Hello!

How do I help my 20 month old daughter transition to her bed easier? One of my main concerns is do we leave the door open or not? We have always kept it closed, but should that change as they transition to a big kid bed? Thanks


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  • I personally prefer all bedroom doors open.
    It is easier to see & hear children at all hours.
    However doors being open can also lead to sneaking out for drinks or a biscuit.
    It will take time but she will eventually settle into a routine.
    Perhaps buy her a new teddy for her big girl bed that will be her big girl bed buddy.
    Make the room as comfortable as possible for her so she wants to spend her time in there & bed time doesn’t feel like a punishment.


  • My daughter has a huge fear of closed doors, so I tried to leave her in bed by saying if she stays in bed her door can stay open.. Still getting used to it.. Going well though.


  • I personally don’t like the idea of the doors being shut tight. With ducted airconditioning the bedrooms don’t have smoke alarms in them. You have light switches, power points and aircondtioning ducts so you have a potential for fire risk. With the door shut it would take too long for the smoke to activate the smoke alarm in your passage. Were it not for the arconditioning the logical thing would be to have a smoke alarm in every bedroom.


  • I think it’s better to keep as much as possible the same when you transition to a big kid bed.


  • we’ve always kept it closed too. I think it’s best to keep those things the same as they’ve always been. Of course it does mean you may not know where in their room they actually fall to sleep. We’ve found our kids on the floor and all their teddies in their bed!


  • it depends on how they react to being in a big bed,keep the night time routine the same,do you have a bed rail?this might help from them getting out a lot.close the door one night see how she goes,it’s a matter of routine and persistence.


  • I would close the door, but you will find she will get up numerous times


  • We still close the door until they are toilet trained and then left it just ajar


  • i would leave her door a little open thats what i do with my daughter


  • there are some good comments here


  • If you have always kept it closed then i would continue to close it.
    Big girl bed should mean that you take her shopping for big girl nightwear and big girl bedding.
    My kids were always excited to move to their big beds and there was never a problem.
    They were told that they didnt have to if they didnt want to…they all wanted to.


  • possibly a new dolly to help things along,keeping the door ajar for duration until she gets used to it,cant hurt anyone,she will feel safer then-time.


  • I would leave the door ajar for the first few weeks and then close it.


  • We have the door open just a child lock gate at the door so she cant come out


  • We leave our sons open, however allot of my mum friends close theres. You will still hear her so if i where you i would continue to close it, if that is what you have done in the past. She will Properly surprise you and open it anyways :-) Good Luck, dont stress She wont take long to adjust


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