When I received a text from my husband saying that the twins climbed into their cribs for bed all on their own, my first thought was “NOOOO, if they climb in, they’ll want to start climbing out, and I’m NOT ready for them to transition to a toddler bed”. Luckily, they haven’t tried climbing out yet, but even if they started to climb out, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ready to transition to a big kid bed. Once the climbing starts, there are ways to prevent them from continuing to climb so you can keep the crib longer.
For instance, you could turn the crib around to make the lower sides of it placed against the wall, so they can’t climb out. One thing to remember is, if you catch them in the act, to not “freak out” because that can promote them to repeatedly perform the action. You can firmly say “no” and place them back into their crib.
So what age should they transfer to a big kid bed?
I like to tell clients to keep them as long as possible, which means around 3 years old. There have been studies that show toddlers sleep better in a crib than a toddler bed, as well as they transition to the bed much easier the older they are.
If you have any questions on how to keep them in the crib, let me know! And when you think your little one is ready to transition, feel free to call me with questions so I can help make it go smoothly and give you tips on getting them excited to stay in their big kid bed all night long!
