Logistics of Tranistioning to Toddler Beds

So I am thinking that I am going to be transitioning my girls to big girl beds sometime within the next month, and I have a couple concerns about Logistics...

First and foremost, How do you keep them in their room? Locks? Gates?

If your kids have a bathroom in their room, how did you secure it?

Did you take any and all toys out of the room to avoid playtime?

Any tips and/or suggestions to help ease this transition are greatly appreciated!!! :thanks:

 

I never had the courage to transition our older DS to a toddler bed. He loved his crib, so we left him in it until the babies were born and then converted his crib to a full size bed. He was 3.5 years old at that point and we just told him that if he needed us, he should yell for us, he had to stay in bed until morning unless there was an emergency or he had to use the bathroom, etc. It made it easy b/c there weren't the safety issues that I'd worry about if he had been younger.

That said, I know many, many people transition their kids much younger and they do just fine - hopefully someone will jump in here and tell you what they did. I know I've read about transitions over the past few months (Aimee, I think, is one).

Good luck!!!

 

Def. take out all toys or they will just get up and play. They have these safety things that go over door handles so kids can't open them. Put those on the inside of their door and shut them in. Should work for the bathroom door also.

 

I did the inside door locks the pp mentioned for a little while. Other than that I didn't do anything. It was just expected that they'd stay in their beds and we were lucky they did. When Ellie kept getting up I put her back super nanny style with no conversation or fanfare. They always had enough books or stuffed animals in their beds that they didn't need any toys.

I've been fortunate that my girls have been pretty easy with most things! Good luck!

 

Krystn as you know from fb we just did this and honestly it was SO much easier than I thought. The first night was rough getting them to sleep, I decided not to do a baby gate even though they could open the door. I basically parked myself outside their door with my trusty laptop and every time I heard them get out of bed said in an emotionless, firm voice 'Back in bed please' and they hopped back in. 60 minutes and 20 times later they were asleep. The second day we repeated the process for naps (it took 30 min), then at bedtime I only had to redirect them into bed once. The third day (today) there was NO redirection needed and they stayed in bed and fell asleep within 10-15 minutes. As far as the mornings/waking from naps they get out of bed which is fine with me but so far have stayed in their room playing. I think the key is consistency in whatever approach you take. Good luck, I was DREADING the transition but it has been suprisingly easy so far!

 

Oh and to answer your actual questions We did not take out any toys the verbal redirection to bed was enough to keep them out of the toys until morning. And we don't have a bathroom door but if we did I think I would put a lock on it for safety purposes. And I think I said this in my last post we didn't use gates or anything to keep them in. I'm not big on gates anyway for things that aren't direct safety hazards, I think its better to teach kids what they can and cannot get into but that's JMO and different things probably work for different kids.

 

We never took anything out either. After the second time of them emptying the bookshelf and clothes, I made them help me put the stuff back. It took us 3 hours, but they never did it again! I also believe in waiting until THEY are ready, and not rushing it. We skipped toddler beds and went right to twins.

 

I've only done this with my singleton so far, but we just got a full bed right from the get-go and put the mattress on the floor rather than buying a toddler bed. We put up a baby gate and she stayed in her room. I was more concerned about her waking in the night and roaming around the house and we wouldn't hear her. With her, it was pretty easy. I just hope the boys are as easy.