When did you all make the move from cot to bed?

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I keep getting asked when i am going to move DD into a bed. How do you know when the time is right? and any advice re the move would be most welcome.

Thank you all, earlier on this eve I was thinking of taking cot sides down very soon but after the probs I have had tonight getting DD to bed I will wait a while. 4 hrs and she is still not settled. Argh!

loopy - when dd1 went into a normal sized bed did you use bedgaurds? was it a lowish bed or a divan one?

just before he was 2. decided to decorate, and it seemed like a good time to do it. moved his cot in our room for a couple of weeks while i decorated, and kept telling him about his fab new 'big boys bedroom' with a brilliant new 'big boys bed'. He was fine. I just told him he had to stay in it till mommy came for him in the morning with his milk, and he pretty much always has. He fell out once, the first night (its an ikea extender bed, very low to the ground), but hasn't since. He still calls it his big boys bed!

lunavix - did you use bed guards?

My ds2 was only 18mths when she moved into a bed, but she didnt like the cot and slept better..ie all night in the bed. We think she suffered with claustrophobia!
Anyway i think she had a little toddler bed to start with, and now shes 2.4yo she sleeps on bottom bunk with dd1 at top, she manages fine..rarely falls out!
I think there is not really a wrong or right time, its whatever you feel is best for your child.
Although i do know 1 woman only just put her son in a bed, and he is 4.5, we were all quite disgusted tbh, as this was just because she was too lazy to, put him back in bed if he got out. As a general guide from my point of view i would say, 3yrs should be the limit, as most children start nursery at this age!

i know quite a few children still in their cotbeds without the sides off at 4 actually. i don't think it's terribly unusual.

Yes but this woman is very lazy. She palms her son off to anyone that will have him and is just lazy!! He was far to big to be in a cot also..and its rare where i live most people have there kids out of cot by the time there 2.5yo. And i did say thats my point of view..everyone entitled to do things there own way as long as the childs development isnt suffering and i feel its terribly embarrassing for a child to be in a cot at 4, when mixing with other kids at nursery. I really dont think there is any need for a child to be in a cot after 3yrs, unless they have specific special needs that require it!

i don't think there's a need to be specific about whether a child of pre-school age or under sleeps in a cot or a bed tbh. either is fine as long as the parent and child is happy with the arrangement. i can see by the time they start reception it might be beneficial for them to be in a bed cos of teasing etc, but ime at nursery this doesn't happen. it's like a 3 year old teasing another 3 year old cos they wear nappies. it doesn't happen - well i haven't seen it happen anyway.

I think you can be very flexible about the move from cot to bed. A key thing to look for is of course whether they are looking like they are ready to climb out, at which point it is obviously safer to have them in a bed.

You could get a low toddler bed, put soft rug down next to bed if you're concerned about falling out, alternatively you could put the mattress on the floor but you might want to consider ventilation if planning a long term thing, maybe a futon base.

My dd was about 2 and a bit.
We had a cotbed and so she helped build her bed and then we took pictures of her in it pretending to sleep, then made a scrap book thing with pictures of her bedtime companions and songs she liked to sing at bedtime and typical routines. Sounds dead complicated eh? but it wasn't it was all very rough and ready and random - just a way to chat about it and involve her in process. She loved showing off her book and pointing out her new bed.

I was thinking of waiting till me ds was over 2 for this move but i have just bee n looking at those gro bag duvets and think they could help towards my ds not falling out of bed - has anyone tried them?

My dd1 is 3.1 and still in a cot
Can't see what the big deal is ... we've discussed her moving into a bed but she isn't keen. dd2 gives us hell enough at night as it is without the older one joining in and she's nowhere near dry at night
When she gets too big for her cot we'll move her out but if she's happy and safe in it what's the rush?

Thanks all, It's great to hear your thoughts. I guess as with almost all aspects of parenthood it's different for every child/parent combination. Its strange that this is the only thing so far for me that I have not had strong instincts. I guess that means there is no hurry.