Toddler Beds and Mattresses

[jp2854]

my cousins when they were little one wanted a fish bed and the other wanted a butterfly bed. so my aunt got her friend who is creative to make headboards that they could put on a twin and fullsized bed and they loved sleeping in there beds from day 1. my aunt never did the toddler bed deal as she thought it was a big waste of money for the child to spend about a year in then say goodbye to it.

 

[Cowgirl]

Mine went straight from the crib to a twin bed.

Just buy a removable railing so he doesn't fall out.

My stepkids went right into a twin, but we didn't bother with the railing. They never fell out.

 

[bohman]

Someone already suggested this and while I appreciate the sentiment, I pointed out we've already tried that once and he just ended up crawling into bed with others. The themed sheets did absolutely nothing to spark his interest. A full fledged bed that provides him with an experience, an adventure, seems to work better with him...

To answer the original question (I think), a toddler bed mattress is the same dimensions as a crib mattress.

Don't sweat all the folks telling you to stick him in a twin bed. Yes, they are technically correct, a twin bed is a waste of money. We weren't going to buy one for our little girl, but my mom decided to buy one for us so we used it. And it did make the transition out of the crib a little easier, in my opinion. It's a plain white bed, so we'll use it again when the boy is ready to get out of the crib.

So if you think it'll help your little boy, go for it. Kids are unpredictable though, don't be surprised if he likes it in the store and then says "no way" after you put the thing together at home.

 

[SoccerMom2]

Unfortunately, I can't get my son excited about the whole "big boy bed" transition without it being a themed bed of some sort, which is the primary reason I'm looking at going to a toddler bed, not a twin sized. I haven't been able to find too many themed twin sized beds that aren't race cars or something stereotypical.

Not trying to be rude but your the parent. What you say goes. You will save a lot of money buying just putting your child in a twin bed. Kids grow to fast. Theme beds are too bulky. Just buy him themed pillows and sheets.

 

[lisa8439]

eh, you know what? YOU know your child - not a bunch of people on the internet. Every child is different - and yes, some aren't good with the nighttime transition/sleeping and just need a bit of a 'boost' (my youngest fits in this category).

We bought her a twin bed when she came out of her crib (around 20 months or so) and she hated it. Nothing I did to that d@mn bed made a bit of difference, she just didn't like it. Stark contrast to my oldest, who would happily sleep on the floor if I told him to.

Anyway, my youngest is BIG into princess stuff - I don't really like getting her too much 'disney' princess stuff as I don't want her to think that they are the ONLY princesses in town, KWIM? But I saw a princess bed (sleeping beauty I guess, it's pink) with a canopy in Babies 'R Us on sale for $50 and bought it on a whim. She had been sleeping in her twin bed for over a year (not happily and not through the night well) but I took the twin bed and put it in the basement guest room and put the princess bed in her room. She LOVED it and it has helped her SO much... she is so excited to go to bed in her princess bed now and rarely gets up at night. So for my youngest, the toddler bed was well worth the $$.

Do what you think will work for your kid - my kids don't run me (far from it) but I still try to do what I can to make them happy.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

eh, you know what? YOU know your child - not a bunch of people on the internet. Every child is different - and yes, some aren't good with the nighttime transition/sleeping and just need a bit of a 'boost' (my youngest fits in this category).

We bought her a twin bed when she came out of her crib (around 20 months or so) and she hated it. Nothing I did to that d@mn bed made a bit of difference, she just didn't like it. Stark contrast to my oldest, who would happily sleep on the floor if I told him to.

Anyway, my youngest is BIG into princess stuff - I don't really like getting her too much 'disney' princess stuff as I don't want her to think that they are the ONLY princesses in town, KWIM? But I saw a princess bed (sleeping beauty I guess, it's pink) with a canopy in Babies 'R Us on sale for $50 and bought it on a whim. She had been sleeping in her twin bed for over a year (not happily and not through the night well) but I took the twin bed and put it in the basement guest room and put the princess bed in her room. She LOVED it and it has helped her SO much... she is so excited to go to bed in her princess bed now and rarely gets up at night. So for my youngest, the toddler bed was well worth the $$.

Do what you think will work for your kid - my kids don't run me (far from it) but I still try to do what I can to make them happy.

Awesome story! Thank you

 

[SoccerMom2]

What age did everyone did you start the transition stage from crib to toddler/twin bed? Both my kids went into a twin bed on there 1st b-day.

 

[jp2854]

my aunt I think put my cousins both by the age of 2 as they decided to start climbing out of the crib and my aunt didn't want them to get hurt so she moved them directly to a twin bed with side railings to sleep.

 

[lisa8439]

What age did everyone did you start the transition stage from crib to toddler/twin bed? Both my kids went into a twin bed on there 1st b-day.

My oldest was pretty close to 1 - I want to say 15 months maybe. He was a little monkey though - always trying to get out of the crib. The day he climbed out of it 3 or 4 times and flipped over one of the times, I went out and bought a bed

My youngest was closer to 2 - somewhere in the 22 month range. She wasn't climbing out of her crib at all, had no interest in even trying (I had always heard to just keep them in the crib as long they are fine in there - i.e. not climbing out or attempting to jump off).

I don't recall the transition being that different for either of them - the big difference was that my oldest was (and still is) an excellent sleeper, and my youngest was a horrible sleeper (and has just recently started sleeping better).

But again, everyone is different - I guess there isn't a 'right' answer to something, you just have to follow what is right with your child.

 

[mamamack]

ikea beds

I had a 9 month old and was expecting my second child in 3 months when I bought matching cribs from ikea. They had the option of being used as a toddler bed so I thought that they would work for awhile. I converted one for my oldest when she was 18 months or so. She has always done great in it. I then found out I was pregnant again when my second was 10 months old. He is 18 months now and sooo not ready for a bed! Any how, I was at ikea one day and saw the actual toddler bed from the same line as the cribs. It was on sale so I got it impulsively, thinking that all toddler beds take crib mattresses, right? We left it in the box knowing that we were about to move from Seattle to here. Once we got moved in we set up the bed only to find out that the crib mattress was a foot too short! I really don't like the quality of ikea's mattresses so I have no idea what to do with this thing. I think I would rather just scrap it and get a twin. It would give us an extra bed for company too. So, anybody interested in a new ikea toddler bed?