Cot to Bed – When’s the right time?

  My little boy is now over two years old and it has got me thinking when is the right time to transfer him from a cot to bed? Having spoken to many Mum friends what does appear to be the case is that there is no hard and fast rule. Mums who have moved their little one into a bed by the age of two tend to have done so due to the impending birth of a sibling and therefore the need for the cot, but even then there is always the initial 3 months or so when the newborn is in a crib or moses basket.  Certainly I have not been keen on moving our little one out of his cot any sooner than necessary.  However, just in the past few weeks – having taken some lessons from his older and more agile cousin, he has learnt the art of escaping from his cot.  This has only been an occurance during the day so far when he has been put in his cot for throwing his food across the walls or similar toddler behaviour! It can only be a matter of time I believe therefore that we will be hearing the pitter patter of feet during the night to our room, or worse the ‘thud’ to the ground as he escapes in the dark whilst still sleepy. I have been reading up on the transition from cot to bed and some helpful advise I have found so far is as follows:- 1) Only attempt one big change in your little one’s life at any one time – so if you are moving house, potty training, changing nursery leave the bed move until things have settled down. 2) If you have an impending arrival of a sibling make sure the transition to the bed has been done at least 6-8 weeks before so that the child does not start to resent the newborn.  Otherwise wait until the newborn has out grown the moses basket by which time your toddler will have got used to the new baby. 3) If budgets allow buy a toddler bed which are closer to the ground in case of falls, or buy a guard of some sort for the single bed.  At the very least put pillows/ mattress on the floor to cushion the inevitable falls. 4) Make sure the nursery is completely safe in case of nighttime wonderings, perhaps adding a stairgate to the bedroom door if there is no longer one at the top of the stairs. 5) Give your toddler lots of praise and attention for sleeping like a ‘grown-up’ in a big bed. Let’s hope the transition from cot to bed goes smoothly!