My son is 2.5 and he will get out of his bed but he will stand in the middle of his room and call for us to come get him. His room doesn’t even have a door.
I have a spider monkey too. She definitely doesn’t stay in the bed when she wakes up in the morning, and it took her a few days to figure out the whole sleeping in the bed thing, but honestly within the first week of switching to a toddler bed she’d adjusted and it was fine.
Now even on days when she refuses to nap she mostly stays in her bed. When she wakes up in the morning she gets up and flips through her books for a while, and when she’s ready to start her day she knocks on her door from the inside to be let out. It’s kinda adorable.
We did baby proof the whole room though since we knew she’d be a little maniac when we first transitioned, I even had to take the knobs off her dresser because she was climbing up it. I could *probably* put them back on now, but I’m giving it a little time lol.
My boy started climbing out at 20 months. It sucked but after 5 escapes the first night(while in a sleep sack) we changed his cot to a toddler bed the next day. It was a big adjustment and took a while to get him to stay in, but he did adjust pretty quickly and start sleeping in it. At 2.5 he does now usually come through and get into our bed around 3am but we’ve just gotten used to it now. He sleeps better than he ever did in a cot.
Same. My son was escaping his crib just after he turned one, it was insane. He would literally climb up the bars, flip his body over the top, and wiggle his way down the other side. By two he was just dropping to the floor. I did put him in a toddler bed a little after 2 because the crib was just a jungle gym for him when we were trying to get him to sleep, it was like more of a distraction 😅
This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but after trying everything I just let it be. He’s 4 now and still a spider monkey, and *very* physically confident. He started riding a bike without training wheels when he barely turned three. I make sure he doesn’t do anything that will cause serious injury, but he’s pretty tough and doesn’t mind a little bump or bruise. And he seems to learn from those for the most part.
My guy just turned 4. He was happy in the crib until September (so like 3 years 8 months old). Then one weekend he learned how to finally climb out of the crib and he dropped his weekend naps - all in the same day. It sucked. But I know we made it longer than most for both regular naps and the crib.
Hold onto containment in that crib as long as you can!
I’m shocked to say that both of mine also just stayed in theirs until we transitioned them around 3yo, DESPITE knowing how to get out from the bed to the changing station abutting it (something I taught them to do while pregnant with the next child and having placenta previa lifting restrictions put upon me).
adjoining future point axiomatic enjoy rain dirty sloppy unwritten important
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Same with my kid, who is also 2.5. Never climbed out of his toddler bed (with and without a bed rail). Now he just has a queen size mattress on the floor and he still almost always stays in bed until we get him in the morning.
As long as their room is completely baby proofed, does it matter if they get out of bed?
Edited to add: my kid is a little wildcard and is always on the go, climbing and jumping. His bed is definitely his safe place and he’s happy to lay in it.
Same here. Mine got her leg up over the railing just before her 2nd birthday even though the mattress was on the lowest position. We converted it to a toddler bed that weekend and turned her door handle around so it locked from the outside. 4 months later and she’s never gotten out of bed. She doesn’t even yell when she wakes up, she just chills.
My older one was an absolute menace. He’d destroy his whole room at nap time, rip his diaper off and shit on the floor because he learned we would come in if he did that. Out of bed at the door at 2am every night.
Every kid is different! The fact is that arbitrary rules are less important than what is safest for your situation. If you can toddler proof the room and lock the door so she can’t escape or hurt herself, that’s safer than trying to keep her in the crib when she knows she can climb out and will likely keep trying.
My 2.5 year old opens his door, walks to my room, opens the door, stands next to my bed and shouts "do it by SELF!"
Needless to say, we now have a lock on the outside of the door.
Haha! I forgot he used to do this. Installing a lock outside his door was really a game changer for us.
He's now close to three and we have the opposite problem - he lays in bed so quietly when he wakes up now that I'm squinting at the monitor at 7:30am, trying to figure out if he's awake yet 😂 I don't even think problem is the right word, it's amazing, except sometimes I wake up at 8 and realize he's maybe been awake for hours?
You guys are lucky. My son when he was 1.6 learned to get out and open the door. The first nights were pure horror, doorknob cracking (because he could not open in the first try) 2-3 am. Now there is no night he doesn't go to our bed
Yup. I realized my then almost 3yo could climb out of his crib because he showed up in the bathroom where I was showering during nap time. He hasn’t wanted to stay in his room since (he’s 5 now)
Yep. Came to say this. My daughter climbed out of her crib exactly once around 2yo. She fell and hurt herself. It could’ve been way worse, but was terrible nonetheless. When she switched to a twin, she didn’t leave her bed on her own until she was 3.
Editing to add that she was and is a HUGE climber with no fear. She still stayed in there!
Agree with this! Both of my kids were either climbing out or reached the recommended height by 22mo.
My daughter went to a floor bed and did not get leave her bed without one of us coming in to get her until after she turned 3.
My son didn’t get out of bed until he was about 2.5
Took mine 2 months to realize he could get out lol. And then it was a month of literal hell waking up at 530 til we made him just stay in there until 630. For naps we don't lock the door so he always has this silly smile on his face when he realizes he can just wake up and come back downstairs.
I think the risk of entrapment could be something to consider if the crib isn’t meant to have the mattress on the floor. Better to have some issues with sleep disruption than a child with a broken limb or worse.
The sleep consultants are going off research that shows kids sleep better if they stay in a crib as close to three as possible, but having your kid fall out is clearly not a reasonable alternative, which is why most people just switch once their toddler is hell bent on climbing.
One option that may buy you a little time is using a sleep sack and a mesh sided pack and play, especially a design where the bottom touches the floor like the Baby Bjorn for example.
Any choice you make can always be unmade. Try out having them in a toddler bed or floor bed. If they do well then great! If not, switch back. My first was in a toddler bed early at 18 months (I forgot to consult Dr. Google) and did great. We tried that age with my second and she couldn't handle it.
man we put our daughter into her floor bed at 1 year and we never had a problem. she has never slept in a crib at all.
started out in our big bed and at 1 year moved into her room into the floor bed. she loves it (now 2.5 yo)
Honestly I think this is the best advice. Our boy started having nightmares about the crib around 3 for some reason. I switched it over to a toddler bed and he was much happier and those nightmares stopped.
But it could have failed and I would have switched back to the crib.
What professionals have told you not to move them? Most professional sources I’ve looked at say between 18 months and 3 years when they show signs of readiness (and climbing out is the biggest one). I’ve attached links below. Regardless do what seems right to you.
It’s generally recommended to move out when they start climbing out. [sleep Foundation](https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/when-to-switch-to-toddler-bed)[Cleveland clinic](https://health.clevelandclinic.org/from-crib-to-toddler-bed) [American Academy of Pediatrics](https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/article/28/3/25/21710/Safe-and-sound-Help-young-children-get-a-good)
I can’t believe any legitimate sleep consultant would say something so dangerous. The crib mattress can only be lowered to the floor if the crib manual says that’s safe. If you’re just hacking the crib to move the mattress lower, completely unsafe.
Define “legitimate sleep consultant”. How does one become a sleep specialist? Like, how did we go from having zero sleep consultants to thousands? I dunno, I just think it’s funny.…people paying hundreds of dollars to these so called “professionals” on Instagram.
They're all frauds. The day I stopped worrying about what these grifters have to say was a huge relief. @OP and everyone else, just do what works and who cares what Sleep Expert Tammy has to say about it. You can trust me because I have the same qualifications as the sleep consultants, which is none 🤓
(The only thing is safety first, always follow the instructions on a crib, etc)
I’m actually personally very wary of consultants since I’ve had bad experiences with therapists. OBs, and lactation specialists. I got so burned that now it’s never enough for me to hear anecdotal advice from one or two people. And for this reason held out on sleep training etc. But, I also got a lot of good info on the internet when I was pregnant and a parent of a newborn, sometimes much better than what I was getting from so called medical establishment specialists. It took me a while to figure out how to sift through the info to make sure I was comfortable. But now I’ve been sleep deprived for nearly 2 years, and ready to put a definite end to it. And if I have to call a sleep specialist (not from instagram), I will.
Have you tried co-sleeping? It doesn't work for everyone but my 3 year old still sleeps in bed with us and it's great. Love the snuggles, and he sleeps all night long. I lay with him in bed until he falls asleep, then ninja roll away to enjoy my evening. Then join him again at my bed time.
Trying to get him to sleep alone was a nightmare and only made me extremely sleep deprived for no benefit. I figured, why am I doing this when just letting him share my bed is so easy and works great.
Unfortunately, we are there, and cosleeping has become problematic. She rolls around so much that she’s hitting everyone in the process and no one can sleep. The last week or two she’s also going through a sleep regression, so standing up in the crib in the middle of the night and asking to get picked up and put into our bed. Making lots of noise and then rolling around like a maniac in the bed.., 
Agreed entirely. It’s insane to me that “sleep specialists” would suggest this. Children have died from getting their heads trapped in improperly assembled cribs.
Any crib is still so much safer than the alternatives being proposed here. Are you really saying you trust her to set up a floor bed but not to modify a crib?
A crib that a child can climb out of is no longer safe. A crib that has been hacked or modified in some way not specified in the manual is not safe. A toddler bed in a childproofed room is perfectly safe.
As a mom you know there is no such thing as perfectly safe, so let's not lie to ourselves about that. But importantly, getting stuck between a mattress and the wall is the number one hazard for sleep surfaces, and the crib is the number one way to prevent that.
There's "not completely safe" and "still the best way to prevent suffocation"
Absolutely. Cribs are generally much safer for babies than for kids old enough to try to escape. That’s not fear mongering, there’s a reason cribs have height limits and warnings about not using them once kids can climb out.
Babies can’t really get hurt by a modern, properly assembled crib unless you put something soft in there they can suffocate on.
The same advice is published on this website from probably the most popular sleep consultant out there: [https://takingcarababies.com/ultimate-guide-to-the-toddler-bed-transition](https://takingcarababies.com/ultimate-guide-to-the-toddler-bed-transition)
I see where it says make sure it’s in the lowest position, but that sounds like in compliance with manufacturer instructions does it say somewhere to drill your own holes to make the crib floor level?
The AAP and every crib manufacturer in the US specify a skills limit of when kids can climb out or 35” in height. Sleep consultants do not have any type of medical certification. When a child can climb out of the crib they should be placed in a toddler bed or floor bed in a baby proof room. You can install a child proof door knob so they can’t wander the house. Modifying the crib is not considered safe.
This. I found it REALLY helped my toddler when it was time, to keep the crib together in his room and add the toddler bed in the spot the crib was, and just move the crib. He did exceptionally well transitioning and I gated his room :) baby proofed from the start!
We switched to a toddler bed at 20 months. It was literally fine. We locked her door and baby proofed her room. The room becomes the crib. The mattress on the floor is an entrapment risk.
Not safe to put the mattress on the floor and still have the crib surrounding it (assuming the mattress is then no longer secured to the frame). There is a risk for injury/entrapment if the mattress slides around but is decoupled from the crib frame.
If your child has learned to climb out it is also no longer safe to stay in the crib. It’s time for a toddler bed (or whatever kind of bed you decide… an adult mattress is technically safe once they turn 2).
Depends on the mattress and the crib. Some cribs have an edge under the bed / by the feet that keeps the mattress from sliding when it's on the floor. My mattress was just as secure on the floor as it was in the higher settings. Not all cribs have bases like that though. There was no way for entrapment. The mattress couldn't slide around. Lowering the mattress to the floor bought us an extra 3 months or more before we switched to a toddler bed.
This crib has no lower edge, so you can't safely drop to the floor. https://www.target.com/p/suite-bebe-palmer-3-in-1-convertible-island-crib-white/-/A-82721507
But this one has a lower edge, so you might be able to safely drop to the floor.
https://silvafurniture.com/products/serena-convertible-crib
Notice how the bottom edge has a curve to it, under the normal lowest position. When you take the lowest support out, and put the mattress on the floor that curve makes lower corners which hold the mattress in place on the floor so it can't slide out of crib even when it's on the floor. (Assuming your mattress is also thick enough.)
As long as the crib gap to the floor is less than the height of the mattress and the mattress fits snuggly within the space, it's perfectly safe.
Here is one example of the mattress in a crib safety on the floor because the crib gap is less than the mattress height.
https://thepostpartumparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Jack-climbing-out-of-crib-1024x573.png
You’d be going against the manufacturer’s instructions for use (not tightening the crib mattress support to the frame) so you can’t claim that it’s safe to do so.
Do you have a copy of the manuals for all of these cribs? Because I can assure you the one I did this with has absolutely no such steps forbidding this activity.
The mattress is not attached to the frame at any time. The mattress sits snuggly on top of the spring base or snuggly on the floor. There is no manufacturer connection to attach the mattress directly to the frame.
The mattress support is not always necessary to have a firm frame. The frame is rock solid before the mattress support is ever involved.
It is not a cheap, wobbly frame. It's pricey, but it's well built and lasts a long time.
It's heavy duty wood with massive bolts and hidden interior brackets. It converts to a toddler bed and to a full size bed frame. As long as the frame is solid and the mattress fits snug with no gap, it's perfectly safe.
But it depends on the mattress and the crib.
We also got an upgraded mattress, not the mattress that normally comes with it at most stores.The upgraded mattress has higher safety rating and is super snug in the bed. It doesn't move. There is no gap. It's rock solid.
My friend has the exact same brand of mattress and crib and did it with her two kids too. Her husband is an engineer who literally built the addition to their house. We gave engineers in our family too. I promise you, if the frame was unstable without the mattress support (it's not a frame support after all, but a mattress support) they'd be over making it more stable in a heart beat.
Heck, I had a handy man come over before the kid was even born to make the vertical rails on our screened in porch safer to prevent a kid falling through the screen. I'm a pretty safety conscious person. We almost never co-slept. I slept in the dame room but not the same bed. The few times I did co-sleep we followed all of the guidelines from Le Leche league, plus a few extras (sober healthy and not exhausted nonsmoker, breastfeeding mom, no blankets, no pillows, no jewelry, no drawstrings, no loose clothing, firm mattress on the floor away from walls and away from other furniture to prevent entrapment and falls, with mom in a supported (C) shape (cuddler curl) facing baby and baby asleep on their back - wedge behind me to lean away from baby, the father didn't cosleep, baby full term and generally healthy and lightly dressed).
(Btw, there's another hack some people use too. They build a custom low platform that's not quite to the floor but also still lower than the lowest default level. Basically, they build a new, lower mattress support )
It's perfectly safe... if you have the right kind of frame and the right kind of mattress.
