Moving house with a toddler

[Mizzi1904]

My son will be nearly 2 years old when we move house (approx move date).
I was hoping to give him a new bedroom with a new bed so change everything in one big upheaval but is that the right thing to do?
He is in a cot and I want to get him in a toddler bed soon as he is nearly the 90cm max height, but he hasn't tried to climb out of the cot yet, and I know he will keep getting out of bed when we do change it 🙄

Any advice on the move and keep him in bed tips greatly appreciated!

I think I would change the bed before you move so he will have something familiar in a new house. We did this when we moved (daughter was 2.5) and she was very excited to see her own bed in a new room.
And you never know about getting out of bed. My daughter never gets out of bed by herself. She’d nearly 4 and still calls for us to come get her out of bed in the morning (quite annoying at this point). But I have a friend whose son was a nightmare, refusing to go to bed, up all night, etc, so you won’t know until you try.

I think it's fine either way. He may find it exciting to have a new house and a new 'big boy' bed. Or it may be all too stressful for you to organise at the same time. We've moved house 3 times with at least 1 at toddler stage each time and they've always settled fine.

We did similar when my DD was about 2+3, she was ready to go into a proper bed but kept her in the cot until we moved (mostly due to space issues), then moved her straight into a bed in the new house. She was fine with it, we made it really exciting like a new room, let her choose a new duvet cover etc

Sorry meant to put 2+3 months

I don’t think it matters that much tbh. We’ve moved abroad twice so beds in shipping which meant DD landed to a travel cot, then once a bit older a temporary mattress on the floor. Never had an issue.

Unrelated to moving but I’d keep a DC in a cot until either they climb or they’ve potty trained so may want to rush to the loo. But once you do swap, and if you’re worried about them getting up you can always put a stairgate on their door (dog ones are higher than baby ones if they’re a climber) and make them room relatively boring ie don’t make it the main place for toy storage.

We moved a week before my daughters 2 birthday.

Prior to the move her cot was in our room. Our plan was to leave her in the cot in her own room until we decorated them put her in a bed. In the end we switched her too the bed a couple of weeks after the move as it was clear she had had enough of the cot not that she ever used it. When in the cot she spent most of the night in our bed. She settled better in the bed. We had a side in it so she didn't fall out and I think it had a den like element too it.

The actual move went better than I feared and not at all like we planned. The night before she picked up on our anxieties and her nervous gut gave us 8 poos in 2h. The morning of the move I took her out. I went to my mum's but had that not been an option I would have done soft play or similar. I didn't want her to see all of her stuff disappear. The plan was I would get there first and show her round then one of the grandparents would take turns in keeping her occupied and out of our way. She fell asleep on the drive to the house and she slept through all of the unloading of furniture.
She settled into the new house really quickly. During the first week we had 3 or 4 setting in sessions at nursery and the second week she started properly but more like 6h days rather than 8h as we were around more

Moved with a 2.5 yo here.

I would either change beds at least a month before the move, or wait until a month after. Changes are rife, and doing too much could be a catastrophe. We're still in the old bed with bars up (I'm dying to remove them), but he's just started a new childminder for the first time so that's another big change 🙄 It was definitely good for him to have his own familiar bed and his own sheets when we first moved in.

Talk about the new house - "we're going to the new house next week"; and again "going to the new house in 2 days" etc. Tell him about the new bedroom. Take his favourite toys in the car rather than packing them away, and AS SOON as you get to the new house get them out. My son was pretty tearful when we arrived in this empty, echoey house, but the second I mentioned his favourite bus and got it out, he was happy again. Tell him the men are going to take his other toys to the new house - seeing all his things getting packed away can be pretty upsetting! Most of what you tell him will go over his head, but it will lay a foundation of knowledge that you can then work with.

IME my son rolled with it instantly, but in week 3 it really hit him and he had a quite a few meltdowns for a while. Be patient with him, give him extra hugs when he wants them, and it won't last.

Thank you for all of your replies, I'm pleased there are a few things to try!

Time to get a bed but keep cot too for a bit. You then use stair gates, not a cot to keep in their room if you need to.