Toddler bed or single bed?

[CoffeeLover90]

DS just turned 3. Transitioned from cot to cotbed/toddler bed 0 issues. Problem is I hate the look of the cot converted to a bed. I've been offered a toddler bed with a small headboard and no footboard although I was planning on just buying him a single. My own bed is quite high and he can quite easily climb in and out. I already have a bed guard. Do I take the toddler bed or are they not in them very long? Answers online aren't great. Thanks in advance ☺️

Mine is 3 and we recently took the side off his cot bed. I’ve read online that they’ll usually last (based on height/weight) until they’re 4ish so I’d get a single if I were you.

DS2 is smaller than many of his peers (tho still normal sized).
He was in the bed bit of his cot bed til just after 4. But ideally he should have moved earlier - we moved country at that point, so there was no way he was getting a bed before we moved!

I'd go to a single.

DD wasn't in the cot bed long, there was such a noticeable difference between being able to sit on the bed and read to her older brother in a single and having to sit on the floor by the side of the cot bed. Much better to be snuggled up on a single bed IMO.

Just get a single. DC1 was in a toddler bed when he was 3 (it was a cot bed but we'd taken the cot bars off and converted it to a toddler bed) but I was pregnant with DC2 so we got him a single bed before she was born. That way he was settled in his new bed beforehand and we turned the cot bed back into a cot for DC2. DC1 coped fine in the single bed at 3 - we used a bed guard for a bit but not that long. It's handy being able to sit on the bed with them to read bedtime stories.

Keep your cot mattress and pop it next to bed for a while in case of tumbles out of new bed. Dd fell out of toddler bed a lot and then later out of single bed. Quite a fidgety sleeper and took a while for her to adjust to new surroundings!

DD (4) was hardly in her toddler bed, she very swiftly outgrew it. I went off piste and bought her a cheap double bed. It's a big one, low to the ground, and she looks like a pea in it, but she loves it.

I was told never buy a toddler bed, always go straight to single bed. Then one of you has a proper bed to sleep in when the toddler is poorly, having nightmares, being clingy etc. It was much better than having to decamp to the sofa on those nights.

We went straight from a cot to an extendable ikea cot bed in it’s smallest form and made it longer as they grew. It had a little rail on too to stop them from falling out.

They’re great beds, we passed it onto friends and their 2nd lo is using it now.

We went straight from a cot to a single at 2.5. We had a cot / bed guard up for maybe 6 weeks, no falling out etc since. He's been happy in a single bed since then.

My dd went from cot to adult single trundle (so higher than most adult beds). I didn't see the point in buying an in between bed. She had a bed guard and enjoyed climbing up.

I’m confused about those who say their child out grew toddler beds really quickly? Have you got really tall children??
My nearly 4 year old is fairly tall (above average) and seems to have loads of room in his cot bed? Had not even thought about changing to single yet.

I like the IKEA twin/single convertible bed. It's very low in "twin" more and adaptable.

Neither of mine can be relied on not to fall out of bed (6 and 3) as they're fidgety little starfish...

Thanks everyone for the replies, I didn't even think how much better it'll be to sit on the bed and read, loads better than sitting on the floor. Going for the single!

We just went straight from cot to single with a guard.

We went straight from cot to a single bed at just over 2. We didn't get a guard either. DS rolled out once or twice but didn't after a week! He loves his "big boy bed" 😊

We went from cot to junior bed (IKEA Kritter) with 3 year old who sleeps half night in our bed anyway.

He loves his bed (until 3/4am - I’ve a poor sleeper), BUT I’m regretting not getting a single so we can decamp to his room.

I was looking at Ikea returns policy this morn as debating changing for a single.

We have an ikea toddler bed, there's not enough room for a single so that's why. If there's room definitely go bigger.

DGS is three and has just gone into a toddler bed and yes, videos of his DPs sitting or kneeling awkwardly on the floor. It's not my place to query their decision, but it looks as if most would have gone straight to a standard single (or even bigger), as would I.

Thanks

I did go with a single, soon after posting this thread. He still runs to it shouting 'big bed' no regrets. And like you say, makes story time and tucking in a lot more comfortable for me.

I’m visiting this thread, as I had a similar question and wow thank you, never thought about kneeling next to a toddler bed. Ouch.
Emotional question though: did it not feel really sad going straight from a cot to a full single bed? Like it’s the end of them being little? Talk me out of an in-between size! 😭

@sellotape12 mine was sick so often we put him in a full size single at 18 months so we could get in with him if needed. We actually got a European single so slightly bigger. He looked tiny but it made life much easier.

@sellotape12 I totally understand where you're coming from and yes, like every transition, it hits you how fast time is moving. He's 4.5 now and still looks tiny in his single. He doesn't need the bed guard anymore.
I felt a little sad each time the cot was converted to make the size higher, but the biggest of all was swapping the cot bed for a single. It was the last of the 'baby things'
Still no regret moving to a single. It's made story time and snuggling easier.
Parenting is so strange, I look back on his younger days and wish to relive them yet I adore the little boy he is now and I'm excited to see what the next stage looks like.