Taking the plunge!

So yesterday morning I was waking up my youngest LD and was laying in her bed with her. I was looking around her room at how the four pictures I have hung on her walls look funny where they are located because I originally hung them when she still had her canopy crib in her room. Now that she's in a "big girl bed" I'm sure everyone would wonder why on earth I placed those pictures where they are.

So then I started thinking about my moving-a-child-to-a-big-bed-tactics. I'm not sure why, but I was, okay? Later I went to check my email and I had a dear friend and fellow lazy mom ask me what advice I might have on moving her LD to a big bed. I immediately thought that it must be "divine" that I was just thinking about this topic earlier this morning, so I decided to do this post. So here it goes... my lazy mom moving-a-child-to-a-big-bed-tactics:

• Whenever you move an LD to a big bed you MUST fight the urge to totally rearrange the room. Leave everything exactly where it is. You want everything to look and feel the same as when their crib was in the room. This will help them adjust much better.
• When you buy a mattress don't feel like you HAVE to buy the box spring and bed frames right away. We always started our kids off with a mattress on the floor. You can still put a bed rail under the mattress to keep your LD from rolling out of bed, but if they ever do roll out of bed it doesn't really make any difference because the fall is SO short. When they are adjusted to the new bed then go out and buy them a box spring and bed frame.
• When you put the new bed into their room put it EXACTLY where their crib was and lay them down exactly the same way you did when they were in their crib. This way their view is the same as it always has been.
• To take the worries off of your mind about your child being free to move around the room, take everything out of your LD's room that could hurt them. Make sure everything is re-baby proofed. Just remove it from their rooms until they are old enough to not get out of bed and get into it!
• Instead of shutting their door, put a baby gate in the door jamb. That way you can peek in to make sure they are still in their bed and not risk waking them up by opening and shutting the door several times. Some LD's are good climbers, so if you have to stack another baby gate on top of the first one, do so!

So that's what I've got folks! Anyone else have a great tactic they'd like to share? Leave a comment and tell us.

And just for some fun.  Check out this printable Big Kid Bed Diploma from Simmons.

Posted in: advice, questions answered