When should I move my toddler from a crib to a bed?
As late as you safely can: ideally close to age 3, when a child can understand and follow a “stay in bed” rule. Move sooner only if your toddler keeps climbing out despite a lowered mattress and a bare crib, or has outgrown the crib’s height limit. A new sibling, an 18-month or 2-year regression, or bedtime resistance are not reasons to switch, and usually get worse in a bed.
Why waiting helps
A crib does the job of impulse control for a child who does not yet have it. In practice, many children under about 2.5–3 cannot reliably stay in an open bed because they have been told to, however well they understand the words. Families who switch at 18–24 months often trade one problem for a bigger one: see my toddler won’t stay in bed.
Good reasons and poor reasons
| Good reasons to move | Poor reasons to move |
|---|---|
| Repeatedly climbing out despite the safety steps below | A new baby needs the crib (use a second crib or a bassinet for the newborn) |
| Taller than the limit in the crib’s manual, or about 35 inches (89 cm), the height by which MedlinePlus says children should no longer use a crib | Turning 2 |
| Close to 3, asking for a bed, following simple rules by day | Fighting bedtime or waking at night |
| Night toilet training that requires getting to the bathroom | A regression, a move or a new daycare in the same month |
Many families consider a bed because bedtime has become a battle. That battle can be fixed in the crib, and Actually Sleeping works with babies and toddlers from newborn on, so it is worth fixing the sleep before changing the bed.
If your toddler is climbing out
- Lower the mattress to its lowest setting.
- A regular sleep sack limits how high a leg can lift. Not a weighted one.
- Remove footholds: bumpers, large toys, anything inside or beside the crib that works as a step.
- Do not use crib tents or homemade covers. The CPSC has recalled crib tents over strangulation and entrapment hazards and told parents to stop using them.
If your child still gets out, the crib is no longer safe, and a bed or a mattress on the floor is the safer choice.
Make the room the crib
Once a child can leave the bed, the whole bedroom has to be safe to be in alone:
- Anchor dressers, shelves and televisions to the wall.
- Secure blind cords and electrical cords; cover outlets.
- Remove small objects, medicines, toiletries and anything climbable.
- Put a gate at the bedroom door or the top of the stairs; lock windows or fit guards.
- Choose a low bed or toddler bed, with guardrails made for the purpose, away from windows.
Why the switch so often goes wrong
Many toddlers stay put for the first few nights, then discover they can get up, and bedtime turns into a game of returns. Parents who moved to fix bedtime resistance find the resistance now has legs. The bed did not cause the problem; it removed the one thing containing it. What actually settles bedtime is a child who can fall asleep on their own and a limit both parents hold the same way.
How Actually Sleeping handles beds and cribs
Actually Sleeping works with babies and toddlers from newborn on, in cribs and in beds. Where a family has a choice, the plan Dr. Sam writes usually keeps the crib until sleep is solid, and builds the move to a bed in later if it is needed. For a toddler already in a bed, the plan covers getting out of bed as well as falling asleep, with bootcamp-style coaching before the first night and daily 1:1 check-ins. Parents of toddlers share their experience in reviews from families of children 12 months and older.
If you are weighing a move to a bed because bedtime has become a battle, book a free consultation first.
Want this fixed for your baby?
Actually Sleeping is 1:1 coaching: a sleep plan written for your baby by Dr. Sam, bootcamp-style coaching before the first night, and daily check-ins until it is working. 700+ families coached, 129 video reviews, and a written guarantee: 8–12 hours through the night within 14 days, or a full refund.
Frequently asked
What is the best age to switch from a crib to a bed?
For most children, close to 3. Earlier only for safety reasons such as climbing out despite a lowered mattress, or outgrowing the crib’s height limit.
Should I move my toddler to a bed before the new baby arrives?
Preferably not for that reason. If the move is truly needed, do it at least 2–3 months before the birth, or wait until a few months after. A second crib or a bassinet avoids rushing.
Is a toddler bed or a twin bed better?
Either works. What matters is that it is low, has appropriate guardrails and sits in a fully childproofed room, with furniture anchored to the wall.
My 2 year old climbed out of the crib once. Do I have to switch?
Not necessarily. Lower the mattress to its lowest setting, use a regular (not weighted) sleep sack and remove anything that works as a step. If your child still climbs out, the crib is no longer safe and a bed is the safer choice.
References
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Safe Sleep – Cribs and Infant Products.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Five Retailers Agree to Stop Sale and Recall Tots in Mind Crib Tents Due to Strangulation and Entrapment Hazard. 2012.
- MedlinePlus (NIH). Cribs and crib safety.
- American Academy of Pediatrics. Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Updated 2022 Recommendations for Reducing Infant Deaths in the Sleep Environment. Pediatrics. 2022.