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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

if you had a toddler that never tried to climb out of his cot, when did you move him to a bed??

25 replies

firststeps · 15/12/2008 14:03

DS is 3 at the end of this month and in a cot bed with the sides on, he loves his cot and usually sleeps 12ish hours a night, and has never tried to climb out. But I am now wondering if I am babying him too much and whether we should take the step to move him into a bed? Anyone been in a similar situation??

OP posts:

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merrykittymas · 15/12/2008 14:06

DD1 got a big girl bed for her 3rd birthday

DD2 was 2 1/2 but that was because we needed her cot for the next one

I am of the if it ain't broke don't fix it mentality, I have friends who had their LOs in beds at 12-18 months, why give yourself the hassle?

moopymoo · 15/12/2008 14:07

oh I would love it if ds had stayed in his cot! Leave him in it if you are all sleeping well.

ramonaquimby · 15/12/2008 14:09

we have just moved dd3 who is 2.4 into a bed - dd1 has a new bed, and we don't have the space to keep a spare bed until dd3 'needs' a bed. She has been fine, no falls or getting out of bed because of the novelty of it all. If it works for you, I'd leave it!

Original poster

firststeps · 15/12/2008 14:09

do you think it's ok to be in a cot after 3?
merrykittymas did your lo settle in her bed straight away?

OP posts:

TreeandMistleJoe · 15/12/2008 14:10

i was 4 when my parents took me out my cot! i wasn't particularly babied as such but why rock the boat, if he sleeps well i'd leave him for as long as possible!

Myrrhcy · 15/12/2008 14:19

We moved ds into a bed when he was about 3.4 (about the same time that he completely stopped having an afternoon nap)

We have barely had a decent night's sleep since then

Yanda · 15/12/2008 14:22

I moved my DD out of a cot when she was 11 months old because she had didn't sleep well in it, a bed definately improved the situation although she is still not the world's greatest sleeper. I agree that if he is sleeping well then leave him there until the time is blisteringly obviously right to move him.

DD often co-sleeps with us and she is 2.5, some would say that is too old for co-sleeping. I say I am doing what works for us and if you told me your DS was still in a cot at 4 I would assume you were doing the same thing, not that you were purposely babying him.

Ohforfoxsake · 15/12/2008 14:25

Agree, if it ain't broken, don't fix it. What do you stand to gain by putting him in a bed? wandering toddler? Midnight fridge raids? broken nights? no, no, no! He's happy, you have peace.

SleighGirl · 15/12/2008 14:27

we finally moved dd at 3.4 but only because we had a spare bed so it was easier to get rid of the cot than an extra bed!!! We started off by leaving the side down on the cot so it was more like a bed IYSWIM

idontbelieveit · 15/12/2008 14:41

I am wondering this myself. DD is 2,6 and totally happy in her cot but we'll need it in 6 months ish for the next one due in feb. I don't want to "oust" her for the baby so am wondering if i should do it sooner than when the baby needs it? Any opinions? Otherwise i would probably leave her longer. Don't want to have to get 2 cots though.

merrykittymas · 15/12/2008 14:57

firststeps - both have been absolutely fine going into a bed, both are toddler beds so lower than a standard single, took DD1 a good few months to realise she actually COULD get out of it

bodiddly · 15/12/2008 15:06

If your ds is happy I would leave him where he is to be honest!

jumpingbeans · 15/12/2008 15:11

We got dd her bed when she was about 2and half,i put pillows all round it, only half slept waiting for the thud, only to be woken the following morning by a little shout, mummy can i get up, i went into her, she was wide awake just sitting there,ahh bless

lou031205 · 15/12/2008 15:15

DD potty trained at 2.5 and wanted to use the potty as soon as she was in her cot. To avoid excuse after excuse for getting out, we changed it to a bed and put potty beside it.

LaSparklyTourEiffel · 15/12/2008 15:41

I've been wondering this, DS has just turned 2 and I'm not in any particular hurry...but wondered when to do it if he's never going to attempt to climb out .

Yanda, I like your post and while I tell myself repeatedly that what I do is right for me and my family (co-sleep if he wakes during the night) and DS is happy (he's delightful and still no tantrums, that everything else doesn't matter...

Gets tedious when IL's ask 'is he potty trained yet', 'when is he going to have a big boys bed', 'he's not still sleeping with you is he'...thanks for the support.

DS is a great sleeper (unless he's poorly or teething) and so, I shall leave him in his cot for the foreseeable...thanks guys x

Lotster · 15/12/2008 16:41

Must agree with leaving it as long as you're all happy.

My friend's little boy never tried to climb out of his cot and at 3.5 she thought she should put him in a bed - he keeps getting up at odd hours now and she wishes she'd kept the cot now.

My boy is 2.4 and we have a cot where the side drops away under the cot (for my back), as soon as he's in he demands I put the side up!! Fine by me....

Gemzooks · 15/12/2008 18:18

I've been wondering about this, as new baby due in March.. whether to get DS 2.2 a new big boy bed.

He is a great sleeper, 12 hours, never complained about cot or whatever. So maybe should leave it and just get another cot for baby..

neversaydie · 15/12/2008 20:53

About 2 and a half, when he was starting to get the idea of potty training. It seemed unfair to encourage him to use the potty, and then prevent him from getting to it at night. He was wandering up the corridor to visit us within a fortnight, but the burglar alarm kept him upstairs! (He was dry at night two weeks before his 3rd birthday, but I doubt if the big bed made the slightest difference).

thenewme · 15/12/2008 20:57

2 and 4 months for my son and about 17-18 months for my dd. my other son fell out so he went into a bed earlier than I had thought/planned.

thenewme · 15/12/2008 21:00

OP leave your son. You are all happy, no need to change it.

SnowMuchToBits · 15/12/2008 21:02

Our ds was nearly 4 when we got a bed. He had ben able to climb out of the cot for a little while, but always did it carefully, so no worries. When we got the bed, he took to it straight away.
It was late by most people's standards, but he seemed fine.

georgimama · 15/12/2008 21:05

If I had another on the way I would definitely be thinking about getting the toddler into a bed sooner rather than later, otherwise they might associate the baby coming with the bed move, and resent it.

DS is 22 months and I am going to put him in a bed soon, his cot is cot sized rather than a cotbed and he keeps knocking the sides in his sleep and waking up.

nowwearefour · 15/12/2008 21:07

2 1/2 grab the moment when you think is best to make the transfer. dd2 now 18 months thinking it might be soon as she wants to be like her big sister

nickytinseltimes · 15/12/2008 21:07

Ds is still in his and he is 2.4.

I dread moving him to a bed - he will be like a bloody jack-in-the-box.

preggersplayspop · 15/12/2008 21:16

DS went into a bed when he was about 16 mo. Well, I say went into a bed loosely...he starts the night in there but normally ends up in our bed this side of midnight.

He's only fallen out once and was cushioned by pillows and stayed asleep! When he wakes he will sit up but doesn't get out, which was pretty unexpected as I thought he would be out of it in a flash, but its like it has an invisible force field around it. Very odd. He did get out once after a nap so we have to be religious with the stairgate just in case.

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