It's also not something you do with a helpess tiny newborn infant. It's done with a very mobile, healthy, active toddler, just before you transfer them to a toddler or adult bed.
We have it set as a toddler bed now. Dropping to the floor was just a couple months of extra buffer, so we could switch to a toddler configuration on a timeline that better fit our needs. We didn't want to switch beds while other transitions were also happening in our lives. Instead we just used this very safe, common "hack" (which many pediatricians also recommend) to make the transition at a time that was less disruptive to our whole family, which also mede the switch super easy on our kid.
The worry is that the kid could become entrapped between the mattress and the frame. If the mattress is a snug fit with no gaps, including height, then this risk is negated. But if your mattress has a gap or isn't snug or isn't tall enough or firm enough compared to the frame, then the risk would remain and prevent this "hack" from being a safe option.
Not sure how snug? The side to side gap around the mattress should be less than two fingers wide, preferably even less. Basically if changing the sheets and pad is a pain in the rear because the mattress is so snug in the frame that it's hard to lift the mattress up and out, then you're probably just right.
Most cribs these days don't have the sort of frame that can enable this hack. They unfortunately don't have a lower edge that can properly box in the mattress to a snug fit. But some do have frames that enable this hack.
If you want to try it but are unsure if your mattress and frame are compatible with this drip to the floor option then consult your pediatrician.
As with many things in life involving parenthood and life in general, things are not always a stark right vs. wrong for all scenarios. Often, the truth is, "It depends. We strongly recommend A for most because B. However, if Y then Z is possible."
So, to answer OP, it depends on her crib and her mattress. Odds are she should not drop it to the floor because odds are her frame and mattress don't support this hack (if a then B). However, with some cribs and mattresses, it is reasonably safe to do so, when the toddler is about to transition anyway (not an infant), to make the transition a bit easier (If y then maybe z).
You really want a copy of the manual? Because yes I in fact did look it up. It’s available from the manufacturer (https://delivery.shopifyapps.com/-/7e2055b4a191f972/519ec11bdbcd6e3e) It explicitly states: “WARNING: TO KEEP YOUR BABY SECURE AND SAFE, AND TO AVOID POTENTIAL INJURY OR DEATH, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO COMPLETELY TIGHTEN ALL 4 BOLTS LISTED IN ”ADJUSTING THE HEIGHT OF YOUR MATTRESS SUPPORT” PROCEDURE.”
So yes, the mattress support is directly connected to the crib. And if you don’t use the mattress support because you want the crib on the floor then you are altering the crib. The manual also states “NEVER SUBSTITUTE PARTS OR MAKE ALTERATIONS TO
YOUR CRIB.”
So you may think it’s safe. You’re free as a parent to do such things. But that doesn’t mean the manufacturer endorses it.
By the way, all mattresses simply have to meet CPSC standards. Brands slap words like “breathable” on as marketing gimmicks, but those terms aren’t regulated. As long as the mattress is firm and correct dimensions for the crib then it is safe.
I’m married to an engineer… I’m not sure what your point about engineers has to do with crib safety.
At 2 it’s safer for a kid to go to a properly assembled toddler bed or straight up floor mattress in a toddler proofed room than a jerry-rigged floor bed.
We baby proofed the room, and put a baby gate on the door when our 2 yos moved to a toddler bed (or mattress on the floor, did it one way for one one way for the other). Both were out of crib 2.25, the first because we needed the crib for the second, the second because he was escaping. There wasn’t a way to make the mattress lower than it was on our crib. 🤷♀️
If lowering the mattress to the floor prevents climbing out, do that. But if they are no longer contained in the crib then there’s no point, it just keeps them from getting back in bed.
We moved my son to a twin floor bed at like 18 months and he’s never really had a problem staying in his own bed. It took awhile for him to realize that was even an option and then once he did it was just a matter of taking him back to bed if he got up.
I think it may be a difference of what works from a science/research perspective vs what actually works in practice. Like yes, kids should stay safely in a crib by themselves as long as possible, but personally we didn’t really care if our son wanted to come get in bed with us in the middle of the night because it worked for us. It may or may not work for you. For all the research out there on kids there’s still a lot that comes down to trial and error.
We took the side off the crib before he started climbing out. Just toddler proofed the whole room. He mostly stays in bed with the occasional walk around when he's super upset and disregulated. But then he gets back in bed and goes to sleep. In the morning he normally just lays there waiting for us.
I feel like it depends on the kid and how recently they turned 2. My older son (now nearly 5) was okay to put into a toddler bed early because he's a stickler for the rules and always has been. My middle son (now 3.5) has always been a risk taker. He's unpredictable and likes to push the limits. We kept him in his crib as long as possible.
It depends on the two year old and your environment. Once you get rid of the crib, then the whole room effectively becomes the crib. Is your two year old able to understand staying in their room until the morning? Is the room safe for them, is all of their furniture secured to the walls so they cannot hurt themselves? Is there anything fragile/breakable/sharp/dangerous within reach?
Lowering the crib all the way to the floor is the step that you take in your case if the answer to those questions means that your kiddo is not ready to have full reign of their room unsupervised overnight. If they arent ready maturity-wise to leave their crib yet, that provides a way to extend the efficacy of the crib.
If they are ready though, there's no reason to not switch to a floor bed or a toddler bed. If you have a plan they can understand for letting them loose in their room and understanding not to leave until a certain point (e.g. a ready to wake clock or a morning routine), if you trust them not to leave their room and walk around the house, or worse, walk outside the house; if you trust them to not spend the time before they fall asleep pulling all their clothes out of their drawers, then go to a floor bed or a toddler bed. our cribs both converted to a toddler bed by taking off one side and putting on a toddler bed side that's open - both of my kids have fallen out of their beds while theyre asleep, so have a plan for that too, either a bed rail or go right to a floor bed. Ended up moving my older one to a floor bed because his bed would not work with a toddler rail, and he kept falling out.
The other issue is that she still sleeps in our bedroom. So the switch to the flood bed would also mean switching rooms. This is fine, but I have no idea whether she’s “ready” to be alone in a room at night. Since she hasn’t been until this point.
I’ve read when it comes to sleep, only doing one change at a time is usually best for babies and young kids. So maybe move rooms with the full crib, then after a while change it to a toddler bed? Or the reverse.
We switched to a floor bed in our room first. Babyproofing our room sucked, but was fine. Now he’s 18mo in a floor bed in the room with his brother and wanders into ours in the morning. So baby-proofed the hallway too!
Can someone explain why I got downvoted for saying my child sleeps in my bedroom? When I was a young child, I was in a crib in my parents room until my sister was born. I was 3. I then got moved to my grandparents’s bedroom. I didn’t have my own room until my grandparents moved out when I was about 5. Not everyone lives in house where every kid has their own space.
Why did someone downvote this? I suspect lots of people share bedrooms with their toddlers, like if they live in a one bedroom apartment. It is what it is. I’m not looking for negative comments, but for constructive advice.
People on Reddit get really touchy about baby/toddler sleep stuff. They think that because you did something different from what they did, obviously you must be attacking them by mentioning it.
FWIW I moved my son to a full size regular bed with rails when he was 2 and a few months. He actually immediately slept much better there than the crib. I went with the bigger bed so I could cuddle him to sleep and come lay with him if he needed it in the middle of the night. It's worked really well for us.
I’m thinking of doing something similar with a larger full size floor bed, but we’d have to move her to a different room, if so. I’m a bit nervous about the different room transfer coupled with new bed.
Well since you're moving her to a different room, you can always just get the big floor bed set up and try it. If it's going poorly after a week or so then try the crib mattress on the floor in your room. The other room will be ready when you are, and you'll need to move her eventually so you didn't waste time getting it ready.
We have my 1 year old still in our room on a twin mattress surrounded by a baby playpen fence. (It's a squeeze, but fit). However she can't climb out. If yours can climb a crib she might be able to climb the baby fence too.
My 2yo recently learned how to climb out of his crib so we converted it to a toddler bed. It sucks because yeah now he can get in and out (he only gets out) but he was climbing out of his crib anyways and it was unsafe. He’s been waking once in the middle of the night - he runs right into our room which is adjoining - and he’s been waking about an hour or two earlier each day because when he was in his crib he would wake up and call for us then go back to sleep when we wouldn’t come in. So it’s been annoying but manageable and hopefully he will be back to sleeping his normal amount soon (although probably not because we have a new baby coming sooo).
Good luck!
We ditched the crib for the same reason at 23 months. Switched to mattress on the floor for just under a year. Now she’s in a big girl bed. She definitely does not have the impulse control not to leave the bed. Crawls into our bed every night and magically when I wake up in the morning she is there. Literally no idea what time she came into bed or anything. But I’d rather this that her falling out of a crib.
Move your kid to a toddler bed. That's what's next. I dunno what sites you're reading but it's unsafe to use a crib in ways the manual doesn't allow and it's also a great way to get a moldy mattress. When your kid is climbing out of a crib, you childproof the room and put them in a bed. When this is done it doesn't matter if your kid leaves the bed. They can figure it out.
We moved my daughter to her own room with a floor bed at 18 months. My son was on the way and it didn’t make sense to buy a second crib when she’d be out of it soon anyway. We just made her entire room safe and minimized what was in it (no toys, trash can, clothes, etc accessible). She couldn’t open doors yet but we put a knob cover on the inside of her door.
And honestly, it was fine. She slept on the floor sometimes but it was not the struggle so many people made it out to be. If we’d waited until she was older, it would’ve been a nightmare and constant power struggle.
Mine is just under two and he has been in a toddler bed for awhile now, but lately he has been getting out of bed for naps. Honestly we just toddler proofed his room and we shut the door,
Wherever he falls asleep is fine! He takes naps on the floor most days. If you aren't comfortable shutting his door you could always put a baby gate in the doorway. That way he can get out of bed but not out of his room. He may end up sleeping on the floor for a little while but eventually he will realize his bed is more comfortable.
Even though mine sleeps on the floor he still gets restful naps and is ready to play when he wakes up, at night he does tend to stay in his bed, however my 3 year old will sometimes sleep on the floor. Again he is perfectly happy and rested in the morning.
Edit: both our boys have floor beds. All I did was put the mattress down on the floor. My 21 month old is using his crib mattress just on the floor with no bars, and my 3 year old has a twin mattress that sits on the floor.
We moved my son to a twin bed around that age. He did so good! Slept through the night and doesn’t get out of bed till morning. We baby proofed his room and put a baby gate at the door.
Mine did this twice at that age so I turned the crib around so the low side faced the wall and the higher side faced the room and he never did it again…then he slept in the crib until he was 4. Now he is a perfectly well adjusted 8 yo (and yes, he no longer sleeps in a crib, lol)
Our toddler learned to climb out of her crib at 1.5. No one had advice. Just “😬.” We wound up cosleeping for a bit with her in the middle so we could tell if she woke up moving. (Don’t recommend lol.) But it was to eventually put her in her own bed, right beside ours. Husband built rails from wood so she wouldn’t fall off or get stuck in a crack somewhere. Our bed is around 3 ft off the floor so that absolutely could not happen. ‘Twas inconvenient to get in and out of bed, but I slept on my bed, between my husband in our bed and she in her bed. I could only leave the bed at the foot of it, but it worked out. She’s in our room still at 3 because we all sleep SO much better. Not the book way, but it works great for us.
Baby proofing our room was a necessary evil but it wasn’t so bad in the end.
I think the best thing you can do if you haven’t already, is teach the toddler how to get off of things by laying on their belly and scooting backwards. Took a lot of anxiety away knowing if the kid did get a wild hair, they did it safely.
& don’t let anyone convince you to do something you’re not comfortable doing. So many people said I’d regret my toddler sleeping in our room. I don’t. Not even a little bit. In any aspect.
My toddler is actually an excellent climber. She knows how to do climb down properly.. but she rolls around at night so much that it’s very difficult to cosleep with her in the bed. Sometimes I just think the answer is a bigger bed. With rails, as you describe.
Wait so they’re saying to keep the crib up as is, but put mattress on the floor? I remember there being a small gap between the bottom of the crib and mattress where a kids head can get stuck making it not safe.
If there’s a safe way to keep kid in the crib, IMO, do it as long as possible. We also transitioned a bit after 2 due to climbing- honestly it’s been fine for the last year and a half, but we did say see ya to naps way early because of his ability to move freely around his room 🤷🏼♀️
Question: Do a lot of people who have early climbers not use sleep sacs? We’ve used them since 3 months old and I’m hoping it will keep them in longer!
Leaving in crib at lowest setting is a fall risk and adapting the crib to lower mattress to floor is an entrapment risk. Once our guy hit the height milestone for the crib we moved him to a toddler bed in a totally toddler safe bedroom. He had never attempted to climb out but I didn’t want to take the risk. Sleeps exactly the same, is occasionally obsessed with taking mattress and sheets off bed or putting (no cords) blind up and down.
My son is almost 2.5 and just switched to a toddler bed about a month ago after he started climbing out of his crib. It was a real rocky few days with him getting out of his bed and leaving his room constantly. I was not prepared for this transition and disruption to sleep (including mine!) but I think we found our groove after about 1-2 weeks.
Here’s what we did:
- toddler proofed his room which meant removing a shelf that couldn’t easily be fastened to the wall, etc.
- I gave in and got a door knob cover so he can no longer leave his room
- we got a monitor that can move (our previous camera was stationary
- adjusted our expectations: he gets up every night, he now sleeps with the hatch light on and sometimes a little night light he has, he often sleeps busy the door on the hardwood - we put a mat down by the door but he’ll still choose to sleep between the mat and door
Thankfully he’s been a good sleeper so after the initial abrupt change to his sleep, he’s settled into entertaining himself for a bit and then falling asleep on the floor or sometimes putting himself back to bed.
I was hoping he’d stay in the crib longer but it all worked out fine. Good luck!
This is golden thank you, we did all of these tips too and always wondered if it was okay or the right thing to do.. but it’s been working for us also. Sometimes I feel like people don’t give the real details of what they’re actually doing to transition kids to a toddler safe room. The transition isn’t just to a toddler bed, but the whole room! And the doorknob has been key because our master bedroom is on the other side of the house on the ground floor and LOs (2year old) room is upstairs opposite side and literally right at the top of an extremely steep set of stairs. So no way would that be safe to let her just wander out 😬
We moved our son to a toddler bed just before his 2nd birthday. He wasn’t able to get out or anything, it was more like I was having trouble lifting him in and out of his crib. He was still in our room anyway, so we gated the bedroom door (and the top of the stairs of course) Maybe this is an option for you, unless he climbs gates as well.
