Oh, this guest post from colleague, Will Martin, couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time. We are making the crib to bed transition with Ben soon too. Although he has yet to try to jump the crib, his legs dangle out through the rails and he’s just too big for it now. Read on how Will’s transition with daughter, Emma, is going and share your tips too.

At what point is it time to move your toddler from crib to bed, and how can you ease the transition of that sometimes-difficult move? It’s a question that all parents have to tackle at some point.

For my wife and I, it was midnight when the restlessness of our 2-year-old daughter turned into a full-blown tantrum. We turned to the trusty combo of milk, Mickey and blankie, but there were no takers. She responded with a ninja-style flip out of the crib, which she nearly landed (with no prior martial arts experience). A few hours later, including a 2 a.m. car ride in my boxer-briefs (T.M.I.), Emma fell asleep, and my wife and I concluded: jumping out of the crib equals no more crib.

We tracked down a twin bed and filled her room, which she’s been in for a week now, with fun and inexpensive IKEA accessories. The transition has been easy some nights and tougher others. Her latest bedtime strategy includes requests such as:

“Dada lay on floor.”

“Dada lay head down.”

“Dada sleep.”

She actually patted me on the head and said “good job” the other night after I had completed my tasks. This process usually takes about an hour before she finally drifts off. We want to lessen that.

We have dark shades to block out the late summer light, a nightlight and a fleet of stuffed animals standing at the ready, which seam to help a bit. We’re trying to regulate her sleep schedule more, but that can be tough when she’s in daycare.

We may also add some music to the mix, Coldplay  perhaps?, but any additional suggestions would be great.

Here is an article from Parents magazine with tips on the transition, but please share any additional hints that worked for you.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 11:35 am and is filed under Parenting, Related Articles, Solicited Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.