@neverbeenalone I have a theory it's better to transition before they challenge the crib, because at that point, they're going to challenge any sleep space. When we switched our toddler, she didn't even try to get out of the bed, but she hadn’t been trying to escape our crib, either, so it didn’t occur to her to leave bed without us.
To this day (she's now almost four) she still waits for us in bed in the morning.
@neverbeenalone The 35 in thing is not just for climbing but because they are likely to be where they might just lean over the edge and fall out due to gravity if it's hitting their belly button level. Same reason for adjustable platforms on learning towers.
Technically you’re not supposed to use ANY blankets or toys or pillows until toddler bed either, regardless of age. Which a lot of people ignore or don’t know. So that’s an additional risk.
@masterpiece I don't think that's true. I thought they were allowed to have blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals in the crib starting at age 1. We were specifically waiting for this so I remember very clearly. Did the safe sleep standards change again? My kid is 2.5 and we live in the US. Here is a source I found that talks about the threshold being 1 year old: https://www.verywellfamily.com/when-can-my-baby-sleep-with-a-blanket-52071820
@masterpiece That must have changed since I had my baby. The infant safety class I took (about 2.5 years ago) specified one year. It was based off of AAP recommendations at the time.
@mclintock At 1, they’re able to have things like pillows, blankets, stuffies when sleeping in an unenclosed area like a crib mattress on the floor. In an enclosed area, those items still pose an extra entrapment risk. So it’s less about what age they are after 1 and more about what environment they’re in — toddler beds are safety tested for 15months and up and they can safely have items in there, and adult mattresses (twin, full, etc) are safety tested over 2 years and loose items are safe there as well. The important part is that the child has freedom to move the item away from them and out of their space if it’s affecting them and that’s not really doable for a young toddler with developing motor skills in an enclosed space!
@masterpiece Ok thanks! I did not know that. My son is over the age limit, but still in a crib. I feel like we've been "grandfathered in" lol. He's had a blanket, pillow and stuffed animals in his crib for more than a year now. It would be weird to take it all out, but good to know that it's technically not recommended.
And I have another one on the way! So maybe we will proceed differently with her.
@neverbeenalone Personally I like that my four year old can run to the bathroom the couple of times he’s gotten sick and needed to throw up unexpectedly.
@neverbeenalone Friend. My son is almost FOUR (in 6 weeks) and he’s still in a crib. It’s almost comical at this point. He’s otherwise perfectly normal. Well, he’s a jerk, but I think that’s “normal” for this age. He loves the darn thing and I don’t want to take that away. He can climb in/out if he wants to, but he has never tried to at night. We put him in there and he’s totally fine.
Oh and mine is totally potty trained, has been since he turned 2. But he never has to go at night, and on the very rare occasion he does, he calls out to me and I get him.
I guess I’ll just save my money for his therapy bill when he will blame me and keeping him in his crib for whatever psychological issues he has as adult .
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