usefulness of a toddler bed ...?

Shaeley Mae

As I start to shop around for toddler beds, I'm not sure it's the best way to spend my money.
I LIKE the fact that they are low to the ground and have side railings. They also seem relatively inexpensive.
But they are only as big as crib mattresses .....

How long were you really able to use your toddler bed before your toddler outgrew it?

babybaby

excellent question! i was wondering this myself lately as i have one in mind at babies r us. can't wait for the replies.

LK

Beck is still in our bed--so he never slept in his crib or toddler bed but he has had both--it seems like by the time he is in his own bed he will be in college--lol. Paige climbed out of her crib when she was 9 or 10 months old so I put her in a toddler bed and I kept her in it until she was 3---she was very small though--like she only weighed 22lbs when she was 3. She was totally ready for a regular bed by three--but I don't remember if she wasn't ready before that or if I just waited because we were moving.

coryandamanda

I think most kids are fine in one until about age 3. Haidyn is in one and is fine and should be for a while even though she is tall.
The one thing I don't like about it is you can't lie in bed with them and read books. When Haidyn moved into Lexi's toddler bed we just got Lex a queen size bed. First we just put the mattress on the floor. After a few months we put the box spring and mattress. We probably won't put it on a frame for a good while.
We all lie in her bed and read books at night all together and then Haidyn goes in her bed to sleep :-)
I don't think they are a waste of money if your child moves into one by around 18 months or so but if they are closer to 2 I think just go to a regular bed. Our girls were both done with a crib at about 15 months and we converted their crib into the toddler bed.

friendamy

unless your crib converts, they're s waste of money, in my opinion. my DS went from crib to a twin. you can use just the mattress on the floor if you want it low. I had a mattress and boxspring on a plain old metal frame that was pretty low - with a bed rail.

onemorebaby

My kids have also gone from a crib to a twin bed. In my opinion, the "low to the ground" aspect of a toddler bed can also mean "easy to get out of". A twin bed has actually helped my little ones to stay where they are put. : )

Zen

Shiloh is still in her crib and it converts to a toddler bed. I was looking at how long she is and think I'll be lucky to use the toddler bed for a year. The crib converts to ... a full size bed I think. I'm afraid she'll be lost in a bed that size though so I'm hoping she can use the toddler size until age 4!

K&H

Esther's crib will convert to a toddler bed.. well, really just one part of a side comes off, so depending on her height maybe we'll do this when she's 3! ;-) If we hadn't picked a crib that would do this we would just skip that step altogether and keep the crib til 3, then do a regular bed.

twomoms

Maren's crib converted to a toddler bed. We made it into a toddler bed when she was 15 months old, and she does great. She knows we expect her to stay in her bed when it's night-night time, and she does 99.5% of the time. If her bed hadn't converted, I think we probably would have just gone to a twin mattress and box spring on the floor, which is what we will be doing if we decide to have another baby anytime soon. :-)

Shanny

Kate sleeps with me and like Beck may actually need me to go to college with her , but I agree with toddler beds being a wate of money unless it is a crib conversion. We converted Arden's right around 2 and just after 3 we converted it back for Lydia. So right now Arden has a full size mattress on the floor while her bed is being refinished (it is a family heirloom). Anyway, she was always falling out of beds when they traveled but we have had no problems with it at home on the floor. I think that using a crib until 3 is crazy...what about using the bathroom? Teaching independence? Just my opinion. And I agree with cory about being able to snuggle in their beds, it has been nice since Arden got the bigger bed and Kate and I have always had that. I think Lilianna will do great on a mattress low or on the floor.

fisch

Our crib converted to a toddler bed at around 20 months. We finally bought a twin "captain's bed" that will be here in 6 weeks. We could have skipped the toddler bed, but he actually loves it and still says he doesn't want a big boy bed. Even though it is as hard as a rock with his crib mattress. I agree with others, I can fit in it, but it's not comfy...I'm so ready for the twin.

We use a toddler railing on the toddler bed. We will keep the railing when we move to the twin. For the record, we would have preferred a double or a queen but his room is just too small and he cares more about play space then bed space at the moment.

The next baby will go right to a twin I think.

I want to know if I should get a really nice mattress or not. Maybe I will ask that on another post.

mel

Shanny, if you had 3 in the same room who would play and fight if left alone, you may change your opinion on cribs. They are the reason we all get good sleep at night.

sirvin12

Just buy a twin and a bed rail. That's what I did with Sydney.

Shanny

Oh Mel - that goes without saying. I am very aware that EVERYTHING with mutiples is a whole different ball game with very different rules!!! You have until they are 8....

