3 y/o transition from crib to bed…

[alaina]

Hi, so my almost 3 year old is getting too big for her crib. I have a bunk bed set up in her & her brother’s room already.

The hesitation is when I’m home from work on weekends with them, I look forward to her nap. Mainly, because I need the nap (or at least a couple of hours to recover lol). And the minute she figures out she doesn’t have to stay in that bed, that nap is history.

Advice? War stories? Thanks!

 

[donkeybuyer]

@alaina My daughter is not quite 2, but we transitioned her to a toddler bed very early. I took her a good 8 months to realize she could leave the bed after we put her down.

We ended up putting a cover over the light switch and putting a lock on her door so she couldn’t open it, but she can also entertain herself in that time. She is a book lover and during naps when she isn’t sleeping, we sometimes find her in her book corner looking at her favorites.

Nap time isn’t necessarily for sleeping per se, but for everyone to have a bit of a break. I am content if my daughter is playing by herself with the lights off in her room.

We also have the hatch, and I’ve known people to use the hatch for a “red means stop” and “green means go” meaning the kid needs to stay in their room while the light is red, but when it turns green, they’re free to come out.

Some things to think about.

 

[aswigers]

@alaina My daughter was just shy of 3 when we moved her to the toddler bed. I had a talk with her that very first night about how staying in bed is important and when it's time to be in bed we stay there until mommy gets us out. She fully accepted this and at 6 is still the one who rarely wanders at night.