Time for a toddler bed?

Moderator Joined: Dec 04 2005 Posts: 6171 Location: israel

Ds who is 2 climbed out of his crib shabbos afternoon after his nap. Then Sunday morning he climbed out again. Sunday & Monday night he stayed in bed at night. Monday morning he actually waited for me to come pick him up. He got demanding & angry & was exhausted so we put him in bed during dinner yesterday. He walked back in a few minutes later (but was better behaved)...and was fine from that point. During the afternoon I showed him how we could put the mattress on the floor. At bedtime, I decided to put the mattress back into the crib. When dh came home from maariv ds was still awake and heard him. He tried to climb out and fell.....when he calmed down and was ok, we put him to sleep on the mattress on the floor. In the middle of the night he woke up screaming. I put him back to sleep with the mattress in the crib and he was very comforted to be in the crib with his fishes (crib attachment).

Do we need to buy a toddler bed now?? I'm worried on one hand that he will fall again and on the other hand that he wants to be behind those bars...

He didn't climb out this morning. He is generally a super careful kid. I think he feel because he was super exhausted last night.
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Posted: Tue, Mar 31 2009, 5:21 am Post subject:

I would skip the toddler bed altogether and just go to a regular bed. We started by piling two mattresses (thin ones) on the floor for DS.
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Posted: Tue, Mar 31 2009, 5:24 am Post subject:

Yes, skip the toddler bed.

We actually have the expandable bed from Ikea for Rivka. It's great because it's wider than a toddler bed and grows to a full sized bed. But we also have 3 girls in one room and space is at a premium. Dh's parents bought it for us because they thought it was a good use of space. I don't think it was that expensive though.
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Posted: Tue, Mar 31 2009, 5:25 am Post subject:

would a regular bed with one of those safety attachments to keep him from falling out give him the same feeling of being behind bars?

Also, if he is cautious by nature he might not try climbing out again now that he knows that falling hurts.

Moderator Joined: Dec 04 2005 Posts: 6171 Location: israel

I looked at beds today. Right now he's in the crib with the rail down and blankets on the floor just in case.

Dh wants to go with the toddler bed. It's 350 shekels(without mattress, can take his crib mattress) at Bazaar Strauss...and the cheapest real regular bed that I saw with a guard rail was 1800 + delivery(all had a second bed & drawers, though I'd for sure make dh look at one that I liked that was even more that had thicker mattress). The Ikea bed looks really tempting and compared to the prices I saw seems very reasonable(but no storage space or 2nd bed) plus they sold some even cheaper toddler beds, but dh does not like the idea of taking a trip to Netanya.

Till what age does the toddler bed usually work?? It definitely looks like an easy adjustment...

I was more inclined toward the real bed, but I can see that in 2 years we should hopefully be a better place financially to buy it & we might have a better idea of direction future wise (bed that would be base of bunkbed or bed that has L that goes with it? or regular bed?) There also might be some more (cheaper) options since he won't need a guardrail.

BTW I also saw Japanese beds that were very low to the floor so you don't need a guard rail....they were very pretty but even more pricey.

Posted: Tue, Mar 31 2009, 12:25 pm Post subject:

Can't you buy any bed push it against the wall on one side and buy one of those adjustable bed guards for the other side? It would increase your buying options.

Posted: Tue, Mar 31 2009, 12:34 pm Post subject: Re: re: time for a toddler bed?

Posted: Tue, Mar 31 2009, 1:17 pm Post subject:

Rivka still sleeps in the Ikea bed on the smallest setting, but she is very short (off the chart, maybe 3% at best). The good thing about the Ikea bed is that it's wider, so she has more room to spread out. From friends in the states who have toddler beds they seem good from 2 - 5 depending on the kid.

Posted: Tue, Mar 31 2009, 1:18 pm Post subject:

Oh, and as far as the no storage space, I find it even more storage friendly than the twins' bunk bed. I can put the portacrib under Rivka's bed and some other stuff. The drawers you are limited by what can fit in the drawer.

Posted: Tue, Mar 31 2009, 1:25 pm Post subject:

don't start off his bed issues with games back & forth and back & forth ... get him a bed with a rail and go for it ... he needs to learn to stay in it - quite factually - bedtime is bedtime, naptime is naptime ... definitely get a bed rail ... I used to have one by fisher price that nicely folded downward when I sat next to the kiddies for storytime & shema - then lifted up to safety position ...
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Posted: Tue, Mar 31 2009, 1:31 pm Post subject: re: time for a toddler bed?

We bought Tzahala's toddler bed at Baby Michel because they have one which is longer than the standard toddler bed and can be used until age 8 - I've not seen it in any of the other shops. It's a little bit more expensive (100NIS more IIRC) than the standard ones but worth it, she's 4 and very comfortable in it with loads of room to grow. The only thing that I didn't like was that less than half the length had the bars to stop her falling out so we had it against the wall with the shiddah next to it, that way it left enough room for her to get in and out, but not enough room for her to fall out. Once Hallelli needs to be out of the crib (thankfully she's not yet attempted to climb out) we'll get her a proper bed.

Posted: Tue, Mar 31 2009, 3:11 pm Post subject: re: time for a toddler bed?

When my DD started climbing out of her crib, we got her a toddler bed and gave her a choice of where to sleep - bed or crib. For the next five months, she almost always chose the crib, and NEVER climbed out again! Then, finally, she made the switch to the bed (after some encouragement/bribery.)

I think my point is that 1) climbing out of the crib doesn't necessarily imply readiness for a bed, and 2) the experience of sleeping without a crib may be enough to get your DS to appreciate his crib and stay in it. If you're not in any hurry to have him sleeping in a bed, I would just play it by ear at this point. You can always put the mattress on the floor again.

Platinum Member Joined: Jan 01 2006 Posts: 48152

I think it's a shame to spend money on a toddler bed when he'll out grow it and you'll need to buy another bed.

Posted: Tue, Mar 31 2009, 4:58 pm Post subject: re: time for a toddler bed?

My son started climbing out of the crib before he turned two. He was definitely not ready for a bed so we bought him a crib tent- it was a real life saver. It keeps him safe and sound inside his crib and he can't climb out when he wants to. Bedtime was a real nightmare without it.

You can find crib tents online- a little expensive but it's something you might be able to get secondhand if you're interested.

Posted: Tue, Mar 31 2009, 7:49 pm Post subject: re: time for a toddler bed?

Once a child has climbed out... dangerous to keep them in there. Chas v'shalom he can climb out a 'bad' way and break a bone.

Skip toddler bed, instead jump right in and buy a regular bed--- but with bed rail attachment. (you buy that separately.)