lws@hou2d.UUCP (lwsamocha) (11/25/85)
* I am curious if any one has suggestions about when to *introduce* a child to a normal bed- i.e. mattress and box spring. Our little girl is almost 30 months and with another due in march, I have already purchased a good quality twin, but have not put it up yet. The new baby will get her crib. The advice of periodicals and books is limited- and the advice of the few people we trust is limited to bias. Thanx in advance. LWS hou2d!lws *
rs55611@ihuxk.UUCP (Robert E. Schleicher) (11/26/85)
> * > I am curious if any one has suggestions about when to > *introduce* a child to a normal bed- i.e. mattress and > box spring. > > Our little girl is almost 30 months and with another > due in march, I have already purchased a good quality > twin, but have not put it up yet. > > The new baby will get her crib. > > The advice of periodicals and books is limited- and the > advice of the few people we trust is limited to bias. > > Thanx in advance. > > LWS > hou2d!lws > * The advice I've heard is that around 30 months is a good time (we've got a two-year-old, so this issue is facing us soon). The one point that you may want to consider is this: Introduce your older child to a regular bed BEFORE the new baby arrives, and treat it as a "promotion" from being a baby to a big girl, or something similar. What you want to avoid is any appearance4 of the older child being kicked out of the crib to make room for the new arrival. In other words, separate the two events to make the new bed a more positive experience. Bob Schleicher ihuxk!rs55611
barb@pyuxa.UUCP (B E Nemeth) (11/26/85)
***hou2d!lws writes:*** > I am curious if any one has suggestions about when to > *introduce* a child to a normal bed- i.e. mattress and > box spring. I too have an interest in this information. My almost 2 1/2 year old daughter toppled out over the crib railing the other day which led to the thought, "AH, it's time for a bed." So once again I turn to the net. Thanks. ../pyuxa!barb
zonker@ihlpf.UUCP (Tom Harris) (11/27/85)
> * > I am curious if any one has suggestions about when to > *introduce* a child to a normal bed- i.e. mattress and > box spring. > > Our little girl is almost 30 months and with another > due in march, I have already purchased a good quality > twin, but have not put it up yet. > > The new baby will get her crib. > > The advice of periodicals and books is limited- and the > advice of the few people we trust is limited to bias. > > Thanx in advance. > > LWS > hou2d!lws > * My girl was about 33 months when we moved her to a big bed. (She was probably ready for it earlier, but she wasn't a climber so she never learned to climb out of the crib and so the crib was good enough. We were kind of worried she would fall and were waiting till it looked like she was going to try climbing before we bought the bed. We finally broke down and bought a bed when we found one on sale, even though she still wasn't trying to get out of the crib.) One of the things we did to ease the transition was to start her out with just the mattress and box spring (no frame). This way if she had a problem staying in bed she couldn't hurt herself. We played up the fact that now her bed was accessable to her i.e. she could get in and out as she wished (and we cold heartedly used this fact to finish working on overnight potty training). We played up the size difference (there was much more room for stuffed friends). Finally we played up the fact that now she was a big girl. After about a month with no problems (i.e. falling out of bed etc.) we put the frame on and she took right to it.
rggoebel@water.UUCP (Randy Goebel LPAIG) (11/27/85)
> I am curious if any one has suggestions about when to > *introduce* a child to a normal bed- i.e. mattress and > box spring. > Our little girl is almost 30 months and with another > due in march, I have already purchased a good quality > twin, but have not put it up yet. > The new baby will get her crib. > The advice of periodicals and books is limited- and the > advice of the few people we trust is limited to bias. Our children are 2 1/2 and 4, and they've just recently switched from cribs to futons on the floor of their room (they share a room). Jodi is the 2 1/2 year old girl, and Kari is a boy. We bought on futon for a test, as we have a new baby coming and would need at least one of the cribs...we ``naturally'' assumed that Kari would use the bed, and Jodi would remain in her crib...you can infer the rest; Jodi insisted on being just like her brother, so we go another futon and removed both the cribs. The result is they both love it. There have been a few nights when Jodi has rolled off the futon with a clunk...but nothing that causes any lasting effect. (I suspect it is harder for us, as we often lie awake awaiting the tell-tale clunk of Jodi's head rolling to the floor. We're not sure if or when we might move the futon mattresses off the floor to a frame or some other structure off the floor. The move to the crib has not been at all traumatic, and it makes for more playroom. I don't have advice as a result of this experience, except that treating you children as adults lacking experience means that you can just ask them what they think...that seems to be the best policy in our family.