Kari

Justin sleeps on a queen mattress with me, so he'll convert to a twin mattress on the floor which I'll put on a bed when I think he's ready. He likes to sleep sideways, so I think it would help keep him on the bed. At daycare he sleeps in a pack'n'play, and whenever I show up and he's asleep, his head is pressed up against the side of it, so he's always stretching out for more room.

Zen

Shanny -- I was with you on that until Shiloh came along! Thought you couldn't properly potty train a child who did not have access to a potty when needed. I also thought that they walked by one and went into a toddler bed by two. But ... Shiloh has never tried to climb out of her crib (hope I'm not jinxing myself here!). And at her 2-year check up, the doctor was adamant about keeping her in a crib until three. Or if not the crib, a totally safe nursery room with a baby gate. And of course you know the crib went largely unused until 18 months when I finally got her out of the swing!

So ... many of my preconceived notions have gone out the window and Shiloh will be in her crib for as long as possible. Though ... that drop side that's now outlawed may come down to make it a toddler bed this summer (a few months before 3).

Jeba

My kids are still in their cribs and will be until I have to switch them.. lol. They are actually starting to look like they need more room so we have been trying to decide between converting their crib to a full or just buying a twin. Converting it will cost more then buying a new bed. We never thought about that when we bought a bed that converts... I also do not see the point of spending the money on a toddler bed when they will outgrow it before too long.

Shaeley Mae

Thanks for the stories of experience.
L's crib DOES convert, but quite honestly I'd rather use it for the new baby (should I be so blessed a year from now) rather than having to buy a second crib.
So, that leaves me with a toddler bed or twin/double bed. Given the "reading books together in bed" issue, I see a twin or double bed in L's future. ; )

Thanks!!

Hadley

if you think your child will still leak/wet the bed... I would highly recommend a toddler bed during that time. So much easier to quickly change the sheets than a real bed, and with the vinyl covered crib mattress you don't have to worry about the pee seeping thru to a nice mattress.

I moved my son from crib into a new twin bed with rails, and then very quickly learned that even a little leak made the nice new mattress smell like pee or feel damp (even with a $100 twin mattress cover). There is nothing like a vinyl crib mattress while your child is still leaking age - which for us was till 4.5 at night. Even with great day control, nights were an issue since he was a deep sleeper.

I found the rails to be a PITA. I bought expensive ones and they were still impossible to raise and lower easily, so I left them "up" and tried climbing over them. I also had visions of snuggling and reading in bed... doing this with the rails wasn't working for me at all.

So for those two reasons (after already buying a twin bed, new mattress set, fancy mattress pad, and $100 bed rails) I went back and bought a $45 toddler bed.

I set the new twin bed up like a day bed (no rails) and we would read and play up there. The hop down into the toddler bed for sleep.

When my son had the stomach virus at night and threw up on the toddler bed, I took it outside and sprayed it with bleach and the water hose.

(I hate to admit this, but if you sniff that fancy twin mattress with the sheets off... I swear it smells like pee still from that one week... and I was using a really nice mattress cover. So much for the twin mattress growing with him LOL)

fisch

Hadley - thanks. That was really helpful. Maybe we will keep our toddler bed along with the new twin we just ordered for a little while longer...our son still wears pullups at night and occasionally leaks through them.

sara291

We spent a ton on a matching toddler bed to his room set up mostly since a bunk bed & crib would not fit together in the room & I had just had Riley. Turns out that Riley is still in my room
(though I since have moved out since he sleeps better with out me in there) & Z has ruined the wonderful bed he has. Still works great Riley has teethed on it & Z has stretched it all up. I now wish I would have just gotten them bunk beds. I could have used the top for storage or had a place to sleep myself since it's not worth sleeping in my room & waking Riley up. Anyways long post short . . Bunk bed way better! My parents did that with my younger sister & I & I though Z was far to young but with in a few months he would have been fine. But on the other hand Z is small for his age & I'm sure can fit untie toddler bed until he is 4 so another year which is when Riley will be moving out so we'll probably do a bunk bed then.

denno26

We also have one of those convertible cribs and transitioned it to a toddler bed with both of my kids when they were about 18 months. Having used it as a crib they were familiar with the bed and were excited for the next stage. Both of my kiddos slept easily in it as a toddler bed and we didn't have any battles in regards to keeping them in it. When my daughter was about 2, I bought the Step 2 Dream Castle Convertible Toddler/Twin Bed so she could use it as a toddler bed until she outgrew the mattress and needed the twin bed option. My daughter is tall for her age so by about age 3 she was in a twin.

I think toddler beds have their place, but if your kiddos are going to be tall their usability isn't going to be long. I really recommend convertible beds to allow for the flexibility that can accommodate the changing height of your child as well as enabling them to continue to feel comfortable with it.