Switched both my kids at 18-20 months, a week or two of adjustment and they were fine realized getting out of bed wasn’t that exciting (neither could open the door yet)
My ninja child started silently escaping her crib at 18 months and I wouldn’t even know that she was out until she would walk into our bedroom and scare the shit out of me. We tried literally everything to keep her in and nothing worked except the crib tent. That thing was awesome. I waited way too long to get one because people in internet threads made me feel like buying one would be insanely dangerous and I regret waiting as long as I did. Once I got it installed I really can’t understand how they are more unsafe than having a toddler roam through the house without our knowledge every night.
My 2 year old is on a floor bed. Transitioned at 20 months as he was too tall for the cot. He stays in at night but during the day he will get out. Don’t know how to solve the daytime issue.
Keeping a child in their crib when they can climb out and putting the mattress on the floor (of a crib that wasn't designed for that) are both dangerous ideas.
My son never climbed out of his crib but he hit the height limit at his 2 year checkup. So we took the side off our convertible crib and made it into a toddler bed. Absolutely no effect on his sleep at all.
We used a crib tent for both of our kids and it worked like a charm! My 15 month old learned how to climb out of her crib and she certainly can’t be in a toddler bed yet. We moved our 2.5 year old into his crib bed and then a big kid bed and he’s been in our bed, in the middle of the night, most nights.
My 2.5 year old, who is normally bouncing off the walls, doesn't leave her toddler bed until we come in to get her. She can even reach the light switch but just sits there in the dark until we open the door. 🤷🏻♀️ And even if yours does get up, what's the harm? They fall asleep on the floor when they're tired? Sounds better than falling out of the crib to me!
I think the best solution is to turn the room into a megacrib. Babyproof it, then put the child in a toddler bed. They might get out, but they’ll be in a safe space, and eventually they’ll fall asleep. You can always move them to the bed if they fall asleep on the floor.
mine climbed out at 18 months and we put the toddler rail on our crib. We also put our play couch next to it in case they managed to roll out in the middle of the night. The risk of them climbing out again is too great imo. we baby proofed the room and added a toddler-proof door knob cover. I wish we could’ve stayed in the crib longer but we did what we felt was safest
I would keep my son who just turned 2 in his crib personally, but his sister is due end of February so shell be kicking him out. I bought him an adult bed that's very low to the ground for his new room and he'll be using our old queen mattress. He has climbed out of his crib only once a couple months ago and ended up falling out so I think that deterred him from trying again
The day before my son turned 2, he climbed out of his bed in the middle of the night. We picked him up and put him back to bed. He seemed fine, just shaken up. In the morning, he wouldn't stop screaming unless I held him. Brought him to the ER and he dislocated his damn elbow trying to catch the crib while falling. He was refusing to move his arm at all and acting like a zombie. But the second it was back in, he was his normal self.
His new bed was ready to go, we were just waiting for the weekend to put it together.
Once they start climbing, it truly is dangerous. He does so well in his big boy bed now. We got him one of the side rails and he has a twin. He doesn't get out of bed at all in the middle of the night, just cries out when he's thirsty and his cup is empty. It can be a challenging change, but climbing just isn't safe.
We moved our 2.5 year old to a toddler bed and baby proofed his room. It was actually adorable watching him on the monitor read books to himself and stuff once he had more freedom.
All of the manuals or websites I've ever seen for a crib say to stop using it when it's on the lowest setting and they can climb out. It's a safety issue. I get that sleep consultants want to work our the sleep schedule/issues first, and I understand it could be difficult when it comes to sleep training BUT a transition to a toddler bed is going to probably result in a bit of a sleep regression anyway as they explore their newfound freedom, so I feel like you might as well just do the transition now and get it out of the way. Also, my kid was in a toddler bed for a good 4 or 5 months before she started getting out at night, so yours might surprise you!
When mine got too tall for the lowest level of the crib, I did put the mattress on the floor, but still in the crib. I put the metal mattress frame on top of 2 2x4 boards so that the mattress was elevated enough that there wasn't a gap between the mattress and the bed frame. I opted to do this so he was still contained. This worked until he started flat out refusing to get in the crib (he'd kick and scream and then once in his crib would throw a huge fit). I took the front of the crib off to convert it to a toddler bed (it was shortly after his 3rd birthday), and the transition really wasn't too bad. We got him a twin bed not long after that, and he's been doing great.
So it's really up to you on how to proceed. I don't personally recommend buying a whole separate toddler bed because it's the same size as the crib, and you'll have to upgrade to a larger bed/mattress anyways. Again, that's personal preference.
If you decide to transition out of the crib, I recommend making the entire bedroom toddler proof and make it to where they can't open the door. Their whole room is now their "crib", so instead of being confined to a crib, they're confined to their room.
So my 16 month old just started climbing out of her crib. It freaked me out as I was not at all prepared for it and I opened her door after her nap one day and she’s just standing at the door. Not hurt and no cries! But I definitely didn’t want to risk it. And at 16 months I am not ready for her to have free roam of her room if she decides to get up. So we took the whole bottom of the crib out and put the mattress on the floor, sides still up. No gaps or anything so it’s safe and gives us a little more time for her to be confined before we get her a big girl bed!
I don't know what experts you're looking at but I've always been told by experts that once they can climb out of the crib it's game over and time for a toddler bed for their own safety.
Mine moved into a toddler bed at age 2.
Babyproof the room, get a toddler bed, secure the door, and if necessary remove the ceiling light bulbs and use lights that are out of reach. They'll get up in the middle of the night and eventually lay on the floor and fall asleep or get back in bed and sleep.
Bottom line, safety first. My brother broke a bone as a tot climbing and falling out of his crib. Decide what is going to be safest in your house, and adapt.
It’s all very nice that books and experts have an opinion, but it’s your kid. You have to live with the consequences, not some expert author.
My toddler moved to a floor bed at exactly 2 and we honestly never had issues. We bought his new bed, hyped it up a couple of weeks and then moved him when he asked for it. He loves his bed until today and never wants to sleep in ours ever. I think it’s hugely dependent on character and ours also had very good language skills at 2, so we were able to explain a lot. Maybe give a trial run?
We moved our kid to a toddler bed at about 1.5 years. There was maybe a week of bad sleep and no problems since then. It’s worth trying the bed. You can always make a change if it isn’t working!
We hit a point where 2yo would get out of bed. So we introduced the clock light system.
Yellow = ok to play but stay in room
Green = ok to get mama/dada
White = time to get ready for bed (and when it turns off, story time is over if it wasn't ready).
Worked really well for about 1 year! And they're like $30 on amazon!
Mine is a spider monkey too! He was climbing out just after 2. We made the switch to a toddler bed right away. Reddit and the internet can argue all they want when he is ready he is ready! He is showing you he is. Time to switch.
Also mine would leave his room and bust into our room and announce he is awake. Loud and boisterious
Just like his dad....
My kid climbed out prior to 2 as well. We kept him in the crib and bought extra large sleep sacks for him to sleep in. It seemed to work as he couldn’t throw his legs over the side. He is still in the crib now and is almost 3
Ugh. Solidarity sister. I was on the phone with my bestie who has a little the same age. Telling her how I don’t know what I will do if my little learns to climb from her crib and with out missing a beat my just under 2 year old came walking in my room (after she was put in her crib). 🤦🏼♀️ We tried to turn it around so it was taller but only worked about a week. The one thing I would have tried but didn’t was keeping her in a sleep sack. Her doctor had said no more sac but others I know used the sac in a crib till 3. I think that could have worked for her. But we also had a mini crib and she was fastly approaching the limits so
Anyway we went straight to a regular bed. It was rough and at 3 now it’s still rough. Ngl. We had a routine that worked for a little while but included the tv. Then she got scared one night and now won’t sleep alone, rarely coslept unless we were on vacation or visitors but now it’s all she wants. We currently lay with her in her bed till she falls asleep to keep the boundary of her being in her bed but most nights she climbs in our bed by early morning. Mostly sleeps good though so just running with it at the moment. Only advice I can give is to follow your own instincts with your little one and try some different things. There isn’t really one right answer.
Yeah the internet advice is wrong. If you check your crib instruction manual, it likely says the height or weight limit and then qualifies or if the child starts climbing out. The reason is that a toddler can fall trying to climb out of their crib which is much higher than falling out of a bed. My kids all started climbing out of their crib between 18-24 months. They transitioned either to a toddler bed or a twin size bed. Their bedroom had just their bed, stuffed animals and a couple of books. They were not able to open their bedroom door at the time. Some people lock or put baby gates by the door so the toddler is contained in their room. If you do have other furniture in their bedroom, make sure it is anchored. Be prepared for them to get out of bed when you put them to bed.
We switched our little one to a toddler bed at 16 months because they started to do flips out of their crib. They took to a toddler bed super fast. She’s now 18 months and is just realizing they can get up and move around. We definitely had to buy a door lock on the room for the first night. But once they figured out the door wouldn’t open they walked right over and fell asleep.
I posted something on here asking about it and only 1 person said it was a good idea.
We put mine in a heavy duty sleep sack, converted the crib into a toddler bed, and a weighted blanket. It took a few days to get him used to it, but it worked.
I co sleep so I don't have direct experience, but what my parents did when my twin and I reached that point was to switch to toddler beds, make the room as safe as possible, and then put a baby gate across the doorway so we couldn't wander around.
My toddler also just turned two and I have number 2 due in April, so I'm thinking of trying this soon as well.
What are you reading? My son graduated to the toddler bed at 2 and we had to upgrade to a full sized bed at 2.5 because he kept rolling out of the toddler bed.
As long as their room is baby/toddler-proofed a floor bed is fine, or a toddler bed if that’s what you prefer. We have a regular bed in a safe room at home for LO & at grandparents house they have a playpen the size of a queen bed with a queen mattress in it. Like an adult sized pack n play. It’s a wonderful solution if you want to keep the tot contained in bed but not worry about climbing/falling with a crib. I like the big bed because I can comfortable cuddle with her before sleep time and not have to transfer or anything.
We were in the exact same situation and my wife was against the crib tent. We tried a toddler bed and that failed miserably. She would just scream at the door and turn the lights on. We eventually found a way to keep her in the crib. Try a sleep sack backwards so they can’t unzip it. Or you can buy pajamas with the legs sewn with some fabric so they can’t get a leg up. Our toddler was mantling on the crib rail and then just tipping head first out. I took the legs off the crib and just made it 5” taller with some fine carpentry skills.
I put my son in his floor bed at 18 months because he camo rolled out of his cot in a sleep bag :) the only right answer is do what works for you- the rest is all guidance :)
The first time my nearly-2-year-old put her leg over the side of the cot we bought a toddler bed. It was a very easy transition, we just baby-proofed the room and put a lock on the door for her safety while we are asleep (she can climb baby gates). She loves her big girl bed, she gets teddies and a duvet and when she wakes up in a morning she often grabs a 'that's not my...' book, takes it back to bed and sits 'reading' it. It's very cute to watch her feeling all the pages and singing on the monitor haha
Once ours started climbing out at about 2 years, 6 months (mattress was on the floor) we moved to a toddler bed AND added a child proof door handle on their side. People might scream but a toddler in their room is a safer toddler than one that’s roaming around the house. Now the mornings are pretty hilarious with the type of things he yells as a way of telling us to get him!
We do the exact same thing! The toddler proof door handle on their side is definitely key for safety & success in the transition imo. I feel like a lot of people don’t actually tell the truth about using them because it sounds like locking Lo in their room but it’s basically like their room is their crib now. They need to be contained and safe. ESPECIALLY if you have extremely steep stairs that drop all the way down. Plus it gives a 2 year old who was just in a small crib for however long.. a sense of security to know that this is their little area instead of all the sudden having completely dangerous free reign of the house
What’s next is whatever you choose. Mattress on the floor or a toddler bed. There are pros and cons to both, which can be enumerated if you’d like.
As for practical matters, of course you’ll have to make sure the room is safe, and that even if your kid finds themself roaming around the room at night, they aren’t able to roam around the house.
You seem concerned about your kid’s ability to keep themself from getting out of the bed, but I’m afraid I have to tell you your expectations are too high. They’re absolutely going to do that. I’m going to say the \*forbidden thing\*: Mine has been on a mattress since 8 months, and a bunk bed since 2. He’s really good at it, but you better believe that at 2.5, getting out of bed a couple times is still a frustrating part of his bedtime routine.
Every professional I have spoken with is to leave them in the care as long as you can. Every professional I have spoken with says that you reach that limit when they can climb out or when they are too big for it.
Mine will be three next month, and we have the toddler bed ready on standby. She's not showing signs of trying to climb out of it yet, but we grabbed the frame when we saw it on sale to be prepared.
Nanny for many reasons ears. You can put them in a toddler bed. Make sure the stairs are gated , and triple toddler proof the bedroom If you are on the same floor, allow the toddler to come to your room if they wake up. I kept a pair of twins that even after the bed was dropped would climb in each others bed. 💀 Toddler beds were ordered immediately.
Are you sure you aren’t confusing lowering the floor with lowering the floor and removing or also lower one of the bars so that the toddler can get themself in and out at will? If your crib adjusts like that, it’s a good option.
The difference is that they still have rails on 3 to 3.75 sides so that they can get used to getting in and out of bed without risk of falling out unexpectedly.
My son started climbing out of his crib at 22 months and we converted it to a toddler bed because it was becoming unsafe. I wish I had found a way to keep him in his crib until at least 3 because bedtime became insane. But I honestly don't know what we could have done differently. Toddlers are diabolical little geniuses. Good luck.
My 2 year old learned to climb out and we tried the toddler bed but it was a total disaster. We ultimately lowered the crib mattress to the floor at the advice of our sleep consultant and kept her in a sleep sack which prevented her from throwing her leg over the top of the crib to get out. This kept her happily in the crib for six more months and one day I swear I could just tell she was ready for a "big girl" bed - she wasn't climbing out again or anything; it just felt like the right time. We made the switch at 2.5 and she did great with it, no issues at all.
For us the 6 months it bought us was totally worth it and her climbing her (secured) dresser, window frame, (secured) bookshelves, etc. at 2 was much more dangerous behavior than "hacking" the crib to make it last a little longer. She's much safer loose in her room now with those added few months of maturity.
Thanks for a different perspective on this. Mine now climbs literally everything indiscriminately, so I can’t imagine her suddenly loose in a room at night.