swb@lasspvax.UUCP (Scott Brim) (11/27/85)
In article <825@hou2d.UUCP> lws@hou2d.UUCP (lwsamocha) writes: >* >I am curious if any one has suggestions about when to >*introduce* a child to a normal bed- i.e. mattress and >box spring. We and many of our friends use the rule of thumb that as soon as they can climb into it themselves they're ready for a big bed. I don't recall ever seeing a child (who was old enough - that's what being able to climb into it is for) who didn't like having a BIG BED (wow!). -- Scott Brim 607-256-8686 Arpanet: swb@devvax.tn.cornell.edu Usenet: {decvax, ihnp4, cmcl2, vax135}!cornell!swb Bitnet: swb@cornella
avolio@decuac.UUCP (Frederick M. Avolio) (11/27/85)
Your kid is ready. But you might try putting the box spring directly on
the floor instead of on a frame. Easier for the child to get in and
out of. We did this before baby #2 came. Made a big deal out of a
"BIG" bed, etc. You might look for a set of side rails for the bed.
We found we did not really need them with our first child. Our second
child does need them.
--
Fred @ DEC Ultrix Applications Center {decvax,seismo,cbosgd}!decuac!avoliobinde@caip.RUTGERS.EDU (Beth Binde) (11/27/85)
Since the age of about 18 months, our son has been sleeping on a futon (Japanese bed on the floor). The advantages are that the child won't be hurt (or at least, not badly) by rolling off, and the mattress can be folded into a sofa, a useful feature in a small apartment. They are available at White Lotus Futon, Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, telephone 201-828-2111. Beth Binde Rutgers-- The State University of NJ 201-932-2287
laman@ncr-sd.UUCP (Mike Laman) (11/28/85)
In article <825@hou2d.UUCP> lws@hou2d.UUCP (lwsamocha) writes: >* >I am curious if any one has suggestions about when to >*introduce* a child to a normal bed- i.e. mattress and >box spring. > >Our little girl is almost 30 months and with another >due in march,... > For what it is worth, we had our second child 18 months after our first one. We had the older (less young?) one in her own bed by the time she was 20 months. It may have been nicer to have gotten her in a bed a little later (say at 24 months). Our second one has been in his own bed since ~ 14 months and his bed has a railing around it that seems to keep him in there when he is sleeping. Better put: 1st child was in a bed at 20 months and is now (~34 months) in the top bunk 2nd child was in a bed at about 14 months and doing well with a small railing 3rd child is 3 months old (and will go in the top bunk next week :-)) I think it really gets down to the child him(her)self. I find that tucking them in good (all sides of sheet and blanket under the mattress) helps. It also adds another act to the ritual of bed time which the older one seems to like. You know how that goes... Forget one bedtime ritual and they let you know it. Of hand I'd say the child is ready. Oh, don't be surprised if the child is a little hesitant about sleeping in a different bed. After all you are changing the ritual, in their mind. I find that a little excited attitude and comments about sleeping in a big girl's (boy's) bed in a little while. Keep bring it up each night for a few nights. Now that you have generated a good attitude in the child, s/he will possible look forward to it since s/he is sleeping in a bed like mommy and daddy. Who knows, if you generate a real good attitude s/he may ask to sleep in it that night. You might also set up the bed and let the kid play on it a few days before the big move. It will help her/him get more comfortable with it. You can tell I'm a dad. I can't give a short reply when I start talking about my kids. Good luck... If you're parinoid, throw a couple pillows on the floor around the bed and have the bed up against a wall. Mike Laman UUCP: {ucbvax,philabs,sdcsla}!sdcsvax!ncr-sd!laman
jkr@gitpyr.UUCP (John Kenneth Riviere) (11/28/85)
