When my youngest came along, her older brother was eighteen months and still sleeping in a crib. I wanted to get him out so that she could take the hand-me-down nursery furniture and he could get new furniture. I was very nervous about rushing this process. So much so that we got a video baby monitor and watched his sleep patterns. After all, I had heard all of the horror stories associated with trying to train your child to sleep in a toddler bed.
Conventional wisdom dictates that if your child is climbing out of bed at night then it is time to move them to a toddler bed. The problem was he never climbed out and he did not sleep all night. We opted to get a second crib and give him more time.
Six months later and a week before his second birthday we decided to give it a try. We bought a toddler bed and set it up in the same place where his crib usually sits. We did all of the normal nighttime routine: everybody gets a kiss, you get a cup of water, sing the goodnight song and then lights out. We waited, watching baby-spy-cam to see what he would do. He got up and opened the door. I firmly told him it was time for bed and put him back in. We waited. He came out again. This time no explanation, just put him right back in bed. We did this three more times. Then, like a miracle he stayed and didn’t get out again.
Wow! That was easier than I thought. He figured it out. He goes right to bed every night in his big-boy bed and stays there until I get him in the morning, even at nap time.
I am certain this is not a testament to my excellent parenting rather I would attribute this success to waiting until he was mature enough to understand and process what was going on. Had we rushed him out of his crib at eighteen months he might not have understood what was going on and the process could have been less successful. I would not say that the age is as important as the level of maturity and some kids may be ready earlier or later than two years old. If you wait for the right time the process does not have to be traumatic.