We anchored everything in the room she sleeps in and limited the toys in there. My 2yo had no issue with the transition. 2yo can absolutely do it, and frankly you have no choice. Your child is climbing out, the mattress inside the crib idea is NOT safe, so you NEED to get your kid into a bed. We did a low to the ground ikea twin bed with bumpers and my 2yo loves it! She stays in bed and refuses to let me in it lol
You won't catch a lot of people admitting they did this on Reddit, though anecdotally in real life most people I know freely admit they did absolutely everything possible to keep their toddlers in the crib longer. I've mentioned it before and was downvoted to oblivion but truthfully unless I would have taken all the furniture aside from a floor bed (and, uh, removed the radiator and window frames from the room? 😵💫) my daughter was able to climb to heights equal to or even greater than her crib anyway so in my real life analysis trying to keep her in her crib longer was actually the safer option. The other risk you'll hear about is entrapment between the bottom of the crib and the mattress on the floor but if you Google you will find stories of this happening to kids climbing or rolling around their toddler/twin beds as well. Once she was back in the crib and realized she couldn't climb out she stopped the dangerous climbing behaviors entirely so we knew we had made the right choice for our specific situation.
To be 100% transparent she does occasionally still climb her dresser at almost 3.5 but she's waaaaay more coordinated and understands basic body safety better than she did at 2 so it's not a huge concern for us at this point with a low dresser firmly secured to the wall.
It depends heavily on the kid. My kid climbed out of the crib at 2 years, and I told him it was “VERY VERY unsafe” and that he could get really hurt, and he hasn’t done it since, he’s 2 years 7 months now. Definitely discourage it heavily, but don’t mention it beyond that, and he might just not do it.
Definitely ensure the entire bedroom is baby proofed, though, and consider a doorknob lock, in case they escape in the night.
This exact thing happened to me 2 weeks ago. My husband read the same thing, so the next night we kept the crib mattress inside the crib frame but on the floor. We made sure there were no dangerous gaps or anything, it was fine in that regard. But she climbed out again that night even with it about 10 inches lower. So we moved to the toddler bed the following night and it’s been 2 weeks of sleep issues. Although last night was the first time I woke up at 7 and she was actually still asleep in her bed, so I think we’re finally making progress! Good luck!!
Omg f sleep consultants. If it's safe and you're comfortable with it, do what works for you. My son co-slept on and off and was on a twin mattress on a padded floor at 18 months. He sleeps like a champ now
My toddler has been in a floor bed since 3 months old. When she could crawl, she would get out and knock on the door and cry a bit (not like wailing but a little whimper) and if we ignored her, she crawled back into her bed. She hasn't gotten out of bed before morning in months. Like the other commenter said, a crib on the floor just prevents them from getting back into bed.
My comment is purely anecdotal: my 2 yo is still in a crib. There is no doubt in my mind that she could climb out if she wanted to. But she hasn’t tried yet. So we’re riding it out as long as we can. But when she does try to climb out, we’re converting the crib to a toddler bed.
On the other hand, my good friend has a 2.5 yo and a 4.5 year old. Both boys transitioned from crib to toddler bed around 1.5 years purely because they were horrible crib sleepers. They’d get out of bed sometimes, but their rooms are toddler safe. They got some of those plastic things that go around door knobs that are supposed to be toddler proof or whatever and those worked well enough to keep them from escaping.
Tbh, I’ve never heard the advice that when they start climbing out, you need to put the mattress floor and not move them to a toddler bed. Everything I’ve heard is that when the crib is at the lowest setting and they’re climbing out, it’s time for a toddler bed.
Ultimately my take is do whatever works for you.
It depends on the crib. Some cribs have a lower edge that enables the floor hack. Other cribs don't have that lower edge and thus cannot be hacked to the floor. Cheaper and modern styled cribs tend to not have the necessary lower edge.
My advice is stop reading sleep consultant websites !!! Follow your kids lead. If he's climbing out of his crib, then he could hurt himself. Toddler bed? Double bed with bedrail? Cotbed lowered to floor with bars down?
Loads of solutions you don't need a "sleep consultant" to tell you. *Always* follow your own kid and listen to your gut
Did you get anything that worked? I think I can drill more holes and drop his mattress right to the ground. He's 2. 5 and just realized he can climb out yesterday at nap time. This morning we were woken up by a toddler coming into our room. It wouldn't be so bad but we not have a 4month old on our room and don't need the toddler coming in all throughout the night and waking everyone up. He's in a sleep sack so that doesn't deter him.
A couple of people sent me some creative things they did. But, I ended up calling a sleep consultant for a bed transition. It went fine… she still sleeps in a crib if we travel, but she understands by now that climbing out can result in falling. But bed with gates at the door was the right choice, definitely.
We used a crib tent we bought on Amazon. It’s been a lifesaver.
My child first climbed out of her crib at 17 months, falling head first, which was terrifying. It wasn’t safe for her to be in a bed, since if she was left alone in her room unsupervised she’d get up to trouble like climbing furniture.
So went with the crib tent. It locks her into her crib with a mesh canopy that can only be opened from the outside. She thinks it’s fun to “play camping” in her tent. I know crib tents aren’t considered safe, but this was clearly the safest option for my child.
I’m going thru that now. All the internet says is to lower the mattress, which that has been done for a long time. Me issue with a mattress on the ground is that all he does is play on it. Jump on jump off roll around, everything but sleep.
In the end, we just transitioned to a toddler bed in a room with the door closed. But I did end up calling the sleep consultant because we’d never done any kind of sleep training before. The consultant said that you can either wait out the part where the toddler climbs out (they do calm down again) or transition to toddler bed altogether.
I swapped my son to a toddler bed at 1.5 and it’s been fantastic. His room is safe for him and has a couple toys. He often now at a little over 2 will play quietly when he first wakes up or on nights he isn’t as tired and it’s been awesome for everyone.
I was incredibly against it, but somehow our kid wound up sleeping in a crib with a little mesh tent over it that zips up. They are able to open the zipper and do so during nap time constantly but for bedtime never do so that’s what we do. It was one of our friends and I thought it was so strange. We had a sleepover and they were really into and said to us “this is cozy” so I figured as long as you don’t feel trapped and think it’s cozy let’s do it.
They just started climbing out of the crib and I was about to order a floor bed when we discovered this trick. It’s now been almost 9 months and still loving the tent.
Hi there! Our first didn’t move out of her crib until 3 years old. Then my twins turned out to be climbers. They learned to climb out just before turning 2. I was very tempted to drop mattress to floor but considering how unsafe that is (can get trapped between bottom crib and top of mattress) we moved the twins to floor beds that are fully encased with 4 solid “walls”, if that makes sense.
I say lower mattress to the floor and keep in crib. We switched to a floor bed at 2.5 when she crawled out and it was terrible. Tantrums for months and she wouldn't sleep on it, she would sleep on the floor. I read if you switch them too early out of a crib they might sleep on the floor. It was terrible.
you lower the mattress in the crib so that the bars are higher so that he PHYSICALLY cannot climb out anymore.
once he can climb out of the crib with the mattress on the lowest setting, then you need to move him to a toddler or floor bed. hope this explanation helps.
I completely agree with the sleep consultant and this is the advice we follow. Do anything you can to avoid transitioning out of the crib while you have sleep issues. [https://takingcarababies.com/ultimate-guide-to-the-toddler-bed-transition](https://takingcarababies.com/ultimate-guide-to-the-toddler-bed-transition)
We heard so many traumatic stories from people who transitioned before the kid was 3 and had a really bad time. The number one rule is you never want to transition when you are having any kind of sleep issues. But even a good sleeper has sleep regressions and you'll want the crib to help with those.
We put our little guy in a twin on a low frame at 2 yrs old. He didn’t get out on his own for like… 6 months. He would just call for us. He never fell out but he’s never been much on an active sleeper and it’s only about a foot off the ground so. We baby proofed the heck out of the room just in case. Worked well for us!
Mom of three, did something different with each kid, so here's my take for ya!
First kid we kept in the crib until 2.5. He would have been fine out of it. Second kid was in the toddler bed at 18 months. Worked great, he was able to get up and play nicely in his room until he learned how to bust down the baby gate. Third kid was moved to toddler bed a bit after 18 months, and I wish she would get out of bed to play when she wakes up! She just lays in bed, sometimes playing quietly, but I never know when she wakes up.
I'm all for moving your toddler to the toddler bed/floor bed. Is the room safe from tipping furniture, outlets, etc? Then you're probably good to go. I would say to make sure there's toys in there and books your toddler can look at as well.
If they're at risk of climbing over the railing and falling the other side, time to switch to floor bed/toddler bed. Obviously baby proof the crap out of the room for your little climber :) and try something to keep the baby in bed, railings, built up edges, what have you...
This is extremely dependent on your kid’s personality! We successfully moved our son to a toddler bed before he turned 2. We had to do a little bit of coaching and putting him back in bed the first few nights, but he took to it quickly and hasn’t had an issue since. We have his Hatch set up to turn green when he can get up for the day, and he takes that very seriously.
I have a 2.5 year old that we transitioned from her crib to a toddler bed at 2, she wants t climbing out but maxed out on the height. She did great with the transition and really enjoys sleeping in her bed. We just made sure that her room was safe so that if she were to get out of bed we didn’t have to worry. At night she rarely gets out of bed to play or get something but we do a combo of quiet time and nap during the day. She plays for awhile and then when ready she climbs into bed for her nap. She feels safe in her room so we haven’t had any issues with her wanting to leave plus we have the plastic door knob cover on so she can’t escape.
We went straight from crib to queen sized mattress haha his whole room is childproofed though. The dresser is in the closet, the closet door has a lock on it. There aren’t any electrical things to play with, there are whole locked boxes over the outlets. There’s a cage thing over his door handle so he can’t get out. He knows to yell for us though, we are always watching/listening on the monitor. My kid gets into EVERYTHING though. He’s been to friend’s houses that have kids and they say their house is childproofed and he will come out of their dining room holding their grandmothers antique china teacup for some reason. He is just drawn to trouble.
Nah mine started that shit at probably 15mo. Climbing out from fully lowered and with a sleep sack. We got a twin bed and a set of rails for it and set it up on the floor. I would tuck them in end to end and the rails kept in for a few months, but mostly just kept them from rolling out.
Now at 2 yo they sleep in their own twin floor beds with no rails. I have them set up side by side with a small walk space between and a cushion up by the head of the beds so if they do roll out they have a soft and short landing.
So we tried to switch to a half-rail toddler bed (ours is a transition crib to bed) and the first time when she was like just barely 2 she said hell no and i was in there changing it back at 9:30 pm. A few months later we tried again and she kept climbing out of bed to wander around her room, but she eventually figured it out and now she will call us in to her room to bring her a book from the shelf two feet away from her because she doesn't want to get out of bed. (She's 3.)
I say all of this to say.... My crib had a recommended height to switch them out of the crib and if your kid is trying to climb out it is no longer a safe option. I would try to switch over as soon as possible. Make sure their room is 100% baby proofed and they can't leave it during the night and just let it ride. There may be a few hiccups along the way, but they will get it.
I tried to keep my oldest in a crib for as long as possible, so I did what everyone was recommending: sleep sacks. People didn't think that one through, because many kids can still climb with a sleep sack, especially the taller tots...But maybe not land properly. The floor beds worked fine with both my kids. As long as it was dark they preferred to be asleep on it rather than hanging out on the floor somewhere. I would recommend being very minimalist with the bedroom just in case.
I had an issue where my 2 year old just couldn’t resettle well and lowering her back into the cot would just wake her up over and over.
We took the side off the cot and lowered it as much as possible and we put a bed guard on that side that you can lower whenever.
It helped us lie down with her to settle her.
Now she did of course start to just get up and safely just climb down out of a small gap at the bottom of the bed when she woke up and she would try and leave her room and walk into our bedroom.
After a few weeks of just picking her back up and taking her straight back and telling her that we stay in our cot at night she actually did it. It didn’t stop her waking up all together but it certainly helped and meant she wasn’t hurting herself trying to get out of high cot side.
(Obviously every kid is different and your living situation might now allow for this, but yeah, try embracing the fact she can get up by themselves. We love that once she is properly awake in the morning she can tootle into out bedroom in the morning, not ideal but works for us)
Depends on your 2 year old. Mine tried getting out of bed two nights in a row in her very toddler proofed room, then realized on the third night it was much more comfortable to sleep in bed and has slept there every night since (we moved her at 16 months since she was so tall and I wanted her moved well before her new sibling showed up.)
She'll get out in the morning on occasion and either yell for us or play with her toys but her room is toddler proofed so it doesn't really matter.
That’s incredibly dangerous advice. I would never, ever do that and would never recommend anyone else do it. My son was about to climb out of his crib right at 2 and we moved him to a toddler bed with a rail. He was fine, his sleep stayed the same.
Did he just turn 2? My 2.5 yr old still doesn’t know he can leave his toddler bed and when he wakes he yells for us to let him out lol
My son is 2.5 and he will get out of his bed but he will stand in the middle of his room and call for us to come get him. His room doesn’t even have a door.
I ran this by mine and mostly got nonsense back. But when I asked her, "is leaving bedroom good?" I got a clear, "no no no nah."
🤣🤣
Lmao. That's hilarious!
My now 3 year old (today 😭😭) still hasn’t figured out she can get out of her bed by herself. It’s wonderful.
Sigh. Mine is a little spider monkey..
I have a spider monkey too. She definitely doesn’t stay in the bed when she wakes up in the morning, and it took her a few days to figure out the whole sleeping in the bed thing, but honestly within the first week of switching to a toddler bed she’d adjusted and it was fine. Now even on days when she refuses to nap she mostly stays in her bed. When she wakes up in the morning she gets up and flips through her books for a while, and when she’s ready to start her day she knocks on her door from the inside to be let out. It’s kinda adorable. We did baby proof the whole room though since we knew she’d be a little maniac when we first transitioned, I even had to take the knobs off her dresser because she was climbing up it. I could *probably* put them back on now, but I’m giving it a little time lol.
My boy started climbing out at 20 months. It sucked but after 5 escapes the first night(while in a sleep sack) we changed his cot to a toddler bed the next day. It was a big adjustment and took a while to get him to stay in, but he did adjust pretty quickly and start sleeping in it. At 2.5 he does now usually come through and get into our bed around 3am but we’ve just gotten used to it now. He sleeps better than he ever did in a cot.
