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From Crib to Bed
Helping Toddlers Make the Transition to a Big Bed
By Keath Castelloe Low
How do parents know when their child is ready? According to Ann Douglas, parenting expert and author of numerous books, including Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler and Preschooler (Wiley 2006), you will know it is time to move your child from a crib to a bed when:
- he starts showing signs of physical or emotional readiness.
- he has physically outgrown his crib (you've lowered the crib mattress to its lowest position and the crib railing is now at nipple height or lower on your toddler when he is standing up) or he has demonstrated that he is capable of getting out of his bed by himself.
- he is showing a persistent interest in moving from a crib to a bed.
Douglas recommends several ideas to make the adjustment easier. "Give your toddler the opportunity to try to test-drive the bed at naptime," she says. "Napping on the new bed is less of an emotional investment for a toddler who may still have an attachment to his crib than staying in the new bed all night."
Leave the crib set up in your child's room when you first set up his new big kid bed," Douglas says. "That way he won't feel the same pressure to say goodbye to his crib right away," she says. "Just knowing the crib is still there may be enough to encourage him to sleep in the new bed."
And if he wants to move back and forth for a while, Douglas says don't make a big deal about it. "He'll eventually be willing to say goodbye to his crib for good, particularly if you convince him that getting te crib out of his room will give him more room for his favorite books and other treasured possessions," she says.