bed transitions

Moving to the Big Boy Bed

September 26, 2012

or how to survive letting your child move from a crib to a bed. SuperBoy is 2 years, 3 months and we’ve made the big move. Only for night sleep, not naps, but still. It’s a massive adjustment. Here’s how we did and what’s working so far. (Pictured here on the quilt I’m almost done with for my brother & new sister-in-law!) 1) Choosing a floor bed over a toddler or an elevated bed. We opted for a mattress/box spring combined double bed. It sits happily on the floor. This way, there’s no concern about SuperBoy launching himself out of bed in the middle of a crazed dream and smashing his head. The flipside is that he can more easily get out of bed than if he were in an elevated bed with a guard rail. I don’t understand toddler beds. I guess it’s a novelty thing and a training step for a real bed for the child. It seems like a waste of money, but maybe I’m missing something profound. 2) Setting up rules that are feasible. The child, in my opinion, has to be old enough to understand the rules, and the rules have to be suitable for the child’s ability to comprehend them. We have one rule: you can’t get out of bed at night or you have to go into your crib. He repeats it back to me before he goes to sleep. Does he get up and play in his dark room? I don’t think…

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