['distracted']

Hi

I had assumed a toddler would move from cot to regular single bed and have only just come to the understanding that all my friends have transitioned their children through a stage in a toddler bed.
Has anyone skipped the toddler bed stage and gone straight to single bed?

We have a baby due when my DS is 20months old and we are trying to work out the logistics of things and whether we should be buying another cot or bed or quite what!

[BetteBoop]

IME most people don't buy a toddler bed.

They go from cot to single. The only thing you might need is a bed guard to stop your littlie from rolling out of the bed.

It can be a good idea to have a safety gate on their bedroom door to, if they're inclined to get up and run amok when the household is asleep.

But I can't see any good reason for having a toddler bed.

[Mamabug]

We found a compromise - single size beds that actually extend from toddler length to full length, but are single bed width!

They are quite low (futon-ish?) and can take a side rail. We got these because we had to fit three kids in a small room and there is no way two full sized singles and a cot would have fitted.

Also, we only bought two and had four kids under six, so knew there would be plenty of use for them in toddler mode.

[April girl]

Straight to a regular single bed here - DD was 3. I used a bed rail for the first 12 months.

[pippipage]

We moved ds into a single bed about 2 months ago.. He is 34 months old, and whilst in his cot prior we'd had the side off the cot nearly all year anyways.. He only ever fell out of that once so we didnt even bother putting a side rail on the bed..

I did like the idea of a toddler bed, but then thought better of it.. He loves his new room and new big boy bed- Thanks to buzz light year on his doona cover

Unless you get one on loan, I wouldnt bother wasting the money on a toddler bed..(yes i know you can get them from target on sale for between $70-$90 when on sale) but its then yet another item you need to store.. If your child isnt ready to leave the comfort of a cot yet then a toddler bed isnt much more comforting than a single bed.

Like a pp said about using a safety gate.. This has been a must for us since we took the side off the cot (and he's in a big bed) he was forever waking up and coming straight into bed with us, now as he knows he cant get out he either goes back to sleep or calls out for comfort..

Though all the above said, your ds is alot younger and not knowing what stage he's at... Can you get a loan of another cot? It would be a shame to have to rush him into either a toddler bed or single bed if he's not ready.The cots that convert to toddler beds are just awesome for that reason..

[spannah]

We have just moved our DD1 (2.5yrs) from cot to single bed. Skipped the toddler bed completely. We actually got her a loft bed (harvey norman carlo loft bed) which is like a low line bunk but without the lower bunk. She loves it and transitioned really well. It was a last minute thing as we suddenly realised that DD2 (8wks) had outgrown her bassinette.
We just didn't see the point, financially or otherwise, in having an intermediate toddler bed. This bed will be hers until at least DD2 is old/big enough to upgrade from the cot. The cot converts into a double bed so DD1 may move to that later. We will see what happens.
We just did what worked for us and our kids. We have had a couole of comments re toddler beds etc but ignored it.

[Lyra]

We used this bed

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/S99827959/

at the shortest setting when we first moved from cot to bed. My six year old is currently in the next setting up (3/4 bed) and will be going to full single in the next few months or so

[jotsmum]

We skipped the toddler bed too and went straight into a single. What we did though was do it gradually. We got rid of the cot and then had her cot mattress on the floor, then moved to a big girl mattress on the floor and then up onto the single bed. Took about 3 months all in all but dd has coped really well with it all. This happened at approx 27 months.

[Peevish]

Never used a toddler bed here. I don't understand why they are necessary unless space is an issue. DD went into a single bed at 22 months. No issues at all and we used a safety rail for the first 3ish months.

[janitag]

At your baby's age, I would be buying/borrowing a second cot. Your DS could be in a cot for at least another 12 months - we have just moved DS1 into his bed (a borrowed 3/4 length IKEA one) at 34 months. With a second baby arriving, I highly recommend you stick with a cot for containment purposes!