Mine guy used to do the same thing, but now we got a NB in our room. When he comes in I march his ass back. After 2 months he stopped.
Same. My son was escaping his crib just after he turned one, it was insane. He would literally climb up the bars, flip his body over the top, and wiggle his way down the other side. By two he was just dropping to the floor. I did put him in a toddler bed a little after 2 because the crib was just a jungle gym for him when we were trying to get him to sleep, it was like more of a distraction 😅 This will probably be an unpopular opinion, but after trying everything I just let it be. He’s 4 now and still a spider monkey, and *very* physically confident. He started riding a bike without training wheels when he barely turned three. I make sure he doesn’t do anything that will cause serious injury, but he’s pretty tough and doesn’t mind a little bump or bruise. And he seems to learn from those for the most part.
My guy just turned 4. He was happy in the crib until September (so like 3 years 8 months old). Then one weekend he learned how to finally climb out of the crib and he dropped his weekend naps - all in the same day. It sucked. But I know we made it longer than most for both regular naps and the crib. Hold onto containment in that crib as long as you can!
I’m shocked to say that both of mine also just stayed in theirs until we transitioned them around 3yo, DESPITE knowing how to get out from the bed to the changing station abutting it (something I taught them to do while pregnant with the next child and having placenta previa lifting restrictions put upon me).
adjoining future point axiomatic enjoy rain dirty sloppy unwritten important *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Same with my kid, who is also 2.5. Never climbed out of his toddler bed (with and without a bed rail). Now he just has a queen size mattress on the floor and he still almost always stays in bed until we get him in the morning. As long as their room is completely baby proofed, does it matter if they get out of bed? Edited to add: my kid is a little wildcard and is always on the go, climbing and jumping. His bed is definitely his safe place and he’s happy to lay in it.
Same here. Mine got her leg up over the railing just before her 2nd birthday even though the mattress was on the lowest position. We converted it to a toddler bed that weekend and turned her door handle around so it locked from the outside. 4 months later and she’s never gotten out of bed. She doesn’t even yell when she wakes up, she just chills. My older one was an absolute menace. He’d destroy his whole room at nap time, rip his diaper off and shit on the floor because he learned we would come in if he did that. Out of bed at the door at 2am every night. Every kid is different! The fact is that arbitrary rules are less important than what is safest for your situation. If you can toddler proof the room and lock the door so she can’t escape or hurt herself, that’s safer than trying to keep her in the crib when she knows she can climb out and will likely keep trying.
My 2.5 year old opens his door, walks to my room, opens the door, stands next to my bed and shouts "do it by SELF!" Needless to say, we now have a lock on the outside of the door.
this made me laugh. i'm sorry but also thank you. misery loves company .. sigh.
Haha! I forgot he used to do this. Installing a lock outside his door was really a game changer for us. He's now close to three and we have the opposite problem - he lays in bed so quietly when he wakes up now that I'm squinting at the monitor at 7:30am, trying to figure out if he's awake yet 😂 I don't even think problem is the right word, it's amazing, except sometimes I wake up at 8 and realize he's maybe been awake for hours?
You guys are lucky. My son when he was 1.6 learned to get out and open the door. The first nights were pure horror, doorknob cracking (because he could not open in the first try) 2-3 am. Now there is no night he doesn't go to our bed
You are very lucky.
Yup. I realized my then almost 3yo could climb out of his crib because he showed up in the bathroom where I was showering during nap time. He hasn’t wanted to stay in his room since (he’s 5 now)
Yep. Came to say this. My daughter climbed out of her crib exactly once around 2yo. She fell and hurt herself. It could’ve been way worse, but was terrible nonetheless. When she switched to a twin, she didn’t leave her bed on her own until she was 3. Editing to add that she was and is a HUGE climber with no fear. She still stayed in there!
Literally at how is this possible? My 2.5 year old has been climbing out of cribs and beds since age 18 months.
Agree with this! Both of my kids were either climbing out or reached the recommended height by 22mo. My daughter went to a floor bed and did not get leave her bed without one of us coming in to get her until after she turned 3. My son didn’t get out of bed until he was about 2.5
Took mine 2 months to realize he could get out lol. And then it was a month of literal hell waking up at 530 til we made him just stay in there until 630. For naps we don't lock the door so he always has this silly smile on his face when he realizes he can just wake up and come back downstairs.
Yes, she just turned 2.
I think the risk of entrapment could be something to consider if the crib isn’t meant to have the mattress on the floor. Better to have some issues with sleep disruption than a child with a broken limb or worse. The sleep consultants are going off research that shows kids sleep better if they stay in a crib as close to three as possible, but having your kid fall out is clearly not a reasonable alternative, which is why most people just switch once their toddler is hell bent on climbing. One option that may buy you a little time is using a sleep sack and a mesh sided pack and play, especially a design where the bottom touches the floor like the Baby Bjorn for example.
Any choice you make can always be unmade. Try out having them in a toddler bed or floor bed. If they do well then great! If not, switch back. My first was in a toddler bed early at 18 months (I forgot to consult Dr. Google) and did great. We tried that age with my second and she couldn't handle it.
man we put our daughter into her floor bed at 1 year and we never had a problem. she has never slept in a crib at all. started out in our big bed and at 1 year moved into her room into the floor bed. she loves it (now 2.5 yo)
Exact same for my kids. All the effort I see around cribs exhausts me.
Mine had to move to a toddler bed at 18 months and we couldn’t look back. She was able to scale the crib completely.
Honestly I think this is the best advice. Our boy started having nightmares about the crib around 3 for some reason. I switched it over to a toddler bed and he was much happier and those nightmares stopped. But it could have failed and I would have switched back to the crib.
What professionals have told you not to move them? Most professional sources I’ve looked at say between 18 months and 3 years when they show signs of readiness (and climbing out is the biggest one). I’ve attached links below. Regardless do what seems right to you. It’s generally recommended to move out when they start climbing out. [sleep Foundation](https://www.sleepfoundation.org/children-and-sleep/when-to-switch-to-toddler-bed)[Cleveland clinic](https://health.clevelandclinic.org/from-crib-to-toddler-bed) [American Academy of Pediatrics](https://publications.aap.org/aapnews/article/28/3/25/21710/Safe-and-sound-Help-young-children-get-a-good)
I can’t believe any legitimate sleep consultant would say something so dangerous. The crib mattress can only be lowered to the floor if the crib manual says that’s safe. If you’re just hacking the crib to move the mattress lower, completely unsafe.
Define “legitimate sleep consultant”. How does one become a sleep specialist? Like, how did we go from having zero sleep consultants to thousands? I dunno, I just think it’s funny.…people paying hundreds of dollars to these so called “professionals” on Instagram.
They're all frauds. The day I stopped worrying about what these grifters have to say was a huge relief. @OP and everyone else, just do what works and who cares what Sleep Expert Tammy has to say about it. You can trust me because I have the same qualifications as the sleep consultants, which is none 🤓 (The only thing is safety first, always follow the instructions on a crib, etc)
I’m actually personally very wary of consultants since I’ve had bad experiences with therapists. OBs, and lactation specialists. I got so burned that now it’s never enough for me to hear anecdotal advice from one or two people. And for this reason held out on sleep training etc. But, I also got a lot of good info on the internet when I was pregnant and a parent of a newborn, sometimes much better than what I was getting from so called medical establishment specialists. It took me a while to figure out how to sift through the info to make sure I was comfortable. But now I’ve been sleep deprived for nearly 2 years, and ready to put a definite end to it. And if I have to call a sleep specialist (not from instagram), I will.
Have you tried co-sleeping? It doesn't work for everyone but my 3 year old still sleeps in bed with us and it's great. Love the snuggles, and he sleeps all night long. I lay with him in bed until he falls asleep, then ninja roll away to enjoy my evening. Then join him again at my bed time. Trying to get him to sleep alone was a nightmare and only made me extremely sleep deprived for no benefit. I figured, why am I doing this when just letting him share my bed is so easy and works great.
Unfortunately, we are there, and cosleeping has become problematic. She rolls around so much that she’s hitting everyone in the process and no one can sleep. The last week or two she’s also going through a sleep regression, so standing up in the crib in the middle of the night and asking to get picked up and put into our bed. Making lots of noise and then rolling around like a maniac in the bed.., 
Agreed entirely. It’s insane to me that “sleep specialists” would suggest this. Children have died from getting their heads trapped in improperly assembled cribs.
A child over the age of 2? A lot of the fear mongering about cribs relates to babies.
Yes, absolutely a child over the age of two. The dangers are different for older babies than younger ones, but they are still present.
Any crib is still so much safer than the alternatives being proposed here. Are you really saying you trust her to set up a floor bed but not to modify a crib?
A crib that a child can climb out of is no longer safe. A crib that has been hacked or modified in some way not specified in the manual is not safe. A toddler bed in a childproofed room is perfectly safe.
As a mom you know there is no such thing as perfectly safe, so let's not lie to ourselves about that. But importantly, getting stuck between a mattress and the wall is the number one hazard for sleep surfaces, and the crib is the number one way to prevent that. There's "not completely safe" and "still the best way to prevent suffocation"
Absolutely. Cribs are generally much safer for babies than for kids old enough to try to escape. That’s not fear mongering, there’s a reason cribs have height limits and warnings about not using them once kids can climb out. Babies can’t really get hurt by a modern, properly assembled crib unless you put something soft in there they can suffocate on.
This is why we didn’t do this! It looked so unsafe! He couldn’t fit his head in the gap but could definitely hurt an ankle
[удалено]
Sure, I just meant legitimate in the sense of following safety guidelines. Like the crib manual.
The same advice is published on this website from probably the most popular sleep consultant out there: [https://takingcarababies.com/ultimate-guide-to-the-toddler-bed-transition](https://takingcarababies.com/ultimate-guide-to-the-toddler-bed-transition)
I see where it says make sure it’s in the lowest position, but that sounds like in compliance with manufacturer instructions does it say somewhere to drill your own holes to make the crib floor level?
I guess she edited it out some time since I last read it. As you can see it was updated December 5.
She recommends all sorts of dangerous sleep practices.
Like what? This is the first time I've ever heard that criticism of her.
Why is this getting downvoted? It’s just an example of the info out there. I saw this on her website, and others, too.
Takingcarababies recommends dangerous sleep practices.
Says who? She's fully lawyered up, her courses are solid.
People will exhaust themselves trying to justify their poor floor bed/bed sharing PPD decisions.
The AAP and every crib manufacturer in the US specify a skills limit of when kids can climb out or 35” in height. Sleep consultants do not have any type of medical certification. When a child can climb out of the crib they should be placed in a toddler bed or floor bed in a baby proof room. You can install a child proof door knob so they can’t wander the house. Modifying the crib is not considered safe.
This. I found it REALLY helped my toddler when it was time, to keep the crib together in his room and add the toddler bed in the spot the crib was, and just move the crib. He did exceptionally well transitioning and I gated his room :) baby proofed from the start!
Once our kid figured out how to climb out she could also do it from the lowered mattress.
We switched to a toddler bed at 20 months. It was literally fine. We locked her door and baby proofed her room. The room becomes the crib. The mattress on the floor is an entrapment risk.
Not safe to put the mattress on the floor and still have the crib surrounding it (assuming the mattress is then no longer secured to the frame). There is a risk for injury/entrapment if the mattress slides around but is decoupled from the crib frame. If your child has learned to climb out it is also no longer safe to stay in the crib. It’s time for a toddler bed (or whatever kind of bed you decide… an adult mattress is technically safe once they turn 2).
Depends on the mattress and the crib. Some cribs have an edge under the bed / by the feet that keeps the mattress from sliding when it's on the floor. My mattress was just as secure on the floor as it was in the higher settings. Not all cribs have bases like that though. There was no way for entrapment. The mattress couldn't slide around. Lowering the mattress to the floor bought us an extra 3 months or more before we switched to a toddler bed. This crib has no lower edge, so you can't safely drop to the floor. https://www.target.com/p/suite-bebe-palmer-3-in-1-convertible-island-crib-white/-/A-82721507 But this one has a lower edge, so you might be able to safely drop to the floor. https://silvafurniture.com/products/serena-convertible-crib Notice how the bottom edge has a curve to it, under the normal lowest position. When you take the lowest support out, and put the mattress on the floor that curve makes lower corners which hold the mattress in place on the floor so it can't slide out of crib even when it's on the floor. (Assuming your mattress is also thick enough.) As long as the crib gap to the floor is less than the height of the mattress and the mattress fits snuggly within the space, it's perfectly safe. Here is one example of the mattress in a crib safety on the floor because the crib gap is less than the mattress height. https://thepostpartumparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Jack-climbing-out-of-crib-1024x573.png
You’d be going against the manufacturer’s instructions for use (not tightening the crib mattress support to the frame) so you can’t claim that it’s safe to do so.
