When to Move to a Real Bed

Hello!
Instead of buying a toddler bed that my kids would only sleep on for a few months, I just put a mattress on the floor. When they did fall off, it was only a foot off the ground. (I put a bean bag beside the bed, too.) As they got older...maybe around 3 1/2, I put the box springs underneath the mattress..then the frame later. It's almost like taking baby-steps to get them ready for a big bed, and not such a drastic move from a crib.

Hi H., My name is D. I have twin girls that will be three in April. I had to transition them to a "real" bed when they were two. When you do put them a bed, you can always put a gate up in their doorway so they can't roam the house at night. In regard to potty training, I had great luck with the movie "Potty Power." It is available at the Frisco library. My twins would not go on the potty no matter what I tried, until they saw the movie. Now they want to be "big kids," and they are almost completely potty trained. I highly recommend the video!

On the potty training, I agree with everyone else. You should wait until they are ready. And, with my son, we used a chart that he could put stickers on every time he went potty! That worked fabulously.
As for the bed, I would wait until they are ready. We got my son a bed shortly after we had converted his crib to a toddler bed (2 yrs. old). He was very upset when we bought him the big boy bed and wanted nothing to do with it. He preferred his toddler bed. As with all things when it comes to children, it works best when they are ready for the transition!

Hi H.,
With my daughter I put her in a real bed at 2 1/2 years...i had bought a full length rail to put on the bed so she wouldnt fall out...she did fall off the end of the bed only once, but I had put a bean bag there so when she fell it did not hurt her, just startled her, which is how they are going to learn. On the potty training thing, it was rather easy for me..as soon as i knew she was ready we started and of course all kids are ready at a certain time...she was trained before she turned 3. I let her wear panties around the house when we were home and I knew she was going to wet in them for a while, but I needed for her to know what wet felt like and I needed to know when she went so I could teach her what she was doing and let her know what to do...after a few days of that she realized what was happening and that she did not like it. I did have a sticker chart, but then she just wanted to go to the the bathroom just so she could play with stickers and not to use the potty...I did however keep her in pull ups at nite so she would not wet the bed...I just recently stopped doing that and she has not pottied on the bed once.

If your kiddos are around other kids routinely, then they will begin showing interest in the potty when they are ready. Just have a potty sitting around the house, and allow them into the restroom when you and dad are in there. In my opinion, it is not worth the hassle to do anything more than this, until they show intrest on their own.
If they are not crawling out of their crib, you might want to leave them be. What's that saying?...'If it ain't broken, don't fix it.' Once the crib becomes a hassle, then it is time to put them in twin beds with temp. rails. Hope you transition well as it comes...I have a 2 1/2 yr old girl that is just beginning to show intrest in the potty...I have been changing diapers for too long, and I'm ready for that season of my life to change! Take Care, K.

H.,

I have a son turning 3 in June, too. We just moved him into a toddler bed about a month ago. He figured out how to JUMP from the crib so we really had no choice. Just be prepared....it is so much harder to get them to bed once you make the move. My son stays up so much later and takes so much longer to go to bed since he is able to get up and be free. He was a GREAT crib sleeper. It's taken us the entire last month to get him into a routine and to constantly get him to sleep in his new bed. Good luck!!

My advice: If they are content in their cribs leave them be until they ask for big kid beds. We moved my (then) 2 1/2 year old son to a big boy bed when he started crawling out of his crib, but I realized way too late he was not emotionally ready for such a huge shift. That was July of last year and we are STILL dealing with sleep issues. And, this is a child that started sleeping thru the night at a month and a half. You can imagine how hard I am still kicking myself. :-)

As for the potty training...now my son is 3 (as of February). He's not at all interested either. We have the potty out in the bathroom and I'll ask from time to time if he wants to sit on it. When (rarely) he says yes I make a very big deal about it. I also tell him anytime we see kids playing soccer, riding big bikes or playing softball that all those kids are potty trained and that when he gets potty trained he'll get to do that cool stuff too.

Just don't push it - it really has to be on their terms or it's just a big uphill battle.

well dont know what to say about the beds but on potty trainig we got our little girl a piggy bank and everytime she went potty she would get quarters to put in her bank. she will be three in may and is pretty much potty trained. try giving them suprises everytime they potty. it seems to have worked for our daughter. and by reading past questions and answers on this subject, it seems to have worked with other parents too. good luck!!!

I have twin boys that turned three on February 1st. They both climbed out of their cribs at 16months. We took off the rail to their crib and made it a toddler bed at 2 1/2.
It was last June that we started the potty training and changed them to the bed at the same time. One of my twins was completely potty trained in August and just recently the other. We started sitting on the potty seat every night before bath and before they turned two they both had gone in the potty. We used the small seat that fits on the toilet because I didn't want the mess of a little potty. I would wait until summer when it is warmer and they can run around in very little which makes going on the potty easier. Also, I would set the timer for every hour and we went in the beginning. I used skittles as a reward. Good luck! One note on the bed, be prepared for them to play a little. It passed very quickly and now they do great in their beds. We leave the door cracked and tell them if they get out we will close the door. Hope this helps!
A.

