Hello!

Advise please on how you transitioned your toddler into a big bed.
My 13 month old is in his cot but moves around sideways I feel he will be ok in a bigger bed eventually…..
I have a baby due next year and he will be about 22 months when she goes into the cot.
So im thinking she can have his cot, and I will buy my boy a si gle bed with the barriers.
Should I buy the bed sooner and transition him sooner or did anyone’s toddler just take to it at that age?


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  • How did you get on?
    I would think sooner would be better rather then later


  • Up to you when you want to start. Make it exciting maybe add a doona cover with a favourite character and explain he’s a big boy now.. really hype it up. My son moved around like crazy. I got a floor bed for him and he still manages to fall out of bed at times, other alternative is bed against a wall with a barrier. I was always scared of barriers die to them falling from a higher height if they attempted to climb it. Hence why I got a floor bed x


  • I would be getting him used to it now myself. It’s amazing how grown up you can make him feel too so that he will be so much happier in his new bed. Best of luck.


  • My son has always been a giant and would move around a lot he wasn’t even a year old when I moved him out of the cot to a bed. I didn’t get him a rail or anything, but I did lay a mattress on the floor next to the bed in case he had a fall – he never did now he’s just turned 13 in a queen bed and 6ft tall


  • We started with a toddler bed so that we felt more comfortable should she get too close to the edge.


  • I had a similar age gaps between my girls. Before my second game along I put my 21 month olds cot in her new room and had the single bed in there already for her. We didn’t want her feeling that she had to give up her cot for her sister. We started with taking the side rail off the cot and then day sleeps in the single bed (with a rail). She choose when she wanted the Big Girls bed and we then took the cot out of her room. There was about a month in the end between her getting out of the cot and her sister moving from the bassinet to the cot.


  • My son just turned 2 & is still in a cot.. and fine in there


  • I agree start the transition early and make it fun with a shopping trip where they get to pick out a special doona cover.


  • I’d buy the bed sooner and start transitioning before new bub arrives I waited and my 3 year old had a hard time adjusting to a new bed new sibling so much change etc she rarely sleeps alone all night still now after 9 months of trying


  • Personally I would but it sooner and transition earlier. I had this issue when I had 3 kids 3 and under 3 I had to use the cot but never wanted to make them feel like I was just kicking them out for the new baby so started the transition well before I actually needed to use the cot.


  • Start transitioning now that way it is a calm experience rather then rushed when a new baby arrives. Make it a happy thing to be going to a big kid big. Let them pick out a new blanket set or pillow that they will have on their bed so it’s exciting also. And just keep reassuring at bed time it’s their big kid bed now.


  • I’d buy the bed now and start off with him in it during the day only. That way you can keep an eye on him and you’ll have a better idea of when he can sleep in it permanently.


  • I had a Nursery for the newborn and had the rooms ready for the children when they need to transition into. We used the room for restless nights when I needed to calm baby and get some sleep. I bought king single beds big enough for Dad to sleep in as well. We read stories in the room and we bought thing with the children to make it their room like bookshelves and toy boxes. Making quite clear when your ready to move your son into his big room it’s his big boy room.


  • I think if you can, try to transition before baby so it doesnt become a big deal and make them feel like they’ve been evicted.


  • I would buy now & start transitioning. With my son I found starting with day naps in the bed & then gradually doing his night sleep aswell!


  • My first baby girl loved her single bed with a barrier to stop her from falling out of bed and she was only about 15 months old. I wanted her comfortable before her baby sister arrived and didn’t want her wanting the cot.


  • I think it’s up to you but I think it was around 2 when my son went into his own bed. I used to let him have his afternoon sleep in the bed as I said big boys sleep in their own bed now and that he was mums big boy now and big boys sleep in their own bed.


  • I’d definitely transition to the bed before new baby arrives. If you feel your child is ready for a bed and will handle it, then go for it. Just make sure to do it before baby comes so he doesn’t get a lot of changes at once.
    And bub will likely be in a bassinet for a few months too, so if not ready then you still have time after bub is born.


  • My twins are almost 3 and we aren’t transitioning yet as I don’t think they are ready maturity wise. Our cots actually double as toddler beds, so I am just going to do that opposed to getting them into single beds straight away!


  • I changed my toddler to a bed a couple of weeks before the new baby arrived (it coincided with her 2nd birthday) and so we had made a big deal about she was a big girl now etc. and that worked well. I wouldn’t do it too early tho. Have a think about getting a bassinet, for your bubba incase they don’t get well with the cot.


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