Health & Fitness
Tips for Transitioning from Crib to Toddler Bed
Do you have a toddler that's ready for a "big" bed, or maybe a child that won't stay in bed? Read these tips to find out how to make the transition. It's not easy, and I may have cried, but it works!
A couple of months ago we moved my daughter into a toddler bed so we could use her crib for her upcoming baby brother. We did this just before she turned 18 months. If you have a choice, I don’t recommend doing this before you have to. In hindsight, we probably should have just gotten another crib that transitions into a toddler bed. Oh well.
I totally watch "Supernanny" so most of this is what I’ve seen on the show. If you are ready to attempt the transition, here are some tips that worked for us.
Put the Bed in the Same Place the Crib Was – A lot is changing, so keeping as much as you can consistent helps.
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Stick to the Bedtime Routine – Now is not the time to decide to skip reading books. Get them ready for bed as you normally would.
The First Time They Get Up – Remind them that it is time for bed. Put them back in bed. Give them a kiss and a cuddle. Leave the room.
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The Second Time They Get Up - In a more stern voice tell them it is time for bed again. Put them back in bed. Make a kiss or cuddle brief. Leave the room.
The Third Time They Get Up – Say nothing at all and just put them back in bed. We try to not even to make eye contact. No kiss. No cuddle. You will feel awful. They will protest, cry, and worst of all, try to be really cute to get you to engage with them. My daughter looks at us sweetly and says “Cu?” when she gets really desperate, which is her way of saying cuddle. Leave the room. Insert knife in heart. Repeat this step until they stop getting out of bed.
The first two weeks of this were really hard. The first night we must have put her back in her bed 75 times and it lasted over 45 minutes. The second night lasted 30 minutes. Then the third night lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes. She was laughing and thought it was a really fun game. I got so frustrated I cried. But, I still won. Now she’s really good about staying in bed most of the time. Although, we do slip up from time to time and have to revert back to the steps. The most important thing is to be consistent.
Here is another mom’s post on transitioning from crib to bed. Any other tips that work well for you?
