How long can I keep the cot?

[mindthesteps]

My son is nearly 2.5 and I'm getting the feeling that I should be transitioning him to a bed soon (from comments from in laws, what friends have done with their kids etc)

However I don't feel that I'd be able to sleep knowing he was able to roam around the house if he decided to get up in the night. There are so many sources of danger - stairs, things he could pull down on his head, he loves climbing onto furniture and jumping off, corners of window sills etc.

I do sometimes try and leave him in a room playing with his toys while I do a few chores but there will nearly always be a bump and sound of crying within 10 mins. I'm not worried about the odd toddler bump but obviously don't want him to seriously injure himself.

At the moment sleeping in the cot seems to work fine - he has a sleeping bag so can't get his legs up to climb out, he seems quite happy in there.

So how long can I push it? When do I have to accept he's not a baby and let him have a big boy bed?

TLDR: how long can I keep my son in his cot, for my own peace of mind?

My girl has turned 3 and is still in a cot with a sleeping bag. She's perfectly happy there so I don't see a reason to change things right now!

Do you not have a stairgate at the top of the stairs? You can put locks on cupboard doors etc and move hazards out the way so when you do transition to a bed it will be fine. I can't see a reason to rush though!

Not long I would say. Soon they will be toilet trained overnight and need to not be trapped in a sleeping bag and sides. Can’t they climb out yet?
( Ds was up and over by 18 months!)

Ds is now 3 and has been roaming house and runs up and down stairs daily for ages. I actually can’t imagine using a cot or stair gates with him now.

If he’s happy to sleep in the cot leave him until he’s either unhappy in the cot or no longer fits.
My eldest was in a Moses basket until his feet touched one end and his head the other. He was about 7 months. All went to pot after that!

Baby gate on the doorway to his room will work until he can open said baby gate

To be honest this is better done on the dark nights rather than the light nights when the hours of daylight mean he can have much more fun . You want to do it at a time of your choosing rather than wait until you have no choice and it's inconvenient .

Depends how tall he is. If the sides of the cot are lower than his centre of gravity when he stands up, then he could fall out of the cot, or climb out of it.
You need stair gates, too.

DD was in her cot till she was 3. Never showed any interest in climbing out and even when we took the side off, she never got out of bed in the night for at least 6 months! If he's happy in the cot, leave him be for a few more months.

DS was 2.5 when DD was born and I assumed he'd be in a bed rather than boot by the time she left the moses basket, but nope. He slept so well in his cot (standard sized, not a cot bed) that we had to buy another cot. He was over 3 when he moved to a bed! If it ain't broke, don't fix it I say! DD was climbing out of her cot by 18 months so went into a bed a lot sooner.

DS worked out how to open stair gates by 16 months whereas DD only figured it out with considerable training when we got a dog when she was 10 so the stair gate across her doorway was perfect when she moved to a bed.

Til he out grows it, or climbs out of it.
Think how much longer a adult bed is than an adult.
Don't assume a sleeping bag means they can't get out. Both of mine climbed out before they were 2. DS2 was only 17 months, and in a sleeping bag.

As soon as you potty train I think you have to give them the option to get up to the loo. Which was 2.5 with my eldest. Youngest was a champion climber so was in a bed at barely over 1, initially with a doggy stairgate on his door, because they’re taller, but we removed it at 2.5 because they start becoming more dangerous if they climb them than just letting them roam. He knows how to do stairs obviously, we live a dim nightlight on in the hall, all the furniture is anchored as it should be with young kids so there’s nothing to worry about. He goes straight to sleep and in the morning just comes into our room.

I know toddler-proofing the whole house is the obvious answer, it just feels impossible. Our stairs are weird so don't work for stairs gates, the hand rail is low on the landing and I worry he could propel himself over... just stuff everywhere, furniture, lamps....

I feel like the only answer is to keep him in a cot till he's old enough to have some sense 😬

Mine was in a cot til 3, and sleeping bags til 4! If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. She never once tried to climb out nor roam the house (though she is a very compliant child to be fair). She potty trained at just over 2, but still wears night nappies how at 4.5. She would call out if she needed the loo but she sleeps through (hence the need for the nappies!) actually it was endless evening toilet trips involving me having to help her back in to a sleeping bag that made me move to a duvet in the end. Do what works for you! No rush IMO.

Can you put a stair gate on his door?

I'd leave him until he doesn't fit anymore x

My DD2 is still in a cot at 3yrs 2mo but with one side taken off since she was about 18mo and she learnt to climb out. She has a stair gate on her room and child locks on her wardrobe doors. There’s nothing she can seriously hurt herself with in her room.

For the last few months, we’ve stopped shutting the stair gate because she can safely go up and down the stairs without help and pretty much just runs to our room in the morning if she goes anywhere. Most mornings she makes a race track for her cars. She’s also out of nappies now so she can go to the toilet in the morning without waiting for us and risking accidents.

She’s getting too tall for her cot now and will be moving to share a room with DD1 in January/February time to leave the nursery for DS due in April. She’ll move to a single bed at that point.

This is all what I'm thinking/hoping for really!

Re the stair gate on his door...possibly, I'm just not sure if you can shut the actual door once you've put one up? I feel like we need to do that to keep the noise/landing light out.

DD2 regularly shut her door with the stair gate shut too. We always leave it open to allow some light and so we can hear her but she wakes up in the morning and often shuts it.

Depends if they will climb out. Or fall out. My DS is almost 5 and falls out of bed every night. Floor level bed luckily. He'd be better in a cot really but I moved him into the bottom bunk to save space.

DS2 learnt to climb out at 17 months, was absolutely gutted as DS1 was in it til 3!

Why change what’s working because of what other people say. I say keep him there till he’s older and you feel more comfortable.

My eldest was in a cot till a month or so after their third birthday when they decided they ‘needed more room’. Before this, they wore a sleeping bag and never once tried to escape their cot though they definitely could if they wanted - they’re a physically confident child, walking since 9 months, climber of huge frames in the playground. They just never wanted to. Lazy maybe! Fine by me!

I know a child who is still in a cot at nearly 5. They’re happy so who cares!

Stair gate on kids bedroom door

Well it depends my pair climbed out of the cot at at about 15 months and were toilet trained at 2.5, so it wouldn't have worked for us.

You really need to sort out toddler proofing because it can change very quickly. mine essentially came home from creche and told me they were using the toilet , because their friends did, so I ended up in toilet training before I knew it.

Ours stairs are weird too so the only gate we ever had was on DS’s room, and yes you can shut the door still because it sits in front on the frame. That said they’re dangerous at the top of stairs and not recommended for over 3s because the risk of injury climbing them is greater than a normal house so he needs to know how to safely do the stairs and the house needs to be safe. It’s possible that any night now he will silently undo the sleeping bag, scale the cot and go wandering so you can’t have furniture that could tip in his bedroom, the hallway or wherever.

That said, so long as he’s not climbing and the potty isn’t an issue (mine does a mad morning dash and wouldn’t be able to wait for us) then I would wait until summer to switch just because it’s easier to introduce a duvet when it’s warm so there won’t be any waking up cold if they don’t stay under it.

He won't learn about risks until he is exposed to them (under supervision). If he comes out of the city at 5, he will still need to learn about the risks of stairs in the dark, low bannisters etc.

Having the ability to get out of bed also means having to learn about sleep hygiene etc.
Id definitely explore a Stargate on the room. I've not yet met a door which couldn't accommodate one.