we told levi that we were getting him a big boy bed, took him with us to the shops, and had him sit on the different mattresses with us when we picked it. When we got home he helped his dad put it together, he put the screws in the wholes then dad came along and screwed them in. He really enjoyed being part of it. When we had put it all together, and put the mattress protector on and the sheets etc, we put a safety rail up, on eyou get from target, and he hope up on the bed excited. When it came to bed time that night we asked him where he wanted to sleep, he couldnt tell us where, so i said to him show mummy where you want to sleep tonight and he ran down and hoped on to the new bed. So he has slept there happily ever since. And we have only had one night where he has gotten up to play so far. he was 17 months i think when he went into the big bed, and is 21 months now.

My cherub was 20 months old and still in her cot when we found out we were moving. I told her that when we got to our new house, i would buy her a big girls bed. After we moved, she stayed in her cot for another 3 months ...which put her at 21/2. She started asking me when she could have her big girls bed. We went to town one day and went bed shopping together. Her heart was set on a $1500 princess number, but we picked out a bedroom set with a toybox, bed, matress, bookshelf and bedside table that we were both happy with at the sale price of $500! The down side was we had to wait 8 weeks for delivery and every day I was asked how long until she got her big girls bed!!!! Grandma sent a doona cover. We picked out some sheets and by the time it arrived and Dad picked it up....she was SO EXCITED. She couldn't wait to ditch the cot and get into her bed ( WITH THE FLASH DOONA COVER- The doona cover was as important as the bed)  The first night she was impressed that she could get out of bed and wonder down the hallway, but after I marched her back to her bed and told her that big girls who sleep in big girls beds, don't keep hopping up out of bed, she stayed put. No problems ever since!!! I think that the build up was long and drawn out and by the time it happened, she was SOOO excited about it! I put a big floor cushion next to her bed for the first few months and she fell out twice. Not since though!I think if you introduce the idea and involve them in the process, then it helps! No big sudden changes as they know what is happening.If you make it an exciting thing, they even look forward to it!

Good luck! I thought we would have major dramas as she LOVED her cot, but it was amazingly easy and not traumatic in the least!

with our child we set bed up in her room and played on it explained that is was to be her new bed. we started her off with day sleeps in her bed, but if at all she wanted to go back into cot we let her eventually she slept in it for her day beds then we started getting her to sleep at night in her bed and when she wanted to go back into cot we let her.  so there was no stress on her behalf or ours. once she started sleeping throught the night we eventually removed the cot. with out hassle  

With my son, we actually bought him a toddler bed so we get to use the cot mattress and linen still for now. We made a huge fuss about his 'big boy's bed' and it worked a treat for him. He was so proud of himself when he slept in it and has been in it ever since.

Moving from a cot to a bed should be a gradual process. You can actually get plastic removable barriers that act like the sides of a cot. they just slide under the mattress and don't hem the child in but they do give that sense of security to both child and parent. We got ours from Target many years ago but i'm sure that they are still around if you ask in big deparment stores, baby shops or maybe bedding shops.

Good luck

traceywestaway

with each of my four sons i had the bed in the room with the cot to start.  then i would move them so they woke up in the bed the next morning.  then as the last step, as big boys, they would help me take down the cot and move it out of the room.  It worked seamlessly each time.  I can't comment on how it works with girls though.

this is a loaded question. But for the sake of everyone's sanity and patience, it's best to the transition slowly.

I got my son a single bed and placed it on the floor beside ours. He sometimes slept there, and sometimes not. It was like that for a while and then we moved the bed closer to the door. Then months and months later, we hyped him up to get his own room.

Good luck.

I use a single bed base with no bedhead or end pushed up into the corner of the room as then when they do fall of they can't fall far anyway. I have found that my children have been very surprised about this special bed that they can (surprise surprise) get out of! Ofcourse this is a lot simpler if you already have a bedtime routine, as then it is easier to do the same as you would any other night, but using the bed instead of the cot. Perserverance is the key if they aren't all that fussed about the idea of staying there alone straight away do not be concerned if they don't actually sleep in the bed the first couple of nights but always each night do bedtime routine then take to childs own new bed stay with the child or even give up if they won't stay, just take them to their own bed  first every night and they will eventually learn thats where to go to go to bed. (Hopefully good luck)