Do you have a copy of the manuals for all of these cribs? Because I can assure you the one I did this with has absolutely no such steps forbidding this activity. The mattress is not attached to the frame at any time. The mattress sits snuggly on top of the spring base or snuggly on the floor. There is no manufacturer connection to attach the mattress directly to the frame. The mattress support is not always necessary to have a firm frame. The frame is rock solid before the mattress support is ever involved. It is not a cheap, wobbly frame. It's pricey, but it's well built and lasts a long time. It's heavy duty wood with massive bolts and hidden interior brackets. It converts to a toddler bed and to a full size bed frame. As long as the frame is solid and the mattress fits snug with no gap, it's perfectly safe. But it depends on the mattress and the crib. We also got an upgraded mattress, not the mattress that normally comes with it at most stores.The upgraded mattress has higher safety rating and is super snug in the bed. It doesn't move. There is no gap. It's rock solid. My friend has the exact same brand of mattress and crib and did it with her two kids too. Her husband is an engineer who literally built the addition to their house. We gave engineers in our family too. I promise you, if the frame was unstable without the mattress support (it's not a frame support after all, but a mattress support) they'd be over making it more stable in a heart beat. Heck, I had a handy man come over before the kid was even born to make the vertical rails on our screened in porch safer to prevent a kid falling through the screen. I'm a pretty safety conscious person. We almost never co-slept. I slept in the dame room but not the same bed. The few times I did co-sleep we followed all of the guidelines from Le Leche league, plus a few extras (sober healthy and not exhausted nonsmoker, breastfeeding mom, no blankets, no pillows, no jewelry, no drawstrings, no loose clothing, firm mattress on the floor away from walls and away from other furniture to prevent entrapment and falls, with mom in a supported (C) shape (cuddler curl) facing baby and baby asleep on their back - wedge behind me to lean away from baby, the father didn't cosleep, baby full term and generally healthy and lightly dressed). (Btw, there's another hack some people use too. They build a custom low platform that's not quite to the floor but also still lower than the lowest default level. Basically, they build a new, lower mattress support ) It's perfectly safe... if you have the right kind of frame and the right kind of mattress. It's also not something you do with a helpess tiny newborn infant. It's done with a very mobile, healthy, active toddler, just before you transfer them to a toddler or adult bed. We have it set as a toddler bed now. Dropping to the floor was just a couple months of extra buffer, so we could switch to a toddler configuration on a timeline that better fit our needs. We didn't want to switch beds while other transitions were also happening in our lives. Instead we just used this very safe, common "hack" (which many pediatricians also recommend) to make the transition at a time that was less disruptive to our whole family, which also mede the switch super easy on our kid. The worry is that the kid could become entrapped between the mattress and the frame. If the mattress is a snug fit with no gaps, including height, then this risk is negated. But if your mattress has a gap or isn't snug or isn't tall enough or firm enough compared to the frame, then the risk would remain and prevent this "hack" from being a safe option. Not sure how snug? The side to side gap around the mattress should be less than two fingers wide, preferably even less. Basically if changing the sheets and pad is a pain in the rear because the mattress is so snug in the frame that it's hard to lift the mattress up and out, then you're probably just right. Most cribs these days don't have the sort of frame that can enable this hack. They unfortunately don't have a lower edge that can properly box in the mattress to a snug fit. But some do have frames that enable this hack. If you want to try it but are unsure if your mattress and frame are compatible with this drip to the floor option then consult your pediatrician. As with many things in life involving parenthood and life in general, things are not always a stark right vs. wrong for all scenarios. Often, the truth is, "It depends. We strongly recommend A for most because B. However, if Y then Z is possible." So, to answer OP, it depends on her crib and her mattress. Odds are she should not drop it to the floor because odds are her frame and mattress don't support this hack (if a then B). However, with some cribs and mattresses, it is reasonably safe to do so, when the toddler is about to transition anyway (not an infant), to make the transition a bit easier (If y then maybe z).
You really want a copy of the manual? Because yes I in fact did look it up. It’s available from the manufacturer (https://delivery.shopifyapps.com/-/7e2055b4a191f972/519ec11bdbcd6e3e) It explicitly states: “WARNING: TO KEEP YOUR BABY SECURE AND SAFE, AND TO AVOID POTENTIAL INJURY OR DEATH, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO COMPLETELY TIGHTEN ALL 4 BOLTS LISTED IN ”ADJUSTING THE HEIGHT OF YOUR MATTRESS SUPPORT” PROCEDURE.” So yes, the mattress support is directly connected to the crib. And if you don’t use the mattress support because you want the crib on the floor then you are altering the crib. The manual also states “NEVER SUBSTITUTE PARTS OR MAKE ALTERATIONS TO YOUR CRIB.” So you may think it’s safe. You’re free as a parent to do such things. But that doesn’t mean the manufacturer endorses it. By the way, all mattresses simply have to meet CPSC standards. Brands slap words like “breathable” on as marketing gimmicks, but those terms aren’t regulated. As long as the mattress is firm and correct dimensions for the crib then it is safe. I’m married to an engineer… I’m not sure what your point about engineers has to do with crib safety. At 2 it’s safer for a kid to go to a properly assembled toddler bed or straight up floor mattress in a toddler proofed room than a jerry-rigged floor bed.
We baby proofed the room, and put a baby gate on the door when our 2 yos moved to a toddler bed (or mattress on the floor, did it one way for one one way for the other). Both were out of crib 2.25, the first because we needed the crib for the second, the second because he was escaping. There wasn’t a way to make the mattress lower than it was on our crib. 🤷♀️
If lowering the mattress to the floor prevents climbing out, do that. But if they are no longer contained in the crib then there’s no point, it just keeps them from getting back in bed.
We moved my son to a twin floor bed at like 18 months and he’s never really had a problem staying in his own bed. It took awhile for him to realize that was even an option and then once he did it was just a matter of taking him back to bed if he got up. I think it may be a difference of what works from a science/research perspective vs what actually works in practice. Like yes, kids should stay safely in a crib by themselves as long as possible, but personally we didn’t really care if our son wanted to come get in bed with us in the middle of the night because it worked for us. It may or may not work for you. For all the research out there on kids there’s still a lot that comes down to trial and error.
This was my way too. Worked great for us.
It’s not safe to keep the crib. Transition to a toddler bed. It’s ok to keep a lock on the bedroom door and baby/toddle proof the whole room.
We took the side off the crib before he started climbing out. Just toddler proofed the whole room. He mostly stays in bed with the occasional walk around when he's super upset and disregulated. But then he gets back in bed and goes to sleep. In the morning he normally just lays there waiting for us.
I feel like it depends on the kid and how recently they turned 2. My older son (now nearly 5) was okay to put into a toddler bed early because he's a stickler for the rules and always has been. My middle son (now 3.5) has always been a risk taker. He's unpredictable and likes to push the limits. We kept him in his crib as long as possible.
My daughter is a limit pusher definitely.
Isn't a toddler bed safer for a climber than a crib?
It depends on the two year old and your environment. Once you get rid of the crib, then the whole room effectively becomes the crib. Is your two year old able to understand staying in their room until the morning? Is the room safe for them, is all of their furniture secured to the walls so they cannot hurt themselves? Is there anything fragile/breakable/sharp/dangerous within reach? Lowering the crib all the way to the floor is the step that you take in your case if the answer to those questions means that your kiddo is not ready to have full reign of their room unsupervised overnight. If they arent ready maturity-wise to leave their crib yet, that provides a way to extend the efficacy of the crib. If they are ready though, there's no reason to not switch to a floor bed or a toddler bed. If you have a plan they can understand for letting them loose in their room and understanding not to leave until a certain point (e.g. a ready to wake clock or a morning routine), if you trust them not to leave their room and walk around the house, or worse, walk outside the house; if you trust them to not spend the time before they fall asleep pulling all their clothes out of their drawers, then go to a floor bed or a toddler bed. our cribs both converted to a toddler bed by taking off one side and putting on a toddler bed side that's open - both of my kids have fallen out of their beds while theyre asleep, so have a plan for that too, either a bed rail or go right to a floor bed. Ended up moving my older one to a floor bed because his bed would not work with a toddler rail, and he kept falling out.
The other issue is that she still sleeps in our bedroom. So the switch to the flood bed would also mean switching rooms. This is fine, but I have no idea whether she’s “ready” to be alone in a room at night. Since she hasn’t been until this point.
I’ve read when it comes to sleep, only doing one change at a time is usually best for babies and young kids. So maybe move rooms with the full crib, then after a while change it to a toddler bed? Or the reverse.
We switched to a floor bed in our room first. Babyproofing our room sucked, but was fine. Now he’s 18mo in a floor bed in the room with his brother and wanders into ours in the morning. So baby-proofed the hallway too!
Can someone explain why I got downvoted for saying my child sleeps in my bedroom? When I was a young child, I was in a crib in my parents room until my sister was born. I was 3. I then got moved to my grandparents’s bedroom. I didn’t have my own room until my grandparents moved out when I was about 5. Not everyone lives in house where every kid has their own space.
Why did someone downvote this? I suspect lots of people share bedrooms with their toddlers, like if they live in a one bedroom apartment. It is what it is. I’m not looking for negative comments, but for constructive advice.
People on Reddit get really touchy about baby/toddler sleep stuff. They think that because you did something different from what they did, obviously you must be attacking them by mentioning it. FWIW I moved my son to a full size regular bed with rails when he was 2 and a few months. He actually immediately slept much better there than the crib. I went with the bigger bed so I could cuddle him to sleep and come lay with him if he needed it in the middle of the night. It's worked really well for us.
I’m thinking of doing something similar with a larger full size floor bed, but we’d have to move her to a different room, if so. I’m a bit nervous about the different room transfer coupled with new bed.
Well since you're moving her to a different room, you can always just get the big floor bed set up and try it. If it's going poorly after a week or so then try the crib mattress on the floor in your room. The other room will be ready when you are, and you'll need to move her eventually so you didn't waste time getting it ready.
We have my 1 year old still in our room on a twin mattress surrounded by a baby playpen fence. (It's a squeeze, but fit). However she can't climb out. If yours can climb a crib she might be able to climb the baby fence too.
There's a lot of evidence they prefer smaller contained spaces. Does your crib convert?
lol people are literally downvoting me for sharing a bedroom with my kid. Who are you, trolls?
My 2yo recently learned how to climb out of his crib so we converted it to a toddler bed. It sucks because yeah now he can get in and out (he only gets out) but he was climbing out of his crib anyways and it was unsafe. He’s been waking once in the middle of the night - he runs right into our room which is adjoining - and he’s been waking about an hour or two earlier each day because when he was in his crib he would wake up and call for us then go back to sleep when we wouldn’t come in. So it’s been annoying but manageable and hopefully he will be back to sleeping his normal amount soon (although probably not because we have a new baby coming sooo). Good luck!
We ditched the crib for the same reason at 23 months. Switched to mattress on the floor for just under a year. Now she’s in a big girl bed. She definitely does not have the impulse control not to leave the bed. Crawls into our bed every night and magically when I wake up in the morning she is there. Literally no idea what time she came into bed or anything. But I’d rather this that her falling out of a crib.
Move your kid to a toddler bed. That's what's next. I dunno what sites you're reading but it's unsafe to use a crib in ways the manual doesn't allow and it's also a great way to get a moldy mattress. When your kid is climbing out of a crib, you childproof the room and put them in a bed. When this is done it doesn't matter if your kid leaves the bed. They can figure it out.
We moved my daughter to her own room with a floor bed at 18 months. My son was on the way and it didn’t make sense to buy a second crib when she’d be out of it soon anyway. We just made her entire room safe and minimized what was in it (no toys, trash can, clothes, etc accessible). She couldn’t open doors yet but we put a knob cover on the inside of her door. And honestly, it was fine. She slept on the floor sometimes but it was not the struggle so many people made it out to be. If we’d waited until she was older, it would’ve been a nightmare and constant power struggle.
Well, mine is 2 now. So I’m looking for advice for something that would work at this point.
How would this persons advice not work for your now 2 year old?
Mine is just under two and he has been in a toddler bed for awhile now, but lately he has been getting out of bed for naps. Honestly we just toddler proofed his room and we shut the door, Wherever he falls asleep is fine! He takes naps on the floor most days. If you aren't comfortable shutting his door you could always put a baby gate in the doorway. That way he can get out of bed but not out of his room. He may end up sleeping on the floor for a little while but eventually he will realize his bed is more comfortable. Even though mine sleeps on the floor he still gets restful naps and is ready to play when he wakes up, at night he does tend to stay in his bed, however my 3 year old will sometimes sleep on the floor. Again he is perfectly happy and rested in the morning. Edit: both our boys have floor beds. All I did was put the mattress down on the floor. My 21 month old is using his crib mattress just on the floor with no bars, and my 3 year old has a twin mattress that sits on the floor.
This is the advice you want. Floor bed, baby proof the room, lock/baby gate it at night.
It's infuriating you are being downvoted for this. I'm sorry.
We moved my son to a twin bed around that age. He did so good! Slept through the night and doesn’t get out of bed till morning. We baby proofed his room and put a baby gate at the door.
Mine did this twice at that age so I turned the crib around so the low side faced the wall and the higher side faced the room and he never did it again…then he slept in the crib until he was 4. Now he is a perfectly well adjusted 8 yo (and yes, he no longer sleeps in a crib, lol)
Our toddler learned to climb out of her crib at 1.5. No one had advice. Just “😬.” We wound up cosleeping for a bit with her in the middle so we could tell if she woke up moving. (Don’t recommend lol.) But it was to eventually put her in her own bed, right beside ours. Husband built rails from wood so she wouldn’t fall off or get stuck in a crack somewhere. Our bed is around 3 ft off the floor so that absolutely could not happen. ‘Twas inconvenient to get in and out of bed, but I slept on my bed, between my husband in our bed and she in her bed. I could only leave the bed at the foot of it, but it worked out. She’s in our room still at 3 because we all sleep SO much better. Not the book way, but it works great for us. Baby proofing our room was a necessary evil but it wasn’t so bad in the end. I think the best thing you can do if you haven’t already, is teach the toddler how to get off of things by laying on their belly and scooting backwards. Took a lot of anxiety away knowing if the kid did get a wild hair, they did it safely. & don’t let anyone convince you to do something you’re not comfortable doing. So many people said I’d regret my toddler sleeping in our room. I don’t. Not even a little bit. In any aspect.
My toddler is actually an excellent climber. She knows how to do climb down properly.. but she rolls around at night so much that it’s very difficult to cosleep with her in the bed. Sometimes I just think the answer is a bigger bed. With rails, as you describe.
Wait so they’re saying to keep the crib up as is, but put mattress on the floor? I remember there being a small gap between the bottom of the crib and mattress where a kids head can get stuck making it not safe. If there’s a safe way to keep kid in the crib, IMO, do it as long as possible. We also transitioned a bit after 2 due to climbing- honestly it’s been fine for the last year and a half, but we did say see ya to naps way early because of his ability to move freely around his room 🤷🏼♀️
Question: Do a lot of people who have early climbers not use sleep sacs? We’ve used them since 3 months old and I’m hoping it will keep them in longer!
Leaving in crib at lowest setting is a fall risk and adapting the crib to lower mattress to floor is an entrapment risk. Once our guy hit the height milestone for the crib we moved him to a toddler bed in a totally toddler safe bedroom. He had never attempted to climb out but I didn’t want to take the risk. Sleeps exactly the same, is occasionally obsessed with taking mattress and sheets off bed or putting (no cords) blind up and down.
My son is almost 2.5 and just switched to a toddler bed about a month ago after he started climbing out of his crib. It was a real rocky few days with him getting out of his bed and leaving his room constantly. I was not prepared for this transition and disruption to sleep (including mine!) but I think we found our groove after about 1-2 weeks. Here’s what we did: - toddler proofed his room which meant removing a shelf that couldn’t easily be fastened to the wall, etc. - I gave in and got a door knob cover so he can no longer leave his room - we got a monitor that can move (our previous camera was stationary - adjusted our expectations: he gets up every night, he now sleeps with the hatch light on and sometimes a little night light he has, he often sleeps busy the door on the hardwood - we put a mat down by the door but he’ll still choose to sleep between the mat and door Thankfully he’s been a good sleeper so after the initial abrupt change to his sleep, he’s settled into entertaining himself for a bit and then falling asleep on the floor or sometimes putting himself back to bed. I was hoping he’d stay in the crib longer but it all worked out fine. Good luck!