I have a set of twin boys that will be 3 on April 7th. We transitioned them out of their crib by placing their crib mattresses on the floor, with all their bedding and they slept like that for about 6-7 months. They got used to not being confined in their crib and we got used to them having freedom of getting out of their room and things. We are moving them into twin beds this weekend as part of their birthday surprise. They helped pick out the beds and the bedding. Although I will let them sleep with their other bedding if it is too much for them to adjust to the new bedding. We made a HUGE deal out of getting the beds and they were a very big part of redoing their rooms all the way to picking out the paint. They both wanted mud brown and that is what they got. (doesn't look that bad actually) My children decided they wanted to sleep in the same room so we aren't pushing the issue of separating them. We painted the other bedroom as well just in case they do want to separate eventually. Potty training is something that is so personal. It is different with each and every child. I made it a game with my twin boys. It became a competition to them. One of them was ready and practically potty trained over night and the other boy was like no way until he saw brother doing it and then he was like ha I will show him and just started. I don't know if that would be a good idea with boy/girl twins but it worked well with mine. Good luck to you! And remember change is hard for all of us including you, but it gets easier once you get through the transition period. Best Wishes again!

If their diapers are dry for two hours at a time their bladders are ready to be potty trained, now it is just you that have to be willing. ha. It will take a week or two of concentrated effort (pleasant atsmmophere for them) but then you will have it made. Put them on the potty chair first thing of a morning and then every two or three hours and act like what big children they are. Maybe read a short story while they sit there a bit, and reward with raisens at first. I wouldn't worry about the beds if they aren't climbing yet.

My oldest didn't potty train till late. We pretty much told her that when you are 3, that's when you use the potty. So after her 3rd birthday party, she knew it was time. We put that expectation on her. It was a struggle but I now see that the younger they are (if they are truly ready), it is easier. My youngest pretty much chose at 24 months and the accidents have not been as severe.
Definitely get some potty books and videos.

Neither one of my kids climbed out of the crib. We just got them a bed at age 2ish. It was pretty simple. We let her pick out their own comforter, etc. which made it more exciting.
Good luck.

My babies have all moved to mattresses on the floor at 12 months and it has worked great. Since yours are old enough not to worry about falling out of bed, I'd just get them some new beds, use some of their crib bedding so it's familiar, or let them pick out new comforters and switch over. Make a big deal of them being such big boys!!! They will love it, my son used to share a room with his sister and I was worried about putting him in his own room, but we really emphasized how proud we were of him being such a big brave boy - he really loved it and it might take some more coaxing to have him happy with sharing again :) With anything, the sooner the better, the more anxiety you (mom) has over it, the more they will, and you don't want your pre-schooler in a crib!

I moved my daughter to a toddler bed at 11 months and then moved her to a regular twin sized bed at 18 months. She did wonderfully in both moves

Hey H.. I just wanted to tell you want we did with our 2 1/2 year old. for the bed issue, he decided one night that he was going to get out of his crib and we didn't have the money to go buy him a "big boy" bed so my husband just took on side off the crib and it's like a mini day bed. He loves it still but has no problems sleeping in a full size normal bed. As for the potty training, i bought him a potty months ago and let him play with it as if it were a toy at first...then i put it next to our potty so we can go potty together. then i let him pick out a chart, stickers and candy for a progress chart. now everytime he goes on the potty he gets to put his own sticker on the chart and after so many he gets to pick a piece of candy. i'm getting much better results now that i have him taking responsablity for the chart than before i had it. i hope this gave you some ideas. good luck!

My duaghter Just turned 4 she has only been potty trained for 4 months. She was very hard to train it took almost 2 years. We tried every thing from stickers to bribery. Then we started giving her a coin ( giant novelty coins) every time she went, even if we told her to go. If she had an accident we took 1 away. We did not make a big deal about the accidents. Then in the evening she would count her coins and buy a prize. There are 3 levels of prizes. You can determine the prize buy how many coins. The problem is this gets expensive so go to the dollar store and get a variety. You can pick the grand prize buy which toy they want more. Make sure you display the prizes in site but out of reach. I think the consistancy works the best no matter what you do. good luck.

We changed our sons crib intp a toddler bed at 18 months. I watched him the first night & caught him the first time he got out of the bed & tried to sneak out. I startled him wuite a bit & he never tried it again. He got his big boy bed when he was three, it was a little bit of a transition, but now he loves it.

