When should I move my toddler from a crib to a bed?

There is no time when you take the place of your child's crib with a regular or toddler bed, although most children make the switch sometime between ages 1 1 / 2 and 3 1 / 2 It's best to wait until your child is closer to 3, since many kids simply are not willing to make the transition. Of course you need to get your child to a bed, as he is simply too big or too active to sleep in a crib more. And if he's potty trained, he will be able to get out of bed to use the toilet.
Many parents make the switch because they worried that their active child could climb or jump out of his crib - and this is a genuine security concerns. But it is best not to react to climbing out of the crib or other sudden sleep problem with a feeling of alarm. Do not rush right out and buy a new bed of the day your baby's probably beginning to rise from the crib. He may not be ready for a bed, and it may not be safe for him to be on during the night when all the other sleeps.

Buy yourself some time by lowering the crib mattress as far as possible, so that the side rails are higher and more difficult to climb over. And always remove padded bumpers, once your child begins to rise. Moreover, believes the installation of a crib tent, the mesh and attaches to the crib rails with Velcro, to keep you a little safe and comfortable in his crib.
Another reason parents make the transition to a bed is the imminent arrival of another child. If this is your situation, to switch at least six to eight weeks before you. You want your child well in his new bed before he sees the child to take over "his" crib. Depending on your child's age, you can also consider switching to delay until the new baby has 3 or 4 months old. Your newborn will probably spend months, sleeping in an Wagenknecht office anyway, and your child is the time to adapt to the new baby, the transition to a bed easier if it did not happen.
Make sure that the timing of the changeover to your child is ready and not on the need to free up the crib, however. Many parents find out too late that they would have been easier to borrow or buy another crib, rather than their older child to bed before it was ready.

Some children easily adapt to this change, while others have a hard time with him. Every child is different. It is not unusual, but for the first-born children to resist the transition. He may very interested in his crib and all its associations with her. The transition to sleeping in a bed is just one of many changes at this stage in a child's life - he can with toilet training, starting preschool and other charges, "grow up." When a new baby on the way, your child feel possessive May his baby things, including his crib. Later born children often have an easy time for the conversion to a bed, because they want as their older brother or sister. They are eager, from the crib, the "baby" in a "big-kid bed." However, some toddlers, whether first or later born, is ready and just enjoy this change in their status.
To ease the transition, put your child new bed in the same place his crib used. If you have a double bed, you may not want to make an immediate transition to adult bed linen and blankets to hide in. May are your child is reassuring to sleep with his old crib blanket, even if it is too small. Do not forget to Guardrail to prevent your child from newly liberated by the bed.
Get your child excited with a "big-kid bed" by presenting it with you to pick it off if you buy them new, or by emphasizing its previous owner if that person is someone your child knows. For example: "That was cousin Petey's bed and now it's you, you are almost as big as it now!" Let your child with you to shop for new leaf with his favorite characters, and encourage him to his "big-kid bed" to visiting friends and family.

Another tactic, although it requires a little more work, is to throw a "big-kid bed" party. Select a date to unveil the new bed, and speak the event one week in advance. On the big day, have a party and invite friends and grandparents.
Another strategy is the use of special "child beds." They use a crib mattress, but more like a normal bed. Many come with built-in guard rails, and some are in very appealing themes and forms, such as cars, trains and pink four-poster bed.
If you find that you have made the switch too early, and your child is angry, do not give up right away. Encourage your child to try the bed. If he is still desperate for a few days, bring the crib back.
Some babies are simply not ready for a bed. It takes a certain amount of cognitive development for your child to understand that a bed has imaginary borders, he must stay within. If you find that your great sleeper suddenly takes a long time to fall asleep at night, is often out of bed or wanders around the house, he is probably not ready for his own bed. As for potty training, sometimes it is worth taking a step back again and bring the diapers - or in this case, the crib - and try again later. Just be sure you are not the reappearance of the crib as a retrograde step in the development or a punishment.
Finally, remember that the switch from a crib to a bed is a milestone in your life, too. It is more a sign that your baby will be developed. Think about when you first set up the crib for your little, and then go have a private celebration of your own.

Read another GUide : Learn How to BUild Your Own Toddler Bed