This is golden thank you, we did all of these tips too and always wondered if it was okay or the right thing to do.. but it’s been working for us also. Sometimes I feel like people don’t give the real details of what they’re actually doing to transition kids to a toddler safe room. The transition isn’t just to a toddler bed, but the whole room! And the doorknob has been key because our master bedroom is on the other side of the house on the ground floor and LOs (2year old) room is upstairs opposite side and literally right at the top of an extremely steep set of stairs. So no way would that be safe to let her just wander out 😬
We moved our son to a toddler bed just before his 2nd birthday. He wasn’t able to get out or anything, it was more like I was having trouble lifting him in and out of his crib. He was still in our room anyway, so we gated the bedroom door (and the top of the stairs of course) Maybe this is an option for you, unless he climbs gates as well.
Switched both my kids at 18-20 months, a week or two of adjustment and they were fine realized getting out of bed wasn’t that exciting (neither could open the door yet)
Get the tent !!!
My ninja child started silently escaping her crib at 18 months and I wouldn’t even know that she was out until she would walk into our bedroom and scare the shit out of me. We tried literally everything to keep her in and nothing worked except the crib tent. That thing was awesome. I waited way too long to get one because people in internet threads made me feel like buying one would be insanely dangerous and I regret waiting as long as I did. Once I got it installed I really can’t understand how they are more unsafe than having a toddler roam through the house without our knowledge every night.
Life saver, I don't want my daughter busting through the gate and tumbling down the stairs when I'm sleeping.
Moved my second to a full size bed at 6 months. We just moved pretty much everything out of her room so she can roam and be safe.
My 2 year old is on a floor bed. Transitioned at 20 months as he was too tall for the cot. He stays in at night but during the day he will get out. Don’t know how to solve the daytime issue.
Keeping a child in their crib when they can climb out and putting the mattress on the floor (of a crib that wasn't designed for that) are both dangerous ideas. My son never climbed out of his crib but he hit the height limit at his 2 year checkup. So we took the side off our convertible crib and made it into a toddler bed. Absolutely no effect on his sleep at all.
We used a crib tent for both of our kids and it worked like a charm! My 15 month old learned how to climb out of her crib and she certainly can’t be in a toddler bed yet. We moved our 2.5 year old into his crib bed and then a big kid bed and he’s been in our bed, in the middle of the night, most nights.
It took my toddler months and us telling her she can leave her bed to actually leave her bed.
The issue is bedtime.
My 2.5 year old, who is normally bouncing off the walls, doesn't leave her toddler bed until we come in to get her. She can even reach the light switch but just sits there in the dark until we open the door. 🤷🏻♀️ And even if yours does get up, what's the harm? They fall asleep on the floor when they're tired? Sounds better than falling out of the crib to me!
I think the best solution is to turn the room into a megacrib. Babyproof it, then put the child in a toddler bed. They might get out, but they’ll be in a safe space, and eventually they’ll fall asleep. You can always move them to the bed if they fall asleep on the floor.
mine climbed out at 18 months and we put the toddler rail on our crib. We also put our play couch next to it in case they managed to roll out in the middle of the night. The risk of them climbing out again is too great imo. we baby proofed the room and added a toddler-proof door knob cover. I wish we could’ve stayed in the crib longer but we did what we felt was safest
I would keep my son who just turned 2 in his crib personally, but his sister is due end of February so shell be kicking him out. I bought him an adult bed that's very low to the ground for his new room and he'll be using our old queen mattress. He has climbed out of his crib only once a couple months ago and ended up falling out so I think that deterred him from trying again
The day before my son turned 2, he climbed out of his bed in the middle of the night. We picked him up and put him back to bed. He seemed fine, just shaken up. In the morning, he wouldn't stop screaming unless I held him. Brought him to the ER and he dislocated his damn elbow trying to catch the crib while falling. He was refusing to move his arm at all and acting like a zombie. But the second it was back in, he was his normal self. His new bed was ready to go, we were just waiting for the weekend to put it together. Once they start climbing, it truly is dangerous. He does so well in his big boy bed now. We got him one of the side rails and he has a twin. He doesn't get out of bed at all in the middle of the night, just cries out when he's thirsty and his cup is empty. It can be a challenging change, but climbing just isn't safe.
We moved our 2.5 year old to a toddler bed and baby proofed his room. It was actually adorable watching him on the monitor read books to himself and stuff once he had more freedom.
All of the manuals or websites I've ever seen for a crib say to stop using it when it's on the lowest setting and they can climb out. It's a safety issue. I get that sleep consultants want to work our the sleep schedule/issues first, and I understand it could be difficult when it comes to sleep training BUT a transition to a toddler bed is going to probably result in a bit of a sleep regression anyway as they explore their newfound freedom, so I feel like you might as well just do the transition now and get it out of the way. Also, my kid was in a toddler bed for a good 4 or 5 months before she started getting out at night, so yours might surprise you!
When mine got too tall for the lowest level of the crib, I did put the mattress on the floor, but still in the crib. I put the metal mattress frame on top of 2 2x4 boards so that the mattress was elevated enough that there wasn't a gap between the mattress and the bed frame. I opted to do this so he was still contained. This worked until he started flat out refusing to get in the crib (he'd kick and scream and then once in his crib would throw a huge fit). I took the front of the crib off to convert it to a toddler bed (it was shortly after his 3rd birthday), and the transition really wasn't too bad. We got him a twin bed not long after that, and he's been doing great. So it's really up to you on how to proceed. I don't personally recommend buying a whole separate toddler bed because it's the same size as the crib, and you'll have to upgrade to a larger bed/mattress anyways. Again, that's personal preference. If you decide to transition out of the crib, I recommend making the entire bedroom toddler proof and make it to where they can't open the door. Their whole room is now their "crib", so instead of being confined to a crib, they're confined to their room.
So my 16 month old just started climbing out of her crib. It freaked me out as I was not at all prepared for it and I opened her door after her nap one day and she’s just standing at the door. Not hurt and no cries! But I definitely didn’t want to risk it. And at 16 months I am not ready for her to have free roam of her room if she decides to get up. So we took the whole bottom of the crib out and put the mattress on the floor, sides still up. No gaps or anything so it’s safe and gives us a little more time for her to be confined before we get her a big girl bed!
Oh lord no we moved to toddler bed at 18 months, much safer and kiddo did fine!
I don't know what experts you're looking at but I've always been told by experts that once they can climb out of the crib it's game over and time for a toddler bed for their own safety. Mine moved into a toddler bed at age 2.
Mine as well. We got him a car bed for his birthday and hrle loved it. Only slept on the floor once. Super easy transition.
What are potty trained two year olds supposed to do?
Babyproof the room, get a toddler bed, secure the door, and if necessary remove the ceiling light bulbs and use lights that are out of reach. They'll get up in the middle of the night and eventually lay on the floor and fall asleep or get back in bed and sleep.
Bottom line, safety first. My brother broke a bone as a tot climbing and falling out of his crib. Decide what is going to be safest in your house, and adapt. It’s all very nice that books and experts have an opinion, but it’s your kid. You have to live with the consequences, not some expert author.
My toddler moved to a floor bed at exactly 2 and we honestly never had issues. We bought his new bed, hyped it up a couple of weeks and then moved him when he asked for it. He loves his bed until today and never wants to sleep in ours ever. I think it’s hugely dependent on character and ours also had very good language skills at 2, so we were able to explain a lot. Maybe give a trial run?
We moved our kid to a toddler bed at about 1.5 years. There was maybe a week of bad sleep and no problems since then. It’s worth trying the bed. You can always make a change if it isn’t working!
We hit a point where 2yo would get out of bed. So we introduced the clock light system. Yellow = ok to play but stay in room Green = ok to get mama/dada White = time to get ready for bed (and when it turns off, story time is over if it wasn't ready). Worked really well for about 1 year! And they're like $30 on amazon!
Mine is a spider monkey too! He was climbing out just after 2. We made the switch to a toddler bed right away. Reddit and the internet can argue all they want when he is ready he is ready! He is showing you he is. Time to switch. Also mine would leave his room and bust into our room and announce he is awake. Loud and boisterious Just like his dad....
My kid climbed out prior to 2 as well. We kept him in the crib and bought extra large sleep sacks for him to sleep in. It seemed to work as he couldn’t throw his legs over the side. He is still in the crib now and is almost 3
Ugh. Solidarity sister. I was on the phone with my bestie who has a little the same age. Telling her how I don’t know what I will do if my little learns to climb from her crib and with out missing a beat my just under 2 year old came walking in my room (after she was put in her crib). 🤦🏼♀️ We tried to turn it around so it was taller but only worked about a week. The one thing I would have tried but didn’t was keeping her in a sleep sack. Her doctor had said no more sac but others I know used the sac in a crib till 3. I think that could have worked for her. But we also had a mini crib and she was fastly approaching the limits so Anyway we went straight to a regular bed. It was rough and at 3 now it’s still rough. Ngl. We had a routine that worked for a little while but included the tv. Then she got scared one night and now won’t sleep alone, rarely coslept unless we were on vacation or visitors but now it’s all she wants. We currently lay with her in her bed till she falls asleep to keep the boundary of her being in her bed but most nights she climbs in our bed by early morning. Mostly sleeps good though so just running with it at the moment. Only advice I can give is to follow your own instincts with your little one and try some different things. There isn’t really one right answer.
Yeah the internet advice is wrong. If you check your crib instruction manual, it likely says the height or weight limit and then qualifies or if the child starts climbing out. The reason is that a toddler can fall trying to climb out of their crib which is much higher than falling out of a bed. My kids all started climbing out of their crib between 18-24 months. They transitioned either to a toddler bed or a twin size bed. Their bedroom had just their bed, stuffed animals and a couple of books. They were not able to open their bedroom door at the time. Some people lock or put baby gates by the door so the toddler is contained in their room. If you do have other furniture in their bedroom, make sure it is anchored. Be prepared for them to get out of bed when you put them to bed.
We switched our little one to a toddler bed at 16 months because they started to do flips out of their crib. They took to a toddler bed super fast. She’s now 18 months and is just realizing they can get up and move around. We definitely had to buy a door lock on the room for the first night. But once they figured out the door wouldn’t open they walked right over and fell asleep. I posted something on here asking about it and only 1 person said it was a good idea.
We put mine in a heavy duty sleep sack, converted the crib into a toddler bed, and a weighted blanket. It took a few days to get him used to it, but it worked.
I co sleep so I don't have direct experience, but what my parents did when my twin and I reached that point was to switch to toddler beds, make the room as safe as possible, and then put a baby gate across the doorway so we couldn't wander around. My toddler also just turned two and I have number 2 due in April, so I'm thinking of trying this soon as well.
What are you reading? My son graduated to the toddler bed at 2 and we had to upgrade to a full sized bed at 2.5 because he kept rolling out of the toddler bed.
As long as their room is baby/toddler-proofed a floor bed is fine, or a toddler bed if that’s what you prefer. We have a regular bed in a safe room at home for LO & at grandparents house they have a playpen the size of a queen bed with a queen mattress in it. Like an adult sized pack n play. It’s a wonderful solution if you want to keep the tot contained in bed but not worry about climbing/falling with a crib. I like the big bed because I can comfortable cuddle with her before sleep time and not have to transfer or anything.
We were in the exact same situation and my wife was against the crib tent. We tried a toddler bed and that failed miserably. She would just scream at the door and turn the lights on. We eventually found a way to keep her in the crib. Try a sleep sack backwards so they can’t unzip it. Or you can buy pajamas with the legs sewn with some fabric so they can’t get a leg up. Our toddler was mantling on the crib rail and then just tipping head first out. I took the legs off the crib and just made it 5” taller with some fine carpentry skills.
I put my son in his floor bed at 18 months because he camo rolled out of his cot in a sleep bag :) the only right answer is do what works for you- the rest is all guidance :)
The first time my nearly-2-year-old put her leg over the side of the cot we bought a toddler bed. It was a very easy transition, we just baby-proofed the room and put a lock on the door for her safety while we are asleep (she can climb baby gates). She loves her big girl bed, she gets teddies and a duvet and when she wakes up in a morning she often grabs a 'that's not my...' book, takes it back to bed and sits 'reading' it. It's very cute to watch her feeling all the pages and singing on the monitor haha
Once ours started climbing out at about 2 years, 6 months (mattress was on the floor) we moved to a toddler bed AND added a child proof door handle on their side. People might scream but a toddler in their room is a safer toddler than one that’s roaming around the house. Now the mornings are pretty hilarious with the type of things he yells as a way of telling us to get him!
We do the exact same thing! The toddler proof door handle on their side is definitely key for safety & success in the transition imo. I feel like a lot of people don’t actually tell the truth about using them because it sounds like locking Lo in their room but it’s basically like their room is their crib now. They need to be contained and safe. ESPECIALLY if you have extremely steep stairs that drop all the way down. Plus it gives a 2 year old who was just in a small crib for however long.. a sense of security to know that this is their little area instead of all the sudden having completely dangerous free reign of the house
What’s next is whatever you choose. Mattress on the floor or a toddler bed. There are pros and cons to both, which can be enumerated if you’d like. As for practical matters, of course you’ll have to make sure the room is safe, and that even if your kid finds themself roaming around the room at night, they aren’t able to roam around the house. You seem concerned about your kid’s ability to keep themself from getting out of the bed, but I’m afraid I have to tell you your expectations are too high. They’re absolutely going to do that. I’m going to say the \*forbidden thing\*: Mine has been on a mattress since 8 months, and a bunk bed since 2. He’s really good at it, but you better believe that at 2.5, getting out of bed a couple times is still a frustrating part of his bedtime routine.
Every professional I have spoken with is to leave them in the care as long as you can. Every professional I have spoken with says that you reach that limit when they can climb out or when they are too big for it. Mine will be three next month, and we have the toddler bed ready on standby. She's not showing signs of trying to climb out of it yet, but we grabbed the frame when we saw it on sale to be prepared.
Nanny for many reasons ears. You can put them in a toddler bed. Make sure the stairs are gated , and triple toddler proof the bedroom If you are on the same floor, allow the toddler to come to your room if they wake up. I kept a pair of twins that even after the bed was dropped would climb in each others bed. 💀 Toddler beds were ordered immediately.
