We did not move ours until she was 3. It never occurred to me that there would be any problem. We took the crib down, put the bed up, put some fun princess sheets on it and put her to bed. The only time she gets up in the middle of the night is if she is sick. You may have dumb luck like us!

OP - You could get really lucky like a friend of mine did, and your child won't realize he can get out of the bed. If that happens, keep it a smug secret like you would if your child started STTN at 2 weeks

We do the lead child silently back to the bed routine. The first week it was almost 10 times a night. Now he stays in bed until he hears one of us in the shower, or at most wakes up once during the night - most often because he's kicked all his covers off and he's cold. I wouldn't be comfortable gating him in his room, but we do have a gate at the top of the stairs, so he can wander into our room or the bathroom, but not all over the house.

Also, I would do the transition as soon as possible so he doesn't immediately link it with the new baby. We're doing that as we move our son from his toddler bed to a twin bed, and talking in terms of getting his own big boy room, rather than needing to turn his bed back into a crib.

Nothing drives me more bonkers than the question "have you asked your ped for advice." Seriously!? Why in the world would I want my pediatricians advice on sleeping when I could ask parents who have actually encountered the same thing, probably more recently than my 65 year old pediatrician! No way would I make an appointment, show up and say, well I'm thinking about moving my child to a big boy bed ...

OP, I know lots of kids who transitioned after 3 and don't have any more problems staying in bed than anyone else. That's not to say that it is easy to keep a 3 year old in bed! It's not! We had a lot of success with a reward system. If my son stayed in bed during the week he got a surprise on the weekends. I'm about ready to move my daughter to a big girl bed and we will be resurrecting the surprise system ASAP!

Anonymous wrote:This would have been easier had you moved your kid to a bed when they were a toddler and not a child.
3 in a crib. Yikes.

Not to be mean but I agree. A colleague at work is dealing with this now and is kicking herself every day. She and her husband chose expediency and are being rewarded with a child who cannot sleep and refuses to sleep without one of them. This could happen anyway, but 3 is a tough age to start this kind of transition. They have active imaginations at that age (read: night fears), crave structure and push every limit. I'm afraid you've set yourself up for a pretty tough challenge. Not sure what to tell you since my child moved out of the crib at 20 months, but good luck. Have you asked your ped for advice?

This would have been easier had you moved your kid to a bed when they were a toddler and not a child.
3 in a crib. Yikes.

we have a mesh rail on side of bed and have directed toddler that if she needed something, she yells for mommy or daddy. thus far, this has worked.

You are dreading a problem that hasn't even happened yet - think positively! Start with a baby gate on the baby's room and mesh rail(s) on the bed to make it feel more snug and crib-like.

A friend of mine had a similar issue for naps, and she ended up taking all the toys and fun things out of her DS's room. It was only used for sleeping, and she put a baby gate at the door. Sometimes he would wander around at nap time, but there was nothing fun for him to do and his mom wasn't going to let him leave Boring No Fun Land until he got in his bed for XX minutes... which always resulted in him falling asleep.

We put toddler lock on inside of door. Safer than him walking around the house at night.

Anonymous wrote:A tip I read somewhere that worked for us is to simply lead them back to bed and put them back in. Don't turn lights on, don't talk. They are looking for interaction so unless there is some kind of problem you want to be stimulus free and boring.

+1. This is what we did when we moved DS to a crib at 2. We weren't comfortable with putting a babygate at his door or locking his door, and so all we did was just keep walking him back to bed without any entertainment or interaction at all. When he first moved out of the crib, we had to walk him back sometimes a dozen plus times a night. After the first couple of weeks, this stopped. Now he gets up not at all or once, max.

Baby gate at door. Baby proof everything.

Meet all needs during the bedtime routine. Everytime they get up, take their hand and bring them back to bed with no interaction. Repeat.

A tip I read somewhere that worked for us is to simply lead them back to bed and put them back in. Don't turn lights on, don't talk. They are looking for interaction so unless there is some kind of problem you want to be stimulus free and boring.

There's no simple route once they can get out- but now that she's so old, you'll be able to talk about your expectations.

We have the rule that the kids (twins, in our case) must lie in bed (or on a mat next to their bed) and not get up. They can play with a toy or read a book, but they must stay on the mat or bed.

When they get up in the middle of the night or because they won't settle, do the supernanny thing - say "its night time and I need you to stay in bed" and put them back. Then put them back over and over until they get it.

My DS is 3 and still in the crib. She is an AMAZING sleeper and always has been, and she's never tried to climb out. But baby # 2 is due in the spring and it seems silly to buy another crib when DS is this old, so I guess it's time to get a big boy bed. I am just having trouble envisioning how this is going to work. For example, DS still naps, but sometimes reluctantly, and I think being stuck in the crib is the only thing that makes it happen. If he could just get up and play, he probably wouldn't stay in bed long enough to fall asleep. But he clearly needs the nap and if he doesn't get it he is a mess. Similarly, in the morning I think he semi-wakes up a few times earlier than he should, but then rolls over and goes back to sleep. I think he needs this time (and so do we!) but again, I think if he could just get up, he probably would. Am I doomed to kiss my perfect sleeper goodbye?