And they were fine. Then when the oldest hit 4 we bought him a big boys bed. Now is the best time to do it!

I've heard so many variances on this that I think the best answer is that they should be moved whenever the parent(s) think they're ready. My own were moved by the time they were 2. My son that just turned 2 got his "big boy bed" for his birthday. My youngest daughter was moved the earliest at 15 months because she was a climber. Once she started climbing out of the bed I put her in a little bed because I figured that I'd rather have her fall less than 1 foot out of the bed than 4 feet off the top rail of the crib. Some friends of mine though had their youngest still in their crib until she was 5! She was a little bit on the small side and never climbed out so they felt she was safer in there rather than in a full size bed (they didn't do toddler beds for some reason). I've also heard "the experts" say they should stay in a crib until they're 3-4 because until that age children don't have the "spatial development" to stay within the "boundaries" of a bed. I'm guess that's just their way of saying that 2 year olds fall out of beds easier than 3-4 year olds lol. That's almost completely solved by using side rails I would think. If your daughter is uncomfortable in her crib, waking up frequently during the night, climbing or trying to climb out, sleeps better in your bed and/or can sleep through the night without moving all over the place then she's probably ready for a bed. Good Luck!

Although 2 is regarded as the normal age, my baby made the transition much earlier. she slept with us until she was 14 months old and then shifted to a toddler bed with rails attached to our bed. Never had any problems as she loves sleeping in her bed and when she wakes up in the morning, she automatically crawls into our bed next to hers. Though I am aware that she should be sleeping in another room, i just don't have the heart yet to make her sleep away from me.

My niece was moved from her crib to a bed before she was even two years old. She did just fine. They made sure the bed was low so that she could get in and out of it with out hurting herself and kept the rest of the house really dark so that at night she did not want to go roam the house. I think your 2 year old will be fine.

2 is a good enough age. It depends on you and your child. If you feel you both are ready and up for the challenge then go for it. My attitude is if the child can climb out of their crib on their own, they are ready. If they are beginning to potty train, they will need to be able to get in and out of bed on their own. You don't need saftey bars, but a safety rail is good. Mine never slept in cribs, so the transitionto their own bed was not as hard as others have had it. If they are able to domost thngs for themselves, and they understand you enough to grasp the concept then go for it. good luck