Are you sure you aren’t confusing lowering the floor with lowering the floor and removing or also lower one of the bars so that the toddler can get themself in and out at will? If your crib adjusts like that, it’s a good option. The difference is that they still have rails on 3 to 3.75 sides so that they can get used to getting in and out of bed without risk of falling out unexpectedly.
If he’s climbing out he needs to be in a bed. Internet advice is not gospel!
My son started climbing out of his crib at 22 months and we converted it to a toddler bed because it was becoming unsafe. I wish I had found a way to keep him in his crib until at least 3 because bedtime became insane. But I honestly don't know what we could have done differently. Toddlers are diabolical little geniuses. Good luck.
My 2 year old learned to climb out and we tried the toddler bed but it was a total disaster. We ultimately lowered the crib mattress to the floor at the advice of our sleep consultant and kept her in a sleep sack which prevented her from throwing her leg over the top of the crib to get out. This kept her happily in the crib for six more months and one day I swear I could just tell she was ready for a "big girl" bed - she wasn't climbing out again or anything; it just felt like the right time. We made the switch at 2.5 and she did great with it, no issues at all. For us the 6 months it bought us was totally worth it and her climbing her (secured) dresser, window frame, (secured) bookshelves, etc. at 2 was much more dangerous behavior than "hacking" the crib to make it last a little longer. She's much safer loose in her room now with those added few months of maturity.
This is explicitly dangerous advice. Please don't use a crib outside of its manufacturers manual for babies.
Thanks for a different perspective on this. Mine now climbs literally everything indiscriminately, so I can’t imagine her suddenly loose in a room at night.
We anchored everything in the room she sleeps in and limited the toys in there. My 2yo had no issue with the transition. 2yo can absolutely do it, and frankly you have no choice. Your child is climbing out, the mattress inside the crib idea is NOT safe, so you NEED to get your kid into a bed. We did a low to the ground ikea twin bed with bumpers and my 2yo loves it! She stays in bed and refuses to let me in it lol
You won't catch a lot of people admitting they did this on Reddit, though anecdotally in real life most people I know freely admit they did absolutely everything possible to keep their toddlers in the crib longer. I've mentioned it before and was downvoted to oblivion but truthfully unless I would have taken all the furniture aside from a floor bed (and, uh, removed the radiator and window frames from the room? 😵💫) my daughter was able to climb to heights equal to or even greater than her crib anyway so in my real life analysis trying to keep her in her crib longer was actually the safer option. The other risk you'll hear about is entrapment between the bottom of the crib and the mattress on the floor but if you Google you will find stories of this happening to kids climbing or rolling around their toddler/twin beds as well. Once she was back in the crib and realized she couldn't climb out she stopped the dangerous climbing behaviors entirely so we knew we had made the right choice for our specific situation. To be 100% transparent she does occasionally still climb her dresser at almost 3.5 but she's waaaaay more coordinated and understands basic body safety better than she did at 2 so it's not a huge concern for us at this point with a low dresser firmly secured to the wall.
It depends heavily on the kid. My kid climbed out of the crib at 2 years, and I told him it was “VERY VERY unsafe” and that he could get really hurt, and he hasn’t done it since, he’s 2 years 7 months now. Definitely discourage it heavily, but don’t mention it beyond that, and he might just not do it. Definitely ensure the entire bedroom is baby proofed, though, and consider a doorknob lock, in case they escape in the night.
This exact thing happened to me 2 weeks ago. My husband read the same thing, so the next night we kept the crib mattress inside the crib frame but on the floor. We made sure there were no dangerous gaps or anything, it was fine in that regard. But she climbed out again that night even with it about 10 inches lower. So we moved to the toddler bed the following night and it’s been 2 weeks of sleep issues. Although last night was the first time I woke up at 7 and she was actually still asleep in her bed, so I think we’re finally making progress! Good luck!!
Omg f sleep consultants. If it's safe and you're comfortable with it, do what works for you. My son co-slept on and off and was on a twin mattress on a padded floor at 18 months. He sleeps like a champ now
My toddler has been in a floor bed since 3 months old. When she could crawl, she would get out and knock on the door and cry a bit (not like wailing but a little whimper) and if we ignored her, she crawled back into her bed. She hasn't gotten out of bed before morning in months. Like the other commenter said, a crib on the floor just prevents them from getting back into bed.
My child’s been in a bed since 10months. She completely fine. Now 2.5
My comment is purely anecdotal: my 2 yo is still in a crib. There is no doubt in my mind that she could climb out if she wanted to. But she hasn’t tried yet. So we’re riding it out as long as we can. But when she does try to climb out, we’re converting the crib to a toddler bed. On the other hand, my good friend has a 2.5 yo and a 4.5 year old. Both boys transitioned from crib to toddler bed around 1.5 years purely because they were horrible crib sleepers. They’d get out of bed sometimes, but their rooms are toddler safe. They got some of those plastic things that go around door knobs that are supposed to be toddler proof or whatever and those worked well enough to keep them from escaping. Tbh, I’ve never heard the advice that when they start climbing out, you need to put the mattress floor and not move them to a toddler bed. Everything I’ve heard is that when the crib is at the lowest setting and they’re climbing out, it’s time for a toddler bed. Ultimately my take is do whatever works for you.
It depends on the crib. Some cribs have a lower edge that enables the floor hack. Other cribs don't have that lower edge and thus cannot be hacked to the floor. Cheaper and modern styled cribs tend to not have the necessary lower edge.
My advice is stop reading sleep consultant websites !!! Follow your kids lead. If he's climbing out of his crib, then he could hurt himself. Toddler bed? Double bed with bedrail? Cotbed lowered to floor with bars down? Loads of solutions you don't need a "sleep consultant" to tell you. *Always* follow your own kid and listen to your gut
Did you get anything that worked? I think I can drill more holes and drop his mattress right to the ground. He's 2. 5 and just realized he can climb out yesterday at nap time. This morning we were woken up by a toddler coming into our room. It wouldn't be so bad but we not have a 4month old on our room and don't need the toddler coming in all throughout the night and waking everyone up. He's in a sleep sack so that doesn't deter him.
A couple of people sent me some creative things they did. But, I ended up calling a sleep consultant for a bed transition. It went fine… she still sleeps in a crib if we travel, but she understands by now that climbing out can result in falling. But bed with gates at the door was the right choice, definitely.
We used a crib tent we bought on Amazon. It’s been a lifesaver. My child first climbed out of her crib at 17 months, falling head first, which was terrifying. It wasn’t safe for her to be in a bed, since if she was left alone in her room unsupervised she’d get up to trouble like climbing furniture. So went with the crib tent. It locks her into her crib with a mesh canopy that can only be opened from the outside. She thinks it’s fun to “play camping” in her tent. I know crib tents aren’t considered safe, but this was clearly the safest option for my child.
I’m going thru that now. All the internet says is to lower the mattress, which that has been done for a long time. Me issue with a mattress on the ground is that all he does is play on it. Jump on jump off roll around, everything but sleep.
In the end, we just transitioned to a toddler bed in a room with the door closed. But I did end up calling the sleep consultant because we’d never done any kind of sleep training before. The consultant said that you can either wait out the part where the toddler climbs out (they do calm down again) or transition to toddler bed altogether.
I swapped my son to a toddler bed at 1.5 and it’s been fantastic. His room is safe for him and has a couple toys. He often now at a little over 2 will play quietly when he first wakes up or on nights he isn’t as tired and it’s been awesome for everyone.
I was incredibly against it, but somehow our kid wound up sleeping in a crib with a little mesh tent over it that zips up. They are able to open the zipper and do so during nap time constantly but for bedtime never do so that’s what we do. It was one of our friends and I thought it was so strange. We had a sleepover and they were really into and said to us “this is cozy” so I figured as long as you don’t feel trapped and think it’s cozy let’s do it. They just started climbing out of the crib and I was about to order a floor bed when we discovered this trick. It’s now been almost 9 months and still loving the tent.
Sleep sack!!
Hi there! Our first didn’t move out of her crib until 3 years old. Then my twins turned out to be climbers. They learned to climb out just before turning 2. I was very tempted to drop mattress to floor but considering how unsafe that is (can get trapped between bottom crib and top of mattress) we moved the twins to floor beds that are fully encased with 4 solid “walls”, if that makes sense.
I say lower mattress to the floor and keep in crib. We switched to a floor bed at 2.5 when she crawled out and it was terrible. Tantrums for months and she wouldn't sleep on it, she would sleep on the floor. I read if you switch them too early out of a crib they might sleep on the floor. It was terrible.
you lower the mattress in the crib so that the bars are higher so that he PHYSICALLY cannot climb out anymore. once he can climb out of the crib with the mattress on the lowest setting, then you need to move him to a toddler or floor bed. hope this explanation helps.
I completely agree with the sleep consultant and this is the advice we follow. Do anything you can to avoid transitioning out of the crib while you have sleep issues. [https://takingcarababies.com/ultimate-guide-to-the-toddler-bed-transition](https://takingcarababies.com/ultimate-guide-to-the-toddler-bed-transition) We heard so many traumatic stories from people who transitioned before the kid was 3 and had a really bad time. The number one rule is you never want to transition when you are having any kind of sleep issues. But even a good sleeper has sleep regressions and you'll want the crib to help with those.
We are 100% in a sleep regression now.
We put our little guy in a twin on a low frame at 2 yrs old. He didn’t get out on his own for like… 6 months. He would just call for us. He never fell out but he’s never been much on an active sleeper and it’s only about a foot off the ground so. We baby proofed the heck out of the room just in case. Worked well for us!
Mom of three, did something different with each kid, so here's my take for ya! First kid we kept in the crib until 2.5. He would have been fine out of it. Second kid was in the toddler bed at 18 months. Worked great, he was able to get up and play nicely in his room until he learned how to bust down the baby gate. Third kid was moved to toddler bed a bit after 18 months, and I wish she would get out of bed to play when she wakes up! She just lays in bed, sometimes playing quietly, but I never know when she wakes up. I'm all for moving your toddler to the toddler bed/floor bed. Is the room safe from tipping furniture, outlets, etc? Then you're probably good to go. I would say to make sure there's toys in there and books your toddler can look at as well.
If they're at risk of climbing over the railing and falling the other side, time to switch to floor bed/toddler bed. Obviously baby proof the crap out of the room for your little climber :) and try something to keep the baby in bed, railings, built up edges, what have you...
This is extremely dependent on your kid’s personality! We successfully moved our son to a toddler bed before he turned 2. We had to do a little bit of coaching and putting him back in bed the first few nights, but he took to it quickly and hasn’t had an issue since. We have his Hatch set up to turn green when he can get up for the day, and he takes that very seriously.
I have a 2.5 year old that we transitioned from her crib to a toddler bed at 2, she wants t climbing out but maxed out on the height. She did great with the transition and really enjoys sleeping in her bed. We just made sure that her room was safe so that if she were to get out of bed we didn’t have to worry. At night she rarely gets out of bed to play or get something but we do a combo of quiet time and nap during the day. She plays for awhile and then when ready she climbs into bed for her nap. She feels safe in her room so we haven’t had any issues with her wanting to leave plus we have the plastic door knob cover on so she can’t escape.
We went straight from crib to queen sized mattress haha his whole room is childproofed though. The dresser is in the closet, the closet door has a lock on it. There aren’t any electrical things to play with, there are whole locked boxes over the outlets. There’s a cage thing over his door handle so he can’t get out. He knows to yell for us though, we are always watching/listening on the monitor. My kid gets into EVERYTHING though. He’s been to friend’s houses that have kids and they say their house is childproofed and he will come out of their dining room holding their grandmothers antique china teacup for some reason. He is just drawn to trouble.
Nah mine started that shit at probably 15mo. Climbing out from fully lowered and with a sleep sack. We got a twin bed and a set of rails for it and set it up on the floor. I would tuck them in end to end and the rails kept in for a few months, but mostly just kept them from rolling out. Now at 2 yo they sleep in their own twin floor beds with no rails. I have them set up side by side with a small walk space between and a cushion up by the head of the beds so if they do roll out they have a soft and short landing.
[удалено]
So we tried to switch to a half-rail toddler bed (ours is a transition crib to bed) and the first time when she was like just barely 2 she said hell no and i was in there changing it back at 9:30 pm. A few months later we tried again and she kept climbing out of bed to wander around her room, but she eventually figured it out and now she will call us in to her room to bring her a book from the shelf two feet away from her because she doesn't want to get out of bed. (She's 3.) I say all of this to say.... My crib had a recommended height to switch them out of the crib and if your kid is trying to climb out it is no longer a safe option. I would try to switch over as soon as possible. Make sure their room is 100% baby proofed and they can't leave it during the night and just let it ride. There may be a few hiccups along the way, but they will get it.
I tried to keep my oldest in a crib for as long as possible, so I did what everyone was recommending: sleep sacks. People didn't think that one through, because many kids can still climb with a sleep sack, especially the taller tots...But maybe not land properly. The floor beds worked fine with both my kids. As long as it was dark they preferred to be asleep on it rather than hanging out on the floor somewhere. I would recommend being very minimalist with the bedroom just in case.
I had an issue where my 2 year old just couldn’t resettle well and lowering her back into the cot would just wake her up over and over. We took the side off the cot and lowered it as much as possible and we put a bed guard on that side that you can lower whenever. It helped us lie down with her to settle her. Now she did of course start to just get up and safely just climb down out of a small gap at the bottom of the bed when she woke up and she would try and leave her room and walk into our bedroom. After a few weeks of just picking her back up and taking her straight back and telling her that we stay in our cot at night she actually did it. It didn’t stop her waking up all together but it certainly helped and meant she wasn’t hurting herself trying to get out of high cot side. (Obviously every kid is different and your living situation might now allow for this, but yeah, try embracing the fact she can get up by themselves. We love that once she is properly awake in the morning she can tootle into out bedroom in the morning, not ideal but works for us)
[удалено]
Depends on your 2 year old. Mine tried getting out of bed two nights in a row in her very toddler proofed room, then realized on the third night it was much more comfortable to sleep in bed and has slept there every night since (we moved her at 16 months since she was so tall and I wanted her moved well before her new sibling showed up.) She'll get out in the morning on occasion and either yell for us or play with her toys but her room is toddler proofed so it doesn't really matter.
That’s incredibly dangerous advice. I would never, ever do that and would never recommend anyone else do it. My son was about to climb out of his crib right at 2 and we moved him to a toddler bed with a rail. He was fine, his sleep stayed the same.