To think about moving 18 month old to a bed?

[CesareBorgiasUnicornMask]

He's not climbing out, but he hates his cot, always has. There is absolutely no getting him to lie down in it awake, and if he wakes up in it he's totally hysterical - rattling the bars and banging his head on them to get out instantly. However, he goes to sleep brilliantly on little pallet beds at nursery, and is relatively happy to fall asleep/ resettle himself on our bed or on a floor cushion.
Today we were in John Lewis, and he spotted a toddler bed, ran to it joyfully and tried to climb in, while DH and I looked on in bemusement. Am I mad to consider totally toddler-proofing his room, sticking a baby gate on the door and giving it a go?

DS1 was like this. We moved him to a toddler bed at 18 months and his sleep improved immeasurably. DS2 is the complete opposite. He's 18 months now and I can't imagine him in a proper bed. He's definitely still my baby!

Don't bother with a toddler bed though. Inevitably you'll have to sleep in with him every now and again and toddler beds are not comfy for adults! Go straight for a full sized single, or a mattress on the floor. Good luck.

My 13 month old is in a toddler bed. She hates her cot. She's never slept in one and can't get used to it.

DS went into a toddler bed at this age. No problems at all. Went into a single at age 4 because I couldn't stand the back strain any more when inevitably had to sleep with him some nights - he did fall out a couple of times, so a mattress on the floor at this age, propped on side to air in the daytime, seems sensible perhaps?

Don't stress too much about the possibility of falling out of bed, assuming it isn't a flagstone floor or something. They tend to bounce. Have a thick rug or something by the bed. Cot haters hate cots, full stop (I was one, the Houdini of X-town, climbed out of cot and then out of window one evening) and it sounds as if the wee man has his ideas fixed on a bed anyway.

Never used our cot but DS went into full size single bed at 13m, DD at 20m. With a bed rail.
yanbu

Should say though, you might want to put him straight into a single bed, as it is easier to cuddle and do stories, and I think that toddler beds are a bit of a waste of money - they ultimately mean another transition (although I have to say we have had no issues with them taking to their new beds).

DS was a cot hater. We put him in our spare (double) bed at 13 months, cot mattress and pillows on the floor in case he fell out and he loves it.

Have got ds in a bed with bedguard at 22 months. He has been sleeping there for about a month as he was banging against the sides of the cot. He's not big but a fidgety sleeper.

Had DD in a bed from about 18 months for same reason but she was worse.

Only thing is, it is a bugger when you go away from home, as I find they won't go back to a cot once they have left it. But yours might be different.

Ds went in one at 13 months after he jumped up and down in his cot and broke it.

It was a toddler bed, so very low. With the side things on. He loved it and was fine

Dd went into a normal size single bed at 19 months. We put a bed guard on and she never fell out. She was similar, hated her cot, was much happier in a bed.