Transitioning from a crib to a toddler bed can be stressful.
Will my child stay in their bed? What if they fall out? What will they get into? Will they get any sleep? Will I get any sleep?
All of these are questions that we moms ask ourselves when thinking about transitioning our child out of the crib. There’s a simple solution to many of those questions though.
Get your child a floor bed and toddler proof their room.
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What is the purpose of a floor bed?
Let’s backtrack a little bit.
Most people transition their children when they start climbing out of the crib. This might be at around 3 years old but by that time your child is really used to sleeping in their crib and the transition might be harder.
We transitioned my daughter at 13 months and it was amazing.
We wanted her to be able to be a little bit more independent when it came to going to sleep and waking up in the morning.
She was the type of child that would wake up in the morning in her crib and scream until we came and got her because she was ready to play.
By transitioning her to a floor bed, she was able to wake up and get toys and play for a few minutes while I got up and got going.
This was a nice change of pace from being abruptly woken up by a screaming one year old!
What is a Montessori Floor Bed?
Most of the time a floor bed is referred to as a montessori bed.
If you don’t know what Montessori is, it’s a philosophy on raising and teaching children.
Montessori focuses on allowing little ones to be independent and do things for themselves. This is why the floor bed is called a Montessori bed, it allows for independence.
There are many different types of floor beds.
We started off with my daughter’s crib mattress on the floor until we found a bed we like.
Then we went with the Ikea Kura Bunk bed and used it as a floor bed but I’ll get into that more in a little bit.
Toddler Floor Bed with Rails
We all want our children to be safe while they sleep and one of the biggest concerns of parents is that their child will fall off the bed.
There are simple solutions to this, even with a floor bed.
For starters, since your child’s mattress is on the floor, if they roll-off, they don’t have far to go.
When my daughter was in her crib mattress on the floor we did the pool noodle trick.
We cut a pool noodle to the length of her mattress and put it under her sheet on the outsides of her mattress. This kept her from rolling.
Toddler Floor Bed Ikea
Then we moved her to the Ikea Kura bed.
This bed is meant to be bunk beds but it’s so versatile and can be used as a floor bed.
You can turn it either way and it would make a good toddler floor bed.
We started with the white side down so that our daughter would have sides around her bed so she couldn’t roll off.
We had to show her that she could get in and out at the little opening but she loved it!
Now that she is older we have the bed turned the other way. She doesn’t roll off the bed and now she can climb in and out of bed from anywhere on it, not just the little opening.
I highly recommend this bed as an affordable toddler floor bed option.
There are also many floor bed options on Etsy or even design plans on Pinterest.
It just depends on what you are looking for and how much time and money you want to invest.
A lot of people love the toddler house floor beds and they can mainly be found on Etsy.
Montessori Baby Proofing
Let’s talk about baby proofing or toddler proofing.
This was my biggest concern when switching to a toddler bed.
We started by removing any furniture that could tip over. You could anchor it to the wall but we weren’t wanting to do that.
We took out her dresser and rocker so that she wouldn’t get hurt on them.
The next thing we did was use outlet covers and doorknob covers. We put the doorknob covers on the two closets in her room because I didn’t want her to get into them.
The last real thing we did was figure out how to toddler-proof the baby monitor.
I still wanted the baby monitor in there so that I could see her. We also have a sound machine and a diffuser that we keep plugged in in her room.
After some research, we found the perfect solution.
First, we got this small shelf to put up to set all three devices on.
Then we got this outlet box cover and this wire covering. We hung the shelf where we wanted it then put the cords in the wire covering.
Then we stuck the wire covering to the wall going down to the outlet. We then plugged everything in and put the box on the outlet.
She has never messed with the outlet box and even if she did, she wouldn’t be able to get it open. I even have a hard time getting it open when I need to, so I know it’s secure.
Montessori Floor Bed Experience
That first night putting her in her bed she didn’t really get out much because it was all new to her.
It was the following nights when she realized she could get out that we had some issues.
Everything was new to her so we gave her some time to get used to it and she started to sleep great.
We would put her to bed and she would get up and get a few toys to bring to bed with her and she would play for a few minutes then fall asleep.
The best part was she would wake up in the morning and start playing and be in a great mood when I went to get her.
I love watching on the monitor for a minute to see what she chooses to play in the morning. Kids are so creative!
I know it sounds like a scary transition and it’s definitely not the norm but I promise it’s worth it.
Some people think it’s crazy to put a one-year-old in a big bed and let them have free reign of their room but it’s so great for their development.
It also means you don’t have to do the transition when your child is older and more set in their ways.
I hope this helps and you consider making the transition to a Montessori floor bed for your child.
If your child is already in a floor bed, how do you like it? Let us know in the comments below!
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