As for potty training, it's like everyone says, just keep trying to figure what sort of positive reinforcement they will respond to. We did the naked thing for a while, stickers, charts, treats. He was potty trained by three, but he still had accidents for a while, especially after I had his brother. He still has to wear goodnites, I dont' know when he will ever start waking up dry, he's 4 1/2 now, but the doctor says to give him time. Good luck, some kids are super fast, some take time and patience.

If the cribs have a removable side panel start with that. I think the crib is security. All 3 of mine started crawling out by the time there were 12 months old-we are a wild family! Also the idea if you can fit them in the room a bed next to the crib is also a good idea.

As far as potty time goes, good luck girl! It's all about what your kids respond to best. My girls now 6 and 4 were trained at 2 and overnight by 3. We did sitckers and money, dimes actually. It worked great. My son was just days away from his 3rd birthday before he was trained. He would pee but poop was out of the question. He would either ask for a diaper or go hide in his closet and poop in his pants. One day my husband was here with the kids and he forced him to sit on the potty for about 2 hours knowing he had to poop based on his actions. Luckily I wasn't here because I didn't approve of that method, however it worked. He just could not hold it anymore so he let go. He screamed in process but then once he was done something clicked. I was having my hair done and got the phone call. Everyone in the salon was laughing as I sang Poo Poo in the potty! That night we had a "I pooped in the potty" party. We called everyone we knew so he could tell them. As gross as it sounds I got tootsie rolls too and told him to show me what it looked like since I wasn't here. The kids got a big kick out of that and I reminded them that it was pretend, you don't play with that stuff! Since October we have been diaper/pull up free!

Good luck

As a mother of boy/girl twins, I can understand your dilema. I put my twins in toddler beds at the age of two, and they were so excited, it never was a problem. They shared a room for a couple of years, and now at the ripe old age of 8, wouldnt dare dream of sharing much of anything, muchless a room. They got a real kick out of helping pick out their bedding, and I think that is what made their transition much easier. As for the potty training, my son actually was first, but it took great determination, and patience to get there, but by 2 1/2, it was done and over with. We just kept their potties in the bathroom, easily accessible, and i kept a basket of books in the bathroom for them. I would find them in there at all times of the day just sitting and reading their books. It took less than 2 weeks before they were going like pros! I can honestly say I never expected it to be that easy, and the good Lord must have known I needed easy kids to train.

IMO, the potty thing will come in time. Sometimes, sweet babies get resentful at the potty.

On the bed issue, we did not move our kids into big-kid beds until they DID attempt to get out of the crib. My son was almost 3 before we moved him. That's just what we did.

I have a two year old son who has already began potty training by telling us he wanted to go. I was so surprised because I've always heard boys don't usually start training until around three years old. I had a friend recommend a DVD called "Elmo's Potty Time". It features Elmo from Sesame Street. It might work well for you since your twins are a year older than my son. I feel like it did help, but he isn't interested in TV or videos at his age, so he only makes it through about 10-15 minutes of the DVD. I also made my own potty chart on the computer and printed it out. Each time he goes in his potty chair, I let him pick out a sticker to put on the chart and I have rewarded him with a small treat of some kind. Some times a piece of chocolate or a couple jelly beans, etc. I'd like to find something a little healthier, but we don't keep those things in our house, so I really wanted him to get something special. After he has filled the chart, I let him pick a small prize from a basket. I put in punch balloons, small containers of bubbles, some wrist bands with athletic things on them, etc. A non-sweet reward. It has been working very well for me and he is much younger than your twins. I'm sure they would catch on to the concept very quickly. I hope this helps. I do not have any advice on the bed yet. My son also is in a crib and has not tried to climb out. Everyone I have spoken with has told me not to move him out of it until he tries to escape :)

My daughter, at age 3 years, never attempted to climb out of her crib, either. She was perfectly content with her crib. So, on my daughter 3rd birthday, we made a big deal about a toddler bed. We went to the store and had her pick it out and pick out her sheets. Then she "helped" us put it together. She has had no problems since then. We told her that 3 years old is a big kid age! She got all excited about being a big girl. About the potty training: she could pee in the potty fully about a month after she turned 3 but the poop came about 4 months later. So she was fully potty trained by 3 1/2 years old. Just hang in there. I hope this helps. I understand your dilemma: I am an identical twin myself.

My son who turned three in Feb. only moved out of his crib a few months ago. He too,didn't try to climb out. It was mainly because I got tired of picking him up,and over,the crib!! His crib turned into a toddler bed so it was still familiar to him.After only one night of crying,we haven't had any problems.We did let him pick out new bedding.(spongebob to my dismay! Doesn't really go with the western decor in his room but he loves it!!)
I have NO advice on the potty training. My son has NO interest what-so-ever! We have kinda let up on him and quit saying"you want to go the the potty?" Because he was getting a little beligerent about it. We have decided to wait till Summer so we can put cloth training pants on him.(and not much else at home) Hoping he won't like the feel of wet pants!!!

