cot or bed?

jetcat

my darling little 17 month old has been very busy lately - playing light saber fights with one of the bars from her cot (which she managed to dislodge from the drop side of her cot!)

so, i am thinking along the lines of a new cot, but then i wondered whether i just try and hang on (keep hammering the bar back in, she has some strength my little one!) until she can go in a bed. trouble is, i cant remember how old my eldest was before i put her in a bed - she is now 11. at what age do little ones move up into a bed - little one is a bit of a wanderer at night, so would obviously need to be safe. Money is very tight however, so needs to be cheap and safe!

any advice?

sooty&sweep

Hi

My advice would be keep little one in a cot as long as possible !

We've recently moved our 2 1/2 year old into a bed as she'd developed the ability to climb out. Initially she came into bed with us every night so disturbed nights for us. We've had to put a gate on her bedroom door to stop her wandering.

Could you put a nail or screw through the top / bottom bar to stop him / her dislodging it ?

poe.tuesday

our daughter used to volt out of her cot so we put her in a bed, best thing we ever did, we did the same with our son, he was in a bed at about 18 months with a side thingie to stop him falling out, we put a child gate on the bedroom to stop him walking about the house in the middle of the night

Marker_2

I moved my little one into a bed when she was just under two and that was because she kept climbing out of her cot and falling on her head

I would make the switch now, she cant stay in a cot forever, the sooner you get it out the way the better - good luck!

FunkyMummy_2

You could always try in a little junior bed but be prepared for her to get in and out numerous times a night!!! Or you could look on your local freecycle and get a new mattress for it? Saves a bit of expense

mrcow

My advice would be to turn the cot around so the broken bit faces the wall and buy a bed when she's ready.

(It's what I'd do anyway!)

onlyroz

My 3-year-old has been in a cot-bed since birth (designed for up to 5-year-olds). A few months ago we removed the side of the cot-bed and fitted a "side thingie" (as someone else so aptly put it) so he can't roll out (we tried without it for a bit, but we kept hearing thuds from his room as he fell out, so we invested in the side). There's a gate across the landing so he can't get downstairs, but he can now come into our room in the morning if he wants (not always the best - because he still hasn't learned about sunday mornings).

I'm expecting my second child now so the plan is for him to move over to the "real" bed in the spare room just as soon as we've decorated it for him. There's further for him to fall, but the "side thingie" should stop most accidents.

daveyjp

25 month old daughter has been in a bed two weeks (cot/bed which has now lost its sides). Nothing to stop her falling out and she has only done so once. She hardly moves about, certainly not as much as when she was in a cot.

After two weeks of her not going to sleep easily and also getting up once or twice in the night she slept through last night until 5am. The last few nights we have left her whilst awake and she has kicked off for about 30 minutes, but we just put her back in bed and said nothing. Tonight she was in bed awake and she put herself to sleep.

Just the 5am to sort now. We are trying the "light on a timer" approach. The light will come on at 6 am and we are teaching her that if the light is off it is still night time so she should stay in bed.

Like every stage it's all about sticking to a plan and telling yourself the situation won't last forever.

jetcat

mrcow wrote: »

My advice would be to turn the cot around so the broken bit faces the wall and buy a bed when she's ready.

(It's what I'd do anyway!)

thanks for all your advice, think i will try this one!! she is a born wriggler when asleep, and usually ends up pressed right up against the side - so am thinking that without the side there, she will simply fall out!!

was thinking of trying superglue, as all it is is the bar keeps coming out of the hole in the bar across the top. (hope that made sense!) we are going on holiday next month, where she will be in a bed with a rail, so will see how she goes with that (am taking the travel cot just in case!)

thanks again

Paparika

sounds like the cot has had enough.

my son was 1 and a half, with bed barriers and a folded up double duvet on the floor just in case, explained it was a big boy bed, he thought it was fun considering he hated, i mean really hated his cot.

Woby_Tide

around 18 months for us too, we combined it with a house move so he found it all teh more exciting, the bed guard has kept him in and he certainly slept a lot better, the cot was too small for him an he would hit arms on sides waking himself up. But horses for courses, some like the change to a bed, some don't