When do I move my child to a bed? A popular question asked everyday in my inbox. Sometimes when we see our little ones trying to climb out of the cot, we can assume they are ready for bed. To prevent them from actually climbing out, sleep bags with feet is ideal (www.slumbersac.co.uk).
In most cases, we get the new room and new bed ready and it’s all very exciting, even for us! Little one sleeps great the first night, or even the first week and in some cases a month or so… then the novelty of a new bed wears off and they find the freedom to exit the bed and come visit you in the middle of the night.
Some parents are absolutely fine with that, and end up co-sleeping the rest of the night. For those of you who would rather have your little one sleep in his/her bed all night, then finding the right time for the transition is very important.
Here are my top tips…
- I would not recommend moving a child into a bed until 2.5 years of age, especially if they are happy in their cot
- Cognitively in most cases up until the age of 2 years old infants do not understand to stay in their bed all night, even if they are good sleepers
- In some situations introducing a bed to a toddler, could mean sleep is great the first few days or even weeks. Then you little one comes and visits your room during the night maybe once or several times they have found the freedom to do so
- Cot bed/single bed/sharing a bed with sibling/double bed are all types of bed frames which allows the little ones to freely come out when they like
- It is very important to the right time to make that transition. Otherwise it could lead to more sleep challenges
- If your little ones is self-settling at night and sleeping through the night then I would strongly recommend leaving them in the cot till even 3 years old
- However, if your toddler starts off in the cot then during the night co-sleeps introducing a bed earlier will not create new sleep challenges. If anything it saves you from getting out of bed!