toddler bed or straight to twin size bed?

[cjarvis]

Anytime now we could switch dd to a bed from her crib.  Just was curious if any of you just went straight to a bigger bed than a toddler bed.  My thing is why buy the toddler bed when we are going to have to buy a bigger bed too in another year or so.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Crystal

[ryan's mum]

we had a toddler bed given to us from a friend , you are right they aren't in them long and to be honest Ryan didn't have any more room in the toddler bed than his cot .I would say just buy once and go for a big bed with side guard , if you are worried about her falling out and hurting then put the cot mattress on the floor next to the bed. We made the switch early at 15 months , Ryan was only bottom shuffling and we were scared he would shuffle to the bottom were there was no guard and fall out so we just put his mattress on the floor , thankfully he never fell out.

[Jaime]

My thing is why buy the toddler bed when we are going to have to buy a bigger bed too in another year or so.

that is why we never used a toddler bed.    dd went straight to a double bed at 20 months; ds went into a twin at 17 months (the result of a very strange week).  we used side guards for them both, and each time we have started out with the mattress right on the floor.

the toddler bed was probably invented by some company that wanted more money.  somebody earned a big promotion i'm sure!!!  

(btw, i do have friends who used toddler beds & loved them... i think it really comes down to what you want to do in the end)

[Duckie]

We put Andrew from the crib to a twin bed with a bedrail.

He looked so small in it!

He was 2.5 at the time.

[Gigismom]

i am having the same dilemma.  when we adopt our next child, i want them both int he same room and i was going to put them both in toddler beds.  you can get them pretty cheap on craigslist.  i was planning on keeping them in the toddler beds til they are old enough for bunk beds.  but how long can they stay in toddler beds?  does anyone know?

[happy mommy]

Lindsey, I don't know the answer to that question for sure...but..

X. is just turning 4 and is average height and I just noticed the other day that he looks like he is getting too tall for the toddler bed.  If that helps any.

I moved X. to a twin mattress at 15 months because I had one and his crib was broken.  He later moved to a toddler bed so the boys could share a room.  I moved J. to toddler bed when he was 15 months cause that Teresa offered me her toddler bed.  So, currently, I have 2 toddler beds, an unused crib and a dresser in the boys room.  (Not to mention all the toys!)  We will be moving again soon and when we do the crib is moving into my room (as there will be a baby soon occupying it) and the boys will have a room bigger then their current one.  We will get both boys twin sized beds as soon as we can afford it.  Our biggest reason is because it's simply more comfortable then a toddler bed!!!  Trust me!  My kids are not independent when it comes to falling asleep, so I've spent much time laying on their mattresses both pregnant and non-pregnant and it is NO WONDER they wake in the middle of the night and want to sleep in MY BED!!!!!

[sophiems]

I would echo what's already been said here.  No need to go and buy a separate toddler bed.  Our crib converts to a toddler bed so we'll use that before switching to a twin bed, but mostly because we'd have to buy another twin.  Anyway, with DS#1 we put the mattress on the floor in a corner so the head and side were against a wall.  We used a body pillow so he wouldn't constantly be rolling into the wall (and cheaper than another side rail).  Then we just had one bed rail on the open side.  Worked really well.  He slept in that until almost 3 yrs old when we finally got a frame for the bed!  Then to help the transition, we had a little stool next to his bed to help him get in and out. 

[cjarvis]

Thanks you guys, really appreciate all the answers.  Now we just need to decide who is going to room together after baby #3 comes

-Crystal

[tylersmommy]

Lindsey- I don't know of an "official" limit on how long kids can stay in toddler beds, but one thing to consider is that they use a crib mattress, which isn't designed to support the weight of an older kiddo.

We went straight to a twin size bed when Tyler was 28 mo. We didn't use rails because it had a trundle mattress that we kept pulled out underneath. I've also heard of people doing the same with an air mattress or the crib mattress if it isn't being used anymore.

[*Nicola*]

We have a cot bed which we converted from the cot to the bed when ciara was 2. 

We are looking at buying her a new bed now (as we are moving house and doing up her room, not because bed is too small) and we will definately buy a single bed.  The junior bed only lasts til 5 so it seems like a waste of money.  Ciara has slept in a regular single bed at my mums since she was 2, so I know that it's no bother for her. 

Single bed seems like a better investment in the long run

[kim&savannah]

Lindsay~

I have a friend who's 5 year old is still in a toddler bed--she's pretty thin, although getting too tall for it, but she likes it and is comfortable so they just haven't bothered getting her a new bed.  Obviously it just depends on the kid and their size.

~Kim