In article <825@hou2d.UUCP> lws@hou2d.UUCP (lwsamocha) writes: >I am curious if any one has suggestions about when to >*introduce* a child to a normal bed- i.e. mattress and >box spring. We introduced our daughter to her 'big girl bed' at about 20 months. My in-laws were rearranging furniture and so we aquired a twin bed. We knew that we would eventually be giving it to Jessica so we went ahead and set it up in her room. Once she realized that it was her big girl bed she never wanted to sleep in the crib again. She had some difficulty climbing into the bed so we put a step-stool beside it and she has had no difficulty with it (she has fallen out of the bed once or twice, but with the carpet on the floor she was more frightened than hurt). Despite changing beds, she still did not want her crib taken down. This prompted us to use the crib to store her (numerous) stuffed animals (friends). This arrangement persisted until one day she asked me to get one of her friends out of the crib so that she could play with it. I pointed out that if we took down the crib and replaced it with a cradle we happened to have that she would be able to get her friends herself due to the smaller size of the cradle. This idea appealed to her so I immediatly dismantled the crib and put it in the spare room where it now awaits our next child, due in March. I want to reemphasize the point made by an earlier poster. If possible make the transition from crib to bed well before the arrival of a second child. If possible, put the crib away completely so that it has a chance to become more of a distant memory rather than being seen every day as still being their bed, even if they don't use it. -- J. Kenneth Riviere (JoKeR) Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332 ...!{akgua,allegra,amd,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo,ut-ngp}!gatech!gitpyr!jkr
dave@lsuc.UUCP (David Sherman) (12/02/85)
Well, our second child is due March 1, and Ariela is now 19.5
months old. After reading the various postings here and talking
to people, we decided to start early rather than risk resentment
at having the crib "taken away" from her in February or March.
So, on Thursday we pulled the mattress off the single bed in
the guest room and dragged it into Ariela's room. (She helped
us drag it, actually.) We left the mattress on the floor and
put a sheet on it (with a rubber sheet underneath), left the
side of the crib down, and let her experiment with climbing
in and out of the crib. (She can't quite do the "in" part
alone yet.) When it came to bedtime, we put her in the crib
as usual.
Since Friday night we've let her sleep in the bed. It's
been difficult - she'll flop down on the bed with no problem
and let herself be covered and tucked in, but 2 minutes later
she's up, opened the door and looking out amusedly over the
gate we put up at her bedroom door. No amount of cajoling
gets her back to bed for too long, until she's really tired.
I think she may be getting the message though - last night,
when she *kept* getting up, I put her back in the crib for a
while, and explained that if she didn't stay in bed she'd have
to stay in the crib. Eventually, after a good cry/scream, I
put her back in bed and she stayed.
I guess it's hard for her to understand - she gets to sleep
in the bed, which has all the advantages of freedom... but
if she exercises that freedom she gets in trouble. Ah well.
Next step will be to move the crib out.
(This is going to be a multi-step exercise: our ultimate
objective is to get her, in a bed, into what is now the
guest room, and have the new baby in what's now her room!)
Dave Sherman
Toronto
--
{ ihnp4!utzoo pesnta utcs hcr decvax!utcsri } !lsuc!davekaiser@belker.DEC (Pete Kaiser, 225-5441, HLO2-1/N10) (12/03/85)
Mimi never slept in a crib; she went from our bed to a tiny bed built right next
to ours at 18 months, and then at 30 months to her own Big Bed in her own room.
And it is Big; it's an adult-size bed, because that's what we had. None of this
was ever a problem.