H. - In my experience, moving to a big bed and potty training are completely child dependant. I have a soon to be 8 year old son who it took a whole year to potty train (started when he turned 2) but, at the age of 3, immediately took to sleeping in a big bed (it was a double so it was really BIG). I also have triplets who just turned 3 in January. It only took 2 months to potty train them and they still have occasional wet pants at night (they still wear pull-ups or good-nites). When they were almost 2, we took the cribs down and just put the crib mattresses on the floor. Not sure if your twins are in the same room but I think that helped our trips adapt quickly. We separated them with the guardrails so they would stay on their own beds and not touch each other. For their 3rd birthdays, we got them bunk beds and they love them! I think the slight change from crib to floor to big beds helped tons! Kids will adapt but my advise is to make the transition fun. My kids loved the idea of new bedsheets (Dora and Diego) and a big pillow so something like that might help with any anxiety your twins might have. If they sleep in the same room, I wouldn't move them to big beds AND move them to separate rooms at the same time. One big change at a time is enough. Let me know if you want more potty-training mulitples advise! Good luck! L. S.

We bought my daughter a big girl bed when she was 2. We put it in her room, where it would sit and placed her crib up next to it. I figured she could crawl out of the crib and safely sleep in her bed when she wanted to. Well, she didn't want to. When she was about 3 1/2 and could no longer fit in her crib we simply took it down and packed it away. Her only choice was the bed. With a nice side rail, and a few stuffed animals - oh, don't forget cool sheets and a pretty quilt! She was ready to hop in. She doesn't stay dry at night still, don't worry about that. I went to Sleep Expert and they have a terrific mattress cover that is water proof, not a hot plastic cover that you normally find. This one feels just like the bed. Good luck!

I have boy/girls twins as well, they will be 3 in September. I put them in toddler beds a little after they turned 2. They didn't try to get out of their cribs but my daughter is a little bigger and was starting to put her leg over the rail. They got new bed sets for their birthday, and I waited to put them on till we put their beds together so they could have a new "big beds" to sleep on. They do really good now, they kept getting off at first, playing with their toys and going running from room to room. And as far as the potty training, mine had not intrest either but I put them in underwear (Dora and Spiderman, their favorite) and it took them a good two weeks before they really got the hang of it. My son picked it up a lot quicker than his sister. (I just had a lot of accidents to clean, of course x2) They still use diapers to sleep in, but its work in progress. Hope this helps. Good Luck!

I have 3 children. I have an 8 year old girl and 5 year old twins that are girl/boy. None of my kids climbed out of their cribs. My oldest stayed w/ my twin brother for a weekend when she was 2 years old. My niece had a trundle bed when the trundle did not pop up. She slept in the turndle and had no problems. The next week we bought her a big girl bed. Made a big deal out of it and got pink sheets and a flowery quilt. She was very excited. We put her bed next to her crib (the crib acted as a bedrail). She never wanted to sleep in her crib after the big girl bed arrived, so after 2 weeks we took the crib out. My twins were 3. We bought a trundle bed for my daughter. We made a big deal. Pink sheets and flower quilt again. We put her in her bed the first week and left the boy in the crib next to her bed. After a week he asked for his big boy bed. We took his crib out then and pulled the trundle out with blue sheets and a blue quilt. He was very excited. We bought bed rails and used them for 3 months. They never had any problems, so we took down the bedrails and gave them away. Mine were all potty trained when they got their big beds. We still have matress covers that absorb wet, just in case. The girls were potty trained when they were 2yrs and 2 months. They were ready. My son was not. At 18 months we started to put them on the potty when they woke up, took a bath, went to bed, and/or changed clothes. We would leave them for just a few minutes. We also allowed them to come into the bathroom when we would go (my husband and I). We also took them to the store and let them pick out their big girl/boy underware. My son I directed toward the boxer briefs. I did not consentrate on him until after my daughter was trained. My son then took about 6 months. I never read the books or showed the videos. The sitter and I tried to take him to the potty every hour. Just remember to buy several pair of underware. Put them in it and to not go back to a diaper, except at night if they are not sleeping through the night. If they had an accident, we would just clean them up, say its ok and we will try to make it next time. We would do this for 5 days. If he was not getting the hang of it, we would wait until the next month and try again. Still putting him on the potty every morning, before bath, before bed and if we changed his clothes. When he was ready it only took 3 days. Sorry this is so long. I hope it helps. Just remember that every child is different and what works for 1 might not work for the other.

Good Luck,
K.