Two year olds and regular beds

My cousin's daughter was in a twin bed by age 2. Is that realistic for 2 year olds?

 

My cousin's daughter was in a twin bed by age 2. Is that realistic for 2 year olds?

 

I think for some, not for mine though! I couldn't have mine in big kid beds right now. I love having them in cribs. They still nap and sleep well and I don't have to worry about them getting out of bed, hurting themselves, etc. I'm hoping to keep mine in cribs until 2.5 - 3. I just know that if I moved them now that I would spend nap/bedtime putting them back in their beds and fighting to get them to sleep.

 

All 3 of mine were in toddler beds at 15-16 months. And into twin beds by 2. Hate cribs and the day they tried to climb I ordered the toddler beds. My older girl was more like a 5 yr old at 17 months so for her it was just a next step.
They did great.

 

Regular beds were not an option for my sons until they turned 3. It wasn't worth the potential hassles and battles to keep them in bed. By 3, they were completely ready to handle big beds.

 

I think many people with singletons "get away" with the switch younger than multiples. One of the things that makes it difficult with twins is that they have a buddy to play with. With a singleton, it is easier to stay with them and teach them to stay in bed. Whereas with 2 (or more) you are having to "fight" with one or the other, and the distractions make it harder.

 

My boys were in twin beds at 19mo. The transition was smooth and at 2.5yo they still nap almost everyday. I think the fact that we actually moved them before they started climbing out of their cribs actually helped. They didn't have the idea that they could just get out of bed whenever they wanted to and we made sure that they knew that wasn't an option in their big beds either. So yes it is completely possible to have twins in twin beds before they are 2.

 

I never went straight to a regular bed. But that was because I had a hand-me-down toddler bed (borrowed, actually) from my girlfriend. My girls just turned 2 and I am keeping them in the crib as long as possible (we have tents on). After that, I am leaning towards them sharing a bed...but I'll have to test the waters before we go for it permanently. They may need to sleep separate!

 

Ours are in twin beds for one month now. We went on and set them up with the move to the new house. They are doing fine. Each has taken one fall but they seem to have the hang of staying in now. They look so cute in them and are doing as well as they did in the cribs which they were climbing out of like crazy.

Mary

 

It is often realistic for singletons but, as we've seen from other posts on the subject, it's usually unrealistic for twins. Twins have their best friend & buddy in the room with them and it's much harder for them to learn to stay in a bed at that age. We tried it for 3 months and it was a disaster. Removing everything from their room, going in and laying them back down, etc. just couldn't diminish the fun they had of being able to play together in the dark. We finally got crib tents and the sleep schedule went back to normal (and they began taking naps again!). When the girls were 3, they had the self-control to move to toddler beds.

 

Singletons are easier for MOST things than the 'double trouble!' for sure. We moved Felicia to a toddler bed at 2.5. She did great!! Of course I was very laid back and did not care that she slept on the floor, pulled all her clothes out of drawer during the transition. That all got old pretty quick and it was back to normal.

But OMG I will not move the boys out of their cribs until I absolutely must! They are so much more destructive than Felicia ever was! I will invest in crib tents etc if necessary and hope those last until 3!

 

I think it depends a lot on the child. All of mine were in a twin bed before two. Matt at 15 months, Mila at 22 months, Zach at 17 months and Hannah at 18 months. We have had very little issues with this move and I am happy to have them out of the cribs.

 

I dont think it is common, but it can happen. My son hated his crib. He never napped (even under a year) but would crash and burn on the living room floor. He hated his crib. He would deal with it at night, but that was it. At 17-18 months he was in a twin and did great! In fact at 20 months his railing broke and we didn't even replace it!

The twins are 16 months and they are just more immature overall than Aidan AND dont have as good of motor skills. So, they are a long way off for beds!

 

We moved our singleton to a double bed (just box spring and mattress on the floor, no bed frame - and safety rails on both sides) right when he turned two, and he did great. We moved the big bed into his room and kept the crib up and let him choose where he wanted to sleep. Of course he chose the big bed, but the rule was he had to stay in bed otherwise he'd be put into the crib to sleep. It worked great.