Knowing exactly when your toddler should be making the transition from their cot to a bed can often be guesswork. There is no ‘right’ time to do this but one indicator can be when you feel that your ‘little’ one is perhaps a little too big for their cot and not exhibiting any of these behaviors below:

Signs Your Toddler Might Not Be Ready For A Bed

Age Matters

One of the most common indicators that your toddler may not be ready for a bed is their age. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that toddlers remain in a crib until they are 3 years old. If your child is under this age, they may not have developed the skills necessary to stay in one spot throughout the entire night, which could result in them wandering around or falling out of their bed.

Habitually Waking Up During The Night

If your toddler has been consistently waking up during the night, it could be an indicator that they are not yet ready to sleep in a bed on their own. Toddlers need consistency and structure in order to develop healthy sleeping habits, so if they are still waking up multiple times during the night, it could mean that they are more comfortable sleeping in their crib than making the switch to a bed just yet.

Inability To Stay In Bed

Another sign that your toddler might not be quite ready for a bed is if they have difficulty staying in their own space at night or in naptime. If your child continually gets out of their bed despite being put back multiple times or consistently wakes up earlier than usual due to being restless, then it might indicate that they aren’t quite ready for a larger sleeping space just yet.

Thankfully though, the day will soon come and if you read these 6 tips you’ll be a bit more certain is how you can go about helping them make the move. Better still, this post usefully breaks this down into six simple steps for you to follow and by doing so you could see your toddler smoothly making this natural progression in life.

Step 1 – Choose the new Bed

First and foremost, you need to choose their bed and more importantly, it needs to suit your toddler and the situation. The sensible option is to get a smaller bed as this will have similarities in size to their cot and equally if you’re purchasing the full frame get one that is quite low to the ground to prevent any nasty bumps if they fall out.

Step 2 – Make the Move Seem Important to Them

In the build-up, you should tell your toddler how good their new bed will be and how grown up this is. The aim of this is to make their new bed something they’re looking forward to rather than springing it on them suddenly.

Step 3 – Try a Couple of Nights at a Time

When the time finally arrives don’t just make the switch straight away, you need to make it a gradual process. Maybe let them spend a couple of nights in the cot and a couple in their new bed and over a few weeks start to increase the number of nights in the bed.

Step 4 – Praise them Lots

Similar to step 2, you need to be as positive as possible about the whole process. Every time they have a successful night’s sleep in their new bed, this should be something you champion.

Step 5 – Phase Out the Cot Completely

When they are eventually spending each night in their bed, leave the cot in the room for a few days and then remove it completely. Don’t do this straight away as they might still find comfort in having it nearby.

Step 6 – Keep an Eye Out

The last step is to just keep an extra eye on them when they’re asleep in their new bed. Your toddler will still be getting used to their new bed for some time, so it’s worth just making sure they’re not having any issues in night.

It’s as simple as this, just follow our six steps and in no time at all your toddler will be sleeping soundly in their new small bed!