---Pete
Kaiser%BELKER.DEC@decwrl.arpa
{allegra|decvax|ihnp4|ucbvax}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-belker!kaiser
DEC, 77 Reed Road (HLO2-1/N10), Hudson MA 01749 617-568-5441rdp@teddy.UUCP (12/04/85)
In article <1571@decwrl.UUCP> kaiser@belker.DEC (Pete Kaiser, 225-5441, HLO2-1/N10) writes: >Mimi never slept in a crib; she went from our bed to a tiny bed built right next >to ours at 18 months, and then at 30 months to her own Big Bed in her own room. >And it is Big; it's an adult-size bed, because that's what we had. None of this >was ever a problem. > At 14 months, Nathaniel was quit mobile. At this point, we needed the crib for Ashley (2 months). My wife happened to see a Bradlees (local big department store chain) ad for the neatest thing in sleeping yet. It was a twin mattress sized fitted sheet with a tent attached. The tent is supported by two flexible poles that attach to little pockets in the corners of the sheet and then simply arch over the bed, with the tent attached by small tie strings. There are two gauze "windows" and the tent can be partially closed by a zipper. When he first saw it, Nathaniel thought it was the best thing since breast milk. He ran right over, crawled right in (we have the mattress sitting on a very low platform on the floor) and claimed it as his own. He has been so easy to put to bed since then. We gave him his own adult-sized pillow and blanket, and, at the current age of 19 months, keeps it nice and (relatively) neat. I think he very much views this as "his" bed now, and did pretty much from the beginning. He loves to have visitors come and spend some time in his tent, and whenever anyone new comes to the house and sees his room, he shows his bed off like it's some castle. A few points. First, the sheet very easily comes of a normal mattress. One night we found him all wrapped up in it screaming, half asleep. A couple of elastic bands passing around the ends permantly solved that problem. Second, the zipper might be a problem with hair getting caught. We temporarily sewed ours in place, problem gone. There is one deep philosophical problem with it, though. How come they didn't have these things when I was a kid? Dick Pierce
cjdb@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (Charles Blair) (12/04/85)
We bought our daughter a twin bed a couple of months before her second birthday, primarily to spare our backs the strain of trying to lower her gently into the crib. She liked it from the start, and she did not protest when we dismantled the crib (just after the bed arrived). She had no trouble getting on it, nor has she ever fallen off (and we don't tuck her in since she can't stand confinement of any sort). We do keep a foam rubber mattress on the floor next to her bed just in case, however. I think the key to a successful transition, as some other posters have already noted, depends on a positive answer to these questions: (1) Is she physically ready for it? (i.e., can she climb on the bed herself, with or without a stool?) (2) Does she feel she's gaining a bed, rather than losing a crib? Unless the spacing of the children is too close to permit it, I would second the views of those posters who said it is best to make the transition well in advance of the new arrival, to lessen any feeling of rivalry or resentment on the part of the older child towards the younger.
woof@hpfcla.UUCP (12/06/85)
> I am curious if any one has suggestions about when to > *introduce* a child to a normal bed- i.e. mattress and > box spring. > > Our little girl is almost 30 months and with another > due in march, I have already purchased a good quality > twin, but have not put it up yet. We started our older one, Becky, in a bed at about 22 months, due to similar circumstances. :-) First, we just put the matress on the floor, so she didn't have far to fall if she happened to do so. After about a month, we put the box underneath it. We didn't put the frame underneath until she was big enough to climb up onto the bed. I think she was about 30 months at that point. This graduated method helped both Becky and her parents to adjust to the change very easily. Steve Wolf Hewlett-Packard Company {ihnp4|hplabs}!hpfcla!woof Fort Collins, Colorado
ajs@hpfcla.UUCP (12/06/85)
What is this fascination with beds that rise high above the floor? Our waterbed is on the floor, and my daughter's twin mattress and box springs are not on a frame. I agree, it's much more "user-friendly" all around. My wife had a clever idea how to reduce bed falling-out-of's. Megan's bed is against a corner. My wife rolled a blanket into a tight cylinder and put it between the mattress and box spring on the side facing out. This raises the mattress gently, just enough to counter temptation to roll out that way. (Teddies and other stuffed critters around the wall sides, and a huge stuffed rabbit at the foot, make for a very "soft" sleeping environment indeed.) Alan Silverstein, ihnp4!hpfcla!ajs PS: Megan gets her own waterbed just as soon as she requests it and shows she can take care of it. Flush to the floor, probably.
mark@cbosgd.UUCP (Mark Horton) (12/09/85)
Re the "tent sheet": Matt has one of these too. He likes it, but there's one problem that wasn't mentioned. Since the tent is permanently part of the bottom (fitted) sheet, there is no way to tuck in a top sheet and blanket underneath the mattress; they have to just sit inside the tent loose. Matt doesn't mind this, but he needs help arranging them when he goes to bed, and he usually takes the top sheet, blanket, and pillow out into the living room to play with during the day. (So far we haven't had much luck trying to discourage this, but we haven't tried real hard yet.) Also, he was initially afraid of being trapped in it, since zippers are hard things for very small children to work. (This is a pretty easy zipper, though.) He and I spent some time in it with him fooling around with the zipper from the inside and outside, and once he was convinced he could get out whenever he wanted (you can crawl out under the tent flaps even with it zipped, too